#Epically Earnest

[layo2-0]

Epically Earnest by Molly Horan (2/12-2/13)

4/5 stars

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Queer

Tags: Adoption, Nasty Internet People, Theatre Kinds Kinda, Fancy Boarding School Kinda

Notes: It was really sweet, the author was working hard to make me hate Alfie at the beginning tho

[alyssalikestoreadbooks]

Epically Earnest - Molly Horan

"In this delightfully romantic LGBTQ+ comedy-of-errors inspired by Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, a high school senior works up the courage to ask her long-time crush to prom all while deciding if she should look for her bio family.

Jane Grady’s claim to fame is that she was one first viral internet sensations, dubbed #bagbaby—discovered as a one-year-old in an oversized Gucci bag by her adopted father in a Poughkeepsie train station. Now in her senior year of high school, Jane is questioning whether she wants to look for her bio family due to a loving, but deeply misguided push from her best friend Algie, while also navigating an all-consuming crush on his cousin, the beautiful, way-out-of-her-league Gwen Fairfax.

And while Janey’s never thought of herself as the earnest type, she needs to be honest with her parents, Algie, Gwen, but mostly herself if she wants to make her life truly epic. With a wink toward Oscar Wilde’s beloved play, Epically Earnest explores the complexity of identity, the many forms family can take, and the importance of being . . . yourself."

Read Date - July 2024

Length - 195 pages

Genre - Romance, LGBTQ+, Contemporary

Rating - 6/10

Stars - ★★★☆☆

Notes - This is a retelling of a play by Oliver Wilde called “the importance of being earnest” and though i haven’t seen it, i can clearly see the inspirations from what i’ve read. I like how everything starts out with the main character Jane and her friend Algie trying to find her birth parents, and THEN it leads into the back story. it’s so different from other books i’ve read, and i love it. I think the plot line of her being a “famous” baby because it gives more dynamic to her story. The living obit parts are really cute as well, and i like how they have multiple in the book for different people. I also like the text messages being included. it really zazzes the book up and makes it feel more unique. For me, the pining in the relationship is cute and isn’t overplayed. It’s not a slow burn and it doesnt play out like one. I like the way that Jane and Gwen have two very different lifestyles and come from different backgrounds. i think the relationships between both Jane and Gwen, and Cecil and Algie are REALLY cute. Like, so slice of life and adorable and sugary sweet that you just have to keep reading to see it all play out. It’s so amazing to me. The parts with reconnecting with her biological family is so interesting to me because it starts out as written as a side plot line, and it’s cool to see the relationship aspect play out with the drama stewing in the background before it slowly becomes apart of the main plot. The prom scenes are adorable, and i think this is a very good retelling

[thecolorsinouruniverse]

photographs were never meant to last forever like those files on your phone. if you think they'll never fade, you don't work as hard to keep your memories from fading.

molly horan, epically earnest

[crescentfool]

orpheus and thanatos 💚

[determunition]

your p03ficus animatic: an intricate and wonderfully-executed story of tragic yet wholesome romance deftly interwoven with inscryption’s canon

your leshificus animatic:

never-before-seen digital affection epilogue

[brotherconstant]

LUPE GARCÍA and CARSON SHAW in A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (2022 -) part II

[unproduciblesmackdown]

another billions analysis thing is like so yeah while it's like "hmm let's think about power" but then doesn't really do that, what's there to offset that is "but let's think about what these people with billions(tm) are doing because of their like personal feelings & lives & whatever" and the personal feelings are the thrilling journey of s1 men following the compass of their ego & the way their personal lives matter at all beyond this is about their Relationships. except the relationships are also actually about the power billions isn't really thinking about because the ones billions focuses on involve this Fealty where one person does whatever and the other is just stuck with it. sure they might air some unhappiness sometimes, but if it's not punished or ignored from the start anyway, it'll still end up so inconsequential that it's as though it never happened. and what's left to offset the way that can't mean anything if you again take it for granted that of course people are just locked into such relationships & best they can do is fix it from the inside or embrace it as is? is "do you think this character is a winner among losers & you want to see them pwn everyone & do whatever they want forever" & if you like all the media the creators do like

[todayisafridaynight]

