#i was not focused on school i was focused on reading all of les mis and succession sundays

[ofpd]

do you guys remember succession

#txt #one thing about spring quarter this past year is that its a miracle i passed my classes #i was not focused on school i was focused on reading all of les mis and succession sundays #i also watched fleabag. that was shorter though

[pilferingapples]

Since you've read most of Victor Hugo's books, how would you rank them from best to worst, and why? I really want to know your thoughts. Always love to hear it <3

!!! THANK YOU THIS IS SO SWEET and also so hard but here we go!

Les Miserables yes it's my favorite but I also do think it's the best! The most ambitious of his works story-structure and character/theme density and frankly? He absolutely lands it. I have been arguing with and about this book for over a decade now and I expect I will be doing so for the rest of my life, because it's worth it. I probably don't have to argue hard for it in top spot on the Les Miserables Webbed Site, though, so moving on:

Ninety Three /Quatre-vingt treize Not my second favorite but honestly probably just as good as LM but in a different way? Much more compact and focused, and feels every bit of the influence of more recent political events in France at the time, but just as ambitious in terms of the arguments and themes it's trying to cover. The ending is something you can have eighty feelings about in an afternoon but it is always unforgettable. Deserves to be so much better known. Toilers of the Sea /Les Travailleurs de la mer  My actual second favorite Hugo novel! A big Romanticist nature-focused love letter to the Channel Islands and to the sea! A mix of delightfully unreliable Nature Facts and Hugo's own observations about the place, that Nature-focus is always convincing either way with Hugo's descriptions. It's so very different from most of Hugo's later novels, but also *so* good, if you're willing to just sit back and enjoy the view . Gilliatt is a Forever Fave. Please more people read Toilers, it's a delight. And it has an Octopus Fight! The Man Who Laughs /L'homme qui rit Victor Hugo's Revenge on English History! I could feel my knowledge of actual English History Facts peeling away as I read this. Incredibly described scenes, iconic central characters, Ursus is one of the best-written characters of all time (though I have learned that some people have apparently never met a guy like this?? he is such a Type though!) . There's a wolf and the wolf is named Homo. After Les Mis, some old Hugo fans were lamenting about how far he'd strayed since the days of Notre Dame , and I think The Man Who Laughs feels a lot like a return to that old , over-the-top Goth style of Hugo's,but stronger, in keeping with the way his writing had grown over time-- until the end, when everything kind of feels like it wraps up too abruptly. Which makes sense! Hugo was finishing it up while his wife Adéle was in her final illness, and it makes sense that it would show--but I think it does show, and keeps the novel from being quite all it could be. Notre Dame de Paris I know it's either Hugo's most famous or second-most famous novel, but I really do think it's not as solid as the others! Which isn't a roast on him, it's a good thing for an author to get better over time--but it still leaves this novel feeling kinda messy. I can see Hugo trying to do his signature move of pulling together multiple separate plot/themes into a triumphant grand finale, but he hasn't quite got the knack yet. Plus there's still a lot of elements here that feel like Hugo relying on tropes a bit (and horrible tropes at that, too) instead of entirely speaking with his own voice quite yet. (also ohman. the Issues. but I'm trying to keep this post from being nine million screens long) All of the above range from "absolute masterpiece" to "not an entire masterpiece but still iconic", and then there's Hugo's Early Stuff, so: Bug Jargal - honestly it's not fair of me to even include this, it was a novel he wrote as a very young person, on a time-dare. If I'd written a Nano novel in high school it would have been SO bad. And this is bad! It's SO bad!! But you can still definitely tell it's Hugo by the way he makes sure to tell us, AFTER the story is over, that EVERYONE IN THE WHOLE BOOK DIED, EVERYONE, EVEN THE PETS. Stunning. Peak Romanticism XD (again though. THE ISSUES. whooof.)

Han d'Islande: Í have not even read this one. HUGO was down on this one later in life. I Dare Not XD (I probably will someday). But it has a polar bear and drinking seawater from skulls and inspired some very questionable behavior from the fans (attempting to drink seawater from skulls!) so I gotta acknowledge it!

Honorable Mention: the novelas

Not quite in the same group as the novels, but I think both Last Day of a Condemned Man and Claude Geaux are excellent, super-focused stories about the injustice of the prison system and the issue of capital punishment. Obviously they can't have the range of his novels, but that's not the point--they are much more direct statements on a single issue and they're really intense and effective in that!

This was fun! thank you for asking! And I'd love to hear your own thoughts on this , if you ever feel like writing them up:D

#Answereds #Novel ranking #thank you!!

[gellavonhamster]

monthly media recap: december 2023

read:

King Arthur’s Enchantresses: Morgan and Her Sisters in Arthurian Tradition by Carolyne Larrington - an analysis of development of Morgan, Morgause, and different incarnations of the Lady of the Lake from the earlier Arthurian texts to modern retellings ("modern" going as late as the 20th century, so no mention of, say, BBC Merlin or Starz Camelot yet). What I found the most interesting was a glimpse into the romances/books I haven't read (yet) and the chapters on Arthurian female characters - mainly the Lady of the Lake - in Pre-Raphaelite art. Lowkey made me wanna reread A. S. Byatt's Possession too, because it was mentioned in this book at some point.

Hellebore Zine Yuletide Hauntings special - another nice batch of articles on the spooky and mysterious in the British history and literature, with beautiful illustrations to boot. This zine has really become one of my favourite little treats to get myself last year.

The School in Carmarthen (Школа в Кармартене) by Anna Korostelyova - a lowkey legendary Russian fantasy novel that's been only published online and in a couple of very small printing runs, and which I was recommended about nine years go (better late then never, yeah). It's set in a Welsh school of magic where the teachers are various mythical and historical figures. Apart from some loose plotlines such as students trying to uncover the past of some of the teachers and the school being threatened to be closed by the bureaucrats, it's basically a sitcom composed of many slices of life. Normally not my cup of tea. But I was reading something more plot-heavy at the same time, and this book was cute and actually funny, with some witty jabs ar British imperialism (and at Harry Potter; for example, one of the characters is basically Snape if he wasn't a dick), so I enjoyed it.

+ I read a couple of articles mentioned in this post (the ones on Villette and Rebecca specifically) and am now reading this research paper on same-sex intimacy and desire in Les Mis and its adaptations and thinking about how glad I am that most of what I see of the Les Mis fandom on my dashboard these days is focused on canon era. Also, still reading One Piece manga, currently at Ch. 839

watched:

still nothing :( the fucking pirate manga wants all my attention to itself. I'll have to drag myself to the cinema in January, that's the only way I'll watch something, I guess. And I actually have some films I want to see for a change

#talk talk talk #monthly media recap

[wormstacheangel]

Day 2 of @spnprideweek and part 2 of sobrenatural fic

Dean ended up coming home a little sooner than he should have, but he didn’t want to lose the shower to Sam. He didn’t want to be sweaty and cochino for his not date with Cas.

Maybe he should have cooled it with the cumbia, making it too obvious that Dean was in a good mood because as soon as he was heading out the door—smelling great, he may add—su Tio called him over to the kitchen.

“¡Oye! ¿A dónde vas tan cambiado?” Tio Bobby was by the stove, smashing the beans for dinner, as he raised his eyebrows at Dean. Sam was standing by the sink peeling tomatillos as he cranes his neck to look over at Dean.

“Dude, what did you do? Break the damn cologne bottle?”

“Es mucho?” Dean lifted his arm to smell himself. “It’s fine!”

“¿Me vas a contestar?” Bobby threw in some whole chiles into the beans and let them simmer away. “¿Quieres que te hable en inglés? Where are you going, niño feo?”

“Estas siego, viejo!” Dean walked over to the small mirror that hung on the wall. You can barely see yourself in it because of the Jesus painting on it, but it still worked. “I’m just going out with some friends.”

“Mmm.” Bobby hummed in reply, going back to turn off the beans once they looked how he wanted it. “Llévate a tu hermano.”

“Tio!” Dean turns around, wide-eyed and heart racing. “I can’t take Sam!”

“I’ll go get my coat!” Sam rinsed off his sticky hands and started to walk out of the kitchen, but Dean grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in close. Pinning him down against his chest, which was difficult considering the kid is a damn giant.

“You aren’t coming with,” Dean mutters to him before begging Bobby again. “Tio, I’ll take Sammy with me tomorrow! Nomas hoy no.”

“¿Y porque no?”

Dean looks between curious eyes, not knowing how to explain himself. He can’t say he’s going out with a friend cause then there would be no reason why Sam couldn’t tag along. But he didn’t want to come out to his Tio and brother now! Fuck that shit; he’ll just lie.

[continue reading under the tab or on ao3]

“I’m going to meet up with Cassie.” Technically true.

Bobby’s eyes widened, and Sam’s grin grew while he wiggled himself free from Dean’s grip. They both liked Cassie and were mad at Dean for breaking things up between them. However, it wasn’t tough when Cassie rarely gave him any attention, always busy with work and school. She had to know Dean was holding her back, so he broke it off. She was mad at him for a while but ultimately thanked him for doing something she didn’t have the courage to do. Rumors still spread, though, because of course, they do, about Dean cheating, but he didn’t care much about those.

Su Tio, though, cared a lot. Dean has to constantly remind him that Dean didn’t cheat on her, and he just broke it off cause Cassie was too smart for him.

Cas is probably too smart for him too.

“Okay, pues, have fun! Bring her home to say hi.” Bobby practically pushed him out the door with Sam happily towering behind him with the same annoying grin.

Dean wondered how disappointed they would be if they found out he was going out with a guy instead.

Dean drove to Cas’s house, waiting outside a few minutes before seven. He wasn’t sure what he should do. Does he honk the horn, or is that too rude? Should he park and get out of the car to knock? That seemed too much like a date thing. And he still wasn’t sure if this was a date or two not-strangers hanging out.

He stayed in the middle of the street, unsure of what to do until finally, the front door opened, and Cas stepped out with a jacked hanging on his arm. He stood outside and squinted at the car before tilting his body down to check if that was Dean.

Dean’s panic from before melted away while he nervously waved at Cas. He saw Cas’s eyes widen with a slow-growing grin before he practically ran over to Dean.

As soon as Cas opened the door, Dean felt so sure that there was nothing more right than having Cas sitting in his passenger side.

“You ready to go, Angelito?” Dean looked Cas over; he’s dressed in dark jeans and a grey long sleeve. He has never seen Cas in anything but that rumpled old suit. He never minded the suit, but now he wished he could burn it because all that suit did was hide Cas’s muscled body. Dean couldn’t stop the whistle that escaped his lips as he said, “Mira! You look good, Cas.”

The compliment was shocking to them both, for Dean especially. He awkwardly cleared his throat while trying to think of an excuse. Maybe even use the whole English as a second language excuse, but Cas quietly responded with a, “Thanks, Dean. You look pretty good yourself.”

And maybe those words broke him. He knew he was attractive but having Cas say that made his head spin.

“Your car is beautiful, by the way. I wasn’t sure if that was you in here.”

“Did you expect me to come in that bike?” Dean jokes before slowly driving away from the house, Los Angeles Azules playing softly on the radio did not make things any less awkward.

“I don’t know what I expected. I’m just glad you came, Dean.”

Dean stopped at the end of the block and turned towards the guy sitting beside him. Cas was already looking at him with puppy dog eyes and a beautiful, hopeful smile. His breath catches in his throat as his mind gets overwhelmed with wanting to reach out and touch Cas. Just to make sure the beautiful boy in his passenger seat was real and make sure que su corazon isn’t just playing games with him.

Instead, he tightened his hold on the steering wheel, fingers burning in protest, as he melts into Cas’s smile. Wanting to relax and just be with him for tonight, not caring que alguien lo va mirar. Enjoy this non-date that looks like it has the chance to become an actual one.

But is that what Dean actually wanted?

