#and if y'all want to keep going keep it positive and constructive pls

[forlorn-crows]

Just stopping by to say this (also sorry in advance, english is not my first language)

some of these headcanon critiques are a bit.. hurtful in a way - especially coming from a system POV who has system members of the band members that while are different, are sort of how people normally portray i guess you could say. we have a dewdrop that's very i guess you could say fem and subby, ect ect. And reading some of these hurt a lot. and sort of felt like .. a slap to the face almost. Our Dewdrop headmate is now sort of afraid to even make a post about their own headcanons of themselves because they don't want to be bashed for it or bullied for it. These critiques come across as straight up bashing vs critiques.

-🌙☀️

please note that these second two screenshots were part of longer submissions, but these parts i still wanted to include. i hope they dont seem out of context.

to our system friend here, hi. im sorry that what i and/or others have said hurt you. it was not my intent to come across as bashing, and i know i have a tendency to be 'loud' about certain things, etc. absolutely not an excuse, and im sorry if others felt that they were unwelcome to speak up. so, i appreciate those who did stop by to say so.

i wont backpedal on my opinions, though. i tried multiple times to make clear that almost everything about these ghouls is headcanon, and you are absolutely free to say 'fuck off crow, i like dew being x y z'.

if your dew is more feminine and submissive, then that is a-okay. but, the way the ghouls sometimes are portrayed can be very two dimensional. many of us, essentially, would like to see a bit more variety, even if your characters still fit this common fanon characterization.

like our second anon here has said, these common characterizations are understandable, due to how they act on stage. hell, rain was called 'bambi' for a little bit because he kept tripping over his own damn legs. their stage presence still plays a part in their personalities, absolutely.

to what extent, of course, varies from person to person. ive seen many a headcanon say that 'dew only acts that way onstage, hes actually really shy/reserved in person' just as an example. and all of these things that we think about the offstage characters is technically correct because we dont have a basis for it otherwise.

the original intent of the asks last night was simply to discuss headcanons/characterizations people liked the least. and im sorry if it resulted in something that felt placating, invalidating, or just mean. again, i tried to state in multiple different ways that those things were what i headcanon. not that people are 'wrong' for thinking x y z about a character. i dont even agree about everything that my friends think about these ghouls. and thats fine. i wouldnt want everyone to just think like me either bc then its just a boring echo chamber. many of the things i spoke about, if i come across them, i just skip and move on with my day. everyone has different ideas, and sometimes its just not for me. just like my ideas arent for everyone either.

you have full autonomy to post and think and create anything you want about ghost. what i dont want is people thinking im some kind of authority, or that people arent welcome to say their thoughts. i wanted (and still want) these things to be a discussion, an open forum for people to talk about their headcanons that may differ from the norm.

with all this being said, i want everyone to have fun here, and i dont want anyone to feel pushed out of a fandom because one or two loud people 'dont like' what they believe about silly nameless ghouls in a rock band.

i want people to feel like they can write characters differently than others, or if you enjoy those common characterizations, that you recognize when things might slip across those lines we spoke about yesterday. that everyone is critical when warranted, not just because someone said they dont agree with you. you feel me? and if you dislike something, and want to see something specific, you have the ability to create those things if you wish! thats the beauty of it all.

i know these are not fun conversations to have, and that some people might feel defensive about specific topics. but we all need to understand there are nuances to situations, to opinions, to people. okay?

xx

[alicedrawslesmis]

More coherent thoughts on Les Mis BBC Episode 2

this has almost nothing to do with the bombastic parts and is very long so, be warned

Disclaimer, I'm not an expert and this is not researched so there might be things I get wrong here. But these are my thoughts that I just articulated on the show I watched not 2 hours ago

I have two main trains of thought going on in my brain right now

     1. Plot:

The show has to make the episodes stand on their own as well as be part of a whole. So they made the plot points in a way that you could get through them quicker and less in-depth than the book but still get through them all in a way that created a single complete story in a single episode. They turned Fantine's story into a story about how she feels about Valjean and turned Valjean's story into "help! Javert is gonna arrest me". It's simpler in order to try and be effective.

The mistake, and yes I think this was a mistake, was to try and have All The Plot Points of the book, adding a layer of Valvert sexy awkward pauses I guess, add exposition dialogue so that the themes are apparent to the viewer, keep with the themes of the book, add new scenes so Olivia Colman could act (she is great tho), have baby Marius be there and lose his father, show even less of little Cosette than usual, develop an extra layer to Fantine AND keep us emotionally invested while maintaining a simpler and more effective story. This is too many things to try and put us through.

