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lululawrence · 2 years

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lululawrence's August and September 2022 Fic List

Previous Fic Lists / Lulu’s List Podcast Masterpost

Sorry August's list never happened! I figure late is better than never.

The podcast will come... maybe soon. Maybe not. It will be here as soon as I can possibly manage for it to be.

As always, be sure to show your love and appreciation for all of the hard work our fandom authors have put into their fics with kudos, nice comments, and (when applicable) reblogging their fic posts!

As You Wish by @kingsofeverything / kingsofeverything (25k, E, Harry/Louis, Big Bang fic, genie Louis, well more like former genie Louis hah, established relationship, but that doesn't mean things are calm and easy because they're anything but lol, Louis is a disaster human but that just makes me love him more, heist, rescue mission, listen this fic was just so much more than I anticipated somehow and has so many feelings, it's amazing truly)

All My Roads Lead to You by @dandelionfairies / dandelionfairies (41k, M, Harry/Louis, Big Bang fic, drugs, drug runner/bartender Harry, cop Louis, 1990s Chicago, undercover cop Louis, secret relationship, secret identity, mentions of trafficking, this fic has a lot of darker themes and while the most Harry is involved in himself is the drug dealing, please note that it does have a lot of heavy themes and they throw you right into that from the beginning, i actually LOVED how they framed the fic and told the story, it made for an incredibly gripping hook at the beginning and I powered through this so fast to learn what happened lol)

heart meet break by @larrieblr / safetyfilm (1.4k, NR, Harry/Louis, Harry/OMC, post-breakup, but also kind of pre-slash, the breakup was with the OMC, friends to lovers, one shot, this fic is beautiful and powerful and a wonderful depiction of the feelings and hope wrapped in this moment, I loved it so much)

darling just dive right in by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed / we_are_the_same (6k, T, Zayn/Louis, childhood friends, exes to lovers, angst, angst with a happy ending, arranged marriage, royalty, pining, reconciliation, this fic will HURT YOU in the best of ways, and then patch you right up again, I loved every moment, which was why I chose to read it for Mia's birthday episode of @podfic-pals hehe)

Ace of Spades by @allwaswell16 / allwaswell16 (78k, E, Harry/Louis, A/B/O dynamics, alpha Louis, omega Harry, historical romance style story, with PIRATES YAS, lol, captain Grimmy, I don't even know why I mention that because he's not a massive role in the fic but I adore him so lol, slow burn, kidnapping, escape... gone wrong lol, arranged marriage, adventure, prisoners, listen this fic is EVERYTHING, Anitra truly outdid herself here and I love this fic with my entire being)

Here You Come Again by @neondiamond / Neondiamond (22k, E, Harry/Louis, Country Fest fic, exes to lovers, slow burn, peach farm, American AU, pining, angst, fluff, all the best things obviously, for real though this fic just reads so perfectly smoothly, I loved watching these two figure their shit out even if they were a bit sloppy about it hahaha)

Lonely Shadow Dancers by ohpleaselarry (21k, E, Harry/Louis, A/B/O dynamics, alpha Harry, omega Louis, friends to lovers, pining, angst, non-linear narration, childhood friends, Harry is a soft alpha and Louis is a protective omega, which goes against their traditional gender roles in this world, and it's still mostly canon compliant as well, which adds a whole THING to it all, but it really is so lovely and beautiful and made me cry at one point hehe)

Fakes (Streaming Live) by @allwaswell16 / allwaswell16 (4k, E, Harry/Louis, Wankfest fic, A/B/O dynamics, alpha camboy Harry, omega camboy Louis, strangers to lovers, they both clearly admire each other and decide to stream together, and omgosh it's HYSTERICAL because Harry isn't actually an alpha lmaooooo, omgosh it's just, yeah so good)

Mind of Stone by @daggerandrose / amomentoflove (42k, M, Harry/Louis, Big Bang fic, Greek Mythology, Harry Gemma and Alex are descendents of Medusa, kinda, and there's demigods in this universe, and Louis isn't quite as susceptible to their magic as he should be, and there's just a LOT for them to all figure out, and it's FASCINATING, this fic wrapped me up in their world so completely, it was spellbinding, hehehe, for real though this fic was just so fully fleshed out and all of the characters were incredibly written, I could go on for hours)

