Keep an eye on your inbox!
Feb. 22nd, 2026 03:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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fandomtrumpshateWe have started posting auctions, which means that we have started sending emails with your auction link and the link to submit edits!
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The bones of houses show in the summertime
Feb. 22nd, 2026 03:13 pmsovayI spent much of yesterday running pre-blizzard errands, but the local state of the parking spots is the truest gauge of the meteorology about to go down.
I have not yet managed to get hold of her memoir, but I deeply appreciate being notified of the existence of E. M. Barraud, who identified herself with chalk-cut hill figures, candidly described her relationship status as "technically single, but 'married' in a permanent homosexual relationship with another woman," published under her assigned initials and was known in Little Eversden where she worked for the Women's Land Army as John. She gave her wartime responses for Mass-Observation as both a man and a woman: "People are people, not specifics of a gender." I had never even encountered her poetry.
I have not yet managed to get hold of her memoir, but I deeply appreciate being notified of the existence of E. M. Barraud, who identified herself with chalk-cut hill figures, candidly described her relationship status as "technically single, but 'married' in a permanent homosexual relationship with another woman," published under her assigned initials and was known in Little Eversden where she worked for the Women's Land Army as John. She gave her wartime responses for Mass-Observation as both a man and a woman: "People are people, not specifics of a gender." I had never even encountered her poetry.
For Sale: Nintendo Switch games + TTRPG books
Feb. 22nd, 2026 03:18 pmsettiaiMy debit card was compromised late last week, and I'm waiting for the bank to get all of the charges reversed. I've been able to cover my most urgent bills (the hotel and my storage unit), but I have a few others that are due that I'm still worried about paying. If I can come up with another $100 or so, it would make a huge difference while I wait for the bank to get everything taken care of.
So I'm going to try to sell a few things and hope for the best. 🤞🏻
First, I have a few Nintendo Switch games for sale:
Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! (example on Amazon)
Spyro Reignited Trilogy (example on Amazon)
TemTem (example on Amazon)
And then a few TTRPGs that were Christmas presents so they're still in basically like new shape:
Candela Obscura Core Rulebook (example on Amazon)
Daggerheart Core Set (example on Amazon)
If you're not interested but know someone who might be, please point them my way. It would help a lot if I could manage to sell at least one or two things from this list.
For payment, I have CashApp ($Settiai), PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle (nancy.lynn.foster@gmail.com).
So I'm going to try to sell a few things and hope for the best. 🤞🏻
First, I have a few Nintendo Switch games for sale:
Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! (example on Amazon)
Spyro Reignited Trilogy (example on Amazon)
TemTem (example on Amazon)
And then a few TTRPGs that were Christmas presents so they're still in basically like new shape:
Candela Obscura Core Rulebook (example on Amazon)
Daggerheart Core Set (example on Amazon)
If you're not interested but know someone who might be, please point them my way. It would help a lot if I could manage to sell at least one or two things from this list.
For payment, I have CashApp ($Settiai), PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle (nancy.lynn.foster@gmail.com).
Media Post
Feb. 22nd, 2026 02:16 pminchoatewordsMovies: None
Television/Streaming: a couple of episodes of Buffy and Farscape.
Buffy:
"Faith, Hope & Trick" - first appearance of Faith (she's an interesting foil to Buffy)
"Beauty and the Beasts" - Angel comes back. Oz might have mauled some kids out in the wood when he escaped his cage.
"Homecoming" - Both Cordelia and Buffy are annoying as fuck in this one, but I am watching this through adult eyes and that's probably coloring my attitude with some of these episodes. (Use your words)!
"Band Candy" - this one had some pretty funny bits; especially Giles being an absolute fool. And Principal Snyder!
Farscape:
". . . Different Destinations" - they end up going back in time at the memorial and change the path of history.
"Eat me" - they come upon a damaged Leviathan and find all the Peacekeepers turned feral and cannibalistic. Also some of the Moya crew get split into two. Crichton's double makes it back on board ship with him. That would be freaky! It will be interesting to see what happens with the two of them.
