I Had The Privilege Of Finally Watching HADESTOWN After Years Of Waiting. It Was Phenomenal And Left

I had the privilege of finally watching HADESTOWN after years of waiting. It was phenomenal and left me absolutely speechless.

I don’t think we talk enough about the fact that the tenth Doctor canonically tried to kill himself after losing Rose and he would’ve succeeded if Donna hadn’t stopped him

David Tennant being a lifelong doctor who fan who was inspired by the show to act, becoming the Doctor and Ncuti Gatwa who watched David Tennant and was inspired to act, playing the doctor opposite David’s doctor is the most beautiful thing

My adaptation of the God of Arepo short story, which was originally up at ShortBox Comics Fair for charity. You can get a copy of the DRM-free ebook here for free - and I'd encourage you to donate to Mighty Writers or The Ministry of Stories in exchange.

Again it's an honour to be drawing one of my favourite short stories ever. Thank you so much for the original authors for creating this story; and for everyone who bought a copy and donated to the above non-profits.

Alright everyone, I saw a post recently talking about Hadestown costuming, specifically in reference to the removal of layers of clothing representing the characters revealing more of themselves as people.

I want to talk about an aspect of the costume design as well, but instead of being about the bigger themes of the costuming overall, I'm going to focus in on one aspect of one costume because I find it very interesting.

I present to you Mr Hades in his Act II attire:

There's a lot that's been discussed about his costume both in terms of aesthetics and what it represents from a character and storytelling aspect. I'm not looking at the costume as a whole though. Specifically, I want to talk about the bands he's wearing around his arms because they are far more interesting as a design choice than I think most people realize.

Those bands are called sleeve garters. Yes, garters weren't just for holding stockings up on your legs or to be used as a part of modern wedding traditions. In the past, men would wear specifically designed garters on their shirtsleeves.

Nothing strange about that. Was quite common back in the latter part of the 19th century and into the early 20th century because ready made shirts were all made with a single extra long sleeve length. Men wore the garters to let them customize the sleeve length to fit when wearing the shirt under a jacket and so that the shirt cuffs wouldn't become dirty from daily use.

Okay. It's normal. Why is it worth focusing on then?

Because the sleeve garter was normal for the working class. The wealthy would get their shirts tailored and have the sleeves adjusted to fit them. Not wearing sleeve garters was another show--if a slightly more subtle one--of wealth.

We know Hades is wealthy. The lyrics make that very clear to the audience, so why is he wearing them?

Like what they do with the tattoo, it manages to call back to the idea of Hades having built himself up. Those sleeve garters are something a working man would wear, and for someone who is as conspicuous about his wealth and power as Hades is, it's an interesting choice. He dresses in fine suits and doesn't have to worry about getting his hands dirty anymore now that he has workers, but he still chooses to wear sleeve garters. Personally, I like to think he has a number of little behaviors that call back to that time when he wasn't the king of silver and of gold. Things he isn't even consciously aware of but hasn't managed to shake because he did know what it was like to have nothing.

The truth is probably that he wears them because aesthetic. It looks appropriately old-timey and also just looks good as a part of the whole ensemble, especially with the snakeskin design on them. Excellent costuming choice there. However, if that was an intentional choice, I have nothing but absolute love for whoever had that idea.

Some of you are still in weird denial about the relationship between the Doctor and Rose.

Seriously, I just saw a post saying that the Doctor opened up more to Martha and Donna than he ever did with Rose. That is like, flat wrong. Flat. You don't understand perspective - the nuance of their story. The in-between-bits we infer but don't get to see on screen and the implications of their comments and comfort toward each other.

Do you people realize that the first thing he did was take her to destruction of her planet, to share with her that his planet is gone and he's the last one left? Do you realize that she's the first one he travels with after losing that planet, and how much that must mean?

Do you people realize that Rose tells stories of traveling with the ninth Doctor that we never, ever get to see? These things still happened, are still canon, which imply a great amount of time that isn't on screen?

Did you notice how close the Doctor, Rose and Jack become, despite having literally only two episodes together before they get chucked into the Game Station? Those three did not just travel to two places, folks. That could have been months, years, that are just between them.

Do you understand the implications of Ten's song after he regenerates?

Do you really not notice how Rose specifically refers to their first trip as a date, and how he doesn't deny it? Do you realize that, in The Impossible Planet, the Doctor implies that he would live with Rose on the slow path, and that he'd like it?

(Do you realize that he does, as Tentoo?)

Do you honestly think that they don't talk? By Doomsday, Rose is learning how to fly the TARDIS.

Here's a thought. Established on screen in The Parting of the Ways, Rose says she doesn't remember how they escaped the Game Station. If that's true, how does she know that she's the one who turned the Dalek emperor to dust? How does she know?

We never saw that happen, but we didn't need to see it. There is an entire relationship worth of conversations over breakfast and hugs goodnight and trips to space markets for trinkets and coffee that we don't need to see to understand that their relationship was deeper, open and more honest than what we get to see on screen.

Ten opened up to the audience via his conversations with Martha and Donna on screen, but he was only able to do so then because he got to do it behind the curtains with Rose first.