#i could just make le epic memes | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fates-theysband · 1 year

Text

i can dish it, 'cause i know how to take it

to my credit i at least do not have work tomorrow this time. anyway, rejoice, pissed off rage nerd developer/player who got a little too carried away pushing his buttons meet-ugly be upon ye.

cws for swearing and mentions of violence (none actually happens) and uh. not really much else. i refer to the dude stop narrator as andy because that headcanon name extremely stuck for me fsr.

“That’s it. I’m coming down there, and we’re going to talk about what you just did in person.”

Andy’s tone sounded scary even to him–it was low, even, and threatening, in a stark contrast to the enraged scream the player had last heard from him.

Good, he thought as he slipped off his headset and rose to his feet. He hoped Tester 17 was scared of him. Hoped they’d cower at the sight of him, at the physical proof that there was in fact a person on the other side of that screen, and that person was fucking pissed.

Their actions had proven they wouldn’t, though. Probably some snot-nosed college freshman who thought they could make a couple bucks by Le Epically Pranking this hapless game developer. Andy stalked down the stairs, clenching his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms, and briefly entertained the notion of punching 17’s lights out. He wouldn’t lead with it, of course; he’d demand an explanation, and when they–his mind conjured the image of a smug-looking 4channer type with a meme t-shirt for this purpose–inevitably laughed at him or called him some stupid internet word in the smarmiest nasally voice he could imagine, BAM! He wasn’t exactly the strongest guy, but he figured that unless this guy was some kind of bodybuilder he could probably channel enough rage to make up for it. Hopefully.

Well. He was about to find out whether or not he could take them, having reached the door into the small testing room downstairs. He twisted the knob and opened the door, slowly pulling it open to reveal the source of all his troubles…and found himself to be wrong on all counts about who he thought he’d see.

Tester 17 seemed to be around his age; if there was a difference it wasn’t more than a year or two. They were sitting cross-legged on the cheap sofa that took up most of the room, and they were wearing what seemed like an entire outfit patterned with skulls in some way (save for the galaxy-print canvas shoes sitting to one side of the sofa–at least they didn’t seem to actually live their life the way they played his game, although he found this to be of very little comfort considering what he was going to have to do because of the way they played his game). They turned to look at Andy as he walked in, revealing a round face covered mostly by a black cloth mask, leaving the dominant feature to be a pair of blue eyes covered by glasses.

Hm. Something was off about Tester 17’s eyes, as if the pupil in one of them wasn’t where it should be. It wasn’t a bad thing by any means; if anything it just made it easier to see what a lovely shade the blue was…Andy realized he hadn’t said anything since he walked in because he’d been staring at their eyes. Focus, man. These are the last pair of eyes you want to get lost in right now.

17 spoke first, scrambling off the couch as they did so. “I, uh, have some explaining to do.” Their voice definitely was not nasally or smarmy. It was low and quiet, with a smooth, even cadence to it that sounded somewhere between a late night radio host and a pilot. In any other context, it might have been beautiful.

Andy pushed that thought out of his mind, glaring at them as they rose to their feet. “Yeah. Yeah. You could say that.”

“So, uh, I’m genuinely really sorry for the whole–the…the D.U.C.K. I’ll admit I overreacted. I realize that’s not a huge help to you, but…” They’d risen to their full height now–Andy noted that they were a little taller and a fair bit heavier (which, honestly, he found kind of attractive–WHOA nope nope nope not them they ruined your life) than he was.

“Overreacted? To what?” Andy spat, the venom in his voice more of an attempt to overcompensate for the unexpected inklings of attraction he was feeling than anything else.

17 blinked a few times in shock, then shot back, “What the hell do you mean, ‘to what’? The fact that you were such an asshole half the time even when I did do things right! Like, you just immediately wrote me off as actively malicious and only being good for the rewards after the first fucking pack! How are you even supposed to actually progress through that one other than how I did?”

“There’s a timer! Just like the lightning round!”

“No there’s not! I waited on the book screen for fifteen minutes and nothing happened until I pulled the bookmark!”

“Okay, you had to be a LITTLE more patient than that! It’s longer than the–wait, fifteen?” It was Andy’s turn to blink in shock as he processed what he’d just heard. “That pack is supposed to have a one-minute timer for each puzzle, but if you waited fifteen minutes and still didn’t progress…that one is on me, I guess,” he continued sheepishly, before exclaiming, “But it doesn’t excuse you sending all your bad solutions to my friends!”

“No, it doesn’t. That’s why I said I overreacted,” 17 responded. They softened a bit, then said, “I really am sorry. Is there anything I can do to get you out of that bet?”

Andy deflated a bit (admittedly feeling a little put out that they had actually apologized to him and seemed to be willing to make things right–now his righteous anger just felt foolish), looked away, and scoffed. “Nothing that Mark would listen to.”

17 put a hand to their chin in thought for a moment, then spoke. “Then tell me what you have to do, and you can film me doing the same thing. Whoever you want to send it to, I’ll give you their contact info. Fair’s fair.”

Andy spluttered as he felt his cheeks warm up at the mental image of 17 doing what he had to do. “It wouldn’t be embarrassing for you to do it! You’re too–too–uh, you’d just actually look ho–goo–COOL doing it!”

“Dude, if I’d look cool doing whatever it is you have to do, you probably don’t have anything to worry about,” 17 said with a laugh. “But I get ya, man. You don’t wanna tell me. You can just come up with whatever you think would be embarrassing enough to ruin my life and I’ll do it.”

“And you’ll help me fix the D.U.C.K.,” Andy quickly added, having composed himself enough to go back to glaring up at 17.

17 raised their hands in concession. “No objections here. I did break it. I’m, uh, not much of a coder, though.”

“I’m not letting you within ten feet of any game code,” Andy replied, not nearly as much bite to his words this time. “But, since you know the puzzles so well at this point, you’d be the best person to retrain it.”

“Sounds like a plan to me. Same time tomorrow?” It wasn’t immediately apparent under the mask, but judging from the way their eyes looked, 17 was…smiling? Weird.

“Not tomorrow. I need time to think.” And also time to do the most humiliating thing he’d ever done.

They seemed to pick up on the implications. “Ah. Well, uh, do you…have a pen? Or…” they trailed off as they noticed something on the desk they’d used to test the game. They reached over and grabbed it. A marker. Andy was suddenly thankful that 17 wasn’t as bad as he’d imagined, because he did not want to know what kind of havoc they could wreak being left alone in a room with a permanent marker for an hour and a half.

“I don’t have anything you could–” he was cut off when they suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled it toward them palm-first. It took him a moment to realize that they were writing something on it. Holy shit, their hands were soft.

17 released Andy’s hand and capped the marker. “There. Just hit me up whenever you get everything ready.” They slipped past him and began heading for the door to leave. Andy pulled his hand back, looking at his palm to see “T17” followed by a phone number.

“This had better be a real number,” he called after them. “You won’t weasel your way out of this that easily.”

“Call me if you don’t believe me,” they responded, turning their head to look back at him. Apparently satisfied that he’d heard them, they turned their head back and rounded the corner, and, faintly, Andy could hear, “I kinda like hearing your voice anyway.”

In the cocktail of emotions currently swirling in his brain, Andy was able to produce one coherent thought when he heard that.

Explains why they always did pack 6 like they were trying to break the speedrun record for it.

#self ship #self shipping #selfship #self ship fic #r: guilty pleasure #questionable writing tag

8 notes · View notes

deltaengineering · 3 years

Text

Spring Anime 2021: Embarrassment of Riches

So this current anime season absolutely stinks, which just makes the last one look even more impressive. Well, maybe not all of it...

Zombieland Saga Revenge

First off, you don't need to tell me that the following is a severe outlier opinion. We good? Ok. ZLSR is, in a word, subpar. I liked S1 back in the day, but it was already in the process of getting lazy towards the end. S2 continues this trend and is basically just another idol show. And as someone who actually does watch other idol shows I have to say that it's not a particularly good one of those either. The zombie gimmick has mostly stopped mattering and we're just doing what every idol show does, only with the odd occasional sight gag. The alleged subversive qualities mostly amount to a flashback for Yuugiri, which is admittedly the best part of the show but feels like it barely has anything to do with anything. Apart from that, it's a bunch of generic idol plots, rehashed character beats, shoddy attempts at twists (while not connecting to any setups from S1), and the obligatory "idols give us hope" ending, which is terribly hackneyed and flat out bad. Tae gets further memed into the ground, because of course she does. And there's stuff that was simply never good to begin with, like Kotarou and his comedy schtick, which gets truly insufferable now that there's no qualities to distract from it. It really makes me think that S1 wasn't even all that good to begin with and seems like an attempt to turn this surprise success into an easy money longrunner with no edge and no ambitions. "The idol show for people who don't watch idol shows" indeed, but not the way you mean it. 4/10

Bakuten

But not to dwell on the failures, with the second show we're already above the cut — barely. This one got my attention with its really impressive performance scenes early on and it totally sticks to that, which is even more impressive. But besides that? Well, this is by far the most predictable show in a season where I watched an unambitious Kiraralike and put ZLS on blast for having no ideas. The characters are a mixed bag, some are cool (Shida, Asawo), some are very annoying (Mashiro), but those are the supports. The main cast is extremely one-dimensional, which is fine until they try to heap a ton of pathos on their lead, which doesn't go well. But I guess execution matters, and Bakuten is slick enough to get by. Writing this down in stark daylight I feel like I overrated this show somewhat (I actually put it over the next one originally, which definitely doesn't hold up when thinking about it), but I was indeed mostly entertained. 6/10

Yakunara Mug Cup mo

Yeah. Of course Mug Cup definitely doesn't invent or subvert anything either, but it's a pretty good Kiraralike that's always entertaining to watch. Explaining the qualities of such a nothing genre is as difficult as ever, but it mostly comes down to me liking the characters and it having nothing to annoy me. It's shorter than normal, which is a plus for slim shows like this. And yeah, you can make an excessive amount of dick jokes with the clay fondling. That helps too. Looks are just fine, pleasant but nothing out of the ordinary. Comfy low-effort anime. 6/10

Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song

This one is decent, but sadly still a major letdown. Because the first few episodes of Vivy were excellent and kicked ass, but then it became increasingly clear that the writing can't cash the checks the ideas wrote while the action starts running into severely diminishing returns. Vivy just keeps slowly getting worse and worse as it goes on, not by a huge amount each episode but by the end there's a pretty sizeable gulf between potential and result. Going into detail would probably be a little much for this venue because there's a lot, but from the top level view the issue is that while Vivy has good fundamental ideas and steals at the right places, it just isn't a smart show — it's schlock, and by the end, poorly thought out schlock that tries to smooth out every problem with liberal application of the big feels hammer and le epic twist at that. Yeah, couldn't tell that the Re:Zero dude was aboard here, for sure. That said, it still works pretty well as entertaining schlock that is not to be taken too seriously, and the characters are generally just very fun to watch even when they're doing stupid things. Still, I can't in good conscience rate this higher than Beatless, a show that looks like butt but properly executes on its ideas. 6/10

