#the duel and find anatole are both very fun to me

[scalpho]

!!! you've seen the great comet too? :D what're your favorite songs from it... it's such a good musical that i have difficulty choosing favs myself, it really just depends on what i feel like listening to. pierre's usually the one i immediately pick, but even letters or sonya alone has its place for me...

one of my favourite musicals ever (if not my definitive favourite)!! as you say it's SO hard to pick a fav song but i've always loved sonya & natasha, even though i wouldn't call it tgc's best song. pierre is also a very solid choice. and the abduction (especially the last minute of it) is real fun

[luckytimez]

My Strange and All Over the Place Opinions on Great Comet Songs

Prologue - LOVE LOVE OML 10/10 introduction to the show (also amazing choreography in the production I saw)

Pierre - Sums up Pierre's character really well and sets up his cute lil character arc 8.5/10

Moscow - 😍😍😍 I LOVE MARIA OMG 11/10 love Natasha's yearning and also Sonya and Natasha's interactions with each other, also in the shows I saw in person Maria, Sonya, and Natasha were SO good together

The Private and Intimate life of the House - This song grew on me and now I really like it 10/10, Princess Mary sounds so good and I love her and Bolkonsky's arguments, only complaint is that the part where he loses his glasses isn't intense enough in the soundtrack

Natasha & Bolkonsky - LOVE LOVEEEEE 11/10 Natasha and Mary need to sing more together

No One Else - It so sad and sweet in person and its still good on the soundtrack 11/10 I just don't listen to it as much as the other songs in the soundtrack 😭

The Opera - LOVEEEE 😍😍😍 HELENE, DOLOKHOV, NATASHA, AND SONYA OMG, 11/10 Anatole's entrance is so GOOOOD, in the production I went to see the opera going on during the scene was SOOO COOL

Natasha & Anatole - YESSSS they sound SO good together 10/10 such a vibe, also choreo 😍

The Duel - OML 12/10 I LOVE this song so much, I'm down to listen to it anytime any day, DOLKHOV 😍, the choreo in this scene was also amazing

Dust and Ashes - AAAAAAAAAH 11/10 bro he is ready to wake up

Sunday Moring - Sonya 😍 11/10 its grown on me, any song with my fav trio is automatically amazing

Charming - IN PERSON I LOVE IT but on the soundtrack its still good it just doesn't really compare 8/10 the choreo was so good

The Ball - THE ENDING AAAAAAH 11/10 Anatole and Natasha just sound amazing together

Letters - 12/10 oml seeing letters in person twice was an honor, the choreo and how integrated they were in the audience was SO amazing

Sonya & Natasha - it grew on me 11/10 love how it shows how immature Natasha really is, she's still so young

Sonya Alone - I teared up both times I saw this in person and the woman who played Sonya legitimately has the most beautiful voice ever, I don't like it as much on the soundtrack and I don't listen to it much cuz its very different from the rest of the album so 10/10, its still beautiful tho

Preparations - OMG 12/10 MY FAV SONG, DOLOKHOV MY LOVE, their argument is so fun to sing

Balaga - LOVE THE CHOREO, SUCH A FUN SONG 10/10

The Abduction - 12/10 I LOVE ANATOLE BUT LIKE IN A HATEFULL WAY, SUCH A FUN SONG (for the most part) love the choreo and the bits in the scene, MARIA'S ENTRANCE😍

In My House - I LOVE MARIA, 10/10, BEST TRIO, love the drama on this song

A Call to Pierre - AGAIN LOVE MARIA AND THE DRAMA, BUT THIS SONG JUST HAS AN EXTRA KICK TO IT 11/10

Find Anatole - I really like the "at the club" part and the end of the song 8/10, not my fav but I generally don't skip it

Pierre & Anatole - LOVEEEEE 11/10, Anatole hitting that high note 😍, love how intense the song is, I talked to the guy who played Anatole after the show and he said every night after that song he's reminded of how much of an asshole Anatole is

Natasha Very Ill - Not too memorable, but it does illustrate the tragedy well, short and sad 8.5/10

Pierre & Andrey - LOVE its so intense and I really can feel how broken Andrey is in the soundtrack and in person 10/10

Pierre & Natasha - SO SAD OMG, I don't listen to it often because it has such a dramatic contrast to a lot of the songs in the show, 11/10

The Great Comet of 1812 - IN PERSON THIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING MY LORD 12/10, the ending gets me every time

No clue if anyone would actually read all this and if you did,

Thank You

[officialleotolstoy]

Oh Dolokhov Brainrot We’re Really In It Now, aka Dolokhov playlist annotations!

A note on the cover photo: I don’t really like this one but I got tired of looking at men on Pinterest so I gave up. The window symbolizes the rum window and the smoking symbolizes uhhhhh habitual bad life choices idk

Drinking game take a shot every time I say “it’s about the vibes”

Wrecking Ball - Mother Mother

“I break it just because I can”

This is THEE ‘I am going to cause problems on purpose’ song and that is like his entire narrative purpose!! Argue with me about this one I dare you

The Good, The Bad, and the Dirty - Panic! At The Disco

“If you wanna start a fight you better throw the first punch, make it a good one”

Partially its just vibes, I won’t lie. But also the consistent spoiling for a fight is very in character

Shoot to Thrill - AC/DC

“I’m like evil, I get under your skin”

It’s got I Am Morally Repulsive But Also I’ll Steal Your Girl energy which really hits all of Dolokhov’s character traits. And of course the added bonus of gun imagery.

