#what to include in an about me page

[xxplastic-cubexx]

if i said i picked up this issue for anything but drunk erik i fear i'd be lying

(Wolverine (2020) #3)

[ashennflame]

I decided to make playlists for each of the Greek students in The Secret History.

A few things to note about each playlist:

I purposefully made it so that each playlist has exactly 100 songs in it so that I can force myself to discover new music in order to fill out the playlists as well as properly capture an exact vibe while still having diversity in each playlist.

I wanted each playlist to be completely unique, therefore there are no exact overlapping songs in any of them, with the exception of different covers of the same song being in multiple playlists.

This is how I personally interpret each student to an extent, and it may be a bit different compared to others.

The playlists are mostly based off of vibes. There are songs whose lyrics as well as vibe fit the character (in my mind), but there are also songs that are based solely off of the vibe even if the lyrics don't fit.

The songs in each playlist may change over time as I find new music that I feel better fits over another.

I hope that these playlists can be thoroughly enjoyed!

[Characters associated with each playlist in order]

Richard Papen

Henry Winter

Bunny Corcoran

Francis Abernathy

Charles Macaulay

Camilla Macaulay

[dayurno]

so sick and tired of people writing fics about jeremy treating kevin like shit over kevin leaving jean at the nest like that is either 1) in character 2) something jean would appreciate or 3) fair. do you even bother to read the books you’re writing fanfic about or is the urge to create cheap angst so overwhelming you can’t see past the tropes you write for every other fictional pairing you like? the idea that jean would appreciate jeremy going out of his way to poke old wounds in his and kevin’s relationship when jean himself does not even like for jeremy to joke about kevin near him is absurd, and that’s without mentioning the fact that jeremy is not so clueless as to think he has any idea of what the nest was like, or why kevin felt he had to leave the way he did. if you need something to make your ship more interesting thinking beyond your flat interpretation of it is a lovely start, but don’t use kevin’s name and storyline if you’re just going to butcher it for the sake of a milquetoast sob fest the characters involved in would not even appreciate

[helios-two]

cindy + studcoms compilation

[necrotic-nephilim]

I started in DC by reading fanfics, but as I began to read actual comics, I started to be unable to read the actual fanfic that got me into it in the first place because it's so out of character.

But there are still some stories that I love to read because I love the found family trope so much, even if it isn't really accurate to the source material.

As a comics purist (sometimes), are there tropes that you like enough that you'll still enjoy a fic even if it's not accurate to canon?

oh my god this is SUCH a fun question. bc while i started with the comics, there were certain characters and/or character dynamics where i was exposed to the fanon before the canon (just bc it's hard to read everything when you start out just to read some fanfic) and so i've definitely experienced the fanon to canon transition. (*especially* with Jason Todd. i had only read 80s/90s stuff where he was already dead or the New-52 bc that was on-going when i got into comics and man. the fanon misunderstandings i had about him before i got frustrated and sat down to read all his pre-Flashpoint stuff were absolutely bonkers.) and aside from that, whilst i tend to prefer canon over fanon, i'm not past giving fanon its flowers for occasionally having really interesting insights. occasionally. so some of my fanon "guilty pleasure" tropes would probably be

Morally Grey Tim Drake - this is one where if you try to back it up with canon, i *will* get salty about it. of everyone in the Batfam aside from maybe Bruce and Cass, Tim has the *most* black and white morals. often his internal conflicts are routed in such an inability to compromise his moral views and it can cause him to clash with other characters. he's *very* stiff and rigid in his beliefs and is *rare* to compromise in even the smallest ways. i mean, DC has repeatedly used Tim Drake of Tomorrow/Savior/Gun Batman!Tim for a reason. it's to demonstrate that of everyone, Tim *cannot* have his morals compromised. there's no grey area for him. he's zero or a hundred, so if he tips over the edge of "too far" he tips *all the way*, and doing so is one of his worst fears, how he could go "too far" if he let himself. a couple panels out of context from Red Robin (2009) (which was a grief spiral for Tim to begin with) don't change that. now that said. if it's done *right*, i sort of love Tim being morally grey in fanfic. it takes a specific flavor for me, and it's incredibly important to include that mental spiral along with it, of him struggling to justify it. i don't have any interest in "Tim Drake is loosy goosy with Bruce's morals and has the highest kill count and no one knows teehee" bc it doesn't play with the interesting parts of making Tim morally grey, which are fracturing his psyche. but all in all, i think it's fun to put Tim in a morally grey area and i will read it in fanfic and i enjoy writing it a lot