Super Cub

So this is 100% a Honda commercial, and I got really mad a Yuru Camp last season for being a blatant shill. Yet I'm feeling this, what gives? I think the main difference is that Super Cub is specifically a commercial for one product (and a very iconic product at that), while Yuru Camp is so all over the place that it ends up mostly a commercial for consumerism in general. And when Super Cub goes too hard on the product (which it does), it's at least pretty entertaining. That's something about Super Cub in general: It goes hard. Your regular Kiraralike this is not, because it's uncommonly slow, focused and moody - yes, it almost measures up to Yuru Camp at its best and demolishes it at its worst. Also, it's just extremely amusing to see sadblob Koguma grow a huge grizzly biker beard and become a badass outlaw dad to her goofy wife and cute daughter, all thanks to the power of afforable personal transportation. Needless to say, that can get unintentionally silly, but Super Cub has so much charm that it doesn't matter — it's great when it's good and still funny when it's not. 7/10

Shadows House

Shadows House turned up with a lot of potential, and I have to say it at least delivered on most of it. It has some problems; notably I'm not a fan of how the entire middle turned out to be a tournament arc of sorts that seems curiously inspired by Resident Evil memes, crest-shaped intentations and boulder punching included. I also think that this is a show that would be perfectly fine without explaining much, but I guess it is a shounen manga after all so we got dumped on eventually anyway. At least that came late - close relative Promised Neverland didn't show that much restraint. Shadows House is generally well written though, with great characters, interesting interactions and a great hook. But what really makes it memorable is that it's exceptionally good at the cute/creepy contrast, something that is often tried but rarely works as well as here, with great character designs and very appropriate production. I hope this gets a sequel, because it seems like it's just getting started. 7/10

SSSS.Dynazenon

Coming in with a fondness for Gridman, Dynazenon didn't have to do much to convince me. The surprise though is that it's not a rehash even if it's basically the same show, a character drama where occasionally huge and goofy fights break out. Dynazenon is Gridman done better, and the interesting part is how it accomplishes this - mainly by being far more conventional. I do appreciate that Gridman went for something weird and almost experimental, but that only really paid off towards the end while most of the show was a distraction/holding pattern. It just didn't feel like there was enough material for a full series there, more like a movie maybe, if even that. Dynazenon fixes this by just being a TV show, with an actual cast of characters that each have their own arc. And by spreading the material this way, Dynazenon ends up having a lot more nuance than its intensely focused predecessor, while having the same themes and not actually being any deeper. In a way, Gridman ends up looking like the spinoff in retrospect, while Dynazenon is the full package. 8/10

Thunderbolt Fantasy S3

So how good was this season? So good that Thunderbolt Fantasy doesn't end up at the top, that's how. And all the elements that made Tbolt such a sure thing are still there, big hammy puppets doing stunts and scheming never gets old. However, I do have to note that at this point, the writing appears to have gotten too comfortable. I don't expect it to ever top the amazing S1 ending, but at this point it's like Tbolt has stopped trying to deliver on endings at all and seems in the process of retooling itself into a longrunner instead. Barely anything gets resolved in S3 (the climax is that the climax of S2 is resolved again, for good this time... maybe), and everything else is just setting up plotpoints for the next season. Tbolt is truly lucky that it doesn't actually need to resolve anything to be a great time, but at this point I have to say that I'd appreciate it if they wrapped it up with S4. 8/10

Nomad: Megalobox 2

Speaking of sequels to shows I liked, Nomad doesn't so much improve upon its predecessor but steamrolls right over it. This is a tall order, since Megalobox was surprisingly good for a sports shounen and had a real nice, heartwarming ending that Nomad instantly negates for purposes of drama and everyone being extremely miserable. That sounds like a pretty terrible idea - and it would be, if Nomad wasn't as excellent as it is. To call it not the same show would be an understatement, because it's a true sequel, not just the same characters doing their thing some more, or new characters doing the same thing as the old ones did. Indeed my biggest problem with Megalobox was that it still closely adhered to its genre template and was very predictable; Nomad fixes this issue thoroughly. Nomad is about questioning what being a hotblooded shounen protagonist eventually leads you to, and how to fix everything you screwed up by being one. You could call it a deconstruction, but that term has been so abused for cynical, edgy "thing you like actually sucks" takes that I feel like it doesn't really fit here. Nomad isn't cynical at all, it's just a character drama about some boxers past their prime, and it being a sequel to a show that is indeed rather formulaic just enhances the experience. My biggest issue with it was that I really like what they did with Joe in this story, so the big focus on Mac's backstory felt like a distraction for a long time. But in the end that turned out to be absolutely necessary to make the ending work. The ending's just great, by the way, and I shall say not more about it. 9/10

Odd Taxi

Yeah boy, here's the show that has apparently become somewhat of a "greatest show you didn't watch" meme, which I can feel smug about because I don't need YouTubers to tell me what's good and followed this from day one. Anyway, Odd Taxi is indeed great, the greatest show in a few years even. What starts out as seemingly a relaxed hangout show in the vein of Midnight Diners quickly turns into a psychological murder mystery while never losing its quirky humor. The character writing is outstanding, with even small bit players being on a level that the average anime wishes it could have for leads. And the rollout of the mystery is exemplary, with answers given and new questions raised every episode with a satisfying and logical payoff in the end. This is also the rare anime that has rock solid production from the first to the last second; it's never really flashy but excellently done and highly consistent nonetheless. And the music just owns. I have a few complaints, mainly that there's a few logical weaknesses in the story (which wouldn't even register in a lesser show, but sticks out here since the rest is so immaculately constructed) and that the ending overextends on the emotions when the rest of the show is so reserved and dry in comparison. But those are only the reasons why I didn't give it perfect marks, and I almost did that anyway. 9/10

#Zombieland Saga #bakuten #yakunara mug cup mo #vivy: fluorite eye's song #super cub #shadows house #ssss.dynazenon #thunderbolt fantasy #nomad megalo box #odd taxi #anime #review #spring2021

38 notes · View notes

catbountry · 3 years

Text

Glancing over some of my older essays on politics, I’m kind of struck how, despite them not being written that long ago, I feel like I come across as a dumbass, or at least like somebody who thinks they’re much smarter than they actually are. And it’s weird, because most of my views are roughly the same; rather, it’s that I feel the way that they’re articulated comes across as too... I don’t know, smarmy? Smug, maybe? Lacking nuance. Blunt. Like I’m talking down to people. Obviously, this was never my intention, but it’s weird how something that was written while in my early 30′s somehow makes me wince a little... as I rapidly approach being smack-dab in the middle of my 30′s. God, I’ve been in my 30′s for almost 5 whole years now, fuck, where does the time go?

I think being able to come out of the other side of the Trump presidency in one piece has kind of helped add some much-needed perspective, at least for myself. I think the hypothesis that a lot of people who voted for Trump were desperate for some kind of change was proven correct when he failed to be re-elected due to his bungling of COVID, which, funnily (or not) enough, he almost could have looked like he was doing the right thing when he initially wanted to close the U.S. borders... except he’d been trying to restrict travel and close borders so often that of course nobody took such a suggestion seriously. And even if they had? Rich people still would have brought it over, because as we all know, rich people can just get away with all kinds of shit. Of course, once it actually hit, Trump really couldn’t handle the idea of looking weak at all, so instead, it was downplayed, joked about, not taken seriously, even though he’d been briefed that it was going to be really, really bad. And when he got it, and in private thought he was going to die? Well, once he beat it, of course he had to say it wasn’t so bad... even though it killed almost a thousand times more people than the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Most of them were seniors. I think that, as well as a general fatigue and disappointment over the lack of swamp-draining from those who weren’t fanatical devotees, probably sealed his fate. I admit, I wasn’t very sure Biden really had much of a chance for a long time... until COVID happened. But hey, at least we got our stimmy from Trump, right lads?

I’m still fully convinced that Trump never intended to win, and that his run was done purely for ego and financial gain, but his ability to effortlessly bait the media, as well as his unexpected exposing of the sham we all knew presidential elections to be, wound up rocketing him to success. Trump will no doubt go down as one of the most successful conmen in American history, one so slick he wound up conning his way all the way into the White House. The whole thing was like if The Producers was a presidential campaign, fascism included. Granted, I don’t think Trump was ever a true fascist; I think he wanted to be a dictator, but the actual job of being President was a drag. The cult of personality he accrued, however, was the biggest source of narcissistic supply that he’d ever experienced in his entire life. Hell, just being the literal President, the most important person in the entire fucking world, is a hell of a high that I don’t think he’ll ever really be able to reclaim. Trump’s going to be chasing that dragon for the rest of his life. Having “President” in front of your name is a lot nicer than actually, you know, having to be the President. I mean, look at how quickly Obama went gray. A lot of people are convinced Trump will run again in 2024, and I don’t doubt it, but unless something happens that completely throws us for a loop, I don’t see him being able to recreate the, er, “magic” of 2016. Everyone getting to see that, not only was his fanbase capable of having embarrassing public meltdowns just like the le epic triggered snowflake lib Hilary supporters, but that their meltdowns were even more embarrassing, and that they all looked like a bunch of fucking English soccer hooligans during the Capitol siege... well, I think that’s going to put off the swing voters, as well as the moderate Republicans.

Also, that Twitter knock-off founded by Trump’s aide, Gettr, being flooded by gay furries posting Sonic the Hedgehog foot porn? Feels like classic 4chan-style raiding. I approve. It almost feels like we’re healing, even if it’s just a little bit.

But what the fuck did we even learn from all this? What did I learn from this?

I don’t know. It feels like over the time I’ve been on Tumblr, what was once SJW became woke, and being woke has become very normal; so normal, in fact, that fucking massive corporations that use slave labor overseas will change their Twitter icons to rainbow every June because The Gays have become a safe, marketable demographic. On one hand, it’s nice to know that, at least in what I guess is considered the western world, LGBT people are more accepted now than they ever have been. On the other... god, it feels so cynical, doesn’t it? This is all very stream of consciousness, here. I don’t write very much on here since, surprise surprise, Tumblr’s been kind of dead since the porn ban. I still see people post, but it used to be that I couldn’t refresh my dash without seeing dozens of new posts. Now it feels like I refresh my dash and I’d be lucky to see a new post there an hour later. This is why I’m on Discord more. It feels like I have more productive conversations than I ever could on Tumblr or Twitter. Twitter is just... god. It’s like all the worst parts of Tumblr without the parts that made it fun aside from a few memes.

Sorry, I got off track there. The point I was going to make before is that, while I am still very firmly anti-censorship, I’ve managed to put myself in a position where it no longer feels like the stakes are so high. I can relax. I don’t have to feel like I’m on the defense the whole time as somebody grills me over some slip-up. I don’t use Twitter that much. When I do post something in response to somebody, I feel like I instantly regret it. I posted in response to some dumbass spreading a rumor that 4chan’s favorite Simpson’s meme about Sneed’s Feed and Seed is secretly ableist, and I got a response from some dude with an Umaru-chan avatar telling me how he’s proudly racist because he and his friends call each other slurs? Like bro, you’re posting cringe, you’re going to lose subscriber-

I don’t know what I’ve learned yet. Maybe that social media sucks and that chatrooms with friends are the superior way to communicate online. I tried out Telnet recently to go into some random IRC, that was neat. It just feels nice to not have to get into a fucking argument every fucking day over shit that doesn’t matter as much as people thinks it does, to not have to hear about every fucking time the President sneezes or farts. It’s not that there’s no longer anything to worry about; there is. I’d really like to see fellow lefties go after the handful of massive corporations that control the majority of the online experience, who censor not just all the racist white dude grifters in suits who all look suspiciously similar to one another, but us as well. I want to see us raise a bigger stink about the web being santized, sterlized, and gentrified to be friendlier to corporations who only want your precious data and eyeballs. Maybe without the constant distraction of Bad Orange Man, we could make that happen. Maybe.