Books: It has not been a great week for books! I had two books I stopped reading: T. Kingfisher's Hemlock and Silver and Ben Greenman's Emotional Rescue.
The Kingfisher book was a book club read for January that I never got in time. It just recently became available as I was finishing The Reformatory. I got about twenty percent or so in and I was just kind of annoyed at the book, so I stopped reading.
The Greenman book is essays on music. I thought it would be more like Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape or Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. No. Greenman's book was rather boring and also felt a bit misogynistic, so I had to quit reading that one, too.
I'm now reading Pylon by William Faulkner. It's a bit different than the other fare of his I've read, but I'm interested to see where it goes. It's set in a fictionalized New Orleans during an air show, so lots of talk of planes and pilots.
Listening to: only one Rolling Stone Top 500 album this week. Number 488 is The Stooges self-titled album from 1969. On the 2012 list, this album was at 185. Rolling Stone blurb:
This one is not really my cuppa, but I didn't outwardly hate it (like the Suicide album). It's a pretty short album, too. I can see the influences they had on other bands. Of the songs here, I like "I Wanna Be Your Dog," which I've also heard covered by several bands, as well.
Playing: I finished Assemble With Care; this is by the same studio that did Alba: a wildlife adventure. It's a visual novel with puzzles; you are Maria, who repairs electronics and such, and you've come to a little town for their festival. Various folks want your help, so you take apart and reassemble game systems, tape decks, watches, and more as you learn about issues in these folks' lives. It's a short but sweet game. The controls were occasionally a little frustrating (you can use your mouse on PC, but sometimes if I clicked too quickly, I'd put the piece I was working on to the side and then would have to hover over and pick it up again).
Television/Streaming: a couple of episodes of Buffy and Farscape.
Buffy:
Farscape:
Books: It has not been a great week for books! I had two books I stopped reading: T. Kingfisher's Hemlock and Silver and Ben Greenman's Emotional Rescue.
The Kingfisher book was a book club read for January that I never got in time. It just recently became available as I was finishing The Reformatory. I got about twenty percent or so in and I was just kind of annoyed at the book, so I stopped reading.
The Greenman book is essays on music. I thought it would be more like Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape or Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. No. Greenman's book was rather boring and also felt a bit misogynistic, so I had to quit reading that one, too.
I'm now reading Pylon by William Faulkner. It's a bit different than the other fare of his I've read, but I'm interested to see where it goes. It's set in a fictionalized New Orleans during an air show, so lots of talk of planes and pilots.
Listening to: only one Rolling Stone Top 500 album this week. Number 488 is The Stooges self-titled album from 1969. On the 2012 list, this album was at 185. Rolling Stone blurb:
Fueled by “a little marijuana and a lotta alienation,” Michigan’s Stooges gave the lie to hippie idealism, playing with a savagery that unsettled even the most blasé clubgoers. Ex-Velvet Underground member John Cale produced a primitive debut wherein, amid Ron Asheton’s wah-wah blurts, Iggy Stooge (né James Osterberg) snarled seminal punk classics such as “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” “No Fun,” and “1969,” bedrock examples of the weaponized boredom that would become a de rigueur punk posture.
This one is not really my cuppa, but I didn't outwardly hate it (like the Suicide album). It's a pretty short album, too. I can see the influences they had on other bands. Of the songs here, I like "I Wanna Be Your Dog," which I've also heard covered by several bands, as well.
Playing: I finished Assemble With Care; this is by the same studio that did Alba: a wildlife adventure. It's a visual novel with puzzles; you are Maria, who repairs electronics and such, and you've come to a little town for their festival. Various folks want your help, so you take apart and reassemble game systems, tape decks, watches, and more as you learn about issues in these folks' lives. It's a short but sweet game. The controls were occasionally a little frustrating (you can use your mouse on PC, but sometimes if I clicked too quickly, I'd put the piece I was working on to the side and then would have to hover over and pick it up again).