Joker Junior!Tim Drake - i've not written it on this account (yet) but on my main ao3 account one of my biggest fics surrounds this concept. this is one of those "well *technically* it's canon but only in a specific very divorced from the comics universe and would not work at all in the main timeline" so, i categorize it as fanon in that 95% of fics exploring the concept are not doing so within the Batman Beyond universe, but the main timeline. i just love it. I'll take any excuse to whump Tim, but this concept is so fun. psychologically breaking Tim will always be my favorite pastime. there are so many ways to explore the long-term effects this could have on him, how it could affect the Batfam. i'm not a fan of it being used as a "gotcha" to Jason or Babs' trauma with the Joker to paint Tim as the Ultimate Victim, but it is fun to see how their relationships would be affected by being mutual victims of him. (i have a vague JayTim idea where TIm fully retires from being Robin after being Joker Junior and killing the Joker, making Steph Robin for most of his typical Robin era and Jason still tracks him down out of curiosity bc he wants to know what happened and all. very underbaked but i've got thoughts.)

Renegade/Apprentice of Slade!Dick Grayson - this is another one where yes, this happened *sort of* in canon, but i highly doubt most people writing Renegate!Dick have read or are actually pulling from Nightwing: Renegade. it's just an exploration fo the concept fo Dick being Slade's apprentice and i will always eat it up in any capacity. whether Dick grows up with Slade from a young age, or chooses Slade for whatever reason later in life. it's not anything that works in canon bc it compromises Dick morally (similar to the above with Tim) and therefore will always come across incredibly fanon in most fics. but i can't say i don't enjoy it. it's fun to make Dick a little morally fucked up and see what you can make him under Slade's tutelage.

Jason & Damian Meeting in the League -there's no world where i believe this could work in the canon comics. (maybe in the Young Justice cartoon i suppose, but even then i think it's iffy) i would go as far to say it's wildly unrealistic. i don't see a world where Ra's would let Jason anywhere *near* Damian, bc Jason was Talia's pet project that he didn't approve of. that all said, there's something very interesting about how they *could've* met and them potentially bonding during that timeframe. them being somewhat brotherly during this time because Jason sees Bruce in Damian and sort of latches onto the kid and Damian is full of wonder hearing real stories about Batman and Robin, then that getting violently ripped away by Jason leaving the League is fun to me. it's fun how that could affect them within the Batfam and all. it's super fanon to me, but i do not care. i will eat it up

Bad Dad Clark Kent/Good Dad Lex Luthor - i will admit as a late, i've been less and less kind to this particular fanon bc of everything i've argued with people about, *this* one seems the most pervasive as misunderstood fanon. i don't mind when fanon exists, my gripe is when ppl try to claim it's canon. and the *arguments* i've had over this with people who can never seem to cite an actual comic are... frustrating. but that said, i think there is something fun to this strictly in fanon. the duality of who you expect to accept Kon and who you expect to hurt him being flipped is just sort of fun for the occasional guilty pleasure fic. it can make Kon's internal conflict a bit more interesting. the same goes for the Jon favoritism from Clark, it's not a canon thing (and i rlly wish ppl understood how complicated the timeline of Kon and Jon is and any distance from Clark toward Kon isn't malice, it's that Kon is from a timeline that Clark does not remember in the current canon so Clark just straight up doesn't know the poor kid.) but it's sort of fun to give Kon that complex of being overlooked and forgotten sometimes. making Kon just a *bit* more Luthor than Kent will *always* appeal to me in fanfic, especially if he *knows* it's wrong but craves approval from anyone who will give it.