Mr. Brightside - The Killers

“It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this”

I added it strictly for vibes, but then I realized the quoted lyric is very much him @ the Kuragins if you take the reading that he refuses to admit he actually like them but grows genuinely fond of them over time even though he initially got to know them with a lot of ulterior motives.

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

“Mama, I just killed a man”

The amount of songs that are on these playlists just for what are essentially your mom jokes since Dolokhov loves his mom so much is a little pathetic. But I’m not wrong! I can’t really put it into words but something about this song has Dolokhov energy.

Feel It Still - Portugal the Man

“Give in to that easy living, goodbye to your hopes and dreams”

A good deal of what I find interesting about Dolokhov is the internal conflict he has of knowing he’s become rather wicked and problematic but also not really trying very hard to change and almost enjoying it so a lot of the songs on here are about that, including this one. The “I’m a rebel just for kicks now” also very much screams Causing Problems On Purpose.

The Bidding - Tally Hall

“I like to take advantage of the bourgeoisie”

His whole role in volume one and two is to take advantage of the bourgeoisie! This song also oozes confidence and a sense of superiority that comes from being better than the sellouts in high society, Dolokhov’s not like other girls uwu (he really is, but I don’t think he would admit that).

Say Amen (Saturday Night) - Panic! At The Disco

“I could be better but baby it’s Saturday night”

Embracing his own wickedness! The idea that he knows he could be better than he is but he doesn’t want to take that opportunity...yeah vibes

Wilson (Expensive Mistakes) - Fall Out Boy

“I became such a strange shape from trying to fit in”

This is the epitome of the “woe is me I need to be purified” phase he goes through when he’s into Sonya. Also “I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color” reminds me of Comet Dolokhov’s stupid eyeliner <3

Some Nights - fun.

“So what is this? I sold my soul for this?”

There’s a long stretch of this playlist that just boils down to “Woe is me I need to be purified” crisis hours, because Dolokhov’s oscillation between embracing his own cruelty and trying to be a good person is super interesting to me. This song captures the idea that he’s still having fun and there’s some good there, but he’s also aware that he’s losing himself a bit

Roaring 20s - Panic! At The Disco

“I don’t even know me”

“Woe is me i need to be purified” crisis AGAIN. This song gets more to the annoyance with society as a whole and feeling kind of lost in it

Send Them Off! - Bastille

“Help me exorcise my mind”

“Please purify me 16 year old girl! I’m 27 this isnt creepy at all ahahahha”. I do despise Sonyakhov but this has the vibes of a man feeling his own evil and wanting a woman to fix it. Not a great look.

Easy Days (Demo) - Bastille

“I don’t wanna fall back again, back into the easy days”

Near the end of the “woe is me I need to be purified” phase when he’s kind of drifting back to his old ways and he’s like wait no- wait- and then he does anyway because he’s horrible. I also really like the acknowledgment that his horribleness is easy and pleasant for him, and he has to fight against that (and he loses that fight HDJAJJD).

Undisclosed Desires - Muse

“You trick your lovers that you’re wicked and divine”

This is a Dolokhov/Nikolai song I do not take constructive criticism. Undisclosed desires...not being straight...lots to think about! It feels almost like a corruption arc? Nikolai isn’t corrupted nor does their...fling (?) last very long but Nikolai is obviously enamored with Dolokhov despite him being The Worst so I think this fits. I don’t have enough songs for a Nikolai/Dolokhov playlist so I just add those songs to both of their individual playlists

Thnks fr th Mmrs - Fall Out Boy

“Thanks for the memories even though they weren’t so great”

Also mostly a Nikolai/Dolokhov song. This man has never ended a relationship on good terms, huh. Also. Sighs heavily. “He tastes like you only sweeter” never fails to make me laugh when I think about it in the context of Dolokhov post-duel being like oh?? You’re just a stupid WOMAN Hélène your brother and/or Nikolai is hotter than you :/ which is not exactly what I think happened but it makes me laugh to consider. Dolokhov ur bitterrrrr

Dangerous - Royal Deluxe

“I’ll be the last man standing here, I’m not going anywhere”

I feel like this has the vibes of his cruelty, especially in that bit after the Kuragins have died when he and Petya infiltrate the French army.

Another One Bites The Dust - Queen

“There are plenty of ways you can hurt a man”

He will hurt you and kill you so violently :) It’s about the vibes.

White Wedding Pt. 1 - Billy Idol

“It’s a nice day to start again”

In the exact inverse to his “woe is me I need to be purified” phase, he’s like ok yes i will pick up bad habits again and enjoy them because frick you! I read once that this song is about a relapse into drugs, but I’m making it analogous to his relapse into Terrible Person Behavior after Sonya’s rejection. Also the repetition of the phrase little sister does something for my brain idk, after we know he loves his mom and sister it just fits.

Highway to Hell - AC/DC

“I’m on the highway to hell and I’m goin down”

Like White Wedding, it screams acceptance of his problematicness. He knows he’s cruel and evil and he revels in it. This is the phase we see him in most I think.