Endgame by @brightgolden / brightgolden (39k, E, Harry/Louis, omega Harry fest fic, A/B/O dynamics, royalty, omega prince Harry, alpha courtesan Louis, Harry is concerned he's infertile basically, because after four years he hasn't conceived yet, and that's like his entire role, so if this is triggering at all for you please stay safe and don't read this fic, but if it isn't then holy shit stop what you're doing and read this, I read this fic when I was dealing with my husband having covid during what was already a super stressful time, and this fic pulled me through almost singlehandedly, I wish I was joking, It's so gooooooood)

I drown with every kiss, I’m not used to this by @theshotoftruth / just_a_blurryface (41k, M, Zayn/Liam, artist Zayn, chocolatier Liam, music teacher Niall, secret identities, slow burn, sexual tension, angst, fluff, this fic is SO FLUFFY but there's still such an undercurrent of potential pain waiting to hit you, so when it comes you like KNEW it would but also hoped it wouldn't haha, it's SO PAINFUL but so good, and the ending is technically open, but it doesn't really feel that way tbh, it feels so hopeful and like they'll defo make it work, but up to you to interpret really hehe)

Somethin' Old and Red by @absoloutenonsense / nonsensedarling (6k, NR, Harry/Louis, vampire Harry, blood donor Louis, Harry volunteers at the blood donation center so he can sneak blood pouches when he needs them, and his favorite is Louis for obvious reasons, but this fic omgosh it's just, a;sdgkhas;lfkdj, I'm fairly certain I screamed after reading it in the best way so defo recommend it for a bit of comedic gold in your life, and a good old fashioned gasp of surprise too haha)

In Four Colours by @ireallysawanangel / crimsontheory (59k, E, Harry/Louis, Big Bang fic, chef Harry, restaurant owner Harry, silver fox Louis, older Larry, they're both in their 40s, vacation fic, divorced Harry, Harry's grown daughters and Liam conspire to force him on vacation to make him finally relax, and he meets Lottie and Louis, and omgosh this fic is just beyond perfect, the way it all develops and grows and feels so real, I adore this writer's fics always but this one was just magical)

Skate Into Your Heart by @wabadabadaba / wabadabadaba (2k, G, Harry/Louis, girl direction, skater Louis, punk Louis, wannabe skater Harry, Harry is kind of literally pushed into things to help her meet Louis, and it is SO cute, wingman Zayn, Niall and Liam kind of try too but in their own way lmao)

Souperhero by @londonfoginacup / LadyLondonderry (4k, G, Harry/Louis, hero Harry, antihero Louis, enemies to lovers, basically kinda sorta?, except also not really, more like Louis is against everything Harry as a hero stands for, which makes more sense in the worldbuilding, this was basically emmu's excuse to be rose tyler and write an entire fic with pro-union themes, and i adore every moment of it lol)

The Warmth of Your Body by @zanniscaramouche / zanni_scaramouche (46k, M, Harry/Louis, A/B/O dynamics, pack fic, werewolves, full shifter werewolves, luna Harry, omega Harry, alpha Louis, loner alpha Louis, Louis is the only wolf left from his pack, and Harry's pack is under attack, Harry is also promised to the next in line leader of the pack Niall, so things are COMPLICATED to say the least, this fic is INCREDIBLE YOU GUYS, but also it is only part one, i... did not realize this when I started, and I was pulled in so completely, I read this so fast, and then had to yell at zanni because i had no idea it was just gonna stop, so like please read it, and then yell at her in excitement with me, so she keeps motivated to write the rest but also, please be prepared lol)

we're still the kings of the Friday nights by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed / we_are_the_same (23k, T, Zayn/Louis, Zouis fest fic, friends to lovers, childhood friends, sexuality crisis, demisexual Louis, coming out, experimentation, cuddling, sharing a bed, kissing, angst, this is like, everything I could ever dream of in a zouis fic it is PERFECTION)

Nights by @nikogdafics / nikogda (800, G, Harry/Louis, wordplay fic, post-breakup, smoking, ruminations, okay listen this fic is just that perfect snippet of a moment in time, and the emotions that are being considered, the nostalgia of being in a place at a certain time that brings back all the memories, and that is one of kodi's BEST SKILLS WITH WRITING, this is just, it takes my breath away to read it, truly it does, i love love love this fic)

dream about a summer night by @onlythebravest / fearsparks (34k, T, Harry/Louis, A/B/O dynamics, alpha Louis, omega Harry, friends to lovers, sharing a tent, sharing a bed, cuddling, flirting, acting like they're already established but never really talking it out, kinda letting it float around them until they have to talk about it, SO FUCKING CUTE OMGOSH, camp counselors, there's just, this fic is so sweet and soft and lovely and it was the perfect escape while on vacation)