Good Dad Bruce Wayne - i'll die on the hill Bruce is canonically a shitty father. maybe not to the extreme some people write him as, but he's not great at it. that said, i enjoy it in fanfiction. sometimes, i just want silly fluff or hurt/comfort where Bruce finally gets it right and manages to comfort whatever Batkid is in the fic. one of my favorite fics of all time is hinged on Bruce being a good dad, so i think it's just fun to explore how good the relationships *could* be, if Bruce was slightly less of an asshole. i usually prefer him as an asshole, but there are times i want low stakes nonsense.

Gotham Rogues Having Soft Spots for Robin(s) - just about every Rogue in Gotham has done something absolutely irredeemable, and most of them don't like or care about anyone in the Batfamily. but if there's a fic where one of the Robins inexplicably is sort of close with a Rogue and they have a cute silly relationship out of it? I'll eat it up i fear. Steph and the Riddler are besties? I'll believe it. Tim and Scarecrow get along pretty well? give me ten of these. Rogues protecting Robins just hits a spot. the unexpected nature of the relationship, as well as the fact they see each other regularly, can make a lot of good fodder.

[dartalias]

Kyoshi novels AU but it just providing Kuruk's team two brain cells and the people of Kyoshi's era comunication skills

[bookshelfdreams]

Hold Fast by hoc_voluerunt / @cuddlytogas

Stede Bonnet is free at last, and on his way back to his love. As "Captain Thomas Edwards", he'll learn a lot about sailing and emotional availability, and perhaps even make a name for himself as the man either brave or foolish enough to hunt the legendary Blackbeard. But rumour has it that Blackbeard may be the opposite of welcoming, if and when he ever catches up... Obligatory overly-long post-season 1 reunion fix-it fic, feat. slow burn reconciliation, more historical accuracy than you wanted, and plenty of piratical action.

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

I know it’s been talked about ad nauseam, but I think one of the things that got lost in the discourse about TTPD and the muses and whatnot is how one of, if not the core trigger points of the album is the yearning for commitment and perhaps even more poignantly, motherhood.

The reason she was so susceptible to falling for the “conman’s get love quick schemes” is because she was grieving that imagined life with the person she had long assumed would be the one to give her that. What has been beyond clear in several albums, let alone interviews etc, is that those plans for building a family were very much real and top of mind for years, and she kept holding on and shifting her world in service of making that happen. And when whatever happened happened that pulled that rug out from under her, it left her bereft not just for the relationship that had once been her world but also the imagined family she had been hoping for and sticking out the hard times for.

And that’s likely why she was swayed by and trusting of the promises of someone who knew her history and knew how unmooring that loss was to her. It may have been partially about the person himself or lust or whatever, but the core issue was the pain of giving up the dream, and sublimating that dream into this new opportunity in front of her, because she was so desperate to hold onto the last scraps of that imagined life she wanted so badly. (And I don’t mean desperate as in pathetic or negative, I mean as in fighting within the last ounce of energy and hope she had.) It wasn’t rational and it wasn’t love, it was grief, not just for a relationship but even more so for the family it represented.

So to me the core issue of TTPD isn’t just the Joe vs. Matty or whoever of it all: it’s Taylor and her yearning. She wanted a family badly and a life that was theirs and was processing losing that in all kinds of ways. It’s all over the album in overt and subtle lyrics. It may not have been grieving a literal death but I’d bet it felt pretty darn close.

And I’d also bet that’s why we’re seeing… what we’re seeing now.