[ SECRET POST #6988 ]
Feb. 22nd, 2026 03:02 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #6988 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 30 secrets from Secret Submission Post #998.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
Done This Week
Feb. 22nd, 2026 11:52 amscrubjayspeaksMore furniture moving at work. Big things are happening, which is prompting a bunch of structural changes. Remodels, equipment moves, repairs. Oh, and the weather caused a bunch of power issues, which fried various pieces of equipment. And in a completely unrelated event, a water pipe got broken and flooded part of the building, so now all that has to be repaired on a tight turnaround. I’m staring down the barrel of Saturday overtime for a while to get things done by the deadline.
Meanwhile, both the vehicles are due for smog tests, so we planned to rotate them through the mechanic’s shop over the next couple of weeks. Only mum’s truck had more issues than expected and wasn’t ready when we planned to pick it up. So she’s spiraling about that, and I’m spiraling about her.
The first flowers (daffodils and wind flowers) are blooming in the castle garden. Between the torrential rain and the freezing nights, spring is sneaking up on us.
Lewisia: 3 new pieces written
Day job: 42.5 hours
Cleaning: tub, bathroom sink, mirrors
Crafting: collected up and measured all prints that need to be framed and hung
Reading: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Hexagonal Phase (the last of the BBC radio productions, more coherent than the last one was at least)
Watching: The X-Files season one, episodes 1 to 7 (why did I feel compelled to try to work through this series from the start for the first time, having only seen scattered episodes from weekend syndication in the 90s and a few streamed in the last decade? idk, man, I’m just trying to cope)
Listening: DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS by Bad Bunny (I am not immune to the occasional Superbowl halftime show, incredibly enjoyable music whether one understands the language or not)
Clock Mouse: 97 minutes of planning work
Meanwhile, both the vehicles are due for smog tests, so we planned to rotate them through the mechanic’s shop over the next couple of weeks. Only mum’s truck had more issues than expected and wasn’t ready when we planned to pick it up. So she’s spiraling about that, and I’m spiraling about her.
The first flowers (daffodils and wind flowers) are blooming in the castle garden. Between the torrential rain and the freezing nights, spring is sneaking up on us.
Lewisia: 3 new pieces written
Day job: 42.5 hours
Cleaning: tub, bathroom sink, mirrors
Crafting: collected up and measured all prints that need to be framed and hung
Reading: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Hexagonal Phase (the last of the BBC radio productions, more coherent than the last one was at least)
Watching: The X-Files season one, episodes 1 to 7 (why did I feel compelled to try to work through this series from the start for the first time, having only seen scattered episodes from weekend syndication in the 90s and a few streamed in the last decade? idk, man, I’m just trying to cope)
Listening: DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS by Bad Bunny (I am not immune to the occasional Superbowl halftime show, incredibly enjoyable music whether one understands the language or not)
Clock Mouse: 97 minutes of planning work
Pretty much the opposite of a scientific method, I suppose
Feb. 22nd, 2026 12:50 pmbrithistorianI was reading this morning's edition of Dan Rather's Substack newsletter, where he was writing about the song "Stand By Me". (Apparently he writes about a song or musician every Sunday.)
Anyway, he mentioned that "Stand By Me" was "numbered among the Recording Industry Association of America’s 25 Songs of the Century." This naturally got me curious: A ranked list of things? That's like catnip to me!
So I went to look for it. Turns out that there's no such things as the RIAA "25 Songs of the Century." What there is is the "Song of the Century" list, produced by the RIAA in conjunction with the NEA and Scholastic Inc. It's a list of 365 songs. So where did Rather get this idea of "25 Songs of the Century"? Because "Stand by Me" is #25 on the list, and the Wikipedia entry for "Songs of the Century" only includes the top 25 songs on the list. Apparently Rather (or, more likely, one of his research assistants) looked at the Wikipedia entry, didn't read the text carefully, and based on the table of songs assumed that it was a list of 25 songs.
If you read the text carefully, not only do you get the correct number of songs. You also start to question the RIAA's methodology for creating the list. According to the entry, "[h]undreds of voters, who included elected officials, people from the music industry and from the media, teachers, and students" were asked to select the songs. These voters were selected by the RIAA (and one is forced to ask "how many students does the RIAA know?"), and of the 1300 voters selected, only 200 responded. Seems kind of sloppy and haphazard.