“Dean,” Cas reached over to gently touch his arm as if knowing that Dean’s mind had wandered off. He looked hesitant, as if not sure if he was allowed to. “Do you want to go eat? We can if you want.”

Dean looked down at the hand that was burning him through his clothes, knowing damn well that Cas was giving him the chance to make this into something more. Algo que se sentía que iba a ser cósmico en su vida. Y Dean quería eso en su vida.

“Yeah,” Dean answered both questions. His hand loosened on the wheel before he reached over to take Cas’s hand in his. Hearing Cas’s breath catch in a gasp, but he didn’t look up at him; instead, Dean twined their fingers together before letting them sit in the seat between them. Dean focused back on the road before turning left to his side of town. “I got the perfect place. Te va gustar! You’re not like vegan or anything, right?”

“No.” Dean turned to catch Cas looking at him still and knew they were both feeling the same excited electricity that clouded the car just by the giddiness in his voice. “Where are you taking me on our, oh um…Oh! primero! Primero date, Dean?”

Ahi esta! La confirmación que necesitaba. This is an actual date! Pero, las palabras no le dieron pánico. No. Instead, Dean squeezed Cas’s hand as he laughed, feeling like he would just fly away if he didn’t hold on.

“You passed high school Spanish, Cas?”

“I did, but google translate did most of the work.”

When Dean parked outside the familiar food truck, he squeezed Cas’s hand once before they got out. They walked together, bumping shoulders while their hands stayed buried in their pockets. Cas didn’t question their lack of touch; instead, he smiled up at Dean as he listened to him rave about his friend Victor’s food.

“Not as good as mine, but it’s good,” Dean adds as they make it to the front of the window, where Victor can hear him.

“Cabron!” Victor said with no fire in his tone but a growing grin across his face. He held his hand out for Dean to take for a handshake. “Nice to see you, primo. Where’s Sam?”

“Lo deje en la casa!” When Dean took a step back, he put his arm around Cas’s shoulder to squeeze him close. “Pero, I brought a new customer.”

“Hi.” Cas looked a little shaken up, and Dean just wanted to lean closer to leave a kiss on his cheek, but he restrained. No necesita mas chisme circling around about him. “I’m Cas.”

“Victor.” Victor raised an eyebrow at him but reached over to shake Cas’s hand in response. “What can I get you and the pendejo around you?”

“Oh. Dean isn’t-” Cas frowned over at Dean, but Dean just shook his head, letting him know that it was okay. Cas squinted at him before he gave a small smile, not understanding but accepting. “You order for me?”

“Sure, Angelito. Anything you don’t like?”

“As long as it’s not so spicy, I don’t mind anything.”

Cas stayed stiff under Dean’s arm as they ordered and waited for their food. Eventually, Dean couldn’t help himself; the street light and the neon sign were the only things keeping this place lit, but it was still pretty dark, so he turned his face to press his nose against Cas’s temple.

“¿Qué pasa, Angelito? What’s wrong?”

“Dean.” Cas sounded shocked as he started to move back, but Dean held him a little tighter. “Someone is gonna see you.”

“Que miran. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

Cas sighed but relaxed back into Dean. “I just didn’t like him calling you that. You aren’t stupid, Dean.” Dean chuckled, and Cas turned to look at him, glaring. “I don’t see how this is funny.”

“Ay, mi Angelito, he didn’t say it in a mean way. It’s just the way we talk to each other. He’s my friend.”

Cas blinked at him a few times before he fell back against Dean, his arms crossed over his chest. “Well, I don’t like it.”

“Trust me, Cas, it’s fine. Quedate conmigo long enough, and you’ll be calling me the same thing.”

Cas didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and Dean wondered if he said the wrong thing again, but then Cas clicked his tongue before turning to Dean. “I don’t know what…um, that word you said means. Que..que-?”

“Quedate?” Cas nodded, looking back at Dean, waiting for him to explain. It brought warmth to Dean’s chest, knowing he’ll have to repeat it in English when before it came out as a joke. He swallowed hard as he looked back at those baby blues. The words barely came out in a quiet whisper, “Quedate. Stay. Conmigo. With me. I said, stay with me.”

“Oh.” Cas looked down at Dean’s lips as he talked. “I can-I can do that.”

Dean hummed a response as his eyes traveled down to Cas’s tongue poking out to lick at his lips. His heart was hammering in his chest until it came to a stop when he heard, “Dean! Oye, cabron! I ain’t calling your name again!”

They pulled apart, and Dean jogged over alone to grab their bag of food. Dean decided to get a few of his favorites and drinks.

“Victor,” Dean called his friend over again. “No le digas a nadie que estaba aquí. Okay? Or I’m gonna steal all your customers otra vez.”

Victor’s eyes traveled from Dean to Cas, who was waiting where Dean left him looking angelic under the streetlamp, before falling back to Dean. He wondered what could be going through Victor’s mind right that moment, but then he heard his friend let out a heavy sigh.

“Whatever you say, primo.”

“Thanks. Call me tomorrow, and I’ll work for you this weekend!” Dean starts walking backward, back to Cas.

“Shit! Really? ¡No juegues conmigo, Dean!”

“Llámame mañana!”

Dean makes it back to Cas, who automatically reaches for the drinks to help, and motions for him to walk back to the car.

“Come on. I wanna take you somewhere else.”

Dean drove them somewhere nicer, more private, but still a parking lot.

As soon as Dean parks the car, he opens his door, “Come on; we can sit on the hood. You might wanna put that jacket on.”

Cas looks excited when he opens the car door and walks out into the parking lot that faces the beach. “Dean! Won’t we get a ticket?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just bring the drinks.”

They sat on the hood of the impala, eating and talking, as the sounds of the waves crashing to the shore mixed with la musica norteña coming from inside the car. Dean soon finds out that Cas doesn’t know how to dance, so he puts on one of his favorite mixtapes, and cumbia plays loudly through the speaker.

They danced in front of the headlights, if you can call it dancing. They always ended up bursting into fits of laughter as they fell into each other because Cas did have two left feet. Eventually, Dean just took Cas from around the waist, and they just spun around in circles.

Feeling Cas wrap his arms around Dean’s neck to hold him as their grins were so close together made Dean’s heart leap. Eventually, Cas’s forehead fell against Dean’s, and the dancing slowed to a nice sway even though the beat was only getting quicker.

“Cas?” He answered Dean with a soft hum. “Me estas gustando mas cada segundo.”

“I don’t know-”

“I like you.” Dean’s eyes closed as he leaned in to brush their noses together. “Mi Angelito.”

Dean never thought he would be here in this situation with a guy, but he has never wanted anything more in his life. Feeling strong hands run through his hair as a strong and firm body pressed against him. He loved the intoxicating smell of Cas’s woodsy shampoo that he would have never smelled on a girl. The stubble of beard rubbed against his chin as Cas turned his head until finally, fucking finally, he had those pink lips on his.

He should be scared. Esto no es algo que debería hacer con El pinche Sonidito playing in the background. He shouldn’t have one hand behind Cas’s neck to deepen the kiss, and his toes shouldn’t curl up when he feels Cas’s heavy sigh inside his mouth. He shouldn’t become so quickly addicted to Cas’s hands reaching under Dean’s shirt to press firmly at his back, feeling the familiar slight burn become a damn forest fire in him.

Esto no es algo que debería querer. Cas no es alguien que debería querer pero aqui esta. Queriendo a nadie más pero a Cas. Cas. Cas.

Cas pulled away just enough only to have their noses touching, their breaths still mixing, as he whispered. “I like you too, Dean.”

And yeah. That was it. That was all it took.

Las cadenas del maldito miedo that held him back from even thinking of wanting Cas this way, se rompieron. Dean ya pertenece completamente a Cas.

Cas grinned as he looked back at Dean, his hand reaching to cradle his face gently. His thumb was caressing Dean’s freckles on his cheek before he happily announced. “¡Me gustas mucho!”

Dean laughed, his arms reaching down to wrap around Cas’s waist and spin him around. Both of them laughing as they continued dancing and kissing until it was late enough that they had to go home.

#inspo from a real date of mine! #instead of the beach we went to a lake and we had to leave early cause i thought I was gonna die #being in mexico and around water just makes me think of the llorona and i get scared so sue me #but this is much better #destiel #deancas #fic #destiel fluff #destiel fic #destiel fanfic #latinenatural #sobrenatural #wormstachewrites #my writing #spnprideweek #also yes i know im late for day two but life has been a mess

[everyhowlmarksthedead]

DAY 29. DEALING WITH CHILDREN.

A CHALLENGE WITH JAVIER PEÑA.

NARCOS ┃ USEFUL LINKS.

❝ words: about 650.

❝ a / n: don’t forget to comment and reblog if you liked it, i’d really appreciate it!

No one could be a better father than Javier is. Since Isabella was born, he has been in the trenches at any moment. You're not going to lie saying that you thought he would maybe miss some of the most important steps of your daughter because of his work, but he didn't. He was there when she stood up for the first time, when she spoke for the first time —DEA, you both broke into laughs as it seemed to be the most common word in your vocabulary—. He didn't miss any birthday, any special date. He didn't come home late, always on time to read her a story. He has done for her more than no one could do for their kids. But there's a thing your daughter doesn't let him do. Just one thing. And that has him feeling like the worst dad of all.

“¿En qué piensas?” You whisper tucking in bed, welcomed into his arms.

(What are you thinking about?)

He sighs a little upset, disappointed, sad. Javier puckers his lips as you trace them with your thumb.

“Hoy le pregunté a Izzy por qué no me deja que la peine”.

(I asked Izzy today why I can't do her hair).

His worry and concern touch your heart, not holding back a sweet aww now that you're conscious why your husband has been walking gloomily the whole day from one side to another.

“¿Me puedes enseñar?” He whispers hesitantly, showing you his best big puppy eyes. But he doesn't need to use them to convince you.

(Can you teach me?)

Palming his chest and nodding your head, you sit up on the bed. He claps his hands happily adopting your same position ready to learn. And you have never seen him more focused and concentrated on you, on the way your hands move through your hair doing different hairstyles —your baby girl's favorite ones. It doesn't take him too much to remember every step, practicing with your hair when you have taught him how to do it. You can swear Javier isn't going to sleep tonight, just wishing the hours pass quickly to wake up Isabella and help her to get ready.

“¡Mamá!”

(Mom!)

Not this time. You're not coming to her call from the bathroom. But your husband runs like a bat out of hell.

“Need help, mi chiquita?”

Your girl purses her lips and wrinkles her pointy nose shaking her head, still holding the black wooden brush.

“Mamá is occupied, but I can braid your hair”.

“Ah… Papá, you can't”.

“Yeah, papá can and he will. Turn around”.

Isabella is terrified. She knows she will be late to school because her dad is a disaster doing her hair and you will have to re-do it in the car. Cracking his knuckles, Javier gets down to work. He hasn't forgotten the three basic moves to do a braid, making sure it's tight enough to not leave out any single strand of her mane. When he ties it with a red scrunchy, he can't help but admire his piece of art before placing a tender kiss on top of your daughter's head.

“Listo, mi chiquita”.

(Ready, baby).

Isabella is freaking out in silence, surprised, standing up on her plastic step to raise the mirror and have a look at her hair perfectly combed. With widened eyes and her jaw dropping to the floor, your six-year-old jumps onto Javier's arms.

“PAPÁ, YOU'RE THE BEST!” She screams between giggles, hugging him and spreading kisses all around his face.

“You like it?”

“Pretty much”. She nods her chin with a huge smile decorating her face. “Thank you, papá”.

“You don't have to, I'd do anything for you. You know it, right?” He mumbles giving his little girl an Eskimo kiss. “Te amo, mi pequeño angelito”.

(I love you, my little angel).