(I have so many more thoughts about womanhood and motherhood on TTPD but that is another post being worked on piecemeal in my drafts… this is just a little Saturday morning post-zoomies reflection)

[icewindandboringhorror]

I occasionally wish to reach out to old friends/acquaintances I haven't spoken to since high school/some other even earlier time in my life, but I have SOOO little social energy even for required tasks (like making dr phone calls or etc), I never have any leftover for extra ones, and it would be very odd to message someone I haven't spoken to in like 5 years out of the blue but then take 4 entire months to respond back lol.. My natural curiosity with nostalgia/collecting details of the past/etc. (literally if I were born a little earlier I would definitely do scrapbooking or something lol) is very strong, but, alas, not strong enough to beat out the Social Issues Demons apparently

[bobellafofella]

girls will do anything but listen to the last episode of naddpod c1. including saying fuck it we ball and starting trinyvale instead.

[altruistic-meme]

hi all <3

so back when season 2 first dropped, i happened to poke my head into the tags too soon and saw a post that i didn’t agree with, saying something about how terrible Wilhelm and Simon’s communication was in s2. respectfully, i just removed myself from the tags, but it had struck a chord in me. so naturally i rewatched s2 immediately and hand-wrote 14 pages looking at how their communication actually was through the season. 

it’s now a little over a month and many, many rewatches later, but having been encouraged by @missmeganlee, i have decided to share with you all! i have transferred the original thoughts directly from my yr book and onto here, so these are written exactly as i first wrote them back on Nov. 2. 

i do want to clarify that this isn’t an analysis post, it’s more of an observations post. the main purpose was to go through almost every interaction Wilhelm and Simon had in season 2 and to point out their communication throughout. although it’s not something i would ever send directly to the person who inspired it, it pretty much is a direct response to that post. it’s more of a breakdown pointing things out than an analysis about why or who or what or how. 

affectionately titled “’Wilmon bad communication’: Kiss My Ass”, here you go:

Episode 1 

(34:00) - The Library Scene

Simon tells Wille what he wants (to not talk) and explains that it’s not forever, just for now

Wille expresses why he doesn’t want that (“you’re the only one I can talk to”)

But Simon tells Wille that he hurt him, which Wille doesn’t deny

Simon says “I can’t be around you right now” which establishes how he feels and sets a boundary

“Tell me what to do” Wille wants to fix it but doesn’t know how. It’s a last effort to get Simon to stay, but ultimately when he doesn’t, Wille let’s him walk away, respecting the boundary

Episode 2 

(1:04) - Walking away from the music room

Wille is still respecting the boundary

(5:19) - Not passing to him in gym class

Petty, but still the boundary

(7:12) - In the classroom

Wille asks Simon before sitting, even though there is no where else

Petty bitch

“I’m just trying to be honest about my feelings. Maybe you should try it.” Also petty, but it’s a good message. Simon doesn’t feel like WIlle is honest or clear, so he tells him that it’s a problem.

Wille looks properly chastised after, meaning he’s considering what Simon said and realizing he was right.

(16:50) - In the locker room

Wille is now expressing how he feels about Simon’s behavior (“You don’t care, you just shut down.”)

Clarification!!! Simon explains what actually happened (“I went to the principal. Now I’ll get detention.”)

Wille apologizes for getting mad AND thanks Simon for trying to help

They discuss what happened, putting them both on the same page (to an extent)

Wille tells Simon that they can have a relationship and explains the situation around it (“Two years it would have to be a secret”)

Wille makes it clear that he wants to be together again now

Simon stops Wille and asks for clarification

Hi Henry

Simon expresses his problems with the situation (waiting two years and Wille’s denying the video) as well as his lack if trust in Wille

Restates what he needs/wants (not to be a secret)

Explains a new boundary (talking at school)

Wille clarifies what this means. “As friends, then?” and Simon confirms. SAME PAGE.