I know I JUST apologized for the Yokoyamaposting, but as Anon wishes, other favorite moments:

Mineposting at 5am just like me frfr

He had a dream where he "danced wildly" with Hijikata (I believe this is in reference to Wild Dancer, but incredibly funny mental image). He says "It's terminal... (T . T)"

Apparently, one-third of the applicants to the hostess auditions were men, because the guidelines don't specify any particular gender. So a GNC man made it to the first live audition (although unfortunately wasn't a finalist), and Yokoyama said if he were a real hostess, he'd request him. He notably did not say anything like that even to the actual hostesses who auditioned

He's talked about being excited to read BL manga, and his "favorite manga character of all time" is OG Depraved Bisexual Tokai from Sanctuary (having picked it up it's really obvious which characters Tokai inspired, but the most obvious one right off the bat is that Ishioda looks exactly like him lol)

He has apparently "consulted the fujoshi(?) [question mark his] on the team" about eyebrow-raising scenes, and was met with "a barrage of surprising answers." He said it's not intentional on his part, but he figures he shouldn't try and make it intentional, since the more he tries the more he feels he's missing the mark. So he has tried...?

there's a lot to unpack here but i think my favorite bits of these is having 'honorary fujoshis' in office to ask about the Suspect scenes in your game

[semisomni]

oh.....cringe really is just the fear of being too earnest huh

[darshanan-blog]

Oppenheimer - Movie Review

Epic-maker movie “Oppenheimer”, directed by Christopher Nolan tells the story leading up to atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki towards the end of World War II that changed the course of history forever.  The film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Deeply heartrending…

[vaugarde]

literally who decided that the genesect movie was one of the worst pokemon movies. its not even the worst UNOVA movie

[thecolorsinouruniverse]

i personally believe every moment in your life is a moment to be bold

molly horan, epically earnest

[epicthemusicalstuff]

My Thoughts On The Wisdom Saga

Legendary: To put it lightly, it was Legendary! I loved it so much, and it was pretty much what I expected! I loved the suitors using the Man Of The House melody, and Antinous gave me a little jump scare, but I liked it and it made sense. I loved the progression from “if I fight these monsters is it you I’ll find” to “if I might this monster is it you I’ll find” (and that whatcha gonna do about it champ was amazing)

Little Wolf: Still really good! I was a little startled to see Athena, but it made sense! Antinous was amazing! I thought it was funny how we finally got the “I made your thoughts quick” because no where else in the musical does it explain quick thought! The very final line though felt weird to me that it was a part of little wolf? Particularly because Athena is responding to him in We'll Be Fine, so it’s interesting that they broke that apart.

We’ll Be Fine: I loved that Athena finally acknowledged that Odysseus was her friends! Also “then his went dark…” Polites… let me be your light…. After that Odysseus’ own light dimmed too- anyways. ALSO going from “what’s a title any goddess could lend, if I’ll never sleep at night” and then now Athena is telling us she isn’t sleeping- I loved this song so much

Love In Paradise: This is where is gets ever so slightly more critical. I loved the time dive at the start, though something felt off about the way suddenly we were at Calypsos island? I think if I didn’t have the visuals of the livestream last night I would have been slightly more confused. Anyways, I adore Calypso voice, though she felt very earnest the whole time, which was an interesting choice. I am aware Jorge made the decision to remove some parts of Calypso from the Odyssey, which is perfect fine, and in his right to do as Epic is inspired by the Odyssey and not a direct copy of it, but still something felt slightly off? I will say thought I loved how it was shown Odysseus was still very haunted and traumatized by his experiences. He is haunted by the voices of those he loved, his friends. Eurylochus, Polites, and Anticlea. Which I will say I sobbed at. (Also Calypso’s like about Stay In My Open Arms, I nearly screamed, that was rough she chose that phrase)

