It is a Special Experience going from the last season of the 90s Sailor Moon wherein at least every third episode played Search For Your Love because of idol pop stars Starlights to now watching PGSM which has begun to have C'est La Vie in At Least every other episode thanks to idol pop star Minako Aino.
Personally, I don't mind C'est La Vie all that much, but for Empty it is currently worse to endure than the many Search For Your Loves ahahhahaha
rating: e.
pairings: dick grayson/jason todd.
prompt: fusion + jealousy/possessiveness.
warnings: graphic depictions of violence.
summary: brujah courier jason todd is the best of the best, but it’s tough out there even for kindred like him. what little refuge he finds in the toreador prince of gotham’s court falls apart when the city’s former sovereign shows up out of the blue intent on taking back what once was his.
i mean, Crowley (david's character) is not so much a badass demon as someone trying very hard to be a badass demon and sort of failing at that (being a completely lovable mess instead) but STILL THE LONG GINGER HAIR WHO THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA and anyway, i always love your seeing your blog so lots of love <3
hah yeah, to be fair i’ve never read it. but he looks nothing like a demon to me he just looks ridiculous 😂
So in preparation with Empty and @rosepetalrevolution to watch Slings & Arrows, Empty has us watching Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet. This is where I admit that I made it through high school and a minor in English in college without ever reading or watching Hamlet. So this is my first time knowing the piece outside of memes or random popular osmosis. We're about halfway through the film at the moment.
What I'd known:
Hamlet's ghost of a father tells him he was murdered by his brother.
Hamlet is going to want revenge
People are bad to Ophelia
"To be, or not to be" (and thinking it a monologue for the audience only)
Hamlet is somber and depressed and vengeful
Ophelia kills herself
Things that have been fascinating to learn:
The ghost thing is almost the first thing that happens
Hamlet is crazy
Hamlet is funny in his scenes with Polonius in particular
Hamlet questions if the specter was actually his father and so isn't sure if wanting vengeance from that point on
The 'To Be, or not to be' monologue is witnessed by like three other characters
Relevant mainly for the coming Slings and Arrows watch: there's a play within a play so now I'm ready to see parallels in the director in S&A and Hamlet
Again, we are about halfway through the film. We spend about a good hour or so just chatting so our actual watch time on a weekday evening is limited. We just finished the play in the play, so I imagine Hamlet is going to escalate his crazy, and I look forward to it.
If you enjoyed anything about this post, don't mock me for not having already known Hamlet 😅
What compelled me to read this: Empty has been catching up with Brandon Sanderson books as that author is popular in his circles, and my sister is also obsessed with the author. Since we had a shortish road trip yesterday, we were able to listen to this novella he thought I'd like while we were on the road.
Quote I pulled:
"There was rarely an obvious branching point in a person's life. People changed slowly, over time. You didn't take one step, then find yourself in a completely new location. You first took a little step off the path to avoid some rocks. For a while, you walked alongside the path, but then you wandered out a little way to step on softer soil. Then you stopped paying attention as you drifted farther and farther away. Finally, you found yourself in the wrong city, wondering why the signs on the roadway hadn't led you better.”
Is it gay: No (and no romance! Which I liked personally)
I Recommend this book for: People who enjoy short stories about what makes us, us... through an interesting fantasy conceit (definitely made me think about Dr. Tucker's claims about 'bringing back' Nina)
Nonspoilery two sentences: A master forger (thief, and artist) gets betrayed during a theft and ends up in the hands of people in power who rely on their emperor for their position; their emperor has been attacked and left braindead, and despite soul magic being taboo, they'll employ their caught forger to attempt the impossible—Use the memories of friends, servants, advisors, and the emperor's own journal, to try and piece him back together enough to convincingly stay in power. Even the forger thinks it impossible but knows that despite the pretty words, all the paths laid out for her would end in her death, unless she escapes not just the palace, but her own desire to see if she can achieve the impossible!
Character, moment, or idea I am taking to brunch: love that Shai had to just... be genuine and honest with Galtona to 'manipulate' him into wanting to see her live. I put manipulate in quotes here, but I enjoy how the text doesn't try to refute that it is manipulation even though for all intents and purposes, by the end, they do both genuinely care about each other and accomplish the goals one wished for the other. He cares about her, but she also cares about him by the end.
Also also the way they set Galtona up to actually be like a 'good' guy but he's actually such a coward. If he lived up to his ideals, he would have kept pushing the emperor, and he wouldn't have accepted that the other arbiters and himself can't/shouldn't fulfill their end of their bargain for Shai to let her go with riches. He was going to let them kill her and ends up helping her escape in such a passive way only because he selfishly didn't want to see her dead, not because her righteously felt it the honorable thing.
Character, moment, or idea I am going to fight in a Taco Bell parking lot: You know, there was a lot of exposition and world building, which was a tiny bit irritating. But I'm nitpicking here, because I actually like the way it's done. Especially in that the manner in which we're told leaves a lot to interpretation. Shai isn't the most reliable narrator, and as it is, her premise rests on things not taken for fact.