Or maybe fucking Dream will breathe again and all the fucking children will piss their pants and clog up Twitter, fuck these kids, get off my internet, GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

#not fan fiction #political bullshit

15 notes · View notes

pentanguine · 3 years

Text

Favorite books of 2020

So....about five months ago now, I drafted a list of my favorite books of 2020, and then I, uh, didn’t finish it. It languished in a draft gathering dust and I forgot that it existed.

But now it’s done! It’s hideously late and also out of date, because I’d change many of the rankings now (see below), but I decided to keep them in the original order to reflect how I felt when I actually meant to post this.

Gideon the Ninth- What can I say about this book that hasn’t already been said? It’s like nothing else I’ve read before, in the most unabashed, off-the-walls, grandiose way possible. It’s incredibly complex, well-written, goth, and full of memes. There are, indeed, lesbian necromancers in space.

Harrow the Ninth- I read this 500+ page book in one day and didn’t notice an earthquake while doing so, if you consider that an endorsement. There’s so much going on here it almost feels like it shouldn’t work, and yet it does, brilliantly—it’s so intricately plotted you’ll want to reread it immediately because there’s no way to pick up on everything your first time through.

The Starless Sea- This is just a magical delight of a story, with prose that flows like honey: slow, sweet, and delicious. The story unfolds like a series of wonders nested one inside the other, with each section adding another layer of whimsy and metafiction. It’s half a dream, and half a maze.

Young Miles (The Warrior’s Apprentice/The Vor Game)- The Miles books (the early ones, especially) are wild and unrepentant romps through outer space, and reading them was one of the highlights of 2020 for me. When I finished the Young Miles omnibus, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken such pure delight in a book. Even the heavier, more thoughtful moments were part of a well-told, enjoyable story.

The Stone Sky- Speaking of heavy and thoughtful books…The Broken Earth Trilogy is definitely not a light undertaking, but it’s just a masterpiece of world- and character-building. The Stone Sky is the final installment, and it does not pull a single punch in delivering what the previous books have been building towards.

This Is How You Lose the Time War- I keep instinctively wanting to call this a novel in verse, although I think it’s technically an epistolary novel with prose-poem tendencies. In any case, the writing is lovely—lush, vivid, sensual, romantic. I recommend reading this one with your poetry glasses on.

Cordelia’s Honor (Shards of Honor/Barrayar)- I tried to limit myself to one book per author on this list, but I didn’t succeed here. I loved the Vorkosigan saga too much, and I had to include the omnibus about Miles’s mother, Cordelia, whose life and personality could easily be the focus of another half-dozen volumes. (And if you’re looking for a well-developed m/f romance, you’ve found it here)

An Unkindness of Ghosts- I think this is the book that kicked off my sudden interest in sci-fi last year. It’s dark and beautiful, definitely character-driven, and everyone is truly strange in ways that protagonists rarely get to be. It’s also got one of the loveliest, most satisfying endings I can imagine.

Code Name Verity- An incredibly intense YA book that delves deep into one of my favorite fictional themes, Morality. It’s a rollicking spy adventure novel that focuses on a close friendship rather than romance (although you can read it as sapphic if you want), with descriptions of flying over England at sunset that made my heart ache.

The Raven Tower- I enjoyed this story for reasons probably particular to me—I like long digressions into abstract questions like “How do we exert power over the world?” and “Where does the meaning of words exist?”, and entire sections of The Raven Tower are devoted to the inner meditations of a very contemplative rock. It’s also a retelling of Hamlet, if that’s more your speed.

Network Effect (and Murderbot novellas)- I’m going to quote my immediately-after-finishing review: “Murderbot always gives me feels. I would love to give a more literary summary, but I’m still overwhelmed by the tentative vulnerability of two bots being best friends and watching TV together after [redacted].” The first Murderbot novel definitely did not disappoint.

The Monster of Elendhaven- Decadent, blood-soaked, and morally depraved, it’s kind of like The Picture of Dorian Gray by way of Hannibal (NBC), with probable influences from a dozen other macabre works and no restraint whatsoever. Reading it felt very self-indulgently delightful.

Before Mars- A deliciously unsettling sci-fi thriller with a refreshingly blunt, unsentimental female protagonist. Also definitely an …interesting book to read at the end of March 2020, but explaining why would definitely be a spoiler. Suffice it to say that the book goes dark places not advertised on the tin, and it made me cry.

Orange World- Karen Russell is one of those writers who make you wonder “how did they come up with this?” Every one of her stories is a totally original marriage between two wildly different concepts (like a Bog Maiden and high school romance, or new motherhood and the devil), and they’re a nice blend of literary and fantasy that I love.

Something That May Shock and Discredit You- It’s so hard to rank this one, because its two primary concerns are Christianity and transness, one of which means very little to me and one of which is breathtakingly important. I couldn’t justify putting it any lower, because it made me feel an ungodly number of feelings, but I couldn’t really justify putting it higher when a solid third of the book went right over my head.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January- A truly wondrous novel, one that fully immerses you in the delight of storytelling and imagination, and the power of escaping to other worlds. It’s very much in the tradition of “books that pay tribute to the love of books,” and an homage to a hundred portal fantasies before it.

Braiding Sweetgrass- I’ve got such a fondness for nature writing that doesn’t even try to be scientifically detached, and instead leaves you with the feeling that the trees and fields around you are bustling with (nonhuman) people.* Kimmerer’s writing is steeped in indigenous ways of knowing, and emphasizes the respect and reciprocity we can hold for the natural world. It’s lovely writing, and I can’t recommend the book highly enough.

Call Down the Hawk- Full of all the ingredients you expect from a Maggie Stiefvater book: fast cars, ancient magic, questions of art and truth, and borderline overuse of the word “cunning.” Every time I read one of her books I want to start taking notes, because she’s got such a signature style that’s both poetic and readable.

The Unspoken Name- For some reason I wasn’t much into epic fantasy last year, but I’m glad I gave this one a try. I love morally grey characters, of which there are plenty, and the plot took a number of refreshing twists and turns.

A Memory Called Empire- Not a fast-moving read, but perfect if you like your sci-fi novels poetic, complex, and intellectual. The worldbuilding is incredibly immersive, in a way that reminded me a bit of Ursula K. Le Guin, and I remember this stuck with me for weeks after I finished it.

*Let me be a nerdy weirdo for a second: Most of the time Kimmerer is writing about New England, an area I’m not really familiar with, but “The Sound of Silverbells” is set on a mountain somewhere in the South, and I adored it. Suddenly she was writing about dogwoods and redbuds and poplars, and I was sitting there going “!!! Those are my friends! My friends are in a book!”

Changes I’d make now:

Bump The Starless Sea down a couple pegs, maybe to #6

Swap out Cordelia’s Honor and Young Miles

Bump The Raven Tower way down to #16 and bump A Memory Called Empire a few spots higher, maybe to #17

Braiding Sweetgrass can go up where The Raven Tower was

#an inexhaustable source of magic #personal #yes i know none of them have the author's name #sorry about that #it you're reading this it's because i noticed i forgot the authors right after i queued it and then went 'oh well' and cleaned my bathroom #and subsequently did not remember and/or find the time #if you're not reading this then i found the time

9 notes · View notes

musicallisto · 3 years

Text

songs that make your heart beat (tag game)

I was tagged by @lxncelot - thank you so much for tagging me! this tag was made for me. (also, lie to me and iris are GOOD. not to spoil anything, but iris is one of my song prompts for my 1k writing challenge, so stay tuned for that maybe.)

“Hiiii so I thought of this game where you put 5 songs that just make you feel out of this world with a short explanation- It could be your comfort songs, your favorite ones, anything that makes you feel things! and then tag your friends :))” @/spideyanakin

These are some of my favorite songs of all time - and I'll try to explain as best as I can but sometimes you just... feel the vibe and can't think you know.

1. 5 seconds of summer - wrapped around your finger

while Olive hated 5sos with a burning passion in junior high, I was utterly and feverishly obsessed with them. if you knew me in 2014-2018 during my 5sos phase no you didn't. but wrapped around your finger still SLAPS as hard as it did back in the day and I have nothing but love for that song. it's so angsty!! but good!!! and like, poignant!!! and gut-wrenching!!!! and it has that ~nocturnal elegy~ feel to it. i love it. excellent vibes. (strong STRONG contender i hesitated with too: outer space/carry on by 5sos for the same reasons, tho I'd argue outer space is objectively better than wayf but I have poured too much of my soul in wayf)

2. bruno mars - young girls

why? you ask. why a bruno mars song? idk i literally DON'T KNOW these are pure vibes. vibes and only vibes!!!! when i was a kid and really into pop music (before i went through my emo phase and despised everything that was on the radio), i was really into bruno mars and lady gaga (locked out of heaven still has me shook). but i discovered this song much later and it was love at first listen. it has a very particular feel, nostalgic and melancholic, that you don't find often in pop music, and especially not in bruno mars' discography? of course he's written beautiful ballads and poignant songs (grenade SLAPS), but this one is different. in the best way. it destroys me every time.

3. hollywood undead - lion

in my voice ask when i talked about how i came to learn english, i briefly mentioned hollywood undead and how obsessed with them i was in seventh grade (which prompted my emo phase, as i said). they were super edgy and their lyrics super fucking raw. looking back now, they were sometimes too edgy, but not lion. lion still hits as hard as it did on the first day. i've never quite managed to totally grasp what it deals with (addiction, maybe?), which is a common occurrence in my favorite songs. but i'm always left breathless by the end of the song, and i don't think i'll ever outgrow that love.

4. ana belén - peces de ciudad (lit. city fish)

this is the nostalgia speaking here... but my mom used to listen to this song all the time when i was young, and it's been etched in my brain ever since. it helps that the lyrics are absolutely magnificent (courtesy of joaquín sabina, spanish songwriter and poet). there are many versions of this song, but ana belén's remains my favorite because of the memories i associate with it, and also how clear and soft her voice is. besides, it features my favorite twitches to the original lyrics (en Macondo comprendí & cuando en vuelo regular surqué el cielo de Madrid). the second verse is so ethereally beautiful, like! it's out of this world, i don't know how to explain it. it truly sends me to another dimension. if you look closely, this song is everywhere on my blog, most notably as my title (pez de ciudad), and at some point it was in my bio (as ¿y como huir cuando no quedan islas para naufragar?).