The Only Thing I'll Ever Do by @wabadabadaba / wabadabadaba (8k, T, Harry/Louis, girl Harry, boy Louis, high school fic, first kiss, flirting, Harry dreams that she's dating Louis, which puts Louis on her radar, and he's suddenly EVERYWHERE, and Niall is just confused as shit lmaooooo, this is seriously so sweet and cute and pure)

never beat much faster by temerity (forsanethaec) (23k, E, Niall/Louis, girl direction, summer fic, beach fic, but like made British lol, friends to lovers, flirting, that soft spot of just starting a relationship and figuring things out, it's such a lovely place to be, but also Louis is trying to come back from a bad breakup and is dealing with that, and just this fic is so so so cute, her family are lovely and Niall is just such a bright light, I loved the characters very much in this)

You Only Fall In Love Twice by @beanno28 / Beanno28 (58k, E, Zayn/Harry/Louis, Big Bang fic, polyamory, established Zayn/Harry, famous Harry, FBI agent Zayn, meet cute, polyamory negotiations, exploration, secret relationship, traveling, there's just SO much in this fic, and it's such an incredible view of the beginnings of a polyamorous relationship, and the exploration of it and how it might work, and I loved the way it was handled from start to finish, the way you could literally see Louis figuring himself out and getting used to it all, and feeling RIGHT in it, it's beautiful and wonderful and I just loved these three so much)

Just Your Jinx by @larryatendoftheday / larryatendoftheday (10k, T, Harry/Louis, witch Harry, neighbors, accidental jinxing, Harry is trying so hard to be good, and he messed up because Louis was just too beautiful lmaoooo, understandable right?, and then Mitch kinda helps him to fix it, and just, there's so much fun in this, it's so funny and silly and I loved it, absolute perfection)

#28th appreciation #fic writer appreciation #fic rec #my fic rec #fic list #august 2022 fic list #september 2022 fic list #it's almost 2 am and i should have been in bed hours ago #so i'm sorry my descriptions got a bit out of hand this month #i just got so excited about them and i'm tired and that means i get extra verbose lmao #okay i'm stopping myself now bye

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anticipatingevaporation · 5 years

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Vice

Oh my gosh. Oh My gosh.

I like to think of myself as a fairly levelheaded person. If I don’t like a film, it will generally irk me a little, but I won’t be too annoyed about it.

But Oh my Gosh. Vice is something else.

Suffice to say, I really disliked this movie. For a number of reasons. Which makes this review rather difficult to write. But I’m gonna try.

So I honestly had no idea who Dick Cheney was before hearing about this movie and looking into it a little. A line in the film itself insinuates this; Cheney was one of the most powerful people on earth at a time, he was responsible for huge changes that impacted the world in a massive way, but lots of people probably don’t know who he is, and if they do, they probably don’t know much, because Cheney was notoriously secretive. That is a brilliant and interesting concept. I was pretty excited to get an in-depth look at this person who had such an impact on modern history.

But my goodness, was this film executed poorly and weirdly. I haven’t seen any of Adam McKay’s films before this one, (I’ve been meaning to get around to Anchorman but haven’t had the chance yet) but I know he comes from a comedy background with Vice being his second foray into dramatic filmmaking following The Big Short in 2015. I never got to watch that movie either but I had heard that it was a bit of a strange mish-mash between the serious issue of the financial crisis, and a more comedic tone used to make the topics discussed easier to understand and digest.

Now there’s nothing wrong with talent who are primarily known for comedy venturing into dramatic areas, look at Jordan Peele and John Krasinski recently. But McKay choses to bring across the elements of Comedy directing that do not gel with dramatic storytelling at all. The result is (in my opinion) a patronising, strange and frankly awful film that has zero subtlety.

McKay choses several techniques here that did not work for me at all. The film is full of moments that made me feel really patronised as an audience member. For example, when Amy Adams’ character talks about having a childhood where her mother was treated poorly by her father, the film decides to intercut with flashbacks of that. This undermined Adams’ great monologue and felt really unnecessary. Another example would be when the voice over narration (more on that later) would talk about some important point, like how a certain politician prized being loyal over everything else, and giant block letters saying BE LOYAL would appear on the screen. At one point, Cheney is compared to Galactus, and the film actually fades out of his face and into an image of Galactus. The comic book character. I’m not even kidding. When Cheney has a heart attack, we are treated to a visual of a heart pumping, when a Nixon’s trademark smirk is mentioned, a still image of him smirking appears. I mean I could go on and on, but this style of filmmaking insulted my intelligence and did not work for me in the slightest.