Then, if you read the list, you see that the voters were rather sloppy and haphazard in their definition of a song: #7 on the list is the entire album of West Side Story, which is not "a song." Altogether there are 18 albums on the list: 11 Broadway shows, 6 jazz albums, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Obviously I don't have a copy of the instructions that the RIAA sent to the voters, but I think we can all agree that (with the exception of Thick as a Brick and possibly a few others) an album is not a song.
Also, just as an aside, I think 2001 (when this survey was conducted) was a bit premature to be choosing the most impactful songs of the 20th century.
All that being said, I think any other such list would be just as subject to being haphazard and subjective, and on skimming over the list I do think it would be an enjoyable and/or interesting list to listen to. Plus, unless you were born on February 29, you can figure out what day of the year you were born on and then look at the complete list and see what song your birthday corresponds to. (Mine is "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy.)
(no subject)
Feb. 22nd, 2026 11:41 amolivermossThis was not the outcome I wanted, Canada
Silver lining - the big stories out of the gold medal game are about the Hughes bothers and Hellebuyck.
Silver lining - the big stories out of the gold medal game are about the Hughes bothers and Hellebuyck.
Making stuff
Feb. 23rd, 2026 06:29 ammerrileemakes posting in everykindofcraftIt's 3 months out from the Canberra Spinners and Weavers annual exhibition and sale and I'm focusing on making stock to sell. I thought I'd include some of my design thoughts and process as I do, not to show off or promote stuff to sell, but to show that I'm just doing dumb stuff until it works. Anyone can do what I do, and more importantly everyone should be out there doing dumb stuff with their hands and their brains. The world is now not only on fire, but filled with creations that can make things but they cannot make at. Because art requires intention, and that's something Al doesn't have (yet). So use your hands and your brains and make things our techno overlords cent replicate.
( I, for one, do not welcome our new overlords )
( Making stuff 2: Electric Boogaloo )
( I, for one, do not welcome our new overlords )
( Making stuff 2: Electric Boogaloo )
Weekly proof of life: recent media | Spring Crunch Eve
Feb. 22nd, 2026 03:10 pmumadoshiReading: Last week I finished Stephanie Burgis' Wooing the Witch Queen (fun!) and read Heated Rivalry. I opted to just skip straight to the actual HR novel rather than first reading the Scott/Kip novel, which worked out fine, since I also had that context from the show. I enjoyed it a fair bit, but now I'm in the awkward position of wanting to see the next chunk for Shane and Ilya but no more urgently than after I finished watching season 1 of the show. The choices now are a) read the entire series (presumably doubling back to actually read book 1), b) skip ahead and read The Long Game, or c) hold off entirely and wait for season 2 of the show.
I also read a few more volumes each of Hikaru no Go and The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, but I'm still in rereading territory with both. (I think I've already read up to vol. 12 of Kurosagi, but for Hikaru, I think the odds are against me really realizing when I've hit new territory until I go to enter a volume in Goodreads and find it's not already on my Read list there.)
Watching:scruloose and I are caught up on both The Pitt and Frieren, and we finished Midnight Mass last weekend (a very solid, intense ending).
With my crunch time at work starting, it's not an ideal time for us to start a show that's a significant time commitment or that's going to leave me desperate to see a next episode when work is eating most or all of my evenings. It's possible this will result in me just showingscruloose Heated Rivalry, since it's apparently our key cultural export of the decade and all. *g* Only six episodes and I don't have to worry about being impatient to see what happens next or about being spoiled.
(I still don't feel actively fannish about HR at all, but am enjoying being adjacent to it and seeing all the fannish excitement and meta and such. I have saved many fic recs to my read-later list on A03, but have yet to actually read a single one [and may never, given how slowly I go through fic--there's still a steady stream of Guardian fic I haven't read that also goes on that list].)
Weathering/Working: We have what sounds like a significant nor'easter blizzard arriving at some point tomorrow, with heavy wet snow. Will this be where our luck fails for the season and we lose power for the first time? (I'm completely astonished that it hasn't happened yet. Probably it's not really because the generator and backup power are warding that off, like carrying an umbrella around...)