Episode 3

(2:47) - At rowing practice

Wille checking on Simon when he sees he’s upset

Simon being honest about the reasons, including his displeasure in the difference in how they are treated

Wille apologizes (roughly, but he does) and explains his reasoning

(11:05) - Doing homework in the cafe

Wille expressing that he felt lied to, even though, as Simon clarifies, he was told the truth

Wille asking (...telling) Simon to just speak plainly

Simon does

Wille accepts Simon’s answer without a fight

Simon decides on his own to further clarify that he and Marcus aren’t dating, as well as telling Wille that it “isn’t his business” which is another boundary of sorts

Episode 4

(general)

No prior communication from either side regarding Marcus and Felice

(10:02) - In the locker room

Simon opens up with anger, but he immediately is explaining why he’s mad

Wille acknowledges that Simon is upset and validates his anger (“I get that it’s hard”) but he also points out Simon’s hypocrisy 

Wille expresses his own anger and why

Wille again asks Simon for a clear, simple answer. Simon shrugs (which isn’t clear, but given Simon’s whole situation, I’m pretty sure it was honest)

Simon explains how he feel with Marcus (“He’s open about liking me/he introduces me to his friends/etc.”)

Wille is defensive. He can’t deny the first one, but he does the others. 

“He accepts me the way I am.” “And I don’t? You’re the one who can’t accept my role, my family!” “No, maybe I can’t” (Now Simon is being hypocritical again) But Simon is being brutally honest. He does have trouble accepting that Wille is the Crown Prince. Painful, but he still lets Wille know it’s an issue. 

(36:35) - At the ball

Simon is honest in expressing that the interaction with Marcus felt weird

Wille is honest in assuring him it was just him being polite

Ow

Wille explicitly states his observations and new intentions (“You don’t love me anymore. I’ll leave you alone.”) While this observation isn’t accurate (Simon does still love him) Wille believes it is, so he’s again being honest.

He is also acknowledging that Simon wants to move on and clearly stating that he will stop pushing or trying to get Simon to take him back

(40:05) - At the ball, outside

Wille is intentionally ignoring Simon at first, until Simon catches up

Simon states that he is trying to move on and Wille accepts it

“Everything just went wrong between us.” “I know.” Simon is telling Wille that their breakup wasn’t because of loss or lack of feelings, and again Wille accepts that

Simon is the one to initiate the kiss

He also leaves Wille without talking about it

Episode 5

(7:55) - The classroom

Our second lack of communication

Wille believing that their kiss means that they are on good terms, when Simon is still just as confused, as a result of them not yet discussing it

We also have Simon shutting down when Wille asks if something happened, where before he had answered

(8:45) - The music room

Once again, we have Wille reaching out to see if Simon is okay or why he is upset (this is Wille explicitly trying to have good, open communication with Simon)

Simon is once again brutally honest about his feelings in the moment (“It feels like when you enter the picture, everything I do turns into a problem.”) Which isn’t fair to Wille, but it is how Simon feels

Now Wille is searching for clarification of the results of the kiss, through explaining his own assumptions 

(also to note: “You… we kissed each other.” he is intentionally taking part of the blame, as opposed to just blaming Simon for what happened.)

Simon clarifies that it’s about more than the kiss and tells Wille why he is upset (can’t sing his song, no association w/ Wille)

Wille states that this isn’t his fault, and it’s not, but Simon explains the reason is still because of Wille (“The song is about you.”)

Simon brings up some of what is probably an older truth: “How long will I be punished for the video?”

He then assumes that Wille hasn’t had problems because of the video

Wille is, again, defensive

Simon turns around to acknowledge that things were bad “for a while” but again assumes that just since he hasn’t seen it, that Wille isn’t still affected

Wille tells him that he doesn’t know how he’s been affected by it

Now he tries to direct Simon’s anger towards who posted it, since they are the one at fault

Simon does acknowledge that as well, but makes it clear he’s still getting the majority of the shit for it

Simon expresses his thoughts on the kiss now (“[it] was a mistake.”) and tries to leave

Finally, we have Wille telling Simon who posted the video!