Another issue is that instead of focussing on a few key moments and expanding on them. McKay decides to cover pretty much everything that happens in Cheney’s life. Which leads to the film feeling like The Life of Dick Cheney, in dot points. Moments like the “hunting incident” which I would have loved to learn more about and witness, are given about 30 seconds of screen time, as well as numerous other important events. Now I’m not suggesting every single moment be covered in copious detail, but this film felt as if it lacked focus. Cheney never felt like a real character. We cut from him being a drunk loser, to working a nothing job in electrics, to suddenly being involved in politics. We never get a true understanding of who Cheney is or why he does what he does. The film likes to suggest it is the motivation of his wife, but I feel that wasn’t covered well enough.

A mid-credits scene cuts to characters in a focus group breaking the fourth wall and insinuating audiences will dislike this film because it has a liberal bias. I have no issue with films being executed with a bias, I mean it is the director’s film in the end, they have every right to present events how they wish to. However, in this case the bias has a clear negative impact on the quality of the film. The film uses a voice over narration, which I found to be unnecessary and preachy. But it is so clearly McKay himself implementing his views on the issues at hand. McKay likes to pinpoint Cheney as the reason behind a lot of the bad things that are happening today, from over-the-top right wing news stations to ISIS. While it’s clear that Cheney is in some ways involved with these things, to insinuate one person is solely responsible is pretty foolish if you ask me. And even if they were, the film reveals it with no subtlety whatsoever. Which kind of affects how impactful the point being made is.

All this being said, the acting in this film is simply phenomenal. It is an absolute shame these actors are so let down by such a strange and sloppy script, because Christian Bale is absolutely fantastic here. Weight gain aside, (which the Academy love to see and will probably earn Bale the gold this year) Bale simply disappears into this character. From the tilt of his head, to the way he speaks, (don’t forget- he is British!) watching Bale here is an absolute treat and he is so deserving of his nomination here. Same to be said for Amy Adams who does a brilliant job as Lynne Cheney. I would love to see her win because it’s long overdue and Adams never seems to get the credit she deserves. Sam Rockwell is also really fantastic as George W. Bush, he is able to embody the character without it seeming like a cheap imitation.

Furthermore there are a few instances of good visual storytelling to be found here, from a cut between Bush announcing the invasion of Iraq to some Iraqi civilians to an interesting hold on the image of Cheney’s transplanted heart that says quite a lot.

The way Cheney choses to become a Republican in this film is also nicely done, as well as when he asks his superior “What do we believe?”, only to get laughter as a response. There are a few interesting statements made about politics to be found here, and when you get down to it what was done during this period of American History is both shocking and truly interesting, so it’s clear to see why the filmmakers were drawn to it, it’s just such a shame it was so poorly put together.

In the end, the good acting and select few interesting moments in this film do not redeem it in my eyes. I’m frankly pretty shocked at the nominations for Directing and Best Picture here. Most of the time when I dislike an Oscar film, I can still see why it was nominated, but I’m really drawing a blank here.

At one point in this film Lynne Cheney says that Vice President is a job that involves “waiting around for the president to die”. So to see how someone in that position ended up wielding so much power and changing the world so significantly would have made for a brilliant film. In the hands of a better filmmaker.

#Vice #Oscars #My Review

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auskultu · 6 years

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Records of the Year: The Beatles, The Beach Boys

David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 6 January 1968

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

THIS ONE has historical value as a milestone in pop music, and in the art of recording, so it ought to be on everybody's list and in every pop fan's home. An obvious choice.

Still, I have a few things against it. The packaging, while fairly inventive and lavish, is not as attractive as it might be: dull, routine label, uninspiring reds on the inner sleeve and on the back cover, lack of clarity on the centre photograph.

Some of the lyrics have made me feel a trifle uneasy. The general level is so high that the whole album deserves to be judged by more stringent standards than one would normally apply to pop songs, and therefore sloppiness in Sgt. Pepper is all the more jarring. 'Getting Better' seems to me (I have to be careful because there's always the fear that I've failed to grasp a meaning!) to be badly put together: the person being addressed by the song is confusingly changed: teachers at school are spoken about, and directly addressed, the narrator confesses "I used to be cruel to my woman" but concludes with the line sung directly to her (or, perhaps, her replacement) "It's getting better since you've been mine."