GENERAL TAG LIST: @mayans-sauce @peoniarose @destynelseclipsa @band-psycho @myakai13 @petlaufeyson @-im-fantastic- @horsesandwolvesaremyanimals @rocketqueen @rosieposie0624 @ellyseveronica @Jessprins13 @diaryofkali @ravenmoore14 @starrynite7114 @kenbechillin @miahelen @monkeyluver4546 @sheeshgivemeabreak @jadesamhart @rawrlittlepanda-95 @megapeacelovemusic-blog @katsav17 @skits90s @wildsould1221 @littlekittymeow

NARCOS: @trulysuccubus @purrrrfect @diogodxlot @danniburgh @velia27 @catcher11 @pedritobalmando @mys2425 @tanyaherondale @kalimont83 @scullys-alienpussy @acourtofsnakes @pascalesque @encounterthepast @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @gemini0410 @nikkixostan @lozaa94 @arveeee @thoughtfulpandelwasteland @cjbtw @goldielocks2004 @aurelie-celine @spideysimpossiblegirl @agirllovespancakes @kingpascals @im-an-adult-ish @hoam-2 @pedritomando @xjsteph

#javier peña imagine #javier pena #javier peña #javier pena x reader #javier peña x reader #javier pena x you #javier pena imagine #javier peña x you #pedro pascal imagine #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x y/n

[fremedon]

That Time the Entire Medical School Marched Very Politely on the Palais-Royal

So, in the course of researching fic, I came across this last night: La Faculté de Médecine de Paris Après Juillet 1830, an 1878 monograph by A. Corlieu, assistant librarian at the medical school. It is a slim 15-page volume specifically about changes to the medical school administration as a result of the July Revolution—48 years after the fact but still within living memory, and by someone who had access to all the primary sources.

I have not made it through the whole thing yet and I’m not sure I’m going to; the bulk of it is not super relevant to the story I’m working on and my French reading is very slow and heavily reliant on google translate. BUT. I read enough last night to find out about a truly BONKERS incident that I cannot fit into my fic but that someone needs to write about. Several someones. There needs to be a whole genre of fic about That Time the Entire Medical School Marched Very Politely on the Palais-Royal.

SO. The medical school, which normally would have been in session until August 31, closes its doors on Wednesday, July 28. This is the second of the Trois Glorieuses, the Three Glorious Days of the July Revolution. (This tracks; there was fighting on the 27, but mostly on the Right Bank, and most of the barricades went up that night.) It stays closed, as far as I can tell, for the rest of that week and all of the next—much of the city was shut down, between the fighting, the rebuilding, and the unexpected regime change, and of course many medical school professors also held hospital or clinical positions and would likely have been busy dealing with wounded.

The medical students, meanwhile, are on the barricades--enough of them to be a significant contributing factor in Charles’ overthrow and a matter of immediate political concern.

How immediate? On the first Monday after the Trois Glorieuses, August 2, the medical school faculty meets to discuss the needs of the school, which also apparently include regime change because on August 4, Louis-Philippe appoints a new dean.

He does this as Lieutenant General of the realm. He is NOT YET KING. Charles X only abdicated Monday night, and then only in favor of his grandson, though the Orléanists left that part out of their announcements Tuesday morning. Louis-Philippe is still very much in the process of consolidating power, and that, it seems, requires placating the medical faculty.

And the students. Because on Friday, August 6—THE DAY THE REVISED CHARTER OF GOVERNMENT IS PRESENTED TO THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES—Louis-Philippe announces he is presenting four crosses of the Legion d’Honneur to the medical students, with the recipients to be chosen by a vote of the student body.

Louis-Philippe is STILL NOT KING. He is handing out decorations to the medical students while the details of the Charter—the constitution under which he is going to take the throne—are being hammered out. There is still enough republican (and Bonapartist, and just anti-monarchist or anti-Bourbon) sentiment in the streets that when the revised charter is unveiled Lafayette has to come out for the second time in two weeks to talk down the crowd. And the medical students are a significant enough republican force that trying to coopt them is on L-P’s agenda for that same day.

But does it work, you ask?

WELL. On Monday, August 10, at noon, the whole student body meets, in a conclave led by the dean and three professors, to vote on which of their number get the crosses. And they—unanimously—reject them. The professors suggest accepting them collectively and having them displayed in the lobby of the college; they reject that as well, insisting that "a national duty performed in common does not merit individual reward."

But, sensitive to the honor that they are rejecting, they decide they should at least pay a visit of gratitude to thank Louis-Philippe for the gesture. And so the entire assembled student body—1800 students—pours out of the auditorium into the street, in a column four abreast with the dean at their head.

A column four abreast is not walking, it is marching. The monograph says the dean was leading them, but honestly that sounds more like a hostage situation to me.

They cross the river, arrive at the Palais-Royal, and request an audience.

They get it. It is August 10. Louis-Philippe was crowned the evening of the 9th. He has been king for LESS THAN 24 HOURS and he already has an organized column of almost 2000 fervently republican young men who aren’t scared by blood at his doors.

And…not much happens. They exchange some very polite words.

The Dean: Sire, the students of the Paris Medical School, united by the love of order and freedom, come to express to you through my voice their unanimous resolution not to accept individual distinctions for a duty which all have fulfilled and for which they got the best reward. Deign to allow, Sire, that they present at the same time to Your Majesty the homage of their gratitude, their devotion, and their deep respect.

The King: Messieurs, I appreciate your generous approach and the expression of feelings so worthy of French youth. I was only able to offer four crosses; I would have liked to give one to all, convinced that all had equally well deserved it of the country in these grave circumstances; all the youth have shown a heroism and devotion on which I am happy to be able to rely.

...and then they turn around and go home. But the students are in a position of unprecedented power and they do manage to use it; they’re clearly relaying their actual demands to someone in the regime, because not even two weeks later, on August 23, the new minister for public education announces a whole slate of reforms to the medical school, starting with the reinstatement of a bunch of professors who had been sacked by Louis XVIII in 1823—before most of the current students would even have started—for insufficient loyalty to the regime. The new ministry also rolls back some disciplinary measures aimed at suppressing political activity, makes the admission requirements less stringent (that one would be reversed within a few years), establishes five new professorial chairs in various subjects, and makes various other student-focused changes like extending library hours.

Recall that summer vacation starts September 1. The ministry pushes this announcement out a whole week before the end of term—presumably, at least in part, out of worry over how the students might escalate when they had even more free time and no immediate responsibilities.

I cannot—I deeply regret—fit this incident into my current WIP. But I REQUIRE ALL the Les Mis fic about Combeferre and Joly and the Visit of Thanks To Louis-Philippe. Please go make that happen.

#les miserables #canon era research #combeferre relevant #joly relevant #medical students #july revolution #someone please write this

[local-decadent]

Dark Academics — Vol. II

Vol. I

The cottage dweller who collects stamps and has a wall plastered with postcards and ephemera in their bedroom. All their books are lovingly dog-eared and flowers are pressed between the pages. They always seem to have a wistful look on their face, and their thrifted collared shirts are soft and flow in the wind. Their breath smells like fruity tea and buttered bread with jam on top. Their favorite Les Mis character is Jehan, and they probably hoard plants. Their voice may be soft, but their heart has all the hardy strength of an oak tree.

The athlete who can speak with natural eloquence about sports throughout history, from the Olympic games of ancient Greece to the ball games played by the Aztecs. They also know the rules of their favorite sports in detail, citing them like a lawyer at any given chance. They wear their school’s jersey over a collared shirt, and their shoes are elegant but comfortable, ready to sprint at any given moment. Their hair is messy and they live to bask in the sunlight. Their cooking is nutritious and protein-rich.

The gremlin. A rare sight. They hardly come out of their dark room, with shelves covered in jars and knick-knacks. They’re a pure hedonist, picking up any shiny object on the floor that sparks even an once of joy. They sometimes craft things using these shinies they find, or leave them to rest in their room, looking at them periodically. They collect mineral specimens and beads, and may or may not be friends with the local murder of crows. They may seem a little strange, a little aloof, but they love with the whole of their heart. Their passion for shinies consumes them, just as they’re consumed by a book filled with beautiful words. They don’t read for philosophy, but for beauty. And they always carry a knife.

The Renaissance man (or woman, or person) with a room of such eclectic content that you’d think it might belong to multiple people. There are legos and arduino projects scattered across the floor, piles and piles of books on linguistics in the corner, horror movie posters on the walls, and abstract paintings and ceramics taking up most of the bookshelves. You may think all these interests are shallow and hardly developed, but this academic does, in fact, take care to broaden their skills and knowledge across all of them. They may or may not have ADHD, and may or may not have idolized Leonardo Da Vinci growing up.

The haunted one staring into empty space. They are so tired. They get maybe three hours of sleep a night, struggling to remain grounded, or maybe they chronically oversleep. There is not a day in their life they don’t experience some kind of ache; in their joints, in their heart, in their mind, something else, or all of the above. They’ve been broken on the wheel time and time again. They lost their attention span to brain fog and caffeine. They’re a nighthawk, occasionally coming to their senses in the dead of night, and spiraling into the realization that things around them are deeply fucked up before their mind fogs up again. They like art and music, and either blast their ears off or stare at a picture as their brain absorbs it all. They like photography. With the tap of a button, a moment is immortalized. A blessing for their poor memory.

The geek, an avid tabletop rpg player. They have a multitude of characters and a multitude of ideas for interesting worlds. They tend to daydream a lot, and every novel they read feeds into this passion of theirs. They also tend to adore video games, or any other form of media focused on characters and their lives or an interesting world. They are a fan of authors such as Tolkien, and have probably created multiple constructed languages before, tying them in with their characters and worlds. They tend to be a little all over the place, but their familiarity with character creation and roleplaying helps them put themself in other people’s shoes. They may or may not have forgotten their true identity because of all the roleplaying, but in the end, every character they create contains an inevitable aspect of themself. The geek is a storyteller, a bard with a quicksilver mind and a dagger tongue.

#dark academia #light academia #art academia #academia #dark academia aesthetic #tag yourself #text posts

[spacemancharisma]

YOU LIKE LES MIS HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM EXCITED WHOS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER THATS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PREVIOUS HYPERFIXATIONS AND YEAH PART OF IT DOES HAVE TO DO WITH THE SURPRISING POPULARITY OF MY LES MIS BLOG THAT HAS LIKE HALF A THOUSAND FOLLOWERS FOR SOME REASON BUT MOSTLY I JUST LIKE THE GAYS. SORRY IF THIS IS OVERWHELMING

OH MY GOD YEAH HEY

god it’s so weird how far my blog has come cause this was originally a les mis-centric blog and now I have followers that don’t even know I used to be Deep In The Fuck of les mis

brief backstory: I watched the 2012 movie my senior year of high school because my school was gonna be performing it, I was immediately deeply invested in les amis and read (most of) the brick, I was in the worst depressive episode of my life at the time and focusing so much of my mental energy on les mis instead of how I wanted to walk into the sea legitimately got me through some tough shit.

anyway, my favorite character is Grantaire, both in les mis and also like,, maybe in all of fiction. I connected with the couple pages of his description in a really meaningful way and see myself in his character more than almost any other characters i’ve encountered. I did my ap art portfolio as a character study of him and then realized over time that my design for him is lowkey my transition goals hfngjg. one of my first tattoos was one I gave myself and it’s the letter R in morse code on my hip for Him.

but anyway, i’m gonna tag this #les mis if you wanna go through my tag, you can go back through years of this hyperfixation and enjoy some old bad art of mine lmao (and don’t feel bad about spam-liking posts or anything, I don’t mind 🥰)

** hey for some reason on my phone rn my tag is only going back a few months- idk why that is or if it happens for you but if so, that’s. not correct lmao

#ask #anon #les mis #long post #spaceman.lesmis

[septembercfawkes]

Save the Cat! Explained: Beginning

Save the Cat! is one of the most popular modern story structures, used by filmmakers and novelists alike. I admit, out of the most popular story structures, this approach has not been my favorite, even though it's very effective and very famous. But the more time goes on, the more I've come to appreciate it. Like all the other story structures, I feel like Save the Cat! has both strengths and weaknesses. As I explain the structure, I'll also be sharing my opinions on any concepts I feel could be refined and improved upon. Who am I to think I can do this? Well, I certainly don't have the same credentials of the creator of it, Blake Snyder! But I can back up everything I say, and you'll have to decide for yourself what you think. But this structure is a great one to learn, in part because it works for so many writers and in part because it includes elements that other structures do not. Also, I know I have friends and followers who have probably had years more experience with it than I have, so I'd like to invite anyone who can refine our understanding of this structure to leave comments, should they so desire. Again, I'll be referring to Spider-verse--NOT because I'm obsessed with it, but because I want to again show how the same story actually fits multiple structures--not one, as so many tend to believe. (If I had known I was going to do all this story structure stuff, I probably would have picked a different story, but hey, it won an Academy Award, so yeah!) There is also a bigger point all these structure posts are building up to, which will eventually be on my blog, once I get all the groundwork done.