I think Austen or Tolstoy are easier to adapt to television because the plots are mostly things happening to the characters, but Les Miserables is an old drunk man ranting about how much he loves France and Revolution and Republicanism and Romanticism with some scenes in the middle (y'all know I'm only slightly exaggerating). To keep the themes and the plot intact you need at least 19 hours (that's how much runtime Shoujo Cosette has hahaha). To keep the themes you must streamline the plot. Or make montages. Or make the characters talk to the audience about what is happening and how they're feeling, like, say, a soliloquy or a song.

I think the show is guilty of trying to have it all ways by choosing none... which brings me my next point

    2. Production:

I'm wondering if there's a mismanagement of time in pre-production, seeing how inconsistent the sets and costumes are in quality, also how the shots and the scenes are constructed visually. Sometimes the camera is still and sometimes not. Sometimes we have close-ups and sometimes not. The camera lenses the use are? Always changing for no reason? Like you don't have to use the same lens for every take but put some thought into why you're using them, m8... pls... I beg you....

There doesn't seem to be a lot of intent to anything, is the problem. Maybe it's less about time management and more about not having an clear idea about the work they are collectively producing. Les Mis 2012 had the stairs metaphors and the extreme close-ups, with an slightly augmented naturalism. They tried to convey emotion through approaching and pulling away, that was a choice Tom Hooper made and he stuck to that. Les Mis '82 has a cold detachment, the old Hollywood B&W ones usually had most their strength come from the dialogue (it was filmed more like a play then a film) and the actors' charisma. The '98 one had 90s girl-power teen rebellion and Liam Neeson.

I don't want to sound too harsh but so for this series has had only bad exposition, bad fonts and inconsistency...

But this is episode 2. We have way more to go, who knows what happens after this

I'm trying to remain positive so, I'll say this episode was better filmed. And I like Lily Collins and Olivia Colman. Actually Olivia Colman has saved this episode for me. Bless you Olivia!

[dachi-chan25]

OMFG! I can't belive I did read them all.

1.-Murder at the Happy Home for the Aged by Bulbul Sharma.

🌟🌟🌟

So it wasn't bad but it wasn't exactly great. Had some intresting stuff worth exploring much, but the book didn't go there and I mean fine, the characters were pretty bland, I was hoping more definition to them but nope, still the book is a pretty straightforward murder mystery and it is entretaining.

2.-None of the Above by I.W Gregorio

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I absolutely loved it!!! There is still not much talk or information out there about intersex people, so I really think this book is great for intersex people to come forward and tell their own stories, I.W Gregorio wrote a very informative story and honestly is great, the characters are so human and that’s what I loved the most of this book it felt so real.

3.- Defy the Stars (Constellations #1) by Claudia Gray

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Claudia Gray made me fall in love with a robot (sorry not sorry) and I adore her for it. Ok so this book is great, it laids out such an intresting complicated future for Earth and what would happen if humanity did succeed in colonizing habitable worlds, honestly this book is so great and the romance the FUCKING romance is *cheff kiss* exquisite like I want them together forever and I can't wait to get to the sequel.

4.-Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Fucking god this book is a whole ass ride. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it at all I thought I would drag myself through it but nope I was turning the pages like a possesed entity, I guess that it helped the fact that I found all the main characters such insuffrable hateful people that it filled me with joy to see what fucking misfortune was gonna happen to them next. Honestly I thought this book was gonna be all white power fantasy (it had some of that and the fucking PoC representation in this book is atrocious like fucking disgusting how Mitchell dared to think slaves were happy as they were her idiot mind) and all the glory for "ThE CaUsE " but this book is surprisingly self aware and it shook me cause most of the main characters think the war was a stupid ass idea and the only think they miss is the privilege and position they lost and honestly the way that post war is portrayed is quite raw and yup honestly it was a great read even if there were moments that made me sick.

5.- Feminismo para Principiantes de Nuria Varela

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Un libro muy informativo y bien documentado acerca de la historia del feminismo y las diferentes olas y los momentos históricos que los ocasionaron. Me fascinó, siempre es un placer leer acerca de la lucha por el feminismo porque creo que al menos a mi me da una nueva perspectiva de porque es importante seguir luchando por un mundo más justo y equitativo para todos.

