I promised Nicki I would make her an Infinite ships post, and I was going to do something brief on tumblr, like a paragraph for each of the major ships, but I am me and completely incapable of being anything but verbose, so this turned into a monster. Who even am I?

So you've got 7 really attractive guys in this band, all of whom are always hanging all over each other, some of them because they're naturally demonstrative, some of them because that's their job, but either way: obviously people are going to ship things. Here's a rough guide to the bigger ships in fandom and also to the smaller things that I personally ship. Yay!


( cut for the pretty boys! )

Watch this space (by which I mean my journal/your flist) for Bechdel Test 2.0 coming later this afternoon! From looking at the data in my completely unscientific/not-so-mathly way, it seemed to me that that option would have the most participation, so that's what we're going to go for. HOWEVER, I definitely am putting the Ships I Don't Ship on the backburner; I definitely want to do that one in a couple of weeks (so if that's the one you wanted, rejoice! It's going to happen! Just not right at the moment).

But there were so many awesome options! Thanks for y'all's suggestions, for voting, and for expressing enthusiasm. And let me just say that I would not at all be adverse to any of y'all hosting any of those options yourselves at some point....IMHO, there can never be enough comment ficathons.

If anybody wants to whip up some banners, that would be awesome. Otherwise, get your prompts ready! It's 9 in the morning my time, so it'll be a few hours before the post goes up. I'm so excited! YAY LADIES!

Any further banners should be submitted here.

* I have been listening to the Dream Cast album nonstop since Sunday. I grew up on this thing, and I know every note of it and it still never fails to give me goosebumps. How can something so flawless exist?

* The anniversary tour is coming here in May, and you know I will be going. SO EXCITED. LIVE THEATER. SONGS I KNOW BY HEART. SOBBING LIKE A BABY. SO READY.

* We all know by now that there's going to be a movie, right? Initially I was very concerned about this, wringing my hands with terror that it would be awfulawfulawful and they would cast a whole bunch of people who can't sing just because they are famous (and I'll admit, I'm still to an extent nervous about that), but apparently Tom Hooper, he of The King's Speech Oscar-winning, may be directing it. I thought this was confirmed, Lexi, but apparently it's just a rumor. Still, this would please me greatly and make me breathe a little easier.

* Shockingly (or, you know, not) I have a few thoughts about the casting of the film. The other night's showing of the Anniversary show confirmed to me that, alas, Colm Wilkinson is probably a little too old to play Valjean--he was fragile and his voice wasn't as a strong as it was. They probably won't go with him, which makes me sadface because he will always be Valjean to me. BUT. There is no way in hell that Philip Quast is too old to play Javert, and I might weep if they don't cast him because. NO ONE in the history of the universe could be as awesome in that role as he is.

OH WAIT DID SOMEONE MENTION SOMETHING ABOUT WANTING TO HEAR HIM SING "STARS"? AND DO I JUST SO HAPPEN TO HAVE A VIDEO EMBEDDED SO THAT YOU CAN DO THAT? I MUST BE CLAIRVOYANT.



*dies of awesome*

THEY MUST CAST HIM. And not cast the guy who played Valjean in the 25th Anniversary show. His "Bring Him Home" was nice, but the rest of his performance was severely lacking in my mind.

* Lea Salonga is too old to play Eponine ALAS AND I WILL WEEP. This breaks my heart because she will always be Eponine to me. They will probably end up casting Lea Michele since she's huge now and has played the role, and I would not be displeased by this. Obviously, she's hugely talented and I want to see her do non-Glee things since we all know how I feel about that show.

* Now most important. The only other person I am absolutely ADAMANT that they must cast is Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras.


WATCH. THIS.



I WILL BE OVER HERE DYING OF OF AN OVERDOSE OF SEXINESS. Seriously, I had no idea who this man was a few days ago, and now I am convinced he is the most attractive man on the planet. BOOM. INSTANT OBSESSION.