Wille tries to explain what has been done as punishment

Simon asks when Wille found out. He doesn’t answer. 

Simon asks that he didn’t want to tell him. Wille says he did, but tries to justify why he didn’t (“I was trying to protect you.”)

Simon expresses what he has assumed of Wille’s actions (“You were protecting him.”)

Wille explains why Simon’s plan wouldn’t work (August’s protections)

Simon is getting angry. He points out the way Wille is separating himself from the others (the Royal Court)

Simon tells Wille how he’s acting just like his mother. He leaves.

Wille tries to stop him, because he wants to talk it out as opposed to leaving it on bad terms, but he doesn’t stop. Wille still let’s him walk away. 

(25:09) - Outside Simon’s house (gods i love this scene)

Wille opens with an apology. This shows that he knows he hurt Simon by not telling him before, and he’s acknowledging that hurt. 

Then we have Wille explaining the ENTIRE situation, as he knows it, as well as the most likely results of each option AND how he personally feels

Simon looks for clarification that this isn’t Wille trying to convince him not to

Wille says no. Tells him it’s his choice.

“I just wanted you to know. This is the situation. This is how I feel.” HOW CAN YOU SAY “THEY HAVE BAD COMMUNICATION” AFTER HEARING THAT?? sorry

(30:01) - In the study group

Communication through book analysis <3

Someone else put this much better than I can ( @stygianirondiangelo !!!) , but basically it’s Wille acknowledging his mistakes and how they were affected by his title and how it hurt Simon, and Simon acknowledging that Wille’s background is important and it’s hard

“Not everything is bad.”

(34:11) - Study group

Simon is forthright with Wille about his decision

(36:05) - From the classroom

Simon directly asks if Wille is mad at him for his decision

(36:43) - Wille’s room

Now we have Simon checking in on how Wille is feeling (I think… this is the first time all season)

Wille is honest about both reasons he didn’t feel well (the speech and August)

Simon makes it clear that it isn’t to hurt Wille

Wille acknowledges that, and further explains that he isn’t trying to change Simon’s mind. That it is Simon’s choice. 

Wille also admits to being afraid anyway, because of what it means

Simon validates that and let’s Wille know that he’s not alone in the fear

“What will happen to us?” “I don’t know.” (a question that should have been asked at the end of episode 4. I digress.)

But now we have Wille looking for a clear direction and wanting them to be on the same page, paired with Simon’s raw honesty of not knowing and not pretending he does

Episode 6

(00:14) - Wille’s room

Clear communication from Simon as to when he’s meeting his mother, and that he has something else to do, even if he doesn’t say what

SAME PAGE

(12:40) - Outside the school

Wille’s immediate reaction to August’s threats is to tell Simon everything August had told him

SAME. PAGE. Again. Wille is no longer keeping any of this from Simon

(13:38) - The hallway in Forest Ridge and the shooting range

Wille and Simon are both going to confront August together, as opposed to Wille trying to handle it or “protect” Simon

(18:10) - Road to Hillerska

This is communication, too

Wille is asking Simon to wait because Wille wants to talk it through

But Simon tells Wille “I just want to go home” and Wille lets him 

(side note: Simon needs space after conflict while Wille wants to talk it through so it doesn’t stay)

(32:19) - In their hallway

Simon starts by expressing his feelings on the situation

“I want to be with you.” Now Simon is clearly stating what he wants, and further clarifies that he fully understands what that entails but he still wants it

“I love you.” Again, making his feelings perfectly clear.