5. michel sardou - les lacs du connemara (lit. the lakes of connemara)

WAIT the tag never said that these all had to be serious and angsty and introspective and stuff!!!! it's literally called 'songs that make your heart beat', and boy if my heart doesn't beat during that song then i must be very dead. a little bit of context: it is a tacit truth among the french nation that this song must be played at every single house party, and most specifically as the last song. it's an implicit agreemennt to let everyone know that it's time to clean up and go home; so it's kind of a little bit of a meme, right? like, everyone is piss drunk when they hear it, so i bet no one remembers having ever heard the song in full. but somehow everyone knows the lyrics, and it gives way for the most beautiful moments in humanity. picture this: a crowd of fifteen or twenty people hoisting you up by the shoulders and jumping around to this epic irish beat? you've never spoken to any of these people and you'll never speak to them again but for the six minutes of this song, you're bound by the unspeakable friendship of five a.m. i love it, i love the moment so much.

but THEN! the thing IS! as i've said, this song is kind of this drunken meme in france, right? but i like it; unironically, i truly do. and i may very well be the only person on the face of earth to genuinely love it - except for the beaufs, but that's a whole another deal that i can't get into rn -, but it's as much of a banger as any other song on this list. clearly this is beyond a good time with friends. this song is a religion and i feel it carnally.

also that sardou dude plays enjolras in the original les mis adaptation and i have not been the same ever since i learned that. enjolras belting les lacs is glorious it brings me too much joy

this was such a fun tag - thank you for thinking of me! i'm tagging anyone who wants to do it! ♥

#tag game #music #abt c

4 notes · View notes

rohandaily · 4 years

Text

Ask the Mun Monday Answers... 2!

all my asks a answers for this monday are all under the cut!

Q: anonymous: What’s your favorite part to draw while drawing any character?

A: expressions and hands!

Q: anonymous: Hi! Is Rohan your favorite character in jojo? Or do you just enjoy drawing him??

A: rohan is close to my favorite however my top fav jojo chars are polnareff and okuyasu, i just have trouble drawing them and i relate to rohan more so it’s easier to characterize and write him over them

Q: @standuser: on the rules section of your carrd, i saw that you're open to interactions from all parts? so i wanted to ask how you'd go about interacting with characters from part 3? (sorry if this ask is too long ^^')

A: hm.. it’s hard to say but i think it all depends on the ask i receive from them i suppose. and whether the part 3 character is during or post sdc timeline i feel i would just have rohan talk to them as if they’re not a decade or so apart from eachother? i don’t know if that makes any sense but that’s what i’m going with for now fsdsf

Q: anonymous: Min what's your favorite Pokémon 30:

A: flygon!! i can guarantee that in any pokemon game that i can have a flygon, there Will be one on my team

Q: anonymous: When drawing, what do you ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO HAVE (besides like art materials- like an example would be: “always having a drink or some food next to me while I draw”) and if you didn’t have it drawing wouldn’t be the same?

A: some sort of drink or my phone. i normally have some pop nearby just to keep me caffeinated and focused and if i didn’t have my phone nearby to always pull up references i need i would probably die

Q: anonymous: Which stand do you wish you had in real life?

A: gold experience probably. like if i just wanted to have a bird in my hand i could grab a rock and then boom ya got a bird. honestly i would just use GE to have any random animal to just hold at all times

Q: anonymous: Have u ever wanted to make your own stand?

A: as much as i want to create my own stand i just can’t think of a unique ability at the top of my head :(

Q: anonymous: Stand or Hamon?

A: as in if i could have one which i would prefer to have or in general? if in general opinion, stands just because there seems to be an endless list of possible stands to exist and i just think that’s cool while hamon’s main use is to kill vampires. however i would prefer to have hamon just for it’s healing abilities and to maybe walk on water sometimes for fun

Q: anonymous: if you had to be married to one jojo character who would it be

A: ....... polnareff 👉🏼👈🏼

Q: anonymous: A go to quote?

A: i thought really hard on this before realizing that if i didn’t have one on my first thought i probably don’t have one at all

Q: anonymous: Favorite JOJO meme

A: the whole ‘my name is yoshikage kira...’ used as a copy pasta, or any video/gif that contains a weird time skip captioned as ‘this is king crimson’s ability’

Q: @squigglylungs: how is your day?

A: doing good, just sorta lazing around and vibing

Q: anonymous: HAVE U LISTENED TO ONE CARTOONISTS DREAM?! It’s le epic- and it’s parodies of Disney songs to fit JjBa parts

A: i don't believe i've heard of it before but i'll take a look into it sometime :0c

#ooc #munday #{{ thanks again!! }}#{{ posting this before midnight here cause i am tired and going to bed early for once }}

25 notes · View notes

britishchick09 · 3 years

Text

sherlock s2 ep 1 livewatch

welcome to a new (cumber)batch of eps! i’m excited to see all the iconic moments in this one :D

i haven’t even played the dvd yet and it’s glorious :’)

ooh it starts with a ‘previously’!!!

JIM MOIARTY HIIII!!!! :D

moiarty is amazing (and this recap is so dramatic!)

OMG SHERLOCK NECK FRECKLE! :o

also seeing the old channel 8 logo in the corner is so cool! :D

HOLD UP why is bee gees playing

IS MOIARTY A BEE GEES FAN???

‘staying alive’ lol funny since he’s about to get shot :D

moiarty: “SAY THAT AGAIN!!!!!” say that again QUIETER MOIARTY GEEZ

and he just walks away!!!

shoe sherlock cool

sherlock 2 NOW

oh no it’s irene alder...

masterpiece INTRO YAAAASSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

me watching sherlock be like:

the masterpiece trust is just rich people cool

omg the viking river cruises spon is the same as today! :D

woah they’re playing a movie trailer! :o

it’s a british movie obviously and i’ve never heard of it OBVIOUSLY

the scottish host guy is talking and i love it :D

host: “his mind has more apps than an iphone” lol

“a series of his three most famous cases begins! are you ready?” HECK YEAH LET’S GOOOO!!!!!!

YAS the blog scene!

sherlock: “what are you typing?” john: “a blog... about us”

lady: “i think my husband is having an affair.” sherlock: “yes”

sherlock thinks cases are boring except

sherlock ‘cases don’t need titles’ holmes

WOAH SHERLOCK JUST TOLD A LITTLE GIRL THAT DEAD PEOPLE BURN :o

lestrade: “any ideas?” john: “eight so far” wowza :o

sherlock ‘don’t mention the unsolved cases’ holmes

glasseslock!!!!! :D

eyyyyyyyy ;D

people want pics of sherlock and john do johnlockers exist in this universe? :o

lol :D

irene is seductively putting her hand on lockie’s newspaper pic ewww :(

mrs. hudson hates the fridge

THUMBS IN THE FRIDGE FRIDGE THUMBS

mrs. hudson: “BOYS YOU’VE GOT ANOTHER ONE!!!’ *insert meme here*

ooh it spins into a flashback!

OMG JOHNLOCK VID CHAT!!!!

sherlock’s in the sheet! :o

*phone rings* sherlock: SHUT. UP!!!!” lol :D

john’s holding his laptop around lol :D

john: ‘there’s a mute button and i will use it” aka the 2020 president debates

woah some random guys are in lockie’s house and john needs a helicopter what’s up with that????

BUCKINGHAM PALACE YAAAASSS!!!!!!!

john looks under...

giggly!!!!!

♥

mycroft is the queen now

BOI LOCKIE’S LIKE ‘what for?’ TO PUT PANTS ON OMMGGGGGGG

john smol be like :o

guy: “mr holmes the younger”

LOCK BUTT LOCK BUTT NOOOOOOO

john be like o///o ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

o lockie’s’s in clothes again :/

mycroft doesn’t trust the secret service welcome to america

i don’t like irene not because there’s apparently a thing between her and sherlock but because she’s a bit creepy!

THERE LIKE THAT!

sherlock: “photographs of whom?” ooh how fancy

sherlock: “laters!!” lol! :D

irene’s friend is named kate like channel 8 being called ‘kaet’! :D

fashionista! :o

yes this is ‘the right armor’ lockie

john: “you didn’t even change your clothes!” lol :D

sherlock: “go on punch me in the face” lol :D

watson: “i always hear ‘punch me in the face’ when you’re speaking in subtext” ...wut o_O

WORST BATTLE DRESS EVER NNNOPE IMMA HEAD OUT

are sherlock and irene being shipped because they were naked in the same up

irene: “i could cut myself slapping your face” louise belcher wants your number

bi john when he sees irene: o///o “...i’ve missed something haven’t i?”

sherlock isn’t affected by naked irene thus i headcanon him as aro/ace (or even demi/ace in john’s case like my own holmes character) thank you and good night

irene just sits her bare butt on the chair why

JOHN SISTER NANI???? :o

also this font is so basic WHY LOCKIE

irene: “somebody loves you” *glances at john* ok i like her a tad she gets it ;)

john: “put something on, please. like.. a napkin?” lol :D

irene’s like ‘why’ JUS LIKE SHERLOCK BUT I SHALL NOT SHIP THIS SHIP THE SHOW IS TRYING TO SHIP

also john giggles at naked sherlock and is like ‘plz no’ with naked irene (although i would be too that lady is OUT THERE)

ooh antiques roadshow! :D

also she’s dressed like lockie NO

irene: “brainy is the new sexy” plz no :(

she took her clothes off ‘to make an impression’ yep

WAIT they were just outside now they’re back in wut???

irene was born in the 80s cool :D

WOAH why are there more guy with guns?

and *le gasp* AN AMERICAN????

DON’T SHOOT JOHN AMERICAN!!!

ooh what was the code? :o

EPIC SLOW MO FIGHT YOOOOOO

DANNNNG IRENE JUS GUN SMACKED A GUY

sherlock just flipped a phone LIKE A FLIP PHONE OHHHH

irene is number 1 sherlock fan besides john confirmed

at first i thought it was a fandom phrase but it’s not! :o

WHY DID IRENE JUST PUNCH SHERLOCK

SHE’S WHIPPING HIM????

this reminds me of a certain sw ship... :(

yeah i don’t ship them AT ALLLLLL NOW

the key code is irene’s measurements DOES SHE MEAN...

the camera’s spinning FLASHBACK???

woah are they in the case?? this could be sherlock’s mind palace!

irene: “you got that just from one look? definitely the new sexy” NONONONONOO

outside bed

awww sweet bby ;)

did john tuck him in?

CRAP it was ireneeeeee >:(

the way she says ‘hush now it’s ok...’ is like count olaf in the hostile hospital when he drugs violet :o

LOCKIE’S FIRST WORDS WHEN WAKING UP WHERE JOHN awwww :D

OMG DID JOHN REALLY TUCK HIM IN awwww!!!!!!! ♥

lestrade filmed loopy sherlock lol :D

john: “ahhh back to bed!” awww :)

sherlock: “iiii’m fine i’m absolutely fine!!!’ drugged sherlock is a treasure ♥

sherlock: ”why would i need you?” john: “no reason at all” :)

ew was that an irene phone moan gross

DID SHERLOCK CHANGE HIS TEXT NOTIF TO THAT???

mrs. hudson: “family is all we have in the end, mycroft holmes!” mycroft: “oh shut up, mrs. hudson!” john: “my-“ sherlock: “MYCROFT!!!!” lol :D

mrs. hudson: “it’s a bit rude that noise isn’t it?” indeed!!

sherlock: “you can follow her on twitter” TWITTER IN THE HOLMESVERSE????

sherlock: “there’s more! much more” but wait... THERE’S MORE!

LOCKIE VIOLIN!!!!! :D

THE CHRISTMAS THING WASN’T A FAN MANIP HOLY YAS!!!!!!!! :D

cool sweater john!!! :D

molly: ‘having christmas drinkies then?” wallace wants walkies thank you very much

john: “she’s off the booze!” sherlock: “nnnope” john: “shut up sherlock” lol

john to sherlock: ‘take a day off” lockie doesn’t know the concept mr doc

DID SHERLOCK NAME MOLLY CRY???? :o

HE KISSED HER????

sherlock still has the irene moan after all this time WHY

finding irene on christmas coolio :D

molly: “how did sherlock recognize her by... without her face?” ;)

sherlock smoking bad >:(

WOAH IS IRENE DEAD?????