This structure was developed by a screenwriter, and the title comes from a screenwriting method, where you show the hero saving a cat to make them more likeable, although the method is never in the structure itself (I think it stuck, because that's the title of the book it comes from). The numbers  next to the terms represent what scene that term takes place in. If you are writing a novel, you often have more wiggle room. But I've left them as a guideline. Is Save the Cat! really the last story structure you'll ever need (as the book claims)? I question that sometimes. But I'll let you decide for yourself. For now, let's appreciate and dig into this wonderful thing Blake Snyder created and decided to share to help all of us writers.

The Beginning

Opening Image (1)

The Opening Image is what it sounds like. It's the "opening image." 😆 But that sounds a little vague, so let's explain it some more. The Opening Image is going to give the audience the first impression of the story--it's going to help set the tone, the type, the scope, and the stakes. Which frankly, seems like a great thing to do when introducing a story to someone.

Typically, it also shows the audience the starting point of the hero (which will not only set the stage, but help prepare us for how he or she is going to arc). There will be a matching beat at the end The Final Image, which will typically illustrate how the hero has changed.

Another purpose of the Opening Image, is to communicate to the audience that this is gonna be a great story.

This is all the first scene. So in Lion King, we get to see all these different animals from all over in the African kingdom, come to meet baby Simba. In A Quiet Place, we get to see a family all together, navigating an abandoned setting in near silence.

My opinion: If you have a story that really pulls off two different tones, or rather, two different draws, then it might be helpful to sort of have two Opening Images--with one as a prologue. This is a situation where a prologue might actually be a great idea. To learn more about that approach, check out my post on prologues.

In Spider-verse

So in Spider-verse, the Opening Image is the very beginning where Spider-man talks about how great it is to be the one and only Spider-man. That whole scene completely sets the tone of the story and establishes the type of story it is (Spider-man saving people), it also gives us the scope--he saves all of New York City, which then gives us the stakes--the people in New York  City (and his loved ones). Sure, it doesn't have Miles, but we'll get to him in the next scene.

Because so much of what Spider-man says in The Opening Image is going to be contradicted (and the audience knows this), it promises to the audience that this story is gonna be a great story.

Theme Stated (5)

Not too many scenes later (and in screenwriting, it's usually the 5th scene), someone other than the main character will say a question or statement that, in Snyder's words, is the theme of the movie. Often this is said to the protagonist.

Some of his given examples are, "Be careful what you wish for," "Pride goeth before the fall," or "Family is more important than money."

"It won't be this obvious," Snyder writes, "it will be conversational, an offhand remark the main character doesn't get until later. . . . This statement is the [story's] thematic premise."

My opinion: This is a place in this story structure where my views deviate a bit from Snyder, though honestly . . . I feel if I were to explain my views to him . . . I think he'd probably agree with them--we just look at this differently.

Snyder says a good movie is always "about something," and so you should stick that statement right here.

I personally think this is kind of a narrow definition and approach, especially when I can point to specific successful stories that don't do this exact thing.

I think he's right that there should be a thematic beat around here, but I don't think it needs to be the thematic statement (and maybe this is why he uses the word "premise"). Instead, if you've read my post about the thematic pendulum, I'm going to argue pretty confidently that this is when the protagonist first (or nearly first) encounters an extreme, opposing worldview on the theme topic. It may or may not embody the thematic statement.

Remember, a thematic statement is something like "Love is the most powerful force in the world." And a theme topic, is the topic of that statement, "Love."

I won't repeat everything, but basically, in my opinion, the theme topic will be explored and ideas about it tested through the story. Part of this includes confronting the protagonist with a worldview that is opposite of his.

That's what I think this moment is. For example, in Hamilton, Hamilton meets Burr who has the exact, extreme opposite worldview of him. While Hamilton sings all about not throwing away his shot to ensure a legacy, in the same song, Burr expresses that Hamilton needs to shut his mouth and not make waves if he wants to get anywhere in life. HOWEVER--neither of these viewpoints actually embody the true thematic statement, which is that we can't control our legacy. What the opposing outlook does do is that it works to introduce and kick off the thematic journey.

I'll pull from other examples (some from my pendulum post) to back this up:

In Les Mis, Jean Valjean is shown mercy by the bishop--an extreme, opposing worldview from his (which is focused on justice). In Harry Potter, Harry, who is unloved, must witness Dudley's birthday--a case where a child is so loved that he is spoiled rotten. In The Hunger Games, Katniss, who believes the country can never be changed, has her worldview challenged by Gale, who openly talks about how sick the Games are and asks what would happen if everyone refused to watch it.

Sure, in some examples, the true thematic statement is said, but not always--in a broader sense, it's really an extreme, opposing worldview that enters the picture.

I'm also going to disagree with the fact the theme has to be said. Not even the opposing worldview needs to be said. But it does, at least, need to be shown. (Case in point, Harry having to witness his aunt and uncle dote on Dudley.)

So this is one element in the structure that I think could use some more refining, but Snyder is great at drawing our attention to it. Yes, we need to introduce the theme topic around here.

In Spider-verse

As Miles goes to school, one of his teachers calls him out for intentionally failing his test. She says he's trying to quit, and she assigns him to write an essay about what kind of person he wants to be.

Set-up (1-10)

This is pretty straightforward. In the Hero's Journey structure, this the equivalent of the "Ordinary World" section. For the first segment of scenes, the writer will be grounding the audience in the story, showing who the main character and other key characters are. This will establish why the protagonist needs to change (or arc) in the story. While I usually think of this moment as also introducing the setting ("Ordinary World"),

Snyder emphasizes prepping for the hero's arc, which is nice, because he probably does this more than the other popular structures.

In this section, you need to "plant every character tic, exhibit every behavior that needs to be addressed later on," related to the hero. There is something (or rather, multiple things) the hero is lacking, and the writer needs to show this. These elements will be explored, twisted, and (likely) cured through the course of the story. All these things you show about the character here, can be called back on, later.

While Snyder doesn't use my exact words, he touches on the idea that this establishes what is "normal" for the characters and society--which will begin to be challenged with the catalyst.

In Spider-verse

We meet Miles and other key characters. Throughout his ordinary day, we see him time and time again wanting to quit and not applying himself. He wants to quit his new school. He intentionally does bad on a test. He chooses not to write the essay he was assigned (and instead goes to visit his uncle). His relationship with his dad needs work.

Catalyst (12)

This is what the Hero's Journey calls "The Call to Adventure," or what some call the "inciting incident." In my words, this is when something comes along and disrupts or challenges the established normal. It calls the hero in a different direction.

Snyder doesn't say much more about it than that, and a lot of times, not more needs to be said. Something happens and suddenly the protagonist has to deal with a new situation.

Examples:

Harry learns he's a wizard. Primrose has her name pulled out at the reaping. George Washington asks Hamilton to be his right-hand man. Now of age, Elsa must have her coronation, which includes having guests over.

In Spider-verse

This is the moment Miles gets bit by the spider--it disrupts the established normal and calls him in a new direction.

In Spider-verse

This is the moment Miles gets bit by the spider--it disrupts the established normal and calls him in a new direction.

Debate (12-25)

This is the initial reaction segment--we see the hero first reacting to the Catalyst. In the Hero's Journey, this is basically "The Refusal of the Call," where the hero, at minimum, hesitates before embarking on her new journey.

Snyder uses a different term, which brings to mind a slightly different perspective. That the hero is debating what to do.

Does he run away? Try to get help? Hope to ignore the Catalyst? These are things that might run through his head. We may see the hero trying a few different things.

When you compare different story structure models, there can be some ambiguity on what this means and includes, which I hope to define more in a later post. But for now, we'll stick to Save the Cat!

Snyder states that this section must answer a question of some kind. For example, in Legally Blonde, the Catalyst is Elle getting dumped; during the Debate, she decides to go to Harvard Law, and the question becomes, "But will she be accepted?"

My opinion: To me, the question (or questions) posed in the Debate is really a nod to oppositions/challenges and stakes--or in other words, difficulties and potential consequences. If there are no difficulties or significant outcomes, then what the character does during the Debate doesn't really matter and doesn't carry any weight (which I guess would mean the Catalyst may not be a true Catalyst).

So personally, I'd like to take this a step further and say it's helpful that the audience is aware of the risks in play as the character Debates.

Which is funny, because this is what the Hero's Journey touches on--if there isn't a moment where the character at least hesitates, then the audience can't appreciate the seriousness of the situation. By touching on the risks/stakes, we do that, and give this moment a little more oomph. . . . But . . . I promised to not get into other structures here (oops!)

In Spider-verse

The morning after getting bit by the spider, Miles starts to debate what is going on. Is it puberty? Is it Spider-man abilities? Was it the spider bite? But it had to be an ordinary spider! How can the same thing that happened to Spider-man be happening to him? etc. I'm going to say the stakes are touched on, in that we get a glimpse of what the potential challenges and consequences would be if he is a Spider-man. (Particularly in that moment where he sees his roommate's comic book and imagines the future . . . and then runs away.) . . . in a future post, I'll explain and analyze the middle.

#writing tips #writing tips and tricks #writeblr #save the cat #writing reference #writing help #writing tip

[benperorsolo]

Can you rec any other media with some radical forgiveness/redemption themes, preferably with a HEA?

lol I wish I knew more of them. Anyone who knows of more media please feel free to chime in. A lot of this is gonna be manga and anime bc a) I am unfortunately a weeb and b) Japanese media is not embarrassed about stuff like that. But I’ll try to go for variety. In terms of things I’ve personally read/watched:

Crime and Punishment by OG Problematique Redemption Stan Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Les Mis, whether that’s book or musical format; musical preferred. I’ve read the book but be warned it Is Long and there are whole interludes about the Battle of Waterloo. I know people have strong opinions about The Brick (as the book is called), but. If you’re not in the know the central protagonist is a man who was arrested and sent to prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s family. After years in jail he breaks parole and tries to live a righteous life, but is pursued by the police detective Javert. The story involves a lot of themes but redemption versus justice is certainly one.

The Expanse, especially the books, by James SA Corey, has several characters who have explicit redemption arcs after very intentionally killing people and causing others harm

Archivist Wasp by Nichole Kornher-Stace-- I’d say the theme of this one is more self-forgiveness, but the MC reminds me a lot of Ben so on it goes

A Silent Voice-- both the anime film and the manga; the manga is obviously longer than the film and so the development is more intricate, but the movie is still stellar. As of 5/11/2020 the film is on Netflix. Follows the story of a boy who used to torment a deaf girl in elementary school, and his subsequent attempt at redemption with her as they slowly fall in love. TW themes of suicide. 

Rorouni Kenshin-- very much Rorouni Kenshin, which revolves around a former Tokugawa assassin trying to find redemption in post-war Meiji Japan, also it’s a romance

Fruits Basket -- obviously a classic if you’re a weeb, focused a lot on cycles of abuse and trauma and ultimately how forgiveness breaks them.