[supercantaloupe]

okay don giovanni review from last night. under the cut bc it's me. tldr the vocal performances were great, leporello carried the show, one of the most insane productions i've seen thus far but somehow in a new bizarre direction from normal. good snacks.

first of all i don't care how much wine you offer i think it's kind of ridiculous to charge $165 for a base ticket price for a performance that 1. isn't even in a concert hall or theater 2. is a concert performance rather than a staged performance (which was not advertised ahead of time) and 3. was not even a full production because they made the absolutely mind boggling decision to cut 100% of the recitative and replace it with Some Guy sitting on the stage narrating the plot between every 1-3 numbers

i did not pay that much gd bless. the student ticket was way cheaper.

the narration wasn't even good it was weirdly ungenerous to the women (like how do you even make elvira out be a "women, amirite" thing and also vaguely imply anna was into it in a production with zero acting? well they figured something out) and i don't think it even explained well enough what happens between each number to truly give a first time watcher a good idea of what's actually going on. not to mention that it absolutely kills any sense of momentum in the plot and makes the entire show drag like hell, because you have to wait between every single aria for either Some Guy to talk at you for three minutes straight, or wait awkwardly while people onstage walk off and people offstage walk on. it was so painfully clunky

they had a piano up there but since there was no recit it's not like she was accompanying much of anything. in practice what it ended up being used for was 1. the mandolin part for deh vieni (acceptable in the absence of a mandolin player; they were working with a limited chamber ensemble of musicians so i get it) 2. the party music at the end of act i (egregious fault imo because it absolutely kills the vibe of the scene and completely obfuscates the way the music is supposed to be adding to the tension and chaos with its different instrumental groups playing in different meters)

and 3. used to give singers their notes when the vocal line of their arias start on beat 1 measure 1, which they otherwise would have been able to get from the preceding recits (which is imo painfully amateurish for an ostensibly professional production)

all the numbers in act i were there although the narration was so bad i got jumpscared by fin ch'han dal vino because i forgot it was supposed to be there and thought we had skipped over that point in the plot. act ii had some really bizarre additional cuts made, notably they just entirely skipped over meta di voi and vedrai carino. it was like masetto and zerlina fuck off for the entirety of act ii save for, like, mille torbidi (they VERY briefly mentioned masetto getting beat up in the narration and i don't think they mentioned vedrai carino at all, they just skipped straight from deh vieni to sola sola. and also there was a painful awkward pause before deh vieni because i think the pianist forgot she was supposed to play there and the narrator jumped ahead to the next chunk of plot explanation too early). kept both dalla and tesoro (i'm fine with this ottavio was quite good though could've used a bit of ornamentation imo), kept mi tradi, kept non mi dir (more on that in a bit). no per queste which is probably a good thing not only for the show itself but also my head would have absolutely and irreversibly exploded if they had, probably

the whole thing kind of felt underrehearsed. like a quarter of the time it seemed like people didn't know what they were doing or had to be reminded where to be at that point in the show. and there were a few moments throughout where the orchestra struggled to keep up with the singers, but i really don't think they had much time to rehearse together, honestly.

and then, to my utter shock, the finale was actually really good?? like. insane compared to the rest of the show thus far. though it helps that 1. i absolutely love the harmonieband arrangements of cosa rara/i litiganti/non piu andrai, after possibly the draggiest non mi dir i've yet experienced it was like a breath of fresh air to hear that (and non mi dir was actually well performed i liked this anna but considering how much the Entire Show was dragging, the fact that they cut meta di voi and vedrai carino, AND the fact that they promised this act would be short, it felt crazy to me to keep it at that point.)

2. leporello and the don were by far the best performers of the night. so much so that i sought them out during the post show reception to tell them how great they were and enjoyed their performance. which i usually do not do, but in this like, high school recital ass production value. unbelievable relief that the final scene is dominated by the two actors in the show who most remembered that they can, and in fact Should, be acting. so much more movement and physicality and expression from those two compared to most everyone else. leporello especially, his actor apparently specializes in comedic bass roles and it shows, he was the standout all night

and 3. for the first time in the entire production they made an interesting decision regarding the physical space and staging! they had the commendatore sing from up on a balcony overlooking the audience in the foyer. the bar admittedly was set very low in the previous act and a half but the finale reminded me that i actually like this show again which is appreciated