VIOLIN YAS!!!! :D

smiley smiley :)

awww sherlock plucked a bit :)

OH CRAP IRENE’S BACC

john: “you flirted with sherlock holmes? “someone jellyyyy ;)

OOHH THIS IS THE IRENE JOHNLOCK SCEEENE!!!!!!! :D

irene: “you jealous?” john: “we’re not a couple!” irene: “yes you are.” ;)

john: “i’m not actually gay” irene: “well i am” IRENE LESBIAN GOOD!!!!

irene: “look at us both” (or perhaps bi like john could be...?)

biiiiiig door creak

UGH american... >:(

someone comfort mrs. hudson!! :(

sherlock: “take away your boys. it makes up for too much stupid in the room” he’s surrounded by idiots...

OMG SHERLOCK PEPPER SPRAYYY

awww he’s comforting mrs. hudson :)

john comfort! ♥

the guy’s tied up like the foody moody in bob’s burgers cool :D

awww mrs. hudson’s in shock :(

sherlock: “mrs. hudson leaving baker street? england would fall!” awww! :D

john says ‘alive’ like an irish guy :D

OMG IT’S NEW YEAR!!!!

happy violin new year! :D

sherlock’s xraying a phone lol

john said ‘in your bedroom’ BUT IT’S HIS AND SHERLOCK’S

and irene’s! :o

sherlock: “who wants to kill you?” irene: “killers” lol :D

sherlock said ‘the strand’!!!! :D

irene looks better without lipstick :)

the code is ‘i am SHERlocked’ HOW DO THEY NOT KNOW???

random john middle name reveal lol :D

FOR BABY NAMES NOOOO

john’s is hamish and eugene’s (from tangled) is hoarace... it’s the weird h middle name club! :D

sesame street time :D

...what in the world did sherlock just spout

john said ‘flight double o 7′ JAMES BOND REFERENCE????

MYCROFT IS SAYING ‘BOND ERE IS GO’ yep that’s bond!!!

sherlock didn’t notice john was gone for 2 hours lol :D

ooh sherlock says ‘second world war’ instead of ‘world war two’ :o

NONONONONNONONONONNOOOOOOOOO

sherlock: “that’s not the end of the world, that’s mrs. hudson” lol :D

mycroft: “that’s the deceased, always late” hey yeah :o

WOAH HE JUST CALLED SHERLOCK NAIVE AND IRENE A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS :o

oh hey irene

irene: “jim moiarty sends his love” ha ha funny love :D

WAIT MOIARTY CALLS SHERLOCK A VIRGIN??? :o

THEY’RE HOLDING HANDS NOOOOO

bada bing BADA BOOM!!!!!!!!!

wowza it’s been 6 months since they met???

sherlock: “sorry about dinner” *leaves* yesss :)

i’m glad they didn’t kiss and just held hands that was nice to make johnlock dreams fly :)

OMG IRENE LEGIT DIED THIS TIME BY BEHEADING!!!!! :o

john told sherlock she was in amurica good :)

lockie wants her camera phone aww :(

way better than any hand holding irene and sherlock did! ♥

awww irene texted sherlock goodbye :(

ew the irene moan one last time...

sherlock laughed and called her ‘a woman... the woman’ awww :)

that was a bittersweet ending! :)

aaaand it’s over!

next time... ;)

that was a great season premiere!!! irene was kind of cool (i like how she and sherlock were just friends) and the mystery was engaging as always. and of course... it was nice finally hearing lockie’s violin!! here’s to next time! :D

#livewatch #these always take forever but they're fun!

2 notes · View notes

howlsmovinglibrary · 4 years

Text

End of the Decade Favorite Book Tag

I was tagged by @bookcub to do this a while back and hadn’t had a chance to complete it, however I think it’s a pretty awesome tag so I’m doing it now. Here is a shout out to my 2010 bookish faves.

1. High fantasy books that are obsession worthy

Anything by N.K. Jemisin, who I think might genuinely be one of the Authors Of The Decade: the Broken Earth trilogy if you’re up for something heavy, the Inheritance trilogy if not (although it still has its dark moments).

Other good high fantasies that made my decade: Uprooted by Naomi Novik, The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie, The Young Elites by Marie Lu, The Lady Trent quartet by Marie Brennan.

2. Urban fantasy books filled with people you want as friends

The Demon’s Lexicon books by Sarah Rees Brennan, I genuinely would want these people as my friends which, given the group, is saying something.

Other urban fantasies I’ve enjoyed: The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky, The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman, and, because this is a decade meme and I have to be honest: Shadowhunters by Cassandra Clare, my OG fictional obsession.

3. Portal fantasy you fall in love with multiple times

Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire – I’m not a huge fan of the other books in this series but this one is very good.

Also The Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde, Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty, and all of Holly Black’s faerie books from Tithe to Queen of Nothing (I’m counting them as portal because there are kind of two worlds)

4. Novella that just makes you sigh cause it’s so lovely

My second-to-last book of the decade, This Is How You Lose the Time War.

Also Martha Wells Murderbot series, because it is wonderful.

5. Historically inaccurate but laugh out loud

The Falconer trilogy by Elizabeth May. It’s historical Edinburgh! But with fairies! And flying machines! And an apocalypse!

6. Satire that makes you reconsider your whole world view

Not really satire but Uglies by Scott Westerfeld was the introduction little 2010 me needed for feminism, and Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson was my introduction to notions of colonialism and literary critique.

7. Happy, happy, happy and sad, sad, sad

Howl’s Moving Castle and In Other Lands are both my go-to happy reads. And I’m pretty sure my soul still has scars from where it was ripped out by a) The Book of Lost Things by John Connelly and b) A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

8. No, I’m not to old for kids’ books, what are you talking about???

The Varjak Paw books are woefully underappreciated. Warrior Cats walked so Varjak Paw could run and do Mesopotamian martial art magic.

9. I’m also not too old for picture books either and never will be

I’m going to take this as a graphic novel question and renew my daily plea for everyone, ever, to read the amazing queer urban fantasy splendour that is The Wicked and the Divine.

10. Whoa, never expected that ending and to have that much fun!!!

The answer to this question is just. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.

11. Like I’m scared, but I’m happy about it

I very rarely read actual horror but all the creepy shit that Frances Hardinge includes in her (children’s) books is quality, in particular The Lie Tree and Cuckoo’s Song.

12. Classically favorite

Ugh, I have dedicated too much of this decade to classics. The ones I don’t resent are: Beowulf, As You Like It by Shakespeare, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirelees and The Tomb of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin.

13. Party in your ears

The Adventure Zone podcast. It got me into podcasts, and D&D.

14. Boom!!! Pow!!! Wham!!!

Ms. Marvel and The Epic Crush of Genie Lo - both wonderfully written, badass teenager superheroines.

15. Oh wow, that’s me!!

I very rarely see myself in books – I don’t know if that’s part of why I read? Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia is the closest I’ve ever gotten.

16. I can’t stop thinking about this book

Honestly, no one book is this for me. But Cloud Atlas for better or worse was the book that got me into literary studies so I’ll pick that!

17. A book you got from Tumblr that made it to your fave

Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie, Peter Darling by Austin Chant, and the basic bitch nomination, Six of Crows.

18. A book you had high expectations for and then the author OVER delivered

Warcross by Marie Lu. The second book is a little more lacklustre but this first book is just fantastic. Also The Cruel Prince – I already loved all of Holly Black’s fairy books but I wasn’t expecting this to be so beautifully ruthless.

I tag: literally anyone. I’ve been out of the booklr loop for about six months. Be brave! Do the tag! Tag me so I can follow ya!

#book tag #end of the decade book tag #favourite books #booklr #bookish #i had forgotten how atrocious tumblr formatting is clearly i've been gone too long

39 notes · View notes

javertwenttoheaven · 4 years

Note

For the meme, 003 Javert?

@musicalpasta also asked for 001-Les Miserables, 002-Valvert, and 003-Javert, so I’ll just go ahead and answer them all here. (I didn’t forget about this, I promise. There’s just been a lot going on, and I wasn’t able to finish it until now.) Les Miserables- Favorite character: JAVERT IS MY GUTTER CHILD, AND I WILL LOVE HIM FOREVER Least Favorite character: Either Tholomyes or Madame Thenadier 5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Valvert (Platonically), Valvert (Romantically), Enjoltaire, Javert x His Name, Marius x Cosette. Character I find most attractive: It really depends on the adaptation, but out of all of them, I'd definately say Quast!vert. Character I would marry: I haven't gotten to the Barricade Boys' part in The Brick yet, but from what I've seen from Tumblr, probably Jehan. Character I would be best friends with: Grantaire. A random thought: Javert went to Heaven. 100%. Your argument is invalid. An unpopular opinion: Russell Crowe was a good Javert. My Canon OTP: The one-sided relationship of Enjoltaire. My Non-canon OTP: Valvert as platonic life partners. Most Badass Character: Tie between Jean Valjean or Javert. Most Epic Villain: I would say Javert, BUT HE'S NOT A VILLAIN, so... The King, maybe? (I just don't want to give the Thenadiers any positive attention at all.) Pairing I am not a fan of: Marius x Eponine Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): In most adaptations, Cosette. Favourite Friendship: Canon- Marius and Courfeyrac ; Non-Canon- Valjean and Javert Character I most identify with: Javert Character I wish I could be: Enjolras

Valvert- When I started shipping them: Ever since I first saw the movie, I always thought they could have been such good friends if only they had both lived. My thoughts: I headcanon both of them as asexual, but I totally see them being platonic life partners (once they work through their many... many issues). What makes me happy about them: My Poor Gutter Child finally gets to feel true happiness and have someone that truly loves him for probably the first time in his life. What makes me sad about them: It's not in canon because THEY'RE BOTH DEAD. Things done in fanfic that annoys me: When the relationship is rushed and/or they are severely OOC. Things I look for in fanfic: Slow-burn post-Seine AUs (although in all honesty, as long as they're alive, I really don't care.) My wishlist: I'm not sure what this means, but I wish they weren't dead (which they're not because Vicky was a LIAR). Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: In all honesty... I can't see them being with anyone except each other. I mean, they're the only ones who Truly know each other and their backstories, so I guess nobody. My happily ever after for them: Once again, pretty much anything as long as they're happy and not dead.

Javert- How I feel about this character: He is my Gutter Child(tm), and he deserved so much better. Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: I headcanon him as ace, but if I had choose, I'd say Valjean for obvious reasons. My favorite non-romantic relatioship for this character: Valvert 100% I think if their situations had been different (and/or if they hadn't, you know, DIED), they could've been best friends. Best friends with issues, but still best friends. My unpopular opinion about this character: Again, Russell Crowe was a good Javert. One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon: Valjean pulling him out of the Seine and helping him through his mental illness until he finds his will to live and then they become platonic life partners and live happily ever after and nobody dies. Thankfully, that is what happened because like I said earlier, Vicky was a liar. Favorite friendship for this character: This isn't exactly what this is asking, but I headcanon that because Madeleine and Javert most likely worked closely together quite often (and just the fact Madeleine is friendly to everyone), Madeleine was probably the closest Javert ever really had to a friend, which is one of the reasons why he felt so betrayed when it was revealed that Madeleine was Valjean. Update: I just realized I forgot about Gymont and how much I LOVE fics with them together, especially when Javert’s had a hard day chasing a certain convict, and Gymont cheers him up. (I’m so sorry for forgetting you, Gymont. Here, have some apples 🍏🍎) My crossover ship: Again, I can't see Javert with anyone except Valjean, so I don't think I have a crossover ship with him.