6.- Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved it!!! Spensa is so extra and she has my whole ass heart, I am dying for the next book to come out. That plot twist tho like I wanted to know what the Krell are and my mind was blown. This is the 1st Brandon Sanderson book I have ever read and I see why he is so succesful his stories are fucking bomb.

7.-The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

This book made me ugly cry, it was so good and honestly I could see a lot of similrarities between how ethnic minorities are treated in China and how they treated here in Mexico and I depressed myself all over again about the unfairness of it all. The book was an amazing story of growth, healing, suffering... simply amazing, and I will definitely read more books by Lisa See.

8.-The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wow simply wow. This book has such an intense style such a way of taking you along the emotional and mental break down of Esther when she is faced with the world out side school and all this expectations she faces from her family, society and herself that it's just too much, that shit felt so real for me, I really liked it a lot but I don't think I'll be reading it again anytime soon cuz it really hit me too close being a woman that has (and still is) struggled with mental health a lot .

9.-An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker

🌟🌟🌟

The plot of this book is completely outlandish BUT it was a welcomed respite after the intensity of "The Bell Jar" and honestly I fricken love Shakespeare retellings (like pls go read Hag Seed by Margaret Atwood y'all) and the Twelfth Night is such a silly fun play what is not to like??? The pacing is good, the characters are ok, the romance is good and it's an all around fun silly story (yes they attempt to kill the queen but who cares?)

10.- Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I had only ever watched the movie before and it low key annoyed me how every incel fan boy out there thinks the movie is the truest shit out there (cuz boooooy the toxic masculinity of the whole ass concept of a Fight Club all those edgy ass bitches Tyler Durden wannabes drawing anarchy signs in their notebooks that I have had to deal with *sigh*), but I absolutely love Chuck Palahniuk's books, his sense of humor is my jam and I knew there had to be more to the Fight Club than edgy fake depth and omg like it was so funny this book is about the dangers of toxic masculinity (half of the book I thought our narrator was in love with Tyler and I was like omg this shit is so gay how are those incels not seein this??) and that fake ass depth all those edgelords worship had me in stiches. Truly loved this book.

11.- The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book tho. Millicent Patrick was a fricken badass and such a wonderful artist and her story is so incredible. Like wow the film industry hasn't changed all that much huh? It was an amazing biography, I was crying by the end of it at the amount of love that went into all the research and how important it is to bring to light all these creative amazing woman facing the odds just to pursue their dreams, the thing I loved the most about the book was Mallory intertwining the story of her research with Millicent story like I appreciate all the effort it took her and it was amazing to read it.

12.- The Prince (Original Sinners #3) by Tiffany Reisz

🌟🌟🌟🌟

First off, how dare u Tiffany Reisz!!! That fucking cliff hanger. Now onto the book, wow, just when I thought Søren's life couldn't get more fucked up u proved me wrong, also why u make me ship everything, like now that I know what Kingsley and Søren's relationship was and how much Kingsley still loves him and wants to be with him aghfhfhhd, but also Nora and Weasley, he is so goddamn sweet and they love each other but thing is I don't think they will work out at all, cuz Nora and Søren are so much like each other (the parallels between the 2 of them were so clear) and their love is still there even if they are apart and whyyyyyy u make me suffer like this???

13.- Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

🌟🌟🌟

This book is really great, all the construction of the lore and the political drama!!!! Like I live for that and I seriously need a sequel. A great fantasy with an amazing protagonist, those plot twists !!!!!! I never saw them coming. I just need the next book pls 😢😢.

14.-The Poppy War by R.F Kuang

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This blew my mind, honestly this month I read such great fantasy books. I wasn't expecting anything that happened (well I did guess about what Rin was but it was pretty clear) it broke my heart time and time again and I need to get to the sequel soon (like why do I do this to myself, I need to finish a hella lot of series and I just keep starting new ones like a dumbass).

15.-The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archives #1) by Brandon Sanderson

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

💞💞💞 High Fantasy is my favorite thing in the world and this book, gosh i fell in love. The characters! The fucking world!!!! The political drama, the magic, the religion, (also all those drawings throughout the book were amazing) ahdhenmdhdj I adore when writers create whole ass worlds and this omg I hadn't been so excited about a high fantasy book since I finished the ASOIAF books. The story blew me away Brandon Sanderson dives right into it and I need to read the next book.

It was a great reading month for me tbh, I didn't think I would finish my TBR for this month but suddenly I did and it was because I got really great books and I hope next month will be just as good.