a heart's a heavy burden
helloo
as you might be aware, the presidential election in the US is next week. This is a thing I am both eager for and dreading. I’d like to think that once it’s done, I’ll stop feeling afraid all the time, but realistically, that’s not going to happen. Even if my candidate wins (Hillary, to be very clear: I’m voting for Hillary Clinton), it’s not like I can go back to not knowing how many Americans would willingly–enthusiastically!–support someone whose entire platform is hatred and intolerance.
Anyways I am in a very fragile state and this morning I nearly cried at the dentist.
Interlude: writing that upset me so much i literally drove to an early polling place & voted.
please let terror be your motivator as well; vote!
In more happy/sad news, twitter announced that they will be shutting down vine, which is very sad, but it’s kicked off an outpouring of people sharing their favourite vines, which has been completely delightful. My very favourite vines are this one, closely followed by this one (I also posted a whole bunch in a thread here, if you like). Vine exposed me to a great many excellent creators who I wouldn’t have known about otherwise, and it will be missed.
Notable Breakfast
Dog Thing
A HALLOWEEN MIRACLE
Mixed Media
I’ve been on a Studio Ghibli kick for the last couple months, both watching the movies I’ve missed, as well as filling out my personal collection. I was shocked to discover that I’d never bought Spirited Away on blu-ray (although I do still have the dvd I bought in China), but I tracked it down at Waterloo Records in Austin and last week finally sat down to watch it again. It’s as fantastic as you remember (and well deserving of the Oscar it won), and while watching it I came to a realization:
My three favourite Ghibli movies are Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke (for the record, I extend “monster boyfriend” status to Mononoke’s San, despite her being neither monster nor boy), and the best beloved among them is Howl.
Adapted from a book of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl’s Moving Castle tells the story of a girl who is cursed to look like an old woman, runs off to try and find the witch who cursed her, and ends up traveling with the wizard Howl. Howl is a bit of a showboat, rumored to eat the hearts of beautiful girls. Sophie isn’t worried, as she knows herself to be both old and plain. She becomes his cleaning lady.
What I love about Howl’s Moving Castle is Sophie’s story. Once cloaked in the guise of an old woman, she becomes fearless, and her appearance fluctuates throughout the movie–in moments when she is truly brave, she looks young again. And she believes in the good in people, even people who have wronged her. She’s sharp, and spunky, and kind, and I truly, truly love her.
The movie itself is of course incredibly beautiful–the painted scenery, the animation, and the music are all gorgeous. I usually watch it with the English dub, which has a wonderful cast. Christian Bale, Emily Mortimer, Lauren Bacall!
I’ve watched it twice already this week, and I’ll likely watch it a third time.
I somehow never mentioned here that I watched all of Mob Psycho 100 a few weeks back, and completely adored it. I was prepared for it to be ridiculous–and it is–but it was also extremely lovely, and had some of the sweetest platonic relationships, which are my jam. I caught up on the current season of The Flash, which I have mixed feelings about (I get uncomfortable with time travel/alternate timeline storylines, which is what the whole season is, pretty much), but I’m enjoying all the love that Cisco is getting, as I love him best.
I read the new printing of Ronald Wimberly’s superior Prince of Cats, which is a remix of Romeo & Juliet from Tybalt’s perspective, and also takes place in New York in the 80s, if folks were routinely dueling with swords in New York in the 80s. It’s an incredible book, and a must-read for any fans of modern Shakespeare adaptations. I read Julia Gfrörer’s new book, Laid Waste, which is about people getting by during the black plague. Beautifully dark, as all Gfrörer’s work is. Finally, the 6th volume in the Last Man series of books came out, and I devoured it. It’s the best one yet, maybe? I exclaimed “holy shit!!” multiple times while reading it, anway.
BEYONCÉ PERFORMING WITH THE DIXIE CHICKS MADE MY SOUL NEW. Sara Bareilles composed a song about what President Obama might have been thinking during this batshit election, and Leslie Odom, Jr. performed it. It’s incredible. In honor of Halloween, I listened to Donovan’s “Season of the Witch” 3,000 times.
I saw The Handmaiden, a movie I had been eagerly anticipating. I was promised gothic lesbian revenge thriller, and that is what I got, in spades. Park Chan-Wook’s films are often disturbing, but nearly always beautiful, and this is absolutely both. The sets and costumes were gorgeous.
Anxiety Pyjamas
Fics I Shouted About
untitled by coffeeinallcaps Captain America Civil War, Sam/Bucky. Sam is very hungover. Bucky is helpful? Bucky is helpful.
Archaeology by sunsmasher Ace Attorney, Gen with Miles/Phoenix. Phoenix finally, finally, starts clearing Mia’s old things out of the office. It’s rough, but his friends and family make it better. I loved this.
Best Friends (or Something Like It) by eeyore9990 Teen Wolf, Sterek. In the middle of a baseball game, sitting on Derek’s couch, Stiles realizes something. Derek doesn’t understand. The voices in this were so spot-on, I love it.
never saw you coming by dimpleforyourthoughts Voltron, Keith/Lance, character study. Keith is sure he knows who Lance is: loud, irritating, and egotistical. But things keep happening that make him think that maybe he doesn’t know Lance at all. This is part slow burn romance, part Keith character study, and it accomplishes both so well.
crossed wires by lecrivaineanonyme Check Please!, Nursey/Dex, AU. Dex works at Best Buy, Nursey has recurring laptop disasters. Love me some grumpy handyman Dex, which this fic provides lots of.
The Emissary by Beth Winter Spirited Away, Chihiro/Haku, future fic. Accidents have been plaguing the construction of a cross-mountain power line. Chihiro is the perfect person for this job for a number of reasons. I loved that this fic showed us Chihiro as an adult, using what she learned as a kid, and I loved the outsider pov.
There Is A Brotherhood by minusoneday Teen Wolf, Sterek, frat AU. This fic is one of the standout best Teen Wolf fanfics, and I go back to it again and again. Derek is a member of one frat, Stiles is pledging another, and the two get involved in a prank war. It gets out of hand, in more ways than one. Don’t miss the sequel, from Derek’s pov.
I wrote a fic this week! On the Sidelines, an Ace Attorney fill-in-the-gaps fic.
Tillie Walden is an immensely talented rising star in indie comics, winning two Ignatz awards at this year’s Small Press Expo. Her webcomic, On a Sunbeam, a sci-fi story which jumps between two parts of its heroine’s life: when she’s in school falling in love, and later working on an architectural salvage ship, has rapidly become my favourite thing. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
farewell!
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