Goku Shufudo/The Way of the Househusband-- it’s a comedy mostly told as a series of one-shots, but it’s about a former Yakuza boss named Tatsu who retires to become an unironically doting and supporting househusband to his career wife. The comedy comes from Tatsu embracing the whole ‘domestic life’ thing with all of the intensity he once devoted to cutting people’s fingers off, and his old partners being unable to grasp why this guy who once killed ten people with a rusty pipe is wearing an apron for some reason.

Below are also some real-life nonfiction examples. I’m not gonna say these are HEA or straightforward examples, but I think they’re really important to read if you want to contemplate these issues in real life.

Very, very seriously, A Mother’s Reckoning by Sue Klebold, mother of the Columbine shooter Dylan Klebold. TW all the stuff you’d expect from a book about a real life school shooting, but the book is honestly life changing. 

A Serial Killer’s Daughter by Kerri Rawson, daughter of the BTK Killer

#asks #nonnie #recs #media

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

For the book ask game: Epilogue, Literature, Manuscript, and Epeolatry!

Epilogue: What is a book that made you cry?

the only book that has ever made me sob is “The Light Between Oceans”, by M.L. Stedman. I had to read it one year for summer reading, and I think I read it in a single day? I was tearing up throughout the entire book, but I didn’t start full-on crying until I reached the very end. I’ve put off watching the 2016 movie because I know that if I watch that movie, I’m going to end up crying all over again. The story is really heartbreaking, and you learn to sympathize with all of the characters, and their faults are so realistic. 

It’s just so well-written, and it’s a pretty recently published novel (it was published in 2012), so I absolutely recommend it!

also “As Old As Time”, the Beauty and the Beast Twisted Tale by Elizabeth Braswell? I reached the end of the book and CRIED LIKE A BABY. Just the entire story, for one thing, switching between POVs, getting to read Belle’s thoughts on meeting the Enchantress, and Beast/Adam’s choice at the end of the book??? I was an absolute mess. The characters are so well written, and getting to read about the motivations, and read about why this little village with a castle has been so unnoticed and hidden for years, it made everything from the movie that was always a little confusing make perfect sense!

Literature: Top 3 books you want to read this year.

- Any of the Twisted Tales novel. I’ve gotten through three of them (”As Old As Time”, “Reflection”, and “Conceal Don’t Feel”), and I’m hoping to start another one soon! I want to read “Mirror, Mirror” or  “So This Is Love” next, because I’m really interested in the premise!

- “Emma”, by Jane Austen has been on my list for a while! I read “Sense and Sensibility” in high school, and I just recently read “Pride and Prejudice” in a female writers-focused course! I know there are other novels by Austen, but those are my top three of hers that I’ve been wanting to read for a while and Emma's the last one!”

- “Rebel Rose” is one that I’ve been dying to be able to pick up ever since I got it (😉), and I just haven’t been able to!! It’s going to be the first one I start reading as soon as summer comes around!

Manuscript: What is a book you want to read but are intimidated by?

Les Mis. My dad has a copy of the book, and I attempted reading it when I was in sixth grade. I have no idea what I was thinking, and I made it about halfway through before giving up. I’d love to be able to go back and try reading it again, just dedicate a summer or a winter break to reading it through. I love the musical, so I’d really love to be able to appreciate the novel.

Epeolatry: What is your favorite book quote?

oh i have so many!!

- “Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.” (Little Women)

- “Peter did not feel very brave; indeed, he felt he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do.” (The Chronicles of Narnia)

- “Every once in a while you just have to decide to something very crazy and very right-- just dare yourself to live. I don't mean doing something stupid and destructive-- just something fun and good and beautiful.” (The Shadow of the Bear)

- “If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.” (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

[sternbilder]

Camille Has Many KDrama Thoughts

As some of you have possibly noticed, I have recently fallen into a KDrama hole and I can’t get up, and I have just finished my 10th drama, which seems like less of an accomplishment than I thought now that I say it out loud, but anyway,

As a checkpoint/thinly veiled plug of some shows I love very much, here is a very long post with some of my thoughts on all the KDramas I’ve seen so far, as well as what’s next on my list, in case you too were interested in joining me in nonexistent fandom hell!

So firstly, all of the dramas I have watched to completion, in the order of how much I like them. First, my top five:

1. Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010). My #1 favorite drama to date. I’ve probably watched it in full 4-5 times, and it’s still an absolute treat every time. Is it the best drama I’ve ever seen? Probably not. But it’s so fun and charming that it’s just gotta be at the top of my list. 

The best way I can describe this drama is Ouran High School Host Club, except in Joseon era Korea, and instead of flirting with girls the main characters learn about Confucianism and solve mysteries and play sports (twice) and end up accidentally involved in a complicated political scandal. Also, that one text post about how Shang from Mulan is bi because he falls for Mulan while he thinks she’s a man...This drama has that, except actually canon. And while I won’t pretend this is show is a shining beacon of representation, there are multiple main characters who are explicitly not heterosexual and several others with very plausible queer readings, which earns it a very special place in my heart.

As for the actual premise of the show, it’s basically about a wonderfully determined and kind and clever but lower-class girl whose writing skills catch the eye of the most stubbornly strait-laced but idealistic aspiring politician-type on the planet. She ends up getting a one-way ticket to the most prestigious school in the country, except she has to pretend to be a man the entire time because women aren’t allowed to be educated at this time. 

It’s a bit of a silly, cheesy show, and here are many wacky shenanigans, but the main cast is full of incredibly highly endearing and multifaceted characters, there is a lot of sexual confusion, the slowburn roommate romance has an incredible payoff, and it’s also full of deeply moving social commentary about class, privilege, and gender roles. This drama is a blast and I could go on and on about what I love about it, I absolutely adore it to pieces.

2. Six Flying Dragons (2015-2016). I debated between this and Tree With Deep Roots (next on my list, to which SFD is a prequel) as my #2 but I do think I want to place SFD higher just because it's the drama that I keep thinking about even after finishing it. of course, it has the dual advantages of 1) being released chronologically later (and having better production value, etc., because of this) and 2) being twice as long, but there’s just so much stuff to unpack with SFD that it makes me want to keep coming back to it. 

The show is about the founding of the Joseon dynasty, and six individuals (half of whom are based on real historical figures and half fictional) whose lives are closely tied to the fall of the old regime and the revolution that brought in the new. It has an intricate, intensely political plotline based on the actual events that happened during this time, and though this may sound kind of boring if you’re like me and not super into history (admittedly, the pacing in the beginning is a tiny bit slow), it quickly picks up and becomes this dense web of character relations and political maneuvering. Though none of the major events should come as a surprise if you’ve seen TWDR or if you happen to already know the history it was based on, the show adds such a depth of humanity and emotion to every event and character that nothing ever feels boring or predictable. As a matter of fact, there are several events that were alluded to in TWDR that, when they actually happened in SFD, left me breathless--because although I 100% knew these were foregone conclusions that were coming up at some point, I still had a visceral moment of, “oh no, so that’s how that came to happen.” 

But though I really enjoyed following the story of SFD and learning about the history behind it, the highlight of the show for me is definitely the great character arcs. I loved TWDR’s characters, too (especially Yi Do, So Yi, and obviously Moo Hyul), but with double the episode count SFD just has so much time for rich, dynamic character development, and I absolutely loved seeing how these characters grew and changed over time when their ideologies and fates collided in this turbulent and violent age: How young and ambitious Yi Bang Won eventually spiraled into a ruthless tyrant, how the naive and kind-hearted Moo Hyul struggled to retain his humanity in a bloody revolution that challenged his values and loyalties to the core, how the fiercely determined and idealistic Boon Yi grew into a pragmatic and capable leader who comes to realize what politics and power mean for her and her loved ones. 

SFD was also everything I wanted as a prequel to TWDR--I loved seeing the contrasts between some of the TWDR characters and their younger selves in the SFD timeline: The hardened and ruthless Bang Won as a passionate and righteous adolescent, the cynical and resigned Bang Ji as a cowardly boy who grows into a traumatized and bitter young man, and my personal favorite character, the comically serious bodyguard Moo Hyul as the very model of the dopey, lovable himbo archetype. And though the ending was controversial among fans (particularly those who watched SFD first), I loved how it closed all the loops and tied it back to the events of TWDR, both providing that transition I wanted but also recontextualizing and adding new meaning to the original work. I think it's still a very good drama on its own, but this hand-off is what really sealed the deal for me personally, because it was not only super emotionally satisfying to watch how the stories connected, but it elevated TWDR to something even greater (suggesting that Yi Do and the events of TWDR was the culmination of everything the six dragons fought so long and hard for), which is exactly what I expect from a good prequel. 

I’ve already talked so much about this drama but I also do need to mention that the soundtrack to SFD is A+, and the sword fights are sick as hell. There is also some romance, though it’s not really a focus--and all the pairings that do exist are extremely tragic, which is exactly up my alley. Overall, this is a hell of a historical drama, coming of age, villain origin story, and martial arts film in one, and I highly recommend it.

3. Tree With Deep Roots (2011). The sequel to SFD, though it aired first chronologically. Although this show isn’t one of those shows that I could rewatch once a year like SKKS or keep ruminating on like SFD, TWDR (much like Les Mis, or Fata Morgana) is thematically the kind of story that just makes my heart sing.

The story centers around the creation of Hangul, the Korean alphabet, by Yi Do (a.k.a., King Sejong the Great, who is the son and successor of Yi Bang Won, the main character of SFD) as well as two fictional childhood friends whose backstories and ambitions become central to the story of how and why this alphabet came to exist. Not only is the actual process of creating this alphabet absolutely fascinating from a linguistic and scientific POV, but the show dramatizes Yi Do’s motivations in a way that’s so incredibly touching and human--portraying the king as a soft-hearted and extremely charismatic yet fundamentally flawed and conflicted figure who tries so desperately to do right by his people. 

The show explores both a number of personal themes like redemption, atonement, and vengeance, as well as broader societal themes such as the ethics of authority, the democratization of knowledge, and the power of language and literacy. Though the show never forgets to remind the audience of the bitter reality of actual history, it’s still a deeply idealistic show whose musings on social change and how to use privilege and power to make the world better are both elegant and poignant. 

Romance definitely takes a backseat in TWDR, even more so than SFD, though this isn’t something I personally mind. There are, however, a lot of interesting politics surrounding the promulgation of the alphabet, including a string of high-profile assassinations--if SFD is historical/political-thriller-meets-action-film, then TWDR is historical/political-thriller-meets-murder-mystery, and it’s an incredibly tightly written and satisfying story whose pieces fall into place perfectly. Though not the sprawling epic that SFD is, TWDR is an emotional journey and an extremely well-written story with a TON of goodies if you’re as excited about linguistics as I am. 

4. White Christmas (2011). My first non-sageuk on this list! White Christmas is, in a lot of ways, an odd drama. It’s an 8-episode special, and featured largely (at the time) new talent. it’s also neither a historical work nor romance-focused, but instead a short but intense psychological thriller/murder mystery. 

The premise is this: Seven students at a super elite boarding school tucked away in the mountains receive mysterious black letters that compel them to remain on campus during the one vacation of the year. The letters describe various “sins” that the author accuses the students of committing, as well as the threat of a “curse” as well as an impending death. The students quickly find that they’re stranded alone at the school with a murderer in their midst, as they are forced to confront their shared histories and individual traumas to figure out 1) why they’ve been sent the letters, and 2) how to make it out alive. At the center of the survival game the characters find themselves in is a recurring question: “Are monsters born, or can they be made?”