And of course the spring crunch is set to start tomorrow in the late afternoon, right around when the storm is likely to be in full swing. Will the weather have much impact? (Mainly, I guess, in terms of Those Who Speak all being able to make it there safely; I kinda hope that there's some kind of backup power in their actual building, but I don't know for sure one way or the other.)
I also read a few more volumes each of Hikaru no Go and The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, but I'm still in rereading territory with both. (I think I've already read up to vol. 12 of Kurosagi, but for Hikaru, I think the odds are against me really realizing when I've hit new territory until I go to enter a volume in Goodreads and find it's not already on my Read list there.)
Watching:
scruloose and I are caught up on both The Pitt and Frieren, and we finished Midnight Mass last weekend (a very solid, intense ending).With my crunch time at work starting, it's not an ideal time for us to start a show that's a significant time commitment or that's going to leave me desperate to see a next episode when work is eating most or all of my evenings. It's possible this will result in me just showing
scruloose Heated Rivalry, since it's apparently our key cultural export of the decade and all. *g* Only six episodes and I don't have to worry about being impatient to see what happens next or about being spoiled.(I still don't feel actively fannish about HR at all, but am enjoying being adjacent to it and seeing all the fannish excitement and meta and such. I have saved many fic recs to my read-later list on A03, but have yet to actually read a single one [and may never, given how slowly I go through fic--there's still a steady stream of Guardian fic I haven't read that also goes on that list].)
Weathering/Working: We have what sounds like a significant nor'easter blizzard arriving at some point tomorrow, with heavy wet snow. Will this be where our luck fails for the season and we lose power for the first time? (I'm completely astonished that it hasn't happened yet. Probably it's not really because the generator and backup power are warding that off, like carrying an umbrella around...)
And of course the spring crunch is set to start tomorrow in the late afternoon, right around when the storm is likely to be in full swing. Will the weather have much impact? (Mainly, I guess, in terms of Those Who Speak all being able to make it there safely; I kinda hope that there's some kind of backup power in their actual building, but I don't know for sure one way or the other.)
FIC: in the darkness with you (Guardian: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan) [Mature]
Feb. 22nd, 2026 07:47 pmtrobadoracandyheartsex author reveals have happened! And here's the fic I wrote for facethestrange:**
Title: in the darkness with you
Word count: 4,233
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV)
Pairing: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Rating: Mature
Content tags: Blind Zhao Yunlan, First time, Hand-Feeding, Finger-Sucking, Clothed Sex, Zhao Yunlan's oral fixation, Episode Related, Episode 21, Missing Scene, Blindness Arc
A/N: Many thanks to
china_shop for beta-reading.Summary:
Zhao Yunlan woke to the smell of citrus, sweet and strong in the air. Without fully turning his face out of the pillow, he slitted open a sleep-heavy eye - to complete, unchanged darkness. Reality came crashing down like a landslide. Right: still blind.
Squidge Images - PLEASE READ!
Feb. 22nd, 2026 10:24 amsquidgestatusTwo very updates for Squidge Images.
The first update is we have opened up signup access for Squidge Images. Instead of having to leave us a ticket for an image hosting account, we have decided that it's been long enough, and the folks who were abusing image hosting have most likely moved on. So all that is done.
Second, and most important, Squidge Image Hosting will be down starting at 8am Pacific on Sunday, March 1st for an upgrade. Read that again. I say this because we will inevitably get 8,000 tickets asking us why image hosting is down, and when will it be back up again. Seriously. We've seen this with FenRecs.com posts - they are completely ignored and people will log tickets asking when it will be back (later this week, we hope!). This upgrade is important because will be transitioning from on-site hosting of images to remote hosting of images. Oh, and the upgrade should bring video support as well! So if you have videos you need hosting and, like us, hate Youtube, you'll be able to host your videos on Squidge Images.
Again, Squidge Image Hosting will be down starting at 8am Pacific time on Sunday, March 1st for an upgrade. We hope to be fully upgraded and back up within four hours, but we all know technology can be a giant pain sometimes.