though they then threw another curveball at me by Cutting the sextet at the end. which like didn't even piss me off at that point i was just baffled. like the don sinks down in agony and leporello sinks down whimpering in fear and the orchestra cuts off. and i'm expecting an awkward pause while they quietly get up and shuffle off so the rest of the cast can come back but nope. big orange title slate appears on the big screen behind them and the audience breaks into a roaring applause and the announcement of the wine and dessert reception. felt like i was in a fever dream

i will say the desserts were very nearly almost worth the bullshit that was the preceding show. they were so good. thank you austria for your dedication to pastry. and because i don't drink and couldn't appreciate the free wine offered i had to indulge in my own manner. spread contained chocolate oat bites (tasted as much like espresso powder as chocolate and coated in coconut, 4/10), almond sponge cake (classic, 7/10), cardamom apple bread pudding with caramel cream (not enough cardamom but otherwise very tasty and autumnal, 8.5/10) and honey cake (11/10. i don't know how they made this so good. i want more right now so much). i take both my mozart opera and my desserts very seriously.

anyway overall the production was. i would say frustrating. the singing quality was Really Good (leporello was the clear standout, probably followed by the don though i prefer my dons with a lighter voice but technically he was very good, then probably ottavio, then maybe masetto or anna. the commendatore was great but he's in it so little it's hard to compare)

i just wish they could have, like, actually done a full production. it would have been so great if they had gotten to tell the actual story and had been fully allowed to act. when there Was acting were the best moments of the show, and it's really unsurprising that most of that came from leporello, the absolute legend.

[hella1975]

why do you write? what do you think about, what drives you?

passion love grief rage spite confusion loneliness community shame boredom perfectionism fun because i dont know how to stop

[tokumusume]

[craftlands]

Idk I feel like the people who Shamane, Kaalaa, and Kanjira are supposed to represent should get a say in if they think they are offensive in some way

This also will sound kinda off but I think there are way worse depictions in other media.

That isn't to say there shouldn't be a discussion this is just my opinion

Also just cause I am bad at paying attention but is Kanjira Indian or something else

I was looking at the description that gives her age and it just says unknown but I may have missed it in dialogue

(Oh and if you are one of the people that the characters "represent" then sorry if this came off as rude)

Kanjira's Indian, but the "fortune teller/thief" design is very much rooted in Rromani stereotypes and she plays a lot into those -- i'm honestly just thankful that the g-slur never got dropped as i was legitimately waiting for that to happen every single time she was onscreen, it's That Obvious. there's a long history of discussion of these tropes and how they're harmful -- while i am not able to find specific sources at the current moment, they are absolutely out there.

i'd also like to point out that she speaks in broken English nearly constantly. you could argue that this is "because she's a kid and English isn't her first language" but i would like to then point out that Matilda, who is two years younger than her, almost never does the same thing despite English also not being her first language (and her showing active disdain for learning it). that's... really not great!

Kaalaa Baunaa i think is... the least bad, having played the story? her design is still, to be blunt, rather sexualized, but there's at least been some amount of effort as far as i can tell (i do like her connections to astronomy, which is a very long tradition in India that dates back very far). i'd love to see her in actual traditional garb still, but she's definitely the one i'm least equipped to speak on.

Shamane though. oh boy, Shamane is a mess. i love him as a character, he's a delight, but there are a lot of reasons his design is a problem. when i talked about the "ear feather" thing i was more or less explicitly referencing this post, and his name is... questionable? more pertinently, though, he's using a hell of a lot of Native American aesthetics and stereotypes (he's a "shaman" with deep connections to nature, he has "native patterns" baked into pretty much all of his animations, i could go on it gets so much worse) for someone who is ostensibly the child of a regular Indian family.

so... yes, SWANA, Rromani, and First Nations people should get a say in if they think these designs are offensive. and they have been saying designs like these are offensive for years.

[buckboi]

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