8 notes · View notes

kseniazhuk · 5 years

Note

country: belarus, year: 2007

awww, thanks for the ask!

let’s start with belarus

honorable mention: alekseev - forever (i just can’t with the english version :// he’s a really sweet guy and i like some of his other songs but idk forever just...doesn’t work for me idk)

5. 2007: dmitry koldun - work your magici wish i could say that, ah, i know why this is the highest ranking belarusian entry but i don’t. i really think others were better and think they should have appealed to more people than they appeared to? it’s not bad.

4. 2011: anastasia vinnikava - i love belaruslook.....i can explain...no i can’t hdsjkfds but this is despite the lyrics just so damn catchy and that instrumental?? incredible. with different lyrics i think it could have (and should have) made the top 10 that year

3. 2016: ivan - help you flythis is...funny? you do you, ivan, have a nice time teaching your pet wolves how to fly while running naked in the forest and also playing billiard, seducing twins, being painted naked idk

2. 2015: uzari and maimuna - time (the top two are the only i listen to on a regular basis)..........how did this not qualify? it’s even ~radio friendly~ packaged and should have been loved by the juries, right? lmao, but, yes i love how catchy this is, in 2015 i listened to it so much i highkey forgot it was a eurovision song, i looove the violin parts

1. 2017: naviband - historyja majho žycciaOF COURSe khsdkj there can be no other answer for me, my favorite eurovision of all time you been knew i could talk for hours about how this just is?? the most genuine and positive song i’ve ever heard and probably ever will hear, it always relaxes me or energizes me depending on which i need at the given time and it just feels like such a naturally flowing song, like a song that always should have existed? if that makes sense, and of course they sing and deliver it beautifully (it’s better live, i tell you that! especially when it starts out slow with only the audience singing...and it’s teh whole audience that does it let me tell you and then they just ZOOM and turn up the speed and start singing along and everyone shouts HEY HEY HAYAYAYAO at the top of their lungs and its just a soul-healing and revitalizing feeling)

and they’re just simultaneously MY BABIES and MY PARENTS and the absolute sweetest kindest people i’ve met... if you think they seem friendly and adorable online they’re even nicer and cooler in real life! i’ve never known of any other artist who makes time for all their fans and want to talk to everyone the way they do!

top 10 of 2007 (this isn’t a year i remember that well tbh, i had to check up on the songs again)

10. belarus: dmitry koldun - work your magicnormally i hate it when people say guilty pleasure about songs (especially when it’s a song that’s not particularly cheesy or dated or has a silly message or something which is...how i think that phrase should be used...anyway) but this is kinda a guilty pleasure in the way that i don’t think i really should enjoy this lmao but it’s very catchy nonetheless+great instrumental

9. france: les fatals picards - l’amour a la francaise if i had to pick a meme (nah there’ll be more) idk this is just fun?

8. finland: hanna - leave me alonefor the relatable title of course :)) it’s really badass as well (where are our badass songs in eurovision now?)

7. slovenia: alenka gotar - cvet z jugalook i like operatic singing a lot and i think the buildup and uniqueness of this makes it really enjoyable to listen to

6. bulgaria: elitsa todorova and stoyan yankulov - waterthis is experimental, original and well performed and i’m so glad it did well

5. bosnia and herzegovina: marija sestic - rijeka bez imenaa lovely balkan ballad

4. ukraine: verka serduchka - dancing lasha tumbai what can i say? verka really shaped eurovision lmao and the song is a bop

3. moldova: natalia barbu - fightanother epic badass song, the violin solo and the high note boi

2. georgia: sopho - visionary dreamIcoNIC! it’s such an epic song and performance and it sounds?? futuristic? and also traditional

1. serbia: marija šerifovic - molitvalove this so much, i remember that during/after the contest my mom loved it and played it all the time and i have many good memories of it…and it’s just such an amazing and emotional song delivered beautifullly….shes just The Queen

one of the best eurovision winners!

#bordersofsalt #thank youu for the ask <3 <3

4 notes · View notes

abundantchewtoys · 5 years

Text

Homestuck Epilogues: Prologue, reaction post part 1

So me and Blaperile have decided to start reading it now. I kind of hope the format & art style stays true to form, but then again, change could be interesting. In any case, if this epilogue were to include the already posted snaps, that would be a break from format in image size (not including the credits, of course).

I guess if there is immediately an [S] page, it'll be the second one, not the first, to give use aheads up in the command.

Okay, so the first is a title page.

The link to the next page says... homestuck.com/epilogues/proglogue. Andrew, NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

(Yeah okay, so it has begun. Again.)

I could see the snaps being the prologue, since they kind of set the stage for what's to come. Jane taking control over The Felt being a major development, for one. Also, the noted absence of Davepetasprite^2 & Arquiusprite on Earth C. Or, perhaps rather, the noted presence of all the other sprites, they didn't stop being spirit guides after the game ended. And in the credits of course, there was John's being aggravated by Caliborn to the point this all would lead presumably to the clay doll scene Caliborn showed us, taking place further into the future than any of us had business viewing at the time.

---

> Start

AAAAAAHHHHH, Homestuck's a fanfic now!!! Yes, this is the Archive of Our Own format, including tags and... Andrew is no longer sole author of this story!!!

We have achieved MAXIMUM FANDOM (or should I say FANON).

Characters: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-h... Barack Obama?! :P I guess maybe John switched to a Baracktop in light of out-of-story events, plus of course Dave's idolization of the man. :P And Aranea returns!! And Davepeta too, cool! ... Wait, there's gonna be new OCs?? :P ... In before Joey & Jude & troll friends join the Homestuck madness. Well, if we can rely on this list of course. This IS Andrew Hussie we're talking about, of course.

Hmmm, Blaperile has a good point that Davepeta & Arquius are mentioned but not their component A2 trolls, since the "main" versions of them (post-retcon) are inside the sprites! And that all these characters except maybe for Caliborn (pre-LE, I mean) MIGHT just end up in the Furthest Ring together to do... whatever there needs to be done with the black hole aftermath of the standoff between Vriska & LE. And Calliope seems to be joining them, which is a nice thing to look forward too, main Calliope doing a plot thing. ... No mention of carapaces, but again, that doesn't have to mean anything.

Caliborn's entry seems to me to imply we might see the claydoll fight animated (or at least drawn) properly! :D

Barack is probably an Easter Egg just, nothing more. Which is funny because Easter is coming.

Content warnings: ... All these things (well not all of them, but) just refer to things mentioned in Homestuck proper. :P Quite the list we racked up, eh? Also, Gamzee hath invaded the list: clowns, honk... Hahah. Surprised "horses" didn't make it on here. And puppets. So I know I was saying I don't really believe these tags to truthfully warn about things to come in this epic, but I'm kind of scared by the mention of Trickster Mode. :P ... Oh yeah, hahah, that WAS something that happened at the wedding, didn't it, Calliope bringing the sucker & transforming John & the B2 kids? So that thing survived the end of the session we know.

Another thing making me uncomfortable is all the illicit subjects the warnings are about, but yeah, that's what a lot of fanfics contain.

Summary: ... Ooooh, so John DIDN'T immediately take off to fight Caliborn! That's... I actually had wagered the epilogue to start on April 13th, 2019 thinking about it over the weekend. It would just seem so fitting, but I thought it might have been so that the B2 kids would have aged a relative 2 years during the time the B1 kids were stuck in the house. So that they could go back to filling that big brother/sister relationship that was kind of always there, first & foremost shown in the Strider Bros, later when we didn't know yet that the kids would be the same age when they'd meet up, during Act 6 Act 1.

Blaperile has a good point, this means Terezi has been exploring the Furthest Ring for 7 years (or almost 4 sweeps).

Contents: This looks like it could grow into a list. Since, well, this is the prologue just yet for the epilogue hahah. Then again, maybe we 'return' to this page after the prologue is done, only for the list to have grown with the next... "act".

> Prologue

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH WALL OF TEXT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH HOMESTUCK IS A FANFIC NOWWWWWWWWWWWWW for real. ... Oh dear god.

Well, it's definitely a medium Andrew didn't touch on yet, the "picture this for yourselves" type of fiction. Kind of incentive for people to draw this for themselves.

And then Homestuck became a serialized novel. :D

Okay that entire first sentence. I'm definitely on the same page here as everyone when I say this must be about the Furthest Ring cracking. ... I think Andrew's propensity for dragging out a story comes over quite well in fanfic prose form.

Hmm... So, "eternity" is being filled by the black hole, and continuity is buckling up? Seems like the entirety of Homestuck proper might be at risk of being undone in something more damaging than a mere retcon.

Wow, nice vivid description of the dreambubbles being shattered. "Hypothetical futures", does that suggest that the ghosts of alternate timelines were more like... mirages? That's a harsh thing to swallow, and not something any of them would have been happy hearing stated as fact. Well, except the Aradiabots, maybe. "Double-death" mention!

... So there's a symphony at the center of the black hole. Does that mean Alternate Calliope still lives (or well, "exists"), as the conductor of the havoc? It's super black at the center, apparently. Like, Vantablack?

Wait, "> Wake up"? Did John dream about the Furthest Ring? ... What DO the kids dream, after they won the game? Or rather, where do they dream?

"You've been dreaming in anime again." Ah yes, there's the first real meme of the evening. So, John rejects this dramatic dream and will rather substitute his own fantasies? :P

"> Look outside just to make absolutely sure the world is not ending." --> Why does it feel like we've started this adventure anew? Why are command prompts working out so well in this format?

'The only sound you can hear for miles is the wind skimming the hollows of your neighbors’ pipe homes.' Well, if that isn't a reference to his atmospheric page! And oh yeah, that was his new neighbourhood! Or, after 7 years, not 'new' anymore, I guess.

'It’s a normal day in the salamander village, which you refer to as Salamander Village because the damned salamanders never bothered to give this village a name, you guess.' Perfection. So, it appears the consort species remain the same, no matter how many millenia may pass. I wouldn't like to be a mail person in the Consort Kingdom, if all packages are to be delivered at Salamander Village. Then again, the Breeze might still be on mail duty on Earth C.

'Beside your pillow, your phone is vibrating. Rose is calling. The screen of your phone reads 9:30 a.m. April 13, and also the number forty-six, which is how many text messages your friend left you while you were sleeping. A bit excessive, even for her.' Ahahahah, so even in texts Rose is wordy!! Good to see they kept in contact, then. Not as much in-person contact, seeing the credits, but then again, the kids always used to live apart, didn't they? (I can still call them 'the kids', even if we're no longer a decade apart in age. Get of my lawn!)

"> Answer the phone." Yessssss, coloured text logs!! In the absence of drawings, it would've really sucked a little and be bland if we'd lacked this.

Aww, April 13th is still a solemn day for John. :/ Rose is calling it "April Thirteenth" as if it's a holiday, which it might just be. Blaperile has a good point that John has called Rose directly, and isn't texting. The immediate assumption for what Rose said, was that they don't talk a lot, but maybe they don't CALL each other a lot, just trade messages!