God Games: As much as I was looking forward to God Games, and as good as it was, I feel a little let down? The opening part which we already had was amazing, and the way the gods sounds build on each other was amazing. When it came to the actual gods though? The singers were all amazing, but I thought Apollo might have a little more beef with Odysseus? I mean, they fought on opposite sides of the Trojan War, Apollo was the protector of the young, I mean, even the cows (that were really Helios’ but could have been given to Apollo for this). I get that level one is supposed to be easy though! Next was Hephaestus, and JORGE’S DAD!!! I love that Jorge has his family being in it too, and his dad did amazing! As for Hephaestus’ argument, it made a bit more sense, though was still over easier-ish? Which makes sense for a second level. Then Aphrodite and Ares, which we had already!! It was amazing, and I loved it so much! Then Hera, which we also had! So groovy, I liked it, though she felt a little easier to convince for being the second to last level? Then Zeus beating up Athena, that was wild. Ares asking if she was dead? (She is not by the way, she appears later in Epic I believe)

Anyways, those are my thoughts about the Wisdom Saga! Overall I liked some parts of it more than others. The pacing was maybe a little wonky, but to be fair there was a lot of skipping around time wise, so I guess it’s to be expected. The vocals were amazing though!

[sunlighthroughthe-ashes]

part of what made ep 16 so perfect was how it let sol & sunjae experience being a regular couple. it allowed them to celebrate the "precious intimacy of ordinary things": falling asleep in the safety of someone's arms, the face of the person you love most in the world being the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning; meeting the family of your significant other — knitting yourself deeper into the fabric of someone's life with each passing day. ep 16 gave sol and sunjae the space to finally be themselves: silly, earnest, cheesy; but most of all — secure and safe. it gave them the space to breathe, to belong to each other with no repercussions: to appreciate the sacred prosaic of an ordinary life spent with the person you love. love breathes magic into the most mundane of things: simple dates, simple gestures of affection become limned with light. what makes ep 16 so special is exactly that: its attention to the holiness of the commonplace, the everyday moments that sol and sunjae share; the privilege of a peaceful existence at each other's side. many k-dramas, in the pursuit of writing a "grand" story of "epic" proportions, (a common problem with fantasy plotlines); tend to forget that the heart of human relationships are the little things: the hug at the end of a long evening, the hand held out in silent support, someone waiting to pick you up at the end of your work day. this is the beauty of what sol and sunjae finally get to experience. love is incandescent: it illuminates even the most routine of events — and nowhere is it more visible than lovely runner: adding its soft glow to every scene. <3

[unproduciblesmackdown]

winston sees it coming b/c he's been around here for at least 5 sec which is enough &/or half is deliberately baiting everyone as another parting flipoff and he suffers through & is upset by all the measures taken but is then just ready like oh we'll just put it All out there, his shit sure but then also an exposé on any & everyone's bullshit that he's been aware of, which seems to be aplenty, and you know, like has a lawyer ready and shit but like yeah deal with (a) that PR where [also if he can include the exposé on what they've been doing to him / are trying to do to him Right Now] plus all that other bullshit is shockingly going to be what any randos & third parties care about rather than "but...he's sooo annoying :(...but we refuse to fuck him :(...but he could be taller :(..." and then (b) we could have Themes where Everyone has to still deal with even the potential consequence of their own actions that is looking in a mirror for a minute while they try to take down prince (plus another potential shakeup to those efforts in this, besides those of just waiting around on / letting wendy & etc take their shots at it) but instead of that it is more important to billions that we get an episode about how fun it is that wags is so cool

[liesmyth]

locked tomb characters ranked by how cringe they are

because this post by @wifegideonnav reminded me that they’re all losers, but some are even more losers than the others

Hot Sauce: 1/10. This girl is cool in all possible ways and definitely future lead researcher material. No cringe, zero notes.

Pyrrha: 2/10. By far the least cringe of The Olds. Yes her nicknames for Nona have dad joke energy but she’s very earnest about it and it’s cute.

Juno Zeta: 2/10. Total MILF. Very smart and should know better than to get flirty with We Suffer, but I get it.

Marta Dyas: 3/10. A complete badass with a very sensible outlook on avoiding unnecessary forms. Call me Judith because I would also make a pass at her at the first possible chance.

Commander Wake: 3/10. She made Pyrrha fall in love with her, seduced ever-loyal G1deon into hatefucking and galvanized a dying resistance movement. She was genuinely nice to Gideon those 3 seconds they interacted in passing! Then she had to go and hide under the bed of a mentally ill teenager.