Questions? Leave us a message here, or leave us a trouble ticket by clicking here.
The first update is we have opened up signup access for Squidge Images. Instead of having to leave us a ticket for an image hosting account, we have decided that it's been long enough, and the folks who were abusing image hosting have most likely moved on. So all that is done.
Second, and most important, Squidge Image Hosting will be down starting at 8am Pacific on Sunday, March 1st for an upgrade. Read that again. I say this because we will inevitably get 8,000 tickets asking us why image hosting is down, and when will it be back up again. Seriously. We've seen this with FenRecs.com posts - they are completely ignored and people will log tickets asking when it will be back (later this week, we hope!). This upgrade is important because will be transitioning from on-site hosting of images to remote hosting of images. Oh, and the upgrade should bring video support as well! So if you have videos you need hosting and, like us, hate Youtube, you'll be able to host your videos on Squidge Images.
Again, Squidge Image Hosting will be down starting at 8am Pacific time on Sunday, March 1st for an upgrade. We hope to be fully upgraded and back up within four hours, but we all know technology can be a giant pain sometimes.
Questions? Leave us a message here, or leave us a trouble ticket by clicking here.
Theater review: Hadestown
Feb. 22nd, 2026 02:37 pmtroisoiseauxI took a day trip to NYC specifically to see the current cast of Hadestown— in particular, West End import Jack Wolfe as Orpheus and folk singer Allison Russell as Persephone— before the cast turnover in March, and it was absolutely worth the trip! I've loved Anais Mitchell's concept album for years and have actually seen the Broadway musical twice* before, although apparently it didn't stick, because I seem to have forgotten half of the songs...? Like, genuinely, I found myself thinking ...have I ever heard this song before? They can't have changed the musical since 2023, right? more than once. (The stage musical is substantially different from the concept album, both in terms of fleshing out the plot by adding new songs and in tweaking some of the original ones.)
In various assorted thoughts:
- Jack Wolfe was always going to be the best Orpheus I've seen, because the actor I saw previously was... not the strongest part of that production, but even grading on a curve, he was in fact phenomenal, just absolutely perfect for the role. His Orpheus is a doe-eyed waif, so sweetly awkward and completely earnest that it's clear why even street-smart, touch-shy Eurydice falls for his castles in the sky about gold rings and wedding feasts and his plan to write a song that will bring the seasons— out of whack since Hades and Persephone fell out of love, all freezing winters and scorching summers, no spring or fall— back in tune, and he has the voice to pull it off: like, yep, this guy can in fact sing so beautifully it would make flowers bloom and the gods fall back in love, 100%, checks out. (I even forgive the musical for the lyric changes from Mitchell's original "Epic (Part I/II)", because the less flowery lyrics did in fact sound lovely when Wolfe sang them.) This perhaps made the ending even more devastating, because surely, if any Orpheus could make it out, this one... but no :(
- At least from the nosebleed seats, the actresses playing Eurydice (Morgan Dudley) and Persephone (Russell) looked strikingly alike, which added an interesting dynamic to both Persephone's and Hades' interactions with Eurydice— the parallels between Eurydice and Persephone, and between both couples, are written into the story itself, but I did find myself thinking, like, did this Eurydice catch Hades' eye because she looks like Persephone? Is Persephone's particular kindness to/sympathy for Eurydice because she sees her younger self, too? I think the fact that I'd particularly noticed their similarly braided hair, and how Eurydice's neutral-toned first-act costume and Persephone's colorful one - green dress, ocre-red highlights in her hair - felt like visual foils, made me look at Persephone's second-act costume change - vintage widow-black, when she returns to Hadestown for the winter - with new eyes, especially the detail of her hair being hidden away in one of those vintage fancy hair nets (snood?).