"You wander to the window and watch the salamanders go about their day. All over the neighborhood, the little dad-salamanders are putting on their little rumpled hats and picking up their little suitcases and kissing their little families goodbye for the day. You’ve always been confused about what, exactly, they contribute to the global economy. But it’s pretty cute how much they love playing at being suburban businessmen."

Pfff, the rumple hats are still a thing, guess the kids really did shape this universe in much the same way as the session! (Okay yeah, so, consorts came over from the session too, so the fact that the custom remains to the current day might just be another showcase for the status quo that consorts live under when not interacting with PCs...) Of course, this is going to sting for John, all this dadly business going around.

"The silence over the phone is growing awkward. You’ve stalled long enough. You decide to just come out and say it.

JOHN: i’ve been dreaming in anime again lately."

Aaaaaand meme number two is here. Blaperile mentioned Act 7, and yeah, John DID dream about the Furthest Ring & the blackhole, both centerpice in the Act 7 animated video. :P

"ROSE: i see." Therapist mode, engaged. Next, ask him how he feels about the dream, Rose.

"JOHN: whenever i have these dreams, everything’s breaking apart.

JOHN: millions of people are screaming and dying." Huh, is it that John didn't recognize the ghosts (being the oblivous bloke he is), or is there something more to the danger of the black hole? After all, after all of the Furthest Rings is swallowed, what's left is sessions and the universes they spawned...

"A couple yards over, a salamander blows an astounding spit bubble. Truly one for the books." Meanwhile...

"ROSE: I don’t have the slightest idea what it means that you’ve been dreaming in anime, John.

ROSE: To be honest, I...

You wait for Rose to finish her thought. She doesn’t, which is troubling because you have never known Rose to leave a thought unfinished in over ten years of acquaintance." ... Did she have a Light vision, or is someone pulling her sleeve about this or other with the troll grubs? It just hit me, we might be in for some new venues in the relationships between the humans & trolls, since yeah, they're all adults now.

"JOHN: rose... are you ok?

ROSE: Not exactly.

JOHN: what’s wrong?

ROSE: I think my condition’s been getting worse lately.

JOHN: condition?

ROSE: It’s why my message probably sounded urgent.

JOHN: you left 46 messages.

ROSE: Yes. They were all urgent.

JOHN: oh.

ROSE: I don’t think I can wait much longer before telling you."

So, Blaperile was theorizing Kanaya or Rose might be pregnant based on her trailing off. I dismissed it out of hand, but now... It would be just something for Rose to designate a pregnancy as a "condition". ... And to see contractions as a worsening of that condition. If John just talked about anime over Rose trying to tell him the baby is coming, I might just scream. And it's on HIS birthday, too!

"ROSE: I held out for as long as I could. I figured your birthday was as good a time as any to let you know.

JOHN: let me know what?

ROSE: It’s crept up on me, these last couple of years.

ROSE: Gradually enough to ignore as it was happening, but I can’t anymore." Okay, so this seems to dismiss that. I'm actually somewhere halfway between "Rose is suffering from some sort of aspect-driven migraine/dementia due to the black hole", or secondly "Rose is realizing she loves John (platonically)". I mean, the latter would be standard-issue Lalonde fuckery.

"ROSE: Lately the visions have been overwhelming.

JOHN: visions??

ROSE: John, I have terrible headaches these days. Talking on the phone doesn’t help at all.

ROSE: Would you mind flying to my apartment, so we can continue this in person?

JOHN: oh, yeah. you mean...

JOHN: now?

ROSE: Yes, now is the time.

ROSE: I’ve put it off long enough." ... Oh. So, I guess Rose was ignoring these visions because she was like "fuck you, multiverse, I earned my happy ending", which I get, but... What visions does she have, do they match what John was describing? (I don't think she wants to get him over for a surprise birthday party, in any case.)

Wow, okay, so whatever drove them to go fight Caliborn, it wasn't just John convincing the rest of them. Should've known, he was never that kind of leader.

"As you hang up the phone, a familiar feeling settles over you. A feeling of...standing? Standing, and being alone. In your bedroom. As a young man. On your birthday. You swear you’ve felt this feeling before. It’s almost like...

A young man stands alone in his bedroom. It just so happens that today, the 13th of April, is this young man’s birthday. Though it was twenty-three years ago when he was given life, and ten years ago when he was given a name, it feels like it is only today that he will begin to understand what all that means.

That young man is YOU, John Egbert.

What will you do?"

Oh HELL yes. That first shoutout was glorious, but the actual word for word callback? Priceless. And the fact that the narration gives John the initiative for what happens now? Glorious. Because it sure as hell ain't gonna be US giving him prompts, this time around. And what in the high hills is there for John to find out about what it all means! I mean, is he going to discover the nature of his existence as a fictional character? Because that might just crush his widdle brains.

Okay, this is as good a place as any to cut off this liveblog. Since I'm not sure how long this prologue might continue after this!

Cooooool though, we've started this journey anew. For however long it's going to last. Which, given the fact the epilogues get their own entry on the Homestuck site... Might be a very, very long time. It's three years since the ending of Homestuck, and I wonder how reading up is going to be. For now, everything kind of fell back into the old pattern between me and Blaperile. We'll see what we'll do next.

I'm equal parts exhilarated and anxious about getting on Mr. Hussie's wild rollercoaster again, so I'm going to try and quarantine the anxious part and cultivate the exhilarated part.

#homestuck #homestuck liveblog #homestuck epilogues #furthest ring #upd8 #reaction #spoiler alert

2 notes · View notes

bbclesmis · 5 years

Text

Entertainment Weekly: Dominic West on why Les Misérables' Valjean and Javert are like Mean Girls

Victor Hugo’s epic tale of redemption and revolution Les Misérables is set in nineteenth-century France — and 2004’s meme-generating Mean Girls is…not.

Yet, the two have more in common than one might think, at least according to star Dominic West, who portrays Jean Valjean, a.k.a. Prisoner 24601.

Valjean begins the series, now a six-part miniseries premiering on PBS’ Masterpiece Sunday, newly emerged from 19 years in prison. He begins his life anew, wanting to shed his past and build a life for himself — but the dogged pursuit of his former prison guard, the newly minted Inspector Javert (David Oyelowo), puts him once more on the run.

That obsession, which finds Javert tracking Valjean across France, reminded West of a key scene in Mean Girls and popular meme. “This is a massive case of Why are you so obsessed with me?,” he jokes. “Jean Valjean and Javert really are Mean Girls, and it’s not clear why Javert is so obsessed with him. To an astonishing degree.”

For West, one of the most difficult parts of the role was exploring that cat-and-mouse game and why these characters can’t let go of each other. He says his costar David Oyelowo slightly disagreed with West’s assessment, which is that the relationship has an element of something “psychosexual.”

He explains, “There is a moment in our TV series where I strip off in front of David, as a prisoner; I’m being released and he does cop a glance…There’s a certain sexual obsession. There’s something going on between these two men. And we didn’t want to play that too much. It’s not explicit in the writing, and certainly not in Victor Hugo, but I think with our modern sensibilities you’ve got to look for an impulse that strong. And there’s no stronger impulse than love and sex.”

West is bursting with pop culture comparisons for the new Andrew Davies adaptation of the tale, which is known most famously to people in the form of the Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil musical. This six-part miniseries, which debuts April 14 at 9 p.m., is not a musical and hews more closely to the novel.

In advance of the premiere, EW called up West to talk how much the musical inspired him (hint: not at all), why Iron Man ain’t got nothing on Valjean, and what it was like trying to keep his cool opposite Oscar winner Olivia Colman’s comedic antics.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How familiar were you with Les Mis when you signed on? With the musical’s popularity, it seems almost unavoidable, especially in Britain. DOMINIC WEST: I escaped it! I hadn’t seen the musical and I hadn’t seen all of the film of the musical, so I was pretty new to it all. I certainly hadn’t read it. If I was honest, I was slightly put off by the musical. I also thought, “Well it’s just been made into a film. What’s the point of doing it again?” Then I read Andrew’s scripts and I saw why it was a classic. Then I read a book, and then I decided I thought it was the greatest hero in literature and I had to do it, but before all that I didn’t really know much about it at all.

Something that struck me in this adaptation is how much we really get a sense that Valjean is a scary guy. He’s a hardened criminal who is reforming, and we see that in the ferocity you lend him in early episodes. For you, how did you tap into that and then how did you hammer out the journey to his gentler side? The problem with the story is the only thing he’s guilty of is stealing a loaf of bread in order to feed his starving nieces and nephews, who when he then gets jailed for that, they then presumably all die. This guy hasn’t done anything wrong. In fact, he’s been completely wronged. That’s one way you find how brutalized he’s been, how unfair he feels the world has been to him. There’s a rage in there which I found because he’s constantly being told he’s a beast, he’s a brute, he’s a good-for-nothing. Throughout the story, he’s constantly thinking of that of himself. So, he does need to be as brutish and as frightening as possible at the beginning. If he’s always been a nice guy, there’s not much of a journey to go on. It’s just more dramatic when the Bishop shows love to this guy if he’s terrifying.

I was watching the first episode the day the sentencing for Paul Manafort came out here, and it struck me that Jean Valjean got 19 years for a loaf of bread and this guy got way less for something objectively worse. [Laughs] Yeah. It’d be great if he got 19 years hard labor. [Laughs] It was a real problem for me getting my head around that, you just sort of think, “Hang on a second, a loaf of bread?” That is just nuts. That’s crazy. But that was one of the big things that I had to come to terms with in terms of psychological things with Jean Valjean —this sense that if you brutalize people, then they believe they’re not worthy of anything. They believe they are brutish and they behave accordingly. That’s a lot what Victor Hugo was trying to talk about.

David Oyelowo is your foil as Javert. What was that push and pull like with him? He took the lead on it really. I kept trying to get to know him and go out for dinner with him or something, and he kept avoiding me and ignoring me. I thought, “Oh, he’s not very friendly.” And then at the end when we finished, we went out, we had this great time and I said, “It’s such a shame we’re only just getting to know each other now.” Then he said, “Oh no, that was totally deliberate. I didn’t want to get to know you. I didn’t want to feel easy with you.” And he’s right – if you socialize with people, there is a chemistry between you, there is an ease between you, which the camera catches.

Andrew Davies is so well-regarded as an adaptor, having tackled everyone from Austen to Dickens to Tolstoy. Why do you think he has such a knack for adapting these very big books by canonical authors? He won’t do a book that’s less than two inches thick, I think. [Laughs] But I suppose he got good at it with Pride and Prejudice. When I was looking back at the scripts having read the novel, [I noticed] almost every significant and memorable scene that I remember from the novel, he managed to somehow get into the screenplay. And when you consider how long the novel is, that’s an extraordinary achievement. He’s just very good at selecting the nuggets and finessing the bumpy bits. Because another thing that strikes you when you try to work out what happened, there’s an enormous amount of coincidence, as typical of 19th-century novels I suppose. What he’s very good at doing is condensing the important stuff, but also of unknotting the more grating bits of structure, which modern audiences don’t really buy.