Back in Black - AC/DC

“It’s been too long, I’m glad to be back”

I think this plays every time he gets reinstated to an army position he lost by being reckless earlier. Just kidding sort of but listen to this song and tell me it doesn’t have Dolokhov vibes. If you do, you’re wrong <3

Poet - Bastille

“I have written you down now, you will live forever”

This is just here cause he ghostwrote Anatole’s love letters and I think it’s funny. It’s MY playlist and I get to choose the barely relevant Bastille songs

St. Jude - Florence + The Machine

“Maybe I’ve always been more comfortable in chaos”

This one’s more scattered lyrics than an overall vibe. “Each side is a loser so who cares who fired the gun” has duel energy also.

Hey Look Ma, I Made It - Panic! At The Disco

Confession: I hate this song. However, it’s about the about the MOM R U PROUD OF ME vibes (she is. Should she be? Probably not).

Rich Kids - Bea Miller

“It’s never enough for the stuck up types”

The not coming from wealth and having to almost scam your way into being part of the aristocratic scene is very Dolokhov. Also in my mind the rich kid he’s roasting is specifically Nikolai.

Money, Money, Money - ABBA

“It’s a rich man’s world”

I’m not SAYING the wealthy man they talk about is Anatole but - [i am shot]. Scheming and clawing your way up to wealth is Dolokhovcore.

This Is Gospel - Panic! At The Disco

I literally have no justification for this other than that i think modern AU Dolokhov would vibe with it. Look at the amount of eyeliner he wears in Comet and tell me he didn’t have an emo band phase. You can’t.

Trouble’s Coming - Royal Blood

This is not about the words at all, it’s more about the vibes. It just sounds Dolokhovish to me, don’t ask me to explain.

Sleep Alone - Two Door Cinema Club

“They’re just ghosts and they can’t hurt him if he can’t see them”

This gives me post-Kuragins’ death vibes, and I can’t pin down exactly why? I think it’s the idea of being very alone and closed off.

Golden Days - Panic! At The Disco

I can’t put a specific lyric to it but it’s the vibes of looking back on your hedonistic youths with nostalgia and rose-colored glasses. Post-Kuragins’ death vibes again.

Go Get Your Gun - The Dear Hunter

“One foot in the grave, the other one’s kickin’ its way right down to hell”

All we see of him after the Kuragins’ death is just him being particularly cruel and reckless, almost careless. This feels like it encapsulates that energy.

The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand

“They say you’re a troubled boy just because you like to destroy”

I’m aware that a good portion of this song is about a Christ figure but I’m going to respectfully ask you to ignore that bit and just focus on all the Sketchy Things the guy does instead. Thank you. He does in fact like to destroy things! Señor Cause Problems On Purpose back at it again at krispy kreme, huh.

[azure-firecracker]

hello! are you still doing the musical meta thing? if so, you should to heléne. :)

I’m always doing meta! And this is one I’m particularly excited about, because Hélène is in fact my favorite Great Comet character!

I haven’t seen any Hélène meta so I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but Hélène’s fatal flaw is that she cares too much about other people. We see this throughout the show.

Even just in the Prologue, she calls herself a sl*t. She probably didn’t come up with this herself, and we see Pierre basically (if not outright) call her one multiple times, as well as even the man at the opera. We can deduce that this is a title she’s gotten from other people, and since she cares so much about their opinion, she’s started to apply it to herself, too.

When we next see her is during The Opera. There’s not too much to analyze here, though she’s being very flirty with Marya, which of course makes me happy because they are endgame. It’s fitting that she introduces Anatole, seeing as she’s undoubtedly the person closest to him.

We get to The Duel, and here’s where we start seeing the layers of her character. Now, I am of the opinion that she and Dolokhov weren’t having an affair (Amber Gray said it was up for interpretation in this interview). Now, Hélène is a flirt, I’m not going to deny that. But can you blame her? She’s stuck in an unhappy, abusive marriage that she never wanted, a marriage where Pierre clearly has all the power, and Hélène is clearly an extrovert. She needs other people. So it would make sense that she goes after some fun, some real love (or at least not abusive hatred), and people who actually care about her. If given the chance to find real love, Pierre would probably do the same, but because he does have all the power, he’s less desperate and doesn’t actively go looking for it.

While not a manipulator, Hélène is clever. She got Natasha to go to the ball, we know she knows how to get what she wants. Anatole and Dolokhov are so close, one could assume that Hélène and Dolokhov also grew up together. I really like them as friends, buut Dolokhov clearly has feelings for Anatole so he probably didn’t have an affair with Hélène.

But he would help her. And Hélène wants out of her marriage. Badly. But she can’t just tell Pierre she wants a divorce. Remember that it’s 1812 and that he’s the one with the money who threatens her.

But if she got someone to pretend they were having an affair, maybe he would be pushed far enough to break up with her. He does already hate her, after all.

Dolokhov, being her friend, helped her.

Her plan did backfire, because Pierre got mad at Dolokhov instead of her, and you can see her pain during the Duel. Dolokhov is one of her closest friends, and while she hates Pierre, Hélène is actually quite an empathetic person. She tries to talk Pierre out of the duel, and is genuinely terrified when she thinks he’s going to tie.

Anatole, being a brat, uses her incredibly fragile state to manipulate her, and since two men have just had a duel because of her, she’s all too eager to help someone instead of hurting them. She doesn’t think his plan is a good idea, but let’s keep in mind that he’s Anatole. She has no idea he’s going to go as far as he does.

There isn’t actually much to analyze in Charming. It’s just Amber Gray being a living goddess.