Apparently he's in that really bad sequel to Phantom of the Opera, and even though I have zero feelings about Andrew Lloyd Webber, I will always be grateful to him from now on because he guarantees the existence of this:




I'm pretty sure he impregnated with me with his voice. Just sayin'.

I might even dump Enver Gjokaj for him. That is how massive my crush is at this point.

* In closing, feel free to watch the original cast be reunited (PLUS RAMIN AND HIS SEXINESS) and weep like a baby as they sing "One Day More."

ALREADY FREAKING. CAROLINE IS KICKING DAMON'S ASS. MY BOY TROY IS IN THE LEAD. TAMI TAYLOR IS PWNING EVERYONE. KALINDA WILL DEFINITELY BE REPRESENTING THE GOOD WIFE. LESLIE KNOPE WINS EVERYTHING EVER. MIRANDA HAS A CATEOGRY.

I will change my vote from Nina to Annie should Mitchell look like he might win. Same with changing Kelly to Nathan if it looks like Simon might take first place (but I really hope I don't have to because--KELLY. FAVORITE GIRL).

At this moment it looks like Ten will definitely not win his category, and I am PLEASED. Donna and Amy are going head-to-head at the moment. AWESOME GINGER LADIES. No one's voting River, unfortunately. *sigh* Peggy and Joan are neck-in-neck which I find adorable.

MORE PEOPLE SHOULD VOTE FOR JESSICA HAMBY, OKAY? ALSO EMILY GILMORE I DON'T CARE IF SHE HAS NO SHOT AT WINNING.

Is it sad that one of the reasons I most look forward to my birthday is that I know that AWESOME PEOPLE on my flist will arrive with creative gifts? Because if that's wrong, I don't want to be right.

First of all eilowyn made me a really awesome banner featuring tons of my favorite ladies from my TV shows, and obviously it is now adorning my profile page.

Then there's snickfic who proved once again that she writes the very best River Tam voice ever by writing me a so-awesome-it-kind-of-hurts Buffy/Firefly crossover fic.

And finally, the kick-ass ohwaluvusbab wrote Harry Potter fic for the very first time in the form of an almost unbearably perfect Ron/Hermione fic that proves that we are indeed the exact same person when it comes to shipping.

Sometimes I really do boggle at how talented my flist is. And how generous. And all around wonderful.

I didn't forget anybody, did I? I'm doing this on the fly at work. I will feel horrible if I did.

CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT HOW PERFECT DOWNTON ABBEY IS? OKAY.

( spoilers through the end of S1 )

I need to take this moment to freak the heck out because I just figured out that Spike from Press Gang is playing Nathan's dad on Misfits. HOW IS ANYTHING SO PERFECT POSSIBLE? I'm now going to totally disregard the fact that we've already met his mom and pretend that she's played by Julia Sawalha. OH HAI DEXTER FLETCHER. YOU HAVE NOT AGED WELL AND YOU SOUND REALLY FUNNY WHEN YOU AREN'T FAKING AN AMERICAN ACCENT AND DELIVERING SNARKY STEVE MOFFAT-PENNED DIALOGUE AND BEING A REALLY GOOD GUY WHILE PRETENDING TO BE A BAD BOY. STILL, I AM GLAD TO SEE YOU ON MY TELEVISION SCREEN. PERFECT CASTING IS PERFECT.

And yes, I'm still crossing my fingers that Moffat will do the Press Gang reunion movie. He's got the go ahead from the network. Now he just needs to make it happen.

Also, yes, Dexter Fletcher is freakishly short, and I amused by any jokes along those lines.

So I've been kind of absent of late. Between new job, NaNoWriMo (which is going pretty well! Post about that to come, hopefully!) and busy family-ness, I just don't really have the time or energy to post a whole lot. Basically, by the time I get settled at home, I'm so tired that all I have the energy to do is reblog pictures of pretty people on tumblr, because that takes zero thought.

But I've been trying to keep up with y'all's posts, so there's that, but, once again, I am hopelessly behind in replying to comments in this here blog. Hopefully I can catch up with that very soon.