You have some great face-offs with Olivia Colman as Madame Thenardier, and you’ve both been praised for your dry wit and sense of humor on set, so what was the funniest moment you shared together while making this? [Laughs] Oh god, well the trouble with her is she’s so damn good that she can be roaring with laughter right up to action and then suddenly she’ll do the most devastating scene of sadness. I thought I could do that, and I thought I could run with the big leagues, but I couldn’t…There’s a big fight scene where they all pin me down on the table, [and] she gets me by the hair. She did pull my hair quite deliberately I think. Then I get a red hot iron bar out of the stove and I burn myself with it to show them how it’s nothing to me. But anyway, it’s a serious scene for Valjean. As we were preparing before action, she and Adeel [Akhtar], who played Monsieur Thenardier were doing this impression of this couple who are on British TV [on] a thing called Goggle Box, which shows ordinary people watching TV. Everyone’s crying with laughter listening to their impression of this couple. She was constantly doing impressions and cracking jokes, and I just remember that one scene where I realized I had to stop listening to her and concentrate on the work at hand.

In some ways, this story is more religious than modern audiences often see – was that an aspect you tapped into? How do you feel about Hugo’s assessment of God in this story and God’s power in Valjean’s life and destiny? It’s obviously central. Hugo does a three chapter dissertation on the state of the Catholic church, nunneries in particular. He’s not a great fan of Catholicism, but he’s definitely a believer in God. You can’t really do Valjean without having that dimension to him. He believes in God; he believes he’s been saved and can be redeemed. That’s fundamental to him. You can’t understand him without that. The candlesticks become a symbol of that belief in God. This Archbishop, who gives him the candlesticks, is a wholly good person and the power of that virtue is what turns Valjean into a hero. That virtue does not come divorced from his God. That does not exist in a vacuum. My faith is less certain, and more modern skepticism, but there’s not really any room for that with Valjean. Without being specific about a religion, he has to believe that there is a higher power and that that higher power has saved him.

Valjean is a very physical role in a lot of ways. Did you have to do a lot of training for it? Yeah, that was a nightmare. He’s essentially described as the strongest man in the world, who can fight ten men at a time. He climbs up the sides of buildings rescuing children, and in the book, he climbs up the mast of a huge tall ship and rescues a sailor who’s trapped on a yard arm and then jumps off it into the ocean and stays underwater for a full five minutes so everyone thinks he’s dead and then escapes. He’s a superhuman; he’s the original superhero. I’d like to see Iron Man do 19 years hard labor in a 19th-century prison. He’s tough as nails. That was quite daunting for me. I did a lot of boxing training; that’s the toughest training I know.

Would you be up for playing him in the musical version should the opportunity ever arise? I think there’s a reason you haven’t heard me sing much. [Laughs] I think I’ve got a lovely voice, and all I’ve ever wanted to do is musicals. The only one I’ve ever done is My Fair Lady. I played Professor Higgins, which is a part that’s written for a non-singer. I was constantly trying to put songs into Les Mis. As much as I would love to play Valjean in the musical, I don’t think anyone’s going to ask me too once they hear me sing. [Laughs]

#les mis bbc #bbc les mis #dominic west #Jean Valjean #Interviews #articles #entertainment weekly #pbs

2 notes · View notes

202skywalker · 6 years

Text

TAWOG - The Transformation Review

So among the recent Gumball episodes came The Transformation, and being the overly-large Pennyfan that I am, I decided to do this for a few quick hahas and such. Maybe this will be good, maybe it won’t. Just don’t expect this to become a common thing. All I do is reblog Pennies after all, what purpose have I other than that on this hellsite?

Be warned, there are spoilers ahead. If you don’t want to be spoiled, turn back now.

The Plot

The episode starts out with Gumball chatting it up with Penny on Elmore Plus, the two going back and forth asking if they would still love each other if they had some type of defect or condition, or something. Penny then abruptly asks Gumball if he could come to her house to solve an issue she’s having with her parents. Gumball happily accepts. (It’s nice to see Gumball has remembered he’s head over heels for Penny after the dumpster fire that was The Ex. I almost feel like I can forgive him now. Almost.)

Gumball arrives that night, only for nobody to answer the door. He listens and hears all is not well in the Fitzgerald household. He decides to go through the back, and after going through the wrong yard and losing his clothes, he arrives and greets the Fitzgeralds (finally name-dropping Mrs. Fitzgerald as “Judith”) in all his naked glory.

Later at the dinner table, Gumball, now in a Santa outfit, thanks Patrick for the spare clothes. Patrick replies that it is all they had, and seizes the opportunity to bring up wearing shells again. Penny protests this, calling the family’s idea of shells backwards and mentioning the grief her shell caused her. Patrick returns fire bringing up how Penny is basically naked all the time now, (oh they did....oh.) which Penny rebuttals by pointing out Elmore’s very spotty public deceny, i.e. Mowdown’s lack of pants, Anton only having shoes and gloves, and Tina’s outright nudity. Judith tries to convince Penny to embrace the shell, seeing as it’s part of her heritage. Penny snarkily remarks that following their ancestry would lead back to primal ancestors, yet they don’t follow in their footsteps.

The constant in-fighting continues, with Patrick and Penny each sharing small story-based allegories to drive their points home. Penny finally accuses Patrick of oppressing her and the rest of the family. This eventually leads into Penny and Patrick deciding to let Gumball decide which is best, for the sake of everyone.

Gumball sits outside the house, with each Fitzgerald threatening him, each way more unique than the last. After receiving each threat, Gumball returns to the dinner table and takes a seat. He states he has made his choice, and will illustrate his point via a story.

His story involves a king (Patrick) who is so afraid of the outside world that he makes everyone in his kingdom wear suits of armor, until one day the princess (Penny) removes hers and encourages others to do the same, which angers the king. A handsome prince (Gumball) arrives to make the right choice for them. The prince then decides to tell them a story. What follows are more allegory tales, including family of cocoons asking a butterfly who is right, and a group of seeds asking a gardener who is right.

Penny finally stops Gumball, telling him he can’t keep telling the same story over and over and expect people to change their minds. Patrick states that repeating the same point to someone who disagrees doesn’t change their mind, but only makes them angrier. He and Penny then realize it’s much like what they’re doing to their own family, and they reconcile, agreeing to disagree. Penny thanks Gumball, only to find him fleeing their house, hopping the fence as the episode ends.

With the plot out of the way, let’s get down to what I did and did not like.

Pros

- This just being an episode with heavy Penny involvement in a long, long time. (No, I don’t count The Ex, that episode was a cruel, out of character mess that deserves to be forgotten.)

- The jab at the much-discussed “Penny’s always naked” thing was brought up, and just as hilariously rebuked by Penny herself. Also her snarky remark about ancestors was great.

- The small sequence of each Fitzgerald threatening Gumball was quite amusing, kept itself creepy without taking itself too serious.

- The episode’s ending with the Fitzgeralds reconciling was admittedly a sweet one.

Cons

- The episode’s opening was unfortunately another rancid “le epic meme faces” showcase, as is typical with Seasons 5 and 6. As a result, Penny’s subject change feels too sudden. This opening should’ve gone through a few more drafts in writing.

- The scene of Gumball’s stories dragged on and on and wasn’t very pleasant to look at either. I get that was the point and no discredit to the guest animator who made them, but I just felt it went on far too long and didn’t mesh well with the world of Gumball.

Final Judgement

Overall, I’d say this episode was alright. Despite a few issues (some that have become common the past two seasons) it was a fun episode, and a great treat for Penny fans everywhere. If you’re more into other characters or more action-based episodes, you probably won’t find this entry very enthralling, but if you like episodes with good climaxes and are a Penny fan, I’d say this is for you. It may not reach the heights achieved by The Romantic, but it’s a fun ride through and through.

(Images taken by Mattalamode)

#Review #TAWOG Spoilers #The Amazing World of Gumball #The Transformation #TAWOG The Transformation #TAWOG Penny #Penny Fitzgerald #Pennyposting

105 notes · View notes

notasapleasure · 6 years

Text

10 songs meme

10 song I am currently obsessed with. I got tagged a little while ago by @invite-me-to-your-memories, thanks!

Ok ok here goes. I do not care for genres or popular mores. We go from mid-C19th folk music to early 90s Eurovision without a second thought. Enjoy. Or flee.

1 and 2. Lord Franklin aka Lady Franklin's Lament - multiple versions

I know it's a bit of a cop-out, but I can't pick just one. I think I like Martin Carthy's best, but Pentangle's gets stuck in my head easiest. Lady Jane Franklin is not my favourite historical person. I admire her determination to find out what happened to her husband, but she was quite happy to quash anyone who threatened her eulogised portrait of Franklin, and the repeated expeditions she urged don't seem to have gained much — and of course, she didn't want to hear about it when John Rae brought back news of cannibalism. This ballad, whether it was commissioned by her or not, is a perfect summary of all I respect and also dislike about her, and all that is attractive - misleadingly so - about the expeditions to the Passage. It is a gorgeous, manipulative, evocative ballad that romanticises the doomed expedition, but in the right hands it really is heart-wrenching, as those horrible deaths were, whoever they happened to.

3. Bubbi Morthens - Rómeó og Júlía

Ah melodramatic Icelandic pop about drug addicts. I only twigged the latter bit when I had to look up the lyrics because I worked out it wasn't a straight retelling of the Shakespeare play... Anyway, I couldn't get it out of my head, at least it was 'language preparation' for Iceland last month.

4. Eyjólfur Kristjánsson - Enginn veit

Uhhh @mardymaid has asked me many times about guilty pleasures and I can safely now say that this is one. Early 90s Icelandic Eurovision entrants! Derivative pop music that sounds at least a decade older! But... I love this track. I was legitimately sad not to hear him played in any Rvk clubs, but I did recognise him on the radio in a café in Stykkishólmur, so win, I guess?

5. Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure

At any given time it is a fact that I will be obsessed with at least one MP song. This is the current one, a classic, because I got to dance to it with my mate at her wedding the other week. Banging.

6. Manic Street Preachers - Hold me Like a Heaven

Best track on the new album, hands down. "I hate the world more than I hate myself / I can't pretend that it's a cry for help."

7. LCD Soundsystem - how do you sleep?

I came to this album absurdly late (and to This is Happening if I'm honest). But I finally caught up this summer because I love pop-epics-as-existential-crises, and the drums on this are also HUGE and it came on while I was making eyes at the sea last night which was so perfect, just as the sun dipped low enough to kiss the horizon.

8. Johnny Flynn - Detectorists

I long for season 3 to come on Netflix! Why didn't I listen to everyone sooner, then I could have watched it when it aired! I love Johnny Flynn anyway, and this is such a perfect, gentle accompaniment to a gentle show. It gets stuck in my head A Lot.

9. Mélusine - Le meurtre dans le bois

Look, my kind of gigs are the kind where the band quietly announces with an awkward laugh 'this is a murder ballad' and the audience cheers. If it's in archaic French, so much the better.

10. Tori Amos - Suede

I don't know how I missed this album for so long either, it's so goooood. This is one of my favourite tracks on it, lyrically and musically, and I love that ending.

This was actually a bit harder because I've been travelling and listening to music less than normal, but I'm always so happy to be tagged in these things! I tag anyone who wants to do it: @ladytharen , @jimtheviking, @dolorosa, @mardymaid, @donnaimmaculata if you like, and anyone else who wants to get involved

#music meme #Ten songs meme #Meme

5 notes · View notes