- I really appreciated how this Hades (Paulo Szot) wasn't trying to copy Patrick Page's original performance, because I feel like the other actor I saw in the role was trying a little too hard to match Page's "sounds like the lowest key on a piano" vocal depth and it had mostly just sounded growly. This actor's voice has/he was going for more of a rich timbre(?) (I don't know music words) than sheer depth; I found out afterwards that he's an opera singer by training, which checks out. Actually, overall, I really appreciated how differently this cast played the same roles than the one I saw before— it felt like a really fresh take! (I would say that both versions of Eurydice and Persephone are a tie for me, I liked this Orpheus and Hades much better, and my favorite Hermes remains the understudy I saw in 2023.)
( Footnotes )
In various assorted thoughts:
- Jack Wolfe was always going to be the best Orpheus I've seen, because the actor I saw previously was... not the strongest part of that production, but even grading on a curve, he was in fact phenomenal, just absolutely perfect for the role. His Orpheus is a doe-eyed waif, so sweetly awkward and completely earnest that it's clear why even street-smart, touch-shy Eurydice falls for his castles in the sky about gold rings and wedding feasts and his plan to write a song that will bring the seasons— out of whack since Hades and Persephone fell out of love, all freezing winters and scorching summers, no spring or fall— back in tune, and he has the voice to pull it off: like, yep, this guy can in fact sing so beautifully it would make flowers bloom and the gods fall back in love, 100%, checks out. (I even forgive the musical for the lyric changes from Mitchell's original "Epic (Part I/II)", because the less flowery lyrics did in fact sound lovely when Wolfe sang them.) This perhaps made the ending even more devastating, because surely, if any Orpheus could make it out, this one... but no :(
- At least from the nosebleed seats, the actresses playing Eurydice (Morgan Dudley) and Persephone (Russell) looked strikingly alike, which added an interesting dynamic to both Persephone's and Hades' interactions with Eurydice— the parallels between Eurydice and Persephone, and between both couples, are written into the story itself, but I did find myself thinking, like, did this Eurydice catch Hades' eye because she looks like Persephone? Is Persephone's particular kindness to/sympathy for Eurydice because she sees her younger self, too? I think the fact that I'd particularly noticed their similarly braided hair, and how Eurydice's neutral-toned first-act costume and Persephone's colorful one - green dress, ocre-red highlights in her hair - felt like visual foils, made me look at Persephone's second-act costume change - vintage widow-black, when she returns to Hadestown for the winter - with new eyes, especially the detail of her hair being hidden away in one of those vintage fancy hair nets (snood?).
- I really appreciated how this Hades (Paulo Szot) wasn't trying to copy Patrick Page's original performance, because I feel like the other actor I saw in the role was trying a little too hard to match Page's "sounds like the lowest key on a piano" vocal depth and it had mostly just sounded growly. This actor's voice has/he was going for more of a rich timbre(?) (I don't know music words) than sheer depth; I found out afterwards that he's an opera singer by training, which checks out. Actually, overall, I really appreciated how differently this cast played the same roles than the one I saw before— it felt like a really fresh take! (I would say that both versions of Eurydice and Persephone are a tie for me, I liked this Orpheus and Hades much better, and my favorite Hermes remains the understudy I saw in 2023.)
( Footnotes )
Tania León – Horizons, Raíces (Origins), Stride, Pasajes (2025)
Feb. 22nd, 2026 05:36 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
exystence_feed
Even listeners in the U.S., where this Cuban-born composer is based, may be less familiar with the music of Tania León than with that of other Latin American composers who have gained popularity lately. This set of four live performances by the London Philharmonic offers a good sampling of her style. It includes three new works performed during her residence with the orchestra, on either side of the age of 80, in the early and mid-2020s. León’s work certainly includes Cuban rhythms, but she builds substantial structures out of them, with her wind sections engaging in vigorous dialogue with the percussion section.
The multi-sectional pieces weave a lot together. Sample Raíces, whose “roots” are León’s own and include jazz and even a Peruvian…
…chime made from animal nails as well as Cuban percussion. León, in a conversation with Paul Griffiths that takes up part of the booklet notes, refers to the work’s final pages as “a way of leaving the stage,” and it is to be hoped that that is not the final word. Another attraction of the album is the presence of not only London Philharmonic conductor Edward Gardner but of two relative newcomers to the podium, Karina Canellakis and Dima Slobodeniouk, both operating effectively in new and rhythmically complex music.