We don’t see much of her in the second act, other than the amazingness that is this:

And her couple of lines in Find Anatole. By this point, everyone else has given up on Anatole because of what he did. Not Hélène. She’s determined to protect him because she loves him, even putting herself between him and Pierre.

What else have we seen about Hélène? We saw that she would rather pretend to have an affair than talk to her husband because she’s afraid, but also non-confrontational. She knows they’ll both get hurt if she tries to talk to him because he hates her so much. But he already thinks she’s unfaithful. Confirming it won’t hurt him.

She’s done a lot to avoid fighting with Pierre, and yet she puts herself between him and Anatole, and Pierre threatens her because of it.

Another example of why Pierre is more at fault for their failed relationship, but the thing here is that Hélène still put herself in danger to protect her brother.

In fact, that seems to be almost all she does. She protects Pierre from a full-on confrontation, she tries to protect him and Dolokhov from dueling, and she tries to protect Anatole from Pierre. The only thing she does besides protecting people is searches for love and people who treat her well. Because she cares about other people.

So, a protective person who cares about other people too much and is stuck in a life she never wanted, searching for happiness, if not for herself, then for everyone she loves.

Those are all good character traits, and not the mark of a bad person, which she isn’t.

So why is she painted as the villain?

Because Pierre is the one telling the story.

[amazingmsme]

Music So Sweet

AN: Me writing an actual prompt instead of my own ideas no one asked for? It’s more likely than you think. Great Comet is way underappreciated, so I hope you enjoy!

Pierre sat at the bar nursing his glass of vodka. Across the club, he watched as Anatole wooed a couple of women by serenading them with his violin. As much as the young man got on his nerves, he had to hand it to him; the kid could play. And as much as he hated to admit it, they were family. Dolokhov leant against the wall rolling his eyes looking extremely bored. His eyes scanned over the room before casting his gaze downward to stare at his drink. He swirled it in his hand, glancing back up towards his friend. Anatole had promised him a night on the town in celebration of yet another duel he'd won, but instead shrugged him off for some random women.

He always did this to him, and quite frankly it was pissing Dolokhov off. He met eyes with Pierre and pointed at Anatole before making a choking motion. The man simply chuckled and shook his head.

He turned his head to the side watching the girls lean against the counter and look at the musician with dreamy eyes. It made him sick. Of course he would've been fine if he had a pretty girl himself, but Anatole had easily whisked both of them away and dazzled them with his skill. Anything he tried to do to impress them now would surely fall flat in comparison. 

Dolokhov smirked as he formed an evil idea, and he reached forward, tweaking his friend's sides. Anatole jumped with a squeal, the bow striking a particularly sour note on the violin. He whipped around and fixed him with a hard glare.

"Excuse me, do you mind? I'm with company," he said, willing a blush off his face. Dolokhov snorted.

"Indeed you are. Might I remind you with whom you came?" he said, pointing at himself.

"Don't need reminding, I just found better company," he winked at him and slapped his shoulder. Dolokhov's mouth hung open as Anatole turned his back on him and back to the ladies.

"I'm sorry, where were we?" He went back to playing, pulling the bow across the strings in a beautiful song. Dolokhov looked at Pierre in bewilderment. The older man shrugged his shoulders, unable to suppress the chuckles escaping his mouth. Granted, it wouldn't be as funny without the alcohol in his system. He mouthed, "Try again." And so he did. Just as Anatole raised his bow again, he lurched out and shoved his elbow, forcing him to mess up once more. The girls seemed slightly amused, if not a little annoyed that the song had been interrupted.

"Pardon me ladies," the blonde excused himself and grabbed Dolokhov by the arm and ushered him away. "Just what is your problem?" he snapped. He bit his lip to conceal his grin, doing a poor job of it.

"Nothing. I'm just surprised you even acknowledged me at all," he snarked. Realization washed over Anatole's face and he laughed.

"Dolokhov you never cease to amuse me. I assure you that we'll have as much fun and as many drinks as we want as soon as I'm done with these fine ladies. I'm sure you can find one yourself to keep you busy," he brushed his friend off as easy as sand on dry skin.

Dolokhov sneered, "No I think I'm fine right here." With those words he planted himself, knowing he wouldn't move from this spot just to spite Anatole. Said man rolled his eyes at the dramatics and spun around to face the two women. He picked up his playing and smooth talking seamlessly, smiling as they soon became putty in his hands.

Pierre was intrigued in where this would go. To an outsider it was obvious just how thin Dolokhov's patience was growing, and even Anatole could only be so oblivious. He sipped from his glass and watched the scene.

Dolokhov waited for the right moment and reached out with his leg, delivering a decisive kick to the back of his knee. His legs buckled and he nearly dropped his instrument, but managed to catch it in a fumble. This seemed to be the last straw for the blonde as he faced the larger man who sported an amused grin.

"Seriously, what's your deal? You should be celebrating your win not ruining my chances in bed," Anatole scolded. His friend merely smirked, "Messing with you is as good as any celebration I could possibly have." To prove his point, he reached out and poked his side. He twitched away with a slight giggle.

"Alright you had your fun, now let me have mine," he tried to turn away, but a strong hand on his shoulder prevented him from doing so. He was twirled back around, suddenly feeling very much trapped.

"Trust me, this will be fun," Dolokhov promised with a wink before wrapping an arm around his slender frame and used his hand to dig into his waist. Anatole tried to hold back his laughter, but only lasted all of about three seconds before the damn burst. The ladies watched on in amusement, giggling at his reactions.