Elsewhere in the lyrics there's a tendency to rely too much on ideas that are nonsensical rather than genuinely humorous, or on wild, haphazard juxtapositions (such as "newspaper taxis") rather than using imagination to make more logical connections. However. I'm not objecting to "newspaper taxis" or any other piece of whimsical imagery it's just that over-reliance on this device is not very creative. At times, the album gets a bit (self-consciously?) "poetic" and moves into that absurd, vague world where the hippies and the Eng. Lit. students meet, where words – rendered fuzzy with unmeaning – are used to intoxicate rather than illuminate the senses. Perhaps what I'm really deploring is not a certain aspect of Lennon and McCartney's talent but its effect on lesser imitators – songwriters, and journalists, less intent on communicating than on making a different-at-all-costs effect, gazing deep for their inspiration into round objects. I refer, of course, to crystal balls.

What is most admirable about Sgt. Pepper is the range, both musical and verbal. So very much is there – psychedelia, nostalgia, romance both real-life ('She's Leaving Home') and comedy-fantasy ('Lovely Rita'), death, and life-enhancing philosophy. George Harrison's 'Within You Without You' is a beautifully successful and adventurous statement in song of a Yoga truth. 'Fixing A Hole' strikes responsive chords in all of us concerned with problems of controlling our minds and making them work efficiently for us. Yet these ingredients (which could have been merely pretentious) are presented in a context of fun – for The Beatles have not forgotten how to be entertaining and enjoyable. I'm particularly grateful for the excitement of the cock-crow turning into the kicking off of the return of the Lonely Hearts Club Band, for the waltzing of Henry The Horse, and for the solemn style used in the daft finale of 'A Day In The Life' when we learn exactly how many holes in Blackburn (Lancashire) can be packed into London's Albert Hall.

This album points the way for the development of long-playing pop. Pop artistes with enough ability to sustain long-playing pop. Pop artistes with enough ability to sustain 40 minutes or so can think in terms of telling lengthy musical stories. Recording managers should now be much more prepared to use assorted sound effects and to make LPs (as advocated by George Martin) as artistic productions in their own right rather than as reproductions of concert performances.

The stereo copy of this record makes the effects much easier to hear than the mono but, after comparing both versions, I have to complain that the stereo mixing at the end of Sgt. Pepper's reprise is poor: Paul's spade-like screaming–terrifically exciting in mono–has been buried.

The Beach Boys: Smiley Smile

THE IMMEDIATE appeal of this record is (like Sgt. Pepper) its tunefulness. Unlike the West Coast's acid rockers — and their British imitators — The Beach Boys retain that fundamental human affection for pretty, melodic sounds. The play about with freaky effects (such as speeding up tapes on 'She's Goin' Bald' while making them still fit into the key — no mean feat) but don't go all out to hammer our ears into submission. Their harmonies don't go hurtfully far out and on the whole they stick to cunning use of SIMPLE noises — wind chimes, pouring water, bottle-blowing, chewing and laughing.

The ideas are (with the exception of the rather embarrassing 'She's Goin" Bald') funny and charming. The wistful craving for a little pad in Hawaii, for instance, is amusing to intellect and ear. The tempo changes, notably on 'Good Vibrations' and 'Vegetables', are luscious — and I still smile at every playing of 'Vegetables', which ends: "I know that you'll feel better when you send us in your letter and tell us the name of your favourite vegetable." (Anyone wishing to improve himself by this method should contact The Beach Boys, c/o P.O. Box 110 Hollywood, California 90028).

To enjoy the blend of voices to the full, I'd say stereo was essential for Smiley Smile. It's well recorded, though there's a slight lack of technical finesse. Doesn't matter, though — it's the genial, home-made mood that's so delightful. The cover paintings are primitive, suggesting (in the best way) childish enthusiasm. They're a worthy indication of the musical joy to be found within. The origin of the title is credited to Indian Wisdom: "The smile that you send out returns to you." You'd better believe It! My Christmas greeting to The Beach Boys is "Cheese."

P.S.: I've only been able to hear a small percentage of the enormous pop LP output. Commercial considerations have caused too great an output; we're not listening to the good discs enough, we're developing grasshopper ears. Most of the avowedly "progressive" (and usually "psychedelic") entertainers have, so far, proved disappointing. They prefer the bizarre and the ear-splitting to the attractive. Cultists who swim resolutely away from the mainstream have to found their cults on puny material. What's all this about Captain Beefheart? If Pepper can only make the rank of Sergeant we're not getting any nearer to justice!

#the beatles #beach boys #sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band #smiley smile #LPs #albums #record mirror #psychedelic rock #1968 #1960s #sixties #60s

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