If you’ve been following me for a while, it’s easy to see why I was drawn to this drama. In terms of setup and tone, it’s Zero Escape. In theme, it’s Naoki Urasawa’s Monster. It’s Lord of the Flies meets Dead Poets Society. or as one of my mutuals swyrs@ put it, Breakfast Club meets Agatha Christie. The story is flawlessly paced with not a scene wasted. There’s so much good foreshadowing and use of symbolic imagery, and though I’ve watched it at least 3-4 times, I always find interesting new details to analyze. The plot twists (though not so meta-breaking as ZE) are absolutely nuts, and aside from the somewhat questionable ending, the story is just really masterfully written.

Above all, though, WC is excellent for its character studies. Though I typically tend to stay away from shows that center around teenagers because I don’t find their struggles and experiences particularly relatable, WC does such an excellent job of picking apart every character psychologically, showing their traumas, their desires, their fears, and their insecurities. We see these kids at their most violent and cruel, but also their most vulnerable and honest. Their stories and motivations are so profoundly human that I found even the worst and most despicable characters painfully sympathetic at times, as cowardly and hypocritical and unhinged as they became. 

Like I said, it’s only 8 episodes long with probably the best rewatch value on this list. My only complaints about it are its ending, as well as its relative lack of female characters, but otherwise I would absolutely recommend.

5. Signal (2016). Okay, this might be the recency bias talking because I just finished this series but I'm sure but I'm still reeling at the mind-screw of an ending and I feel like it deserves a place on this spot just for that.

Signal is a crime thriller based on a number of real-life incidents that happened in Korea in the last 30 or so years. In short, a young profiler from the year 2015, who has a grudge against the police after witnessing their incompetence and corruption twice as a child, happens to find a mysterious walkie-talkie that seems to be able to send and receive messages from the past. on the other end is an older detective from 2000 who tells him that he’s about to start receiving messages from his younger self, back in 1989. Through the seemingly sporadic radio communications, the two men work together to solve a series of cold cases, which begin to change the past and alter the timeline.

As they solve these cases, expose corruption within the police department, and correct past injustices, the two men (along with a third, female detective who has connections to both of them) also begin to unravel the mysteries of their pasts, as well as why and how they came to share this connection.

Like WC, the story and pacing of this drama were flawless, reminding me of an extended movie rather than a TV series. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and the 16-episode run went by in no time at all. I always love timeline shenanigans and explorations of causality and fate and the consequences of changing the past, and this show has oodles of that peppered with the heartbreakingly tragic human connections and stories that the main characters share. The main pairing has great chemistry and gave me exactly the pain I crave from a doomed timeline romance, and the cinematography and soundtrack were also beautiful, which also contributed to the polished, cinema-like feel.

My only complaint is that I wish that the ending felt more like an ending, such that the drama could stand on its own. I do realize this is because there’s a second season coming, but right now the show feels somewhat incomplete, ending on a huge, ambiguous cliffhanger/sequel hook and with several loose ends. I obviously can’t give a final verdict until the entire thing airs (and I typically don’t like multi-season shows, so I will wait for the next season to come out both reluctantly and begrudgingly), but even where the show leaves off I still did enjoy it immensely.

...And now, some brief thoughts on the other 5 shows I’ve watched, because I ran out of steam and have less to say about these:

6. Healer (2014-2015). It’s been a few years since I’ve seen this show, but I remember being really impressed by this drama at the time, especially the storyline. Unfortunately though I don’t remember too much about the drama itself, which is a shame. It’s a mystery/thriller, I think, and there is hacking and crimes involved? The main character is a very cute and sweet tabloid writer and she falls in love with a mysterious and cool action boy who helps her uncover the truth behind a tragic incident that relates to her past, or something. Judging from my liveblog it seems like this was an extremely emotional journey, and I enjoyed the main couple (who are both very attractive) a lot, and it was just overall a cathartic and feel-good experience. I feel like I should rewatch this drama at some point?

7. Rooftop Prince (2012). It’s also been forever since I watched this show but I remember thinking it was hilarious and delightful and I definitely cried a lot though I do not remember why (probably something something time travel, something something reincarnation/fated lovers??). I do remember that the premise is that a Joseon-era prince and several of his servants accidentally time travel into modern-day Seoul and end up meeting the main character who is the future reincarnation of his love (?) and he is hilariously anachronistic and also insufferably pretentious, which the MC absolutely does not cut him any slack for, and they have an extremely good dynamic.

8. Coffee Prince (2007). I watched this around the same time as Rooftop Prince and I remember really enjoying it! it’s basically just SKKS, but the modern cafe AU, and I mean that in the best way possible? It definitely shares a lot of the same tropes--crossdressing/tomboy female lead, sexually questioning male lead who falls in love with her despite being “straight,” very good chemistry and also extremely charming secondary characters.

9. Shut Up Flower Boy Band (2012). This show...Was just OK. I enjoyed it at the time, but I can’t say I found it particularly memorable. As I said, I don’t typically find stories about high school students particularly relatable, and the battle of the bands-type plot was interesting enough at the time but didn’t really leave a lasting impression. As expected, the music was pretty good. I kind of watched this mostly to hear Sung Joon sing tbh?

10. Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People (2017). I wanted to like this show. I really did. I wouldn’t say it was bad, but the beginning was painfully slow, and I only really enjoyed the last 10 episodes or so, when the vive la révolution arc finally started kicking off. The pacing was challenging--the pre-timeskip dragged on about twice as long as it needed to, and I just wasn’t really interested in the Amogae/Yiquari storyline very much. I also really, really disliked all the romances in the show, especially the main pairing, since I didn’t particularly love either the male or the female leads until pretty late in the show. Overall I think I would have enjoyed the show more if the first 2/3 of it was about half as long, and it either developed the romance better or cut it out altogether.

What I’m thinking of watching next:

1. Chuno (2010). Mostly because the soundtrack to this show is so goddamn good, but also because I’m craving more historical dramas with good sword fights after SFD. I was kind of hoping Rebel would fill that need but I was a little disappointed tbh?

2. Warrior Baek Dong Soo (2011). Same reasons as above, honestly. also has a very good soundtrack, and Ji Chang Wook, who is a known nice face-haver, doing many very cool sword fights.

3. Mr. Sunshine (2018). Late Joseon era is something I’ve never really seen before in media so I’m pretty intrigued? Also Byun Yo Han was one of my favorites from SFD and I definitely want to see him in more things.

4. Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung (2019). A coworker recommended this to me and the trailer looks delightful. first of all it’s a sageuk with the gorgeous and talented Shin Se Kyoung in it playing a smart and plucky female lead, which have historically been extremely good to me, but also it gives me massive SKKS vibes, so how could I not.

5. My Country: The New Age (2019). This caught my attention because it’s based on the same historical events as SFD, so it features some of the same characters. I am very very interested in Jang Hyuk’s take on Yi Bang Won, even if he is less of a main character here compared to SFD, and he’s already an adult so he’ll already be well on his way to bastardhood. I also hear it’s very heartbreaking, which is instant eyes emoji for me?

6. Chicago Typewriter (2017). It’s about freedom fighters from the colonization era, which I’m very intrigued by after The Handmaiden and Pachinko, plus a reincarnation romance. I am very predictable in my choice of tropes. Also, Yoo Ah In is in it.

7. Arthdal Chronicles (2019-). Ok, it’s a gorgeous-looking historical fantasy set in Korea written by the same writers as TWDR and SFD, plus it has not just one but TWO Song Joong Ki characters, one of which is a pure, doe-eyed soft boy and the other an evil long-haired fae prince looking asshole who I hear is a complete and utter Unhinged Bastard Supreme. Nothing has ever been more Camille Bait than this, but unfortunately this show hasn’t finished airing, which does pain me deeply. speaking of,

8. Kingdom (2019-). It’s a fantasy sageuk with zombies, is about the extent I know about this show. The fact that it also hasn’t finished airing turns me off a bit but it looks absolutely gorgeous and I also just found out it was written by the same writer as Signal, so,,,,,,,,,

9. Gunman in Joseon (2014). I honestly don’t expect too much from this drama but I just enjoy its premise a lot? From what I understand it’s just Percy from Critical Role, but make it Joseon era.......Like, they just straight up took a Shadow the Hedgehog, “let’s make a sageuk, but guns,” approach, and I kind of unironically love that. Also the soundtrack kicks ass, which like...you can really see where my priorities lie here, huh,

10. Misaeng (2014). I don’t remember at this point why this is on my list but I found it in the Keep note I have of all the media I want to watch?? I have no idea what this show is about, except that it takes place in an office. Apparently Byun Yo Han is also in this one? I’m sorry this is the only non-sageuk or sageuk-adjacent show in this list, I know what I’m about, and it’s fancy old-timey costumes and cool braids.

#/ #// #/// #//// #///// #cam thoughts #KDrama #this is the most self-indulgent thing i've written in a while but it felt good to shout my many thoughts into this void of a blog #also i typed most of this out a few days ago since which i already started watching misaeng #so far it is very good but also the exact opposite of what i was expecting..whatever that is?? #long post / #Television

[adozentothedawn]

Saint Waidwen The Musical The Justification

This is an explanation for something I wrote in this fanfiction. Go read it maybe if you haven’t? :) But if you don’t have the time or interest, the relevant thing for this is that I mention a controversial musical adaption of the story of Saint Waidwen in Readceras.

Yeah, so first of all, I just really wanted this to be a thing because musicals about weird things are just my jam. I can however justify why this could totally be a thing! I’m aware that I don’t have to, but I just really want to write this, so I will. Now sit down and listen.

(Also you might know a lot of these things already, but I don’t know what they teach in your countries so I’ll just explain the basics.)

Let’s start off with why anyone would ever do this anyway. 

First of all, people make musicals about weird shit all the time in reality, so why not in Eora. Like look at Les Mis. Does that scream “musical” to you? And, yet it’s pretty cool! 

Second of all, Art moves in cycles. To explain this, I’ll use german literature, because that’s what I learnt in school and therefore know a few things about. Let’s begin at the era of the “Aufklärung” (enlightenment I guess? It’s an era of literature from about 1720 to 1790. Note also that eras can’t be distinctly seperated, they do go on simultaniously for a while). This was the time of logic and reason first and foremost. Art had to be practical, without actually having to serve a purpose. So after a while of this going on, there were a bunch of young people who decided, fuck that. We want emotion to be important again! Among those people were for example Ghoete and Schiller, two names you might know, because they’re kind of famous. So there were these young men (and they were almost exclusively men unfortunately) who started writing plays and poems which are based on extreme emotion and the idea of the natural genius (genius is a relative term here, the characters were still kinda dumb, but they were very poetic about it), instead of sticking nicely to the idea of reason. This era is called “Sturm und Drang” (roughly: storm and urge, these are really hard to translate. Also they’re names, so they’re not really supposed to be translated anyway). Now these young people weren’t young forever though, so they grew up at some point (or died, but you get the point). Both Goethe and Schiller decided at some point that that stuff they wrote was kinda cringy and started writing other things, more focused on harmony, beauty and (as in the Aufklärung) tolerance, as opposed to the more forceful and often tragic Sturm und Drang. This was then called the “Weimarer Klassik” (Weimar being the cultural centre of germany at the time and Klassik as in classic). And then after a while, a new generation of young people decided that that was dumb and started someting called the “Romantik” (romance, not necessarily as in love, but more as in romantifying things). In this time, people wrote about magic, myths and fairy tales, the less realism the better. So you see what’s happening here. One generation says: This is great! The next one says: Fuck that, I’ll make it as different as I can. That generation grows up and decides: eh, maybe let’s tune it down a bit. Then the next generation comes and says: Fuck no! again. Of course there are always some that stick to their style, but that’s the general idea.