Anatole's cheeks couldn't possibly be any redder. He was unsure of whether to push his friend away or to use his hands to hide his blush. In the end he did neither and instead flailed his arms around uselessly. He came close to elbowing Dolokhov in the face.

"Stohohop! Please!" he pleaded. Anatole saw himself as too good for most things, but he was certainly not above begging. His friend tilted his head teasingly.

"Why? If I'm going to stop, I'll need a good reason."

"Ihihit's embarrassihihing! And it tihihickles!" he complained amidst his mirth. Dolokhov chuckled and shook his head fondly.

"Well I'd hope so! That was my point after all," he teased, working his fingers up his sides. By now the ladies had moved on, leaving the men at their play. With the loss of their company, they gained that of another as Pierre walked up. The older, often somber man had an unusual pep in his step as he wandered closer. What was really odd was the abnormally playful smirk he sported, a gleam of mischief lit up his eyes that hadn't been there for years. Upon seeing his brother in law, Anatole thought he was saved and cried out for his help.

"Pierre help me!"

The smile on his face only grew as he leant against the wall and Anatole realized he was not there on his behalf.

"Bold of you to assume I think you deserve my help," he said, taking a swig from his glass. Dolokhov barked out a triumphant laugh.

"See? Pierre agrees with me, you only brought this on yourself." He ignored his indignant cries through his squeals.

"Whahat did Ihihi do?" he asked, still oblivious to his flippant and borderline rude behavior. Dolokhov snorted, shocked that his friend could be so dumb. Wait no, he takes that back, this is to be expected.

"This is what you get for ignoring me all night while we were supposed to be celebrating!" He shifted his hand to skitter between Anatole's shoulder blades and a loud scream of laughter filled the air. He gestured for Pierre to help him out. "Mind giving me a hand here?"

The older man glanced around the club, shaking his head. "Nah, too many people staring. I'll let you have your fun."

"Oh come on, you know you want to wreck the little shit for everything he's done, live a little," Dolokhov encouraged. He did have a point, there were many times in which Pierre wished he could put the arrogant ass in his place.

Anatole looked up at him with mirthful teary eyes, struggling to fight off his friend's hands. "Plehehease dohohon't," he pleaded. Pierre had to bite his lip to keep from grinning so wide as he set his drink down. That was all it took for the blonde to know he was utterly screwed. His squirming increased and he weakly shoved at Dolokhov's hands. Pierre stood before the trapped and giggling man, making a show of cracking his knuckles. His laughter and squirming only increased once he saw this.

Pierre added his hands into the mix of the wonderful torment and it wasn't long until Anatole's knees buckled. He leaned back against his supposed best friend for support, mouth hanging open in loud laughter. Dolokhov smirked and bent down, sweeping his legs out from under him so that he was holding him bridal style. Anatole shrieked at the sudden movement and his face flushed at the position he was in. He smacked at his chest, "Put me down!"

"Sorry, no can do. You looked like you were about to faint, and I can't let that happen."

Anatole rolled his eyes, "You wouldn't have to worry about that if you hadn't tortured me."

Pierre spoke up, "Oh it wasn't so bad. And between us, it'll do you some good to get knocked off your high horse every once in a while."

"You're always mean to me, dear brother."

Pierre simply hummed, neither confirming nor denying the statement, but acknowledging it nonetheless. With that, he patted his shoulder, picking his drink back up and tilting it their way in a subtle goodbye. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before ignoring your friend."

"Yeah," Dolokhov interjected as he set him back on his feet. "Now, what do you say we continue my celebration with another round of drinks?"

"I'd say lead the way." And he did. 

[alleyskywalker]

Okay, that was interesting! May I ask you for round two? "The life you choose" (I just love how you portrayed all characters in this one, and I love my girl Sonya so much my heart aches for her every time I reread this work), "You and Me" series (I liked the whole story very much, even tho I don't ship danatole :D) and "Thing Without a Name" (The prompt and pairing itself were quite interesting and curious to me, and the fic turned out to be brilliant or i just love angsty slash UST, lol)

The Life You Choose

This was written as a yuletide treat and it was interesting to me that the recipient, from what I recall, wanted to see Boris and Sonya interactions. Mostly, this ended up as a bit of a character study of Boris thought the lense of how he perceives other characters, as well as a look at Sonya though the eyes of someone who is kind of an outsider (at least by this point) but enough of an insider that the dynamics of the situation aren’t totally lost on him.

It was a chance for little dips into dynamics like Boris’ marriage, which I imagine to be no necessarily without sex, but not at all romantic and more of a practical partnership. The sort of thing where they may be very content married to each other and compatible but they mostly live pretty separate lives. (This, in contrast to Berg/Vera, whose marriage I see as having genuinely romantic undertones.) But this is only kind of hinted at here, granted.

The interesting thing with Sonya and Boris are parallels between them - neither of them had the socioeconomic privilege of the Rostovs but grew p, to one extent or another, in the Rostov household. Both had close friends in the Rostov family (Natasha and Nikolai respectively). Both had romantic feelings/intentions for a Rostov child (Nikolai and Natasha respectively). And they’re both fairly practical, reasonable people. These parallels are imperfect, obviously, but they are there and Boris, judgemental as he is, latches on to them. He also latches on to the differences he perceives - Sonya had stayed in the Rostovs “shadow” while Boris had made something of himself and his life. He feels a little sorry for Sonya because he thinks he empathizes with her. He’s kind of wrong and kind of right.