The recordings were all taken from different London Philharmonic concerts, but they are sonically consistent within the Royal Festival Hall at London’s Southbank Centre. A high-energy but not simple release, recommended to any fan of Latin American music. — AMG
Stranger Things: Roll To Charm Person, by harriet_vane
Feb. 22nd, 2026 09:51 amrunpunkrun posting in fancakeFandom: Stranger Things
Pairings/Characters: Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Rating: Explicit
Length: 59,047 words
Content Notes: Bullying and homophobia.
Creator Link:![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
harriet_vane
Theme: Inept in Love, Pretend Couple, Friends to Lovers, Canon LGBTQ+ Characters
Summary: Will needs a date to his mom's wedding. Mike volunteers.
"I have an idea," says Mike.
Ice cubes form in Will's stomach. "How dangerous is it? Like, should I call Dustin to talk you down, or should I call Nancy to be ready to drive us to the hospital?"
"No," says Mike, "you can't tell anyone or it won't work."
"Or what won't work?" Will asks. It's like picking up a rock you know a spider will be under.
Mike gets up and closes Will's door. Hopper doesn't make them keep it open but sometimes Will does anyway, because every now and then lying around alone with Mike on his bed just makes his chest ache too much. If the door is open he can tell himself You can't do anything right now, someone will see.
Mike leans back against the door. His eyes are lit up with that special maniacal gleam that the Wheelers get right before they do something insane, like when Nancy says, "Then we have to go kill Vecna ourselves," or whatever. "Take me to the wedding," says Mike.
"Yeah," says Will slowly, "you'll be at the wedding. Obviously."
"As your date."
Reccer's Notes: They've fixed Hawkins' Upside Down problem (though this predates the final season), and it's the kids' senior year, and Will is worried his mom is worried about him, so Mike hatches a plan to be Will's (fake) date to Joyce and Hopper's wedding because of course he does. That means we've got Will pretending to pretend he's into Mike and Mike playing gay chicken against himself and...losing? winning? both?? Neither of them is doing a great job (or any job) communicating, but their fake relationship thrives and does what all the best fake relationships do, becomes real. A sweet friends-to-lovers romance with just the right amount of agonizing feelings.
Fanwork Link: Roll To Charm Person
Pairings/Characters: Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Rating: Explicit
Length: 59,047 words
Content Notes: Bullying and homophobia.
Creator Link:
Theme: Inept in Love, Pretend Couple, Friends to Lovers, Canon LGBTQ+ Characters
Summary: Will needs a date to his mom's wedding. Mike volunteers.
"I have an idea," says Mike.
Ice cubes form in Will's stomach. "How dangerous is it? Like, should I call Dustin to talk you down, or should I call Nancy to be ready to drive us to the hospital?"
"No," says Mike, "you can't tell anyone or it won't work."
"Or what won't work?" Will asks. It's like picking up a rock you know a spider will be under.
Mike gets up and closes Will's door. Hopper doesn't make them keep it open but sometimes Will does anyway, because every now and then lying around alone with Mike on his bed just makes his chest ache too much. If the door is open he can tell himself You can't do anything right now, someone will see.
Mike leans back against the door. His eyes are lit up with that special maniacal gleam that the Wheelers get right before they do something insane, like when Nancy says, "Then we have to go kill Vecna ourselves," or whatever. "Take me to the wedding," says Mike.
"Yeah," says Will slowly, "you'll be at the wedding. Obviously."
"As your date."
Reccer's Notes: They've fixed Hawkins' Upside Down problem (though this predates the final season), and it's the kids' senior year, and Will is worried his mom is worried about him, so Mike hatches a plan to be Will's (fake) date to Joyce and Hopper's wedding because of course he does. That means we've got Will pretending to pretend he's into Mike and Mike playing gay chicken against himself and...losing? winning? both?? Neither of them is doing a great job (or any job) communicating, but their fake relationship thrives and does what all the best fake relationships do, becomes real. A sweet friends-to-lovers romance with just the right amount of agonizing feelings.
Fanwork Link: Roll To Charm Person