Now, how does that apply to my musical idea? For that let’s look at Readceras for minute. Readceras was founded by a bunch of farmers, though there was a tiny elite, as we know because Waidwen managed to win some of them over, most people were pretty poor. Poor people usually don’t have the time or recourses for literature or painting, with music, especially singing, being the most accessable form of art. That’s not to say that farmers don’t make art, weaving and the painting of furniture was a thing for example, but the poorer the people, the less they have to use, even when it’s winter and they’d have time, and Readceras was just pisspoor. Singing doesn’t really need anything, and instruments are reusable if they somehow managed to get one. So chances are, Waidwen and his generation grew up with music as their main form of art. Then the Godhammer happened, which sucked big time for them, and they probably wanted to distance themselves as much as possible from the time before Waidwen and idealize him, which in all likelihood lead to art changing a lot as well. 

Because here’s the thing, art doesn’t just move in cycles, it is also heavily influenced be societal and political happenings (but you probably knew that). For example: the literature era that followed (roughly, it began a bit before the other one ended) the Romatik was the “Biedermaier” (which is a surname and not translatable, you might now it from a furniture style though, that’s pretty big in Austria, not sure how it is where you live), which is a style that was heavily aimed inwards. It was mostly, look how happy my little family is, everything is great, nothing is happening, nothing at all, and could be mostly described as idyllic and quiant. That was, because it was a time of political regression, with the empire getting more authoritarian again and literature being heavily censored. So when Waidwen took the throne art probably already started changing, though he likely didn’t notice much of that as he was kind of busy being king and GOD, and with another traumatic event it would’ve changed even more. So it’s completely feasible that 20 years later the youth would decide to fuck all of that over and go back to find their roots, while changing what they find to fit their style. Admittedly the existance of elves mucks up the timeline a bit, but since the largest group of people there are human anyway, I’ll ignore that. Also, in context with the fanifc I’m writing this for, the timeline is helped by the fact that my Watcher is an Eothas priestess. Might sound weird, but hear me out. Favaen came to the Dyrwood as a missionary, and though she got sidetracked a bit, that was still her end goal. So after everything was over and she was well established as Taynu of Caed Nua, she made it into a sanctuary for Eothasians started to spread the faith there again. Of course she didn’t achieve too much in 5 years, but she set a trend. With Adaryc spreading word about her in Readceras, that would’ve had an effect there too, at least insofar that the Dyrwood wasn’t completely off limits anymore and leading especially young people who hadn’t lived through the war to be more curious about it.

Now, why would the older people not like that? Well for one, it’s different, and different is bad in Readceras. Also, it reminds them of a time both worse and better. Worse, as in the Aedyran colonial times (because I refuse to belive that Waidwen didn’t change the economy at least a little for the better), and better when their god literally walked among them, which he doesn’t anymore, so it rubs salt into that wound.

Then how can they get away with putting it on at all? That I can answer with absolute certainty, because it is entirely rooted in canon. The Ladies of the Aviary. Worshippers of Hylea which work explicitly to help artists portray their art and avoid censoring. They convince higher up people, or if they cannot be convinced, help the artists avoid detection. They don’t discriminate between good and bad art, and only seek to spread it unchanged and as the artist intended.

And while we’re on worshippers of Hylea, the church of Hylea is known to comission plays and poems about Eothas and Waidwen, specifically as a way to mourn their dissapearance, which certainly had a hand in the musicals creation.

For the last point: why does Waidwen like it? Now, aside from a personal preference I just made up, we established that Waidwen grew up with music. While the rest of his generation may have distanced themselves from that sort of art, Waidwen never had the chance to grow up so to speak. His death was one of the factors in the changing of art and so he never got to experience that. Yes I had to end this post on a sad note.

Thank you for listening to my TED talk that I basically just did because I wanted to rant about literature for a bit.

Here the Soundtrack It’s on Youtube cause I don’t have Spotify. The last song was added after the events of Deadfire btw

#Pillars of Eternity #Waidwen #essay #kinda #Saint Waidwen The Musical #tl:dr young people be doing new shit #also i just love the idea

[susie-qte]

Jojo Choral Headcanons

ₒₒₒₒAlright I’m like--- in a state of disarray over this thing I am so ready because I’m an avid choir kid and ieao;fjdk The premise is school choir, and it’s a men’s division (feat. Jolyne), hence the severe lack of gals (for now???) 

BUT I might do an extra thing with all the jojos and jobros and some other supporting cast characters in a show choir together but that’s for a later time Or I might do headcanons for a rival choir of Jofoes haha just kidding...  ...unless? 

Jonathan

Such a stronk baritone, but such a middling tenor 

Like he’s doing his best but he needs some work for anything above a middle Db

But his timbre???? You know the singer for Sono Chi no Sadame??? Yeah take that timbre but like--- put it in a choir 

It BLOWS PEOPLE AWAY 

Easily one of the most powerful voices in the whole ensemble 

He just wants to be a tenor though, so he can do like 

Tenor descants 

But alas, that is not for him (yet) 

He is laser-focused during class and sometimes does the annoying thing where he just doesn’t sing unless he can get the phrase perfectly in pitch and in rhythm, but we love him anyway 

He does not try for solos often, and usually needs to be coaxed by everyone else into trying out 

Joseph

I don’t know if anyone reading this is a choir kid, but in the boys section I’ve exclusively experienced boys who take it too seriously and the boys who don’t take it seriously at all 

Not to say that he doesn’t pay attention when he needs to, he just happens to also do the most purposeful voice-cracking in the whole choir for the laughs 

“Hey, can we do All Star for the concert”  

He’s a baritone, but when he’s having a great day, he can be a great bass 

He speaks at a higher register than he sings, and when you hear the difference back to back, it’s a little freaky 

Pleads for a rock song for miscellaneous concerts, because he wants to try belting

He’s that kind of dude who just stands alone in a practice room and tries to belt Jesus Christ Superstar and EVERYONE outside can definitely hear him 

During rehearsal, he is very convinced that he has the right notes

Even when he doesn’t 

He never asks questions, even when he should, and then right as everyone is going through a phrase, you can see his facial expression turn from 100% pure confidence to 100% pure confusion 

Jotaro

Literally no one expected him to be in something as dorky as choir 

But he is the silent bass that holds everyone together 

Like you don’t realize he’s singing until he’s not at rehearsal 

And everyone’s like “Hey, where’s the comforting chesty buzz of our lowest bass”  

He’s probably capable of hitting higher notes, but frankly, he doesn’t want to 

He’s very comfortable right where he is 

Which is 3 ledger lines below the bass clef staff 

He’s one of the pillars that holds the ensemble up, so he can’t really try out for solos often 

You don’t want to leave Joseph to his own devices as a Bass, after all 

Quickly going into some musical stuff: Have you ever heard Norm Lewis play Javert in Les Mis? In the first 10 seconds of this one moment, he hits a note lower than my self esteem and I feel like that sums up how Jotaro’s range has that chesty buzz, ya feel? 

Josuke

Meet the tenor, ladies and gentlemen 

On a very very good day, he can hit the E on the treble staff, he is a ten or 

But at the same time, he has this nice... deep and smoky timbre 

All the ladies love it 

Because he’s deeper than your average boy band member

but higher than Jonathan 

He is a RIFFING MACHINE 

We’re talking some grade A, Bruno Mars on crack kind of riffing 

Even in places where he doesn’t need to be riffing 

He out there like “Hallelᵘᵘᵘuuuuᵤᵤᵤᵤjah,,,, Juᵘᵘuᵤᵤuᵘbilate deoooₒₒₒₒ” but he’s a poppin’ soloist-- if you hear him pre-rehearsal just out there riffing, you’ve heard heaven condensed into a collection of soundwaves-- Pucci is quaking 

Giorno

Poor 15 year olds get the short end of the stick 

He’s a cambiata, somewhere kinda in-between a boy-soprano and an actual tenor 

But he’s flexing out here with tenor descants 

He’s the only person who listens to sample recordings given out by the director, ngl 

He’s so good at ye olde Latin pieces because his diction is on point 

And I mean... Italian is his bread and butter

But also because Latin pieces like to actively torture tenors and Giorno is just ready to flex with his ability to hit them high notes 

Unfortunately though, he’s not ready for the truck that is about to hit him vocally, and no one has the heart to tell him that his crazy range won’t last much longer 

He voice cracked one (1) time during rehearsal and almost had a crisis 

“THIS IS IT, IT’S OVER FOR ME” 

Jolyne

With almost-boy-soprano Giorno and kinda husky-sounding Josuke, there had to be a blending buffer there 

If Giorno and Josuke stood next to each other during rehearsal (and God forbid-- the concert??), it would be an absolute disaster of completely different competing tones of voice 

So the big compromise was our blending gal, Jolyne 

She’s an alto/mezzo, but can hit most tenor notes, so she just deals with it 

There are points in which the tenor part just drops down a little much and she just stares at the the director 

“You’re really gonna make me attempt this, huh” 

She’s the person who brings her phone with her onto the risers and lowkey falls asleep during rehearsal

But somehow miraculously picks up her part at an alarming rate, and it scares the rest of the choir to this day 

Everyone has theorized that she has perfect pitch, but really, who knows? 

You’d never see any of the boys able to pull that off, I’m telling you that 

~Mod Pepper

#jjba #headcanons #jjba headcanons #headcanon #jojo's bizarre adventure #phantom blood #part 1 #battle tendency #part 2 #stardust crusaders #part 3 #sdc #diamond is unbreakable #part 4 #vento aureo #part 5 #stone ocean #part 6 #jonathan joestar #joseph joestar #jotaro kujo #josuke higashikata #josuke 4 #giorno giovanna #jolyne kujo #mod pepper is fucking insane #choir headcanons rip me #choir au

[therainbowfishy]

Home Entertainment Recommendations

We made it through week one of self-isolation. This week seems to be slightly more surreal, and a little more difficult to get moving as routine slips further away. In any case, I thought I’d share some ways I’ve been staying entertained, and I’d love for any other recommendations to come my way, too.

Listening to

Books Unbound - Ariel Bissett and Raeleen Lemay host this bookish podcast, offer very specific recommendations, and are just a fun couple of friends to listen to if you love to read

Dear Hank & John - DFTBA!

Reply-All - I recently started listening to this podcast, and I’m already hooked. It’s about internet culture, but also both more broad and specific than that. It focuses on the bigger picture and meaning while delving into compelling, personal stories in order to zoom out.

Eating/Drinking

Salted Honey Iced Latte - Dissolve some honey, sugar, and salt together with a little bit of hot water before mixing it into a tall glass of iced coffee or cold brew. This has been getting me up and going in the mornings (fine, afternoons. Whatever, sleep schedule). 

Rosemary Focaccia - It’ll goes great with all that quarantine soup you’ve been making

Tofu Banh Mi - I use this recipe, but I skip out on the daikon and lemongrass. I also use thawed tofu (freeze it, boil it, and then press it as you normally would) to get a thicker texture.

Drawing

Carson Ellis’s Prompts

April Dream Week Prompts

Postcards to send to friends - I’ve been watercoloring flowers, animals, plants, clouds, and more on 3.5”x5” of watercolor paper scraps and writing notes on the back to some snail mail to friends

Writing

Leena Creative Lock-Ins - Book lady, youtuber, thoughtful person Leena Norms has been doing daily livestreams where she uses the pomodoro technique to get in some writing in the morning. Her videos were the middle of the night my time, but I watched them when I woke up and wrote along. The 25 minute stretch is not as bad as you think--trust me, I’m a terrible procrastinator and this timed focused writing felt so doable afterwards.

Virtual Write-Ins with my Writing Group - Making plans to virtually co-work also helped me to focus and designate time for writing

Journaling every morning - My head is constantly full, especially now with extra worries, random work to-dos, and unfocused jumbles of thoughts. Spilling them out in the morning has been helpful for me. Even when I don’t think I have anything left to say, I find myself gaining more headspace after jotting down random thoughts  and whatever comes to mind as soon as I wake up. Also, for more reflective writing, check out Nina Montagne’s blog post about journaling.

Watching

Good Omens - I admit that I have never been able to get into a Neil Gaiman book, but this show was both odd and delightful in a way that instantly drew me in. And it’s about the end of the world, so embrace it.