Thing Without A Name

This was written for LGBT Fest, which had a tendency to explore issues like homophobia and other queer issues through fic. (Not necessarily issue!fic but…focused on sexuality/gender themes of the more serious type than just like…your usual Everyone Is Gay fluff lol.) But, really, I think this is kind of how I’d see a period-realistic get-together between Nikolai and Dolokhov happening with Dolokhov being more certain and aware of himself and his desires while NIkolai flounders badly with all the internalized homophobia and finds every excuse in the world for his feelings. Um. Also Nikolai is so painfully gay even in canon, come on.

You and Me (trilogy)

Ok, honestly, there’s no way I can do a proper but concise commentary of this entire trilogy lol. Are there aspects or parts you’re most interested in? The idea of this whole thing was so write a Danatole story that weaves through canon and plausibly writes the ship into the canon events. The first fic in the series was a Yuletide treat that go out of control and, thus, ended up not only with a secondary Dolokhov/Nikolai ship but also the Anatole/Pierre teenage affair headcanons and Pierre’s one-sided crush on Bolkonsky and some implied Dolokhov/Denisov friends with benefits lol.  This fic also has the “Dolokhov and Helene are BFFs and plan the duel for practical considerations” thing that I enjoy from time to time. And, god, it was so fun to write them as close friends who banter and care about each other but aren’t in love, even though I ship them. This series was basically a big collection of my canon-compliant headcanons in a world where Dolokhov and Anatole are gay (bi in Anatole’s case) and together xD

I think I should add that these fics/this series were written a long time ago and I”m not actually that happy with the writing itself. The headcanons still hold though lmao.

[lumiereswig]

Your blog is amazing and you have great sense of humor!! Can you make a bad summary of what Great Comet is about by using the songs to guide you? Please and thank you ♥️

ily too

prologue: here are all these sorry fucks that you’re going to care too much about in .6 seconds. vodka!

pierre: A Sad Fucking Sack™

moscow: GRACE MCLEAN HAS VOCAL CHORDS

the private and intimate life of the house: and i have no friends no never go anywhere never invited for who would take care of him?!(i can hurt you! i can hurt you!! but inevereverevereverwould)

constrained and strained: that’s not the title but it should be

no one else in which the fucking lighting design goes balls-to-the-walls

the opera honestly so much better than it is on the soundtrack, real fucking weird and both Impressive™ and A Total Disaster™

natasha & anatole sex on the beach, but as a musical instead of an alcohol

the duel THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT BOTH A GOOD NIGHT AND A TERRIBLE NIGHT OUT FEEL LIKE. E X A C T L Y .

dust and ashes depression, alcoholism, and immense spiritual meaning. have u hugged dave malloy 2day

sunday morning sonya and natasha play with a ouija board

charming amber gray plays with my emotions

the ball is a fucking fairywoodland deep in the depths of russia, you are both drunk and more alive and far more dead than you’ve ever been, the fairytale is so close and so giddy, and unreachable, and founded on the most true abundance of utterly fake, superficial, supernatural glimmer-shit you’ve ever seen

letters is those sorry fucks from act 1. now you care about them and you’re one of the fucks yourself, time to down that vodka

sonya and natasha and sonya alone are just tears on my face. also quietly slurping the vodka and hoping not to disturb the audience member sitting next to me

preparations/balaga/the abduction are not three songs, they are one song that never stops and it’s a party that lasts forever, get up and dance you fool, you’ll only be in Russia once

in my houseoh shit. maybe we shouldn’t have danced

a call to pierre wait. this musical was fun a second ago. why am i still having fun but also v. scared and worried about natasha

find anatole/pierre & anatole/natasha very ill/pierre and andrei dave malloy suddenly remembered this was a musical with a plot and not just a russian techno bar he spent a night in once

pierre & natasha dave malloy, having realized this, decides to hit everyone over the head with a baseball bat covered in spikes and emotion. the vodka glass is empty and the lighting designer is cracking his knuckles, getting ready for the next song

the great comet of 1812 the lighting designer takes 10 shots and wins a tony. dave malloy wears a big fur coat and amber gray cries. grace mclean looks devastated. you are crying. everyone is crying. the chorus swells. you know it will be over in a second and hate your life and just want to live in russian-red-velvet and fairyland-lighting-design forever

[hmpygssy]

The Great Comet Experience.