Dulcinea: 4/10. Her horniness for revenge is epic. Let down Pal as nicely as she could and managed to outwit Cytherea when it mattered. Not cringe at all.

Camilla: 4/10. Yes, she could kill you in seconds but she did once sell cigarettes, her most liquid asset, for about a third of their market value.

Alecto: 4/10. Scary eldritch woman-shaped creature with a sword, comes highly recommended by Pyrrha Dve. Loses points for confusing Middle English and thinking John was the best possible Sailor Earth when he was clearly the worst.

G1deon: 5/10. Utterly willing to burn for what he believes in. Yes, he probably needs some perspective but he made sure the baby had enough air before kicking Wake out of the airlock and Matthias Nonius thinks he’s an okay dude.

Pash: 5/10. She has that freedom fighter swag and the cool hair but she is a terrible bodyguard coasting on nepotism, sorry to say.

Palamedes: 6/10. He didn’t clock the serial killer pretending to be his ex because he was too busy going to painfully extreme lengths to avoid interacting with her.

Naberius: 6/10. My controversial opinion is that Babs is the least cringe of the Third House throuple. Yes he looks and acts like a peacock but he puts up with Corona snacking on him for no reason and is still nice to her, and gives Ianthe solid romantic advice.  

Nona: 6/10. Cringe in the unselfconscious way of a young teenager, and put this ability to use making Pal fess up to his nurse kink. She will never be cool but it’s part of her appeal.

Mercymorn: 7/10. Speaks in onomatopoeias. She knows she is insufferable so she’s gonna do her best to make sure to be the most insufferable person in every room. Once called John Gaius “the best man I who ever lived” to his smug face and not even blowing him up later makes up for that.

Ianthe: 7/10. Looks like a wet rat. Hopelessly dramatic but she pulls it off. Declares her love for Harrow at every turn in the most transparent possible way then pretends she’s just being snarky. Some cool points for actually getting shit done

Coronabeth: 7/10. Terrible taste in love interests. Her freedom fighter era was hot but she thinks pompadour hair is a good look? Also, the way she spent her whole life lying about necromancy speaks of extreme conflict avoidance. Cringe move.

Judith: 7/10. She deserved to suffer and has suffered more than she deserves. It’s cringe how she clings to her imperialist brainwashing but she gets a point for rightfully understanding she should be wary of Corona, something Ianthe still can’t even grasp.

Ortus: 7/10. Yes he quotes his own epic poetry WIP at people but he also had to grow up on the Ninth with nothing better to do. Genuinely a very nice guy.

Cytherea: 8/10. Her unhinged vibes are very hot but she killed a couple of nerds and two teenagers instead of anyone who was actually dangerous. Cringe of her!

Silas: 8/10. Smarmy cloud-looking motherfucker. He is a child Pope and I guess he can’t help the inherent cringe of the Eight. But that’s still no excuse for bringing a portrait of John all the way to Canaan House just to hang it in your bedroom, dude.

Gideon: 8/10. Babygirl is a horny virgin with the vocabulary of a nerd. Harrow is bones over tit in love with her and she fails to notice after living in Harrow’s brain for eight months. Gets points for managing to maintain impressive biceps on a diet with no protein.

Augustine: 9/10. Extremely cringe because of how hard he tries to pretend he’s not cringe. Cigarettes on a space station and effectively performing swag don’t make up for how much he clearly wants to suck John’s dick. Which he did at least twice.

Harrow: 10/10. Spent most of her life being mean to Gideon because she was too hot to deal with and lobotomized a coffee shop AU into existence. Thinks Ianthe Tridentarius is beautiful. Once built a bone cocoon to sleep in after not drinking water for two days. Should’ve told God months ago that she just didn’t want to eat his fucking biscuits and stop offering.

John: 10/10. Unfortunately, this scale only goes up to 10 but we all know it’s not enough. Deeply cringe in a myriad of ways, chiefly among them the way he inflicts his barely veiled incest kink on all his friends. That one dad joke was gold, though.

This was getting too long but for the record: Aiglamene is cool and so is Abigail Pent. Magnus is not cool but he’s a fun time. The Terrible Teens are exempt from judgement on account of being 14.