Michelle Choi - She exudes both a sense of calm and productivity. Pour yourself a cup of coffee, grab your planner, and start your day with one of her videos.

Wear I Live - Similarly, Jenny is also all about getting your life together. She’s usually on the go in New York, but also is thoughtful and reflective. Plus she knows how to make her living space an incredibly lush jungle with all of her thriving plants.

Reading

PSA: Please support your indie bookstores and small businesses during this time! I work at one, and all the booksellers are working hard to give personal recommendations (message me if you ever want any) and get books out in the mail. We really need and appreciate every single order!

I’m catching up on books I’ve borrowed and bought but haven’t gotten around to yet:

Severance by Ling Ma - This book was a choice to read right now, but I’ve had it for months. If you’re not going to pick up the apocalyptic book about a pandemic during one, then are you even going to read it? I don’t think it helped me feel any calmer or more hopeful, but it nailed the experience of being a cog in a corporate machine and how we’re all screwed. :-) (But do pick it up; it’s excellent.)

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - I’m not too far in yet, but it feels very 2012 in a nice way...like sweeping ghostly/witchy romance, but sharply written. It’s a good nostalgic break from everything.

Movement & Exercise

Ballet with Tiler Peck - I’ve been getting back to dance class (in my kitchen) thanks to Tiler Peck’s daily livestream videos on her instagram. My hips, with their lack of turnout, insist they are too old for this, but I look forward to moving around and doing pirouettes around the house because of these videos.

& More

Talking & texting family and friends who I haven’t talked to in forever - Call your mom! Dad! Sister! Cousin! High school friend! Old roommate! Aunt! Friend down the street who you haven’t seen in a week! Old colleagues! Writing group! It’s the perfect time to catch up.

Crossword puzzles - Stretch your brain out too from time to time

French - I’m back on Duolingo. Les niveaux sont un peu basiques. Je ne sais pas si le programme m’aide à améliorer mes capacités, mais c’est mieux que rien.

#recs #book recs #podcasts #podcast recs #boredom #boredom recs #things to do #things to do at home #self isolation #ballet #writing #drawing #illustration #recipes #things to do during quarantine #productivity #motivation #routine #schedule #free things to do

[silver-lily-louise]

A Whole New World - Chapter 3: Power in Your Corner

In which Alec makes his first wish. Chapter title from ‘Aladdin’. 

Chapter 1: AO3 / Tumblr Chapter 2: AO3 / Tumblr Chapter 3: AO3 / read it below!

~oOo~

He hears the door click open, and Alexander’s voice comes echoing from the tiny entrance hallway. ‘Magnus?’ Magnus looks up from the last third of Les Mis – which he’s enjoying, still, but by the gods, how could there be so much of it left? – and feels himself smile as the man himself appears, unwinding his scarf and managing to further muss his already-windswept mop of hair in the process. ‘Alexander,’ he says in greeting. ‘Pleasant day, I hope?’ ‘Huh? Oh – yeah, it was okay,’ he says, excitement dancing bright and lovely in his eyes. Before Magnus can query it, Alexander quickly drops into the seat next to him, leaning forward as he tells Magnus, ‘Listen – I was thinking it over on my lunch break, and I think I’ve decided on a wish.’

Magnus sits up from his stretched-out position, swinging his legs off of the couch and banishing the book back to his lamp’s library with a flick of his wrist. ‘That’s wonderful news,’ he says, gesturing upwards with both hands, allowing his fingertips to spark in lilac and mauve, inordinately pleased when Alexander’s eyes widen. Magic, he had decided centuries ago, was as much showmanship as science. ‘So tell me, Alexander – what does your heart desire?’

Alexander takes a deep breath, and speaks as though he’s consciously slowing his pace down – though, notably, not enough to return to his normal speed. ‘Okay. So. My sister, Izzy, and her husband Simon – they’ve been trying to have a baby, and I was wondering if you could, you know, help with that?’ It takes all of Magnus’ considerable self-control not to raise an eyebrow at his phrasing. Unfortunately, it’s a wasted effort, as Alexander seems to realise the next moment what that sounded like, and turns a delectable shade of cherry red regardless. ‘I mean,’ he says, his voice a little stilted with embarrassment, ‘they’ve been having IVF treatment, and the last two attempts have failed, and they have their last chance tomorrow, and – I don’t know, if it’s possible, or-‘ Magnus holds up a hand, halting the ramble. ‘Alexander.’ He smiles gently. ‘Of course it is possible. You are not the first wish-maker to ask for something like this, not by a long shot. I’d be happy to help.’ He lets his smile widen into a teasing grin. ‘Final answer?’ Alexander nods, looking relieved and happy, the tension draining from his posture. ‘Yeah. My first wish is for Izzy’s IVF tomorrow to succeed.’

***

The next day, Magnus arrives at the clinic fifteen minutes before Izzy’s appointment. Five minutes later, a familiar couple arrives, and the woman says, ‘Hi - Isabelle Lightwood, I have a 3:15 appointment with Dr Anderson?’ They take a seat not far from him, and Magnus peers at them discreetly over his magazine. Alexander showed him a photograph of the two of them together, but even without that, he thinks he could have recognised them. Isabelle looks very like her brother – the same dark, shiny hair, earnest hazel eyes, and strong, serious brows. She’s holding onto her husband’s hand, a slightly shaky smile on her face as he rambles on softly, encouragingly, and she looks lost somewhere between excited and afraid.

They’re called through, still holding hands. Magnus ducks into the restroom, checking that it’s empty, and snaps his fingers, changing his appearance with a glamour. He heads back into the waiting room, picks up a different magazine, and takes a seat in a chair closer to the corridor they left through.

Some time later, they reappear, a slight shuffle to Isabelle’s gait and Simon’s arm curled loosely around her waist. Magnus puts down the magazine, and pulls a cell phone out of his pocket, frowning down at it as he strides towards them. He gives a soft grunt of apparent surprise as he bumps into Isabelle, his palm briefly resting over her navel and sending a spark of magic into her system. ‘Oh – so sorry,’ he says, flashing each of them an apologetic smile before he continues on his way.

He resists the temptation to look back, and leaves the clinic out of the side entrance.

***

When he arrives back at Alexander’s apartment that evening, Magnus immediately spots him stretched out on the sofa, in much the same way he himself was earlier. ‘Hey!’ Alexander leaps to his feet, switching off the television and putting his half-empty bowl down on the coffee table, before rushing over until he’s stood right in front of Magnus. Excitement and fear are warring on his face, a sight breathtakingly similar to what Magnus saw in Isabelle’s expression earlier. ‘How’d it – well – Did it work?’ At this point in the proceedings, Magnus isn’t even surprised to find himself smiling anymore. Alexander just seems to have that effect on him. He reaches out, stilling the excitement somewhat with a hand at his elbow. ‘It went perfectly,’ he said. ‘A small nudge, a hint of magic, and voila – wish granted. I expect that in a few weeks, Isabelle will be calling you with some very good news.’

Alexander beams at him, and maybe he’s been stuck in the lamp for too long, because until just now Magnus had forgotten why smiles like that were likened to sunlight. ‘Thank you. That’s just – God, I’m so happy for them. Thank you for that.’ ‘You’re most welcome, Alexander.’ He drops his hand, making a small shooing motion. ‘Go finish your dinner, you’ll get indigestion leaping up in the middle of a meal like that.’ Alexander does as he’s told, but calls back over his shoulder, ‘Yours is on the table, if you’re hungry.’ Magnus blinks, trying to school his face back into something casual. ‘Thank you,’ he says. He’s been saying that a lot, since he got here. He wanders over to the table, humming appreciatively at the sight and smell of a generous bowl of tagliatelle, with just the right amount of Bolognese sauce stirred through it. He snaps his fingers, simultaneously reheating the food and conjuring a light dusting of parmigiano-reggiano.

He walks back out to the living room, a little surprised to see that Alexander hasn’t resumed the show he was watching, and is instead turning to face Magnus as he takes a seat. ‘I hope it’s okay,’ he says. ‘It’s from an Italian recipe book my parents bought me for Christmas.’ He chuckles. ‘I’m not what you’d call a natural chef, but give me a list of instructions, and I’ll get there.’ Magnus samples a forkful of pasta. It’s a little light on the garlic for his taste, but it’s delicious, and he digs in eagerly. He was hungrier than he thought, and he can sense Alexander’s satisfaction at providing adequate sustenance for his houseguest.

Alexander turns back to his own meal, and Magnus takes the opportunity to look at him surreptitiously, curiosity once more curling around his thoughts. When Alexander’s gaze flicks back towards him suspiciously, he realises that he wasn’t being as surreptitious as he thought. ‘What?’ Alexander asks. ‘Do I have Bolognese on my face?’ Magnus chuckles, shaking his head. ‘No, no such thing. It’s just…’ He trails off with a shrug, but Alexander stays focused on him as they finish the last mouthfuls of their meals. Magnus banishes the dishes with a lazy wave of his hand, and Alexander smiles in appreciation, but doesn’t say anything, clearly giving Magnus the opportunity to continue speaking.

Which, eventually, he does. ‘I meant it, before,’ he says, ‘about people wishing for children, for successful pregnancies. It’s very common. But this is the first time I can remember someone making that wish for a loved one’s sake, rather than their own.’ Alexander looks down, and Magnus wants to tell him that it’s certainly nothing to be embarrassed about, but he doesn’t want to interrupt when Alexander starts to speak. ‘I don’t know, it’s just… She’s wanted this for such a long time. And after they kept trying, and getting nowhere, and decided to start having the treatment – she was just so upset. She came over, and she was crying, and I knew I couldn’t do anything to make it better for her.’ He swallows hard, and Magnus almost winces in sympathy. ‘Then, after the two failed IVF attempts… She was putting a brave face on it, talking about the possibility of adoption – which obviously, is a great option, I mean, Jace was adopted and we wouldn’t be without him – but I could just tell, that even if she wasn’t out of options, another setback was just… I wasn’t sure she could handle it.’ He looks up at Magnus, and his eyes are shiny, and Magnus is pretty sure his own are too. Alexander shrugs. ‘I don’t know, it just seemed like the right thing to do. If I’ve got a way to help her, I want to, you know?’

Alexander’s looking at him like he’s expecting derision, criticism for some naïveté on his part. Magnus smiles at him, and sighs. ‘You continue to surprise me, Alexander. I’ve granted a lot of wishes, but rarely one so selfless.’ Alexander looks down at his feet again, mumbling something that might have been a thanks, or possibly another I don’t know, and Magnus makes a mental note that while he’s here, he should make a habit of giving compliments. Alexander could really use some practice receiving them.

But for now, he changes the topic, lightening the mood once more. ‘By the way, I couldn’t help but notice your bow,’ he says, gesturing to the wall behind them, where a navy and silver bow is proudly mounted on the wall. ‘It’s in beautiful condition, so either you dust your décor more than anyone I’ve ever met, or you actually use it.’ Alexander smiles. ‘Yeah, I’ve been into archery for a while now. Probably since I was… fourteen? Maybe? I’m not great, but I enjoy it. It’s good for some downtime – helps me switch off my brain.’ Magnus snorted lightly. ‘I’m sure you’re being modest.’ Novices had simple recurve bows, not nearly as difficult to wield as the compound contraption behind them. ‘You’ll have to dazzle me with your skills sometime.’ He winked, fully expecting Alexander’s blush, but fully delighted by it all the same. He might not be here for long, but there was no harm in flirting a little while he was, he reasoned. After all, Alexander was sweet, and handsome, and possibly one of the most thoughtful men Magnus had ever met.

Plus, he had always found people who could handle their weaponry very, very attractive.

~oOo~

#shadowhunters #shadowhunters fanfic #malec #malec fanfic #shtv #malec au #genie!magnus #food tw #medical tw #ivf tw #infertility mention #mine