So to start.. this was my late birthday present I would have seen it on my actual birthday except for I had shows all up until last week, which is why I'm seeing it almost a month later. Ok so I absolutely love the Cold War aesthetic of the lobby, as well as the steps you have to go up to get to the onstage seating. Also was surprised that we came in for the onstage seating from THE upstage doors I assumed there were side entrances but no it was really special entering the space through THE DOORS. The man sharing my table was really really kind. Knew nothing about the show and it was lovely to hear his absolute amazement as the show went on. He also kinda looked like Vladimir Putin. He was a really nice guy and we actually made really good small talk. Also had half of my pierogi and it was Tasty So I loved the long long accordion note while the business with Natasha and andrei was going on.. and the ON THE FIRST "this is all in your program" Gelsey bell came RIGHT to my section and I legitimately almost cried. Just because everything felt so special! The lighting was phenomenal and I have a favorite moment I'll go into later, but I love how they integrated the house lights with the normal stage lights. I think it really really helped with the immersion. A small thing I liked, because the piano was facing away from us, was that there was a mirror on the piano so we could see josh sing while he played. I have No Clue how grace McLean does it honestly. How her throat is not just torn up is a mystery to me. SAME to amber gray. Kudos to both of them for being Queens The changes to private and intimate life were..... interesting... but I wasn't really paying so much attention bc I was too busy gawking at Gelsey Bell. Unfortunately I didn't get to be the suitor, he was in my seat, but on the other side of the stage! Oh well!! Also Paul pinto as this strange hunchbacked servant walked past me it was bizarre I loved it. Constrained and strained was on point. Love me them minor seconds. Absolutely adored denee's no one else. Especially with the lighting it was really really gorgeous. Gelsey was Right in front of me at the opera... that whole thing was just insane with the dancers and the lights flashing on and off. I felt like I was watching some underground art performance, but it's a Broadway show. I think overall the show retains a remarkable intimacy despite being supersized for the imperial. Lucas Steele is a Noodle man. Natasha and Anatole was V GOOD Lucas and denee have really great chemistry and I love how they circled each other. One of my favorite parts of the show. I missed Natasha lost... but only a little it flowed so well I forgot about it for a minute or two. The duel was the most special part. During the club scene, Brittain poked me and said "hiya" and I quietly exclaimed "love u brittain" and then Gelsey came by in her club outfit and danced like Right next to me for a little. And the actual duel itself happened right in front of me.. Dust and ashes was just absolutely breathtaking. Not much else to say about it. I liked the addition of the early candle in the mirror scene in Sunday morning but I do miss Brittain Ashford describing food in great detail Amber gray belted my face right off during charming it was lovely and I want to see it 100 more times I really really loved the choreography at the ball, and Gelsey danced with a girl in front of me!!!!! I thought the singing glasses at the end of the act were very effective and I was left just absolutely stunned. At intermission I had the other half of my pierogi, and the stage hand replacing props gave the guy at my table one of pierre's real prop "dear Andrei" letters I was So jealous!!! Letters was a LOT of fun, and I got a letter!!! And after letters Nicholas belton was sitting on the stairs right near me until balaga, it was really interesting watching his face as they talked about Anatole and stuff. He was very in the zone Sonya and Natasha had some of my favorite moments with denee and I Loved brittain's very dejected look during the "i hate you I hate you etc. " but. Some very good facial acting. Sonya alone gave me chills and I was nearly in tears by the end of it. Denee ended up right in front of us by the end of the song it was very powerful. Preparations was a ton of fun, and Nicholas was strumming right by us, and I Loved Lucas' acting here. Balaga was SO SO SO MUCH FUN I got an egg shaker and really went wild and sang along :P And segueing right into The abduction... without a doubt the most enjoyable part of the show. Especially as I had just learned the dance for it a week or so earlier. Lucas let the "wait shut the door" bit drag on for so long and it surprisingly didnt really bother me because I wanted the show to last all night. And GELSEY going up on the whole bit about "into the courtyard or you'll be seen" sounded phenomenal and then grace's You Will Not Enter My House Scoundrel literally killed me dead In my house was the most intense part of the show and I really loved denee's performance in it. My favorite lighting moment was at the beginning of A Call to Pierre when Paul pinto as the servant goes around the stage with the lightbulbs following him I just thought that was So SO SO well done. Shout out to grace mcleans "NATASHA AND ANATOLE KURAGIN" for once again merdering me. Find Anatole was really interestingly staged with josh at the "proscenium" and the ensemble lined up around the mezzanine. I thought it was very interesting. And pierres reprimand to Helene was really halting and I loved it Pierre and Anatole was INTENSE!!! I really love how they established Natasha poisoning herself in the number. And lucas' high note was absolutely pitch perfect I cryed. Natasha very ill made me very very sad it was really beautiful. Nicholas belton spoke his andrei lines maybe a bit too much. Not sure if it's a range issue? He sounded very good when he did sing and he looked Very nice w the suspenders. I really liked his take on the character. And josh really broke my heart on that one. Especially the "you told me once a fallen woman should be forgiven" really really affecting. And andrei's moment with princess mary was devastating. Natasha and Pierre was really really gorgeous probably the best singing Denee did in the show. She had Such a vulnerability and it was powerful. Loved her "don't call him bad" And when she started crying. Also Josh's reading of The Line was really really really good and the end of the song going into Great Comet was really really lovely. I had heard josh sing great comet before but to see it was a whole other ballgame. And the harmonies really had me weepy. The comet itself was so gorgeous and I loved how little stage lighting there was at the end. It was so so so special. I was the first person onstage to stand during bows. I was at the very front of the stage door line, and I think I scared grace McLean when I said I adored her. Bc I accidentally said it kind of creepily. She gave me a look and I felt so embarrassed. A couple actors recognized me from the stage and thanked me for the good vibes and that made me really happy. Brittain saw me and recognized me and I told her that I loved ghost quartet and all her solo stuff and that being poked by her was the greatest thing that's ever happened to me and she said that normally she has to kind of gauge how far to go with the audience, but when she saw me she thought "this guy is into it" then she said she was glad that I enjoyed our interaction as much as she did and touched my arm and we thanked each other and I was like totally reeling. And when I told Gelsey how I'm totally obsessed with her she said that meeting me was "a treat". And I was the Last Person josh groban signed for before he got in his car to go. I also told Paul pinto he's an inspiration to me as a future avant garde vocalist. And I got my playbill signed by everyone but Denee and amber gray, both of whom I didn't see come up. And when I met back up with my parents I found that they got me one of the show sweatshirts!!! So I have a takeout box, egg shaker, letter, sweater and signed playbill and I couldn't be more over the moon. What an amazing experience. Go see this show if you can. It's absolutely incredible. And if u do tell brittain ashford I love her. If anyone has any questions about the show please feel free to ask about it!!! I'll answer them in the morning. I'm heading to sleep now, night everyone!!!!

[officialleotolstoy]

🔥 Helenkhov 🔥 Anatole or the Kuragins as a whole

Helenkhov (I’m assuming this is Dolokhov x Hélène)

🔥I’ve read good arguments for them actually having an affair but I’ve seen equally compelling ones for them not actually having an affair (at least not to the point where they have sex in Pierre’s house *glares at Andrew Davies*). My personal favorite interpretation kinda walks the line between the two. I think they became close fairly quickly, borne partially out of the fact that they were both a little lonely (especially Hélène). It was eventually at least somewhat romantic and probably would have turned physical if Dolokhov hadn’t gone and been obnoxious about it to Pierre, but it never actually had the chance to become something solid. It definitely wasn’t strictly platonic though, and neither of them can properly label it. I think Hélène was justifiably angry at Dolokhov too post-duel, and mostly cut contact with him. They’re not able to avoid each other entirely because of Dolokhov’s continued association with Anatole, and they develop an outwardly cordial but slightly awkward relationship. They never regain that closeness they had pre-duel. I think Dolokhov would be down to restart their affair but tbh I don’t think Hélène would be. She learned her lesson and has moved on.

🔥I’m not saying Hélène was justified in having an affair (or an affair-adjacent thing), but far more of the blame lies on Dolokhov than her. She’s young at that point, and from what we know about Dolokhov, we can be reasonably sure he was manipulating her at least a little bit. At the very least, he had ulterior motives and wasn’t acting entirely out of a real love for her. But they probably did genuinely like each other and consider each other confidantes, if we take what Hélène says about needing someone to talk to as true. I like to believe that defense was at least partially truth, because it makes me feel better lol

🔥I wish we saw more exploration of their emotional connection. Adaptations are very bad at showing them actually interacting beyond either makeout scenes or hate sex. I know it wasn’t in the book but like. If you’re gonna add a sex scene you can write some dialogue too, you clearly don’t care that much about the integrity of the story (can you tell it’s Hating On Andrew Davies hours whoops)

Anatole

🔥Anatole’s slightly more manipulative than Tolstoy’s narration gives him credit for, but far less manipulative than the fanbase thinks he is. He’s just not smart enough to be that manipulative! That’s Dolokhov’s department, something highlighted by the fact that Dolokhov writes the letters that help persuade her to elope. However, Anatole also definitely knows how to omit unpleasant truths and paint a false picture of himself to Natasha. I think he doesn’t plan it so much as go off of the vibes of a situation though.

🔥I don’t think the way he hurts Natasha stems entirely from a lack of care for her. He’s willing to go to great lengths to get with her (and of course you can argue that it’s just for sex, but I think that’s missing some of it), and I think he genuinely likes the idea of her. He doesn’t know her well enough to actually love her, I think. And this is NOT a defense of him, he’s trash. He’s just trashy in a different way than most people characterize him. I’ll explain it a little more in the next one.

🔥Anatole’s biggest flaw is that before anything else, he’s horribly selfish. He doesn’t set out intending to hurt Natasha, I think, he just doesn’t think about the fact that he would. He only cares about himself and the pleasure he’ll get from it. I’m too lazy to find it, but now that I think about it I’m pretty sure there’s a book quote on him that says pretty much that.

🔥I don’t think there’s a whole bunch of evidence for book Anatole being bi. I’m happy to be proved wrong, but he was one of the ones that seemed straightest to me. Is that gonna stop me from thinking about Danatole though. No. I wish it would djsjksksnsnsn

🔥Comet Anatole being canonically bi is...a little questionable to me. Maybe I’m just not seeing the big picture but having the cheating whores be the only canon bi characters is uhhh. A little weird! I get that it’s also a bit of a plot thing, the part he chose to adapt just had a lot of gay vibes with Hélène and Natasha. But why Anatole? There are two wolves inside me. One says Danatole fun and more LGBTQ+ rep good. The other one says Anatole terrible bi rep. (Again, I’m open to being corrected on this one, or to hear bi people’s thoughts. I might just be overthinking it)

Kuragins in general

🔥Ippolit wasn’t having an affair with Lise he’s just a weirdo. No way is he straight. (This isn’t a hot take with good canon evidence I just feel it in my soul)

🔥I’m vehemently anti-Kuragincest and I don’t care what Tolstoy’s intentions were. He didn’t tell it to us in canon in the version I read, therefore it doesn’t exist. My explanation for the rumors is that Hélène and Anatole were very close as kids (and probably still are), physically and emotionally. People just. Misinterpreted it. I know it’s a bit of a weak defense but let’s be real 1) Pierre has a tendency to believe outlandish things without question and 2) i just. Hate incest. Its super uncomfy so i am deleting it from my mental canon

🔥Doesn’t it says somewhere Aline treats Hélène coldly because she’s jealous of her beauty? I might be making that up but if it’s true I hate you Aline </3