I've got a few fics ideas stewing that I might have some time to work on after November's over, and there's also YULETIDE OMG MY FAVORITE FANDOM ACTIVITY OF THE YEEEEEAR. Speaking of which, if you haven't signed up, it's not quite too late! You still have a few hours left! Get on it! Y'all, I signed up to write YA books of wonderfulness from my childhood! Heartbreaking and/or silly movies! Random Korean television! No matter what my assignment is, I will be psyched about it. Which reminds me that I need to finish up my "Dear Yuletide writer" letter stat.

Also! I have my next casting/picspam planned! Basically, now that I've started this, I will never stop. I have made a monster of my own self.

Oh, and I have a big big big project I need to start working on for January--keep watching this space for more info (and a couple of you keep watching your email boxes for requests for help--you know who you are, even if you have no idea what I'm talking about. If you think I'm talking about you, I am. I can vague that up a bit more, if you like. And yes, that's a hint).

I hope y'all are all doing well and that the gross weather (if you're having gross weather) hasn't been getting you down. Feel free to let me know what you're up to. Hopefully once the month is over, I'll be able to plunge back into lj life. I miss it.

Oh, and the last and most important thing (of the moment): in an hour and a half I will be sitting in a movie theater waiting for Harry Potter to start! My ticket is in my wallet! YAY YAY YAY!

Oh, and Emmie--I can't access my email here, but I wanted you to know that I got your email before I left for work this morning and I can't wait to check it out! Yay some more!

And here are some initial thoughts! I may have more later. We shall see.

( spoilers leik woah )

I've been meaning for a while to talk about what I've been reading. Because it's something that's not fic or meta or articles on feminist websites! After I graduated from college, it took me a long time to be able to read again because I'd spent so much time analyzing texts over those four years that I just got burned out. But I am back to being able to read again, and it feels good.

So what have I been reading? Some really good stuff.

* Kindred by Octavia Butler. This book is perfect. One day, I want to be able to write something as perfect as this book. I was actually halfway through Fathom (see below) when I picked this one up. Whenever I pick up a new book, I like to read the "beginnings," as I call them: the introductions, acknowledgments, author's notes, and the first few lines. So I read the first few lines. And I was really engrossed. And I thought, "I'll just read the prologue. It's like two pages long." AND I NEVER STOPPED. Seriously, the book is compulsively readable. But at the same time, it's deeply profound. Perfect characterization: I could spend the rest of my life analyzing the relationship between Dana and Rufus, for instance, and I would never get to the bottom of it. Add in Kevin and Alice and the others? Gah. I can't even talk about it.

And this book is about the kyriarchy. It's the best book about the kyriarchy I've ever read. The whole thing is an exercise in examining the hierarchies of power and the ways they're tangled up in race and gender and class and even health. But it isn't preachy, and it's just so entertaining, too: if you didn't know or care about the kyriarchy, you could still love it and enjoy it. It sucks you in and doesn't let you up and you're completely captivated by these characters, but it's just so easy to read! I adore that.

I also really loved how it fit in seamlessly with the slave narratives I read in Southern Lit in college. I've never been so glad for being an English major: having had that prior experience with slave narratives, I felt that this book was so much richer.

I cannot rave about it enough. I'm going to read it once a year till I die, I think. Oh, and I read it in a day, so yeah. Very readable.

[eta] What it's actually about: a modern (written in the 70s) black woman who keeps getting pulled back in time to the nineteenth century to save her white ancestor, who is the son of a slave owner. Time travel. Slave narrative. YES.

* Fathom by Cherie Priest. This woman has a fantastic imagination. I can honestly say that you have never read a book like this. I adore the plot and the worldbuilding more than I can say. But I felt there was something lacking. I didn't really feel emotionally invested. I don't know if it's because I didn't feel like I got to know the characters well enough or if their motivations weren't nuanced enough or if it just wasn't long enough, but there was something missing for me. At the same time, I'm interested in seeing what else Priest has written because she has the most awesome imagination ever.

* Shards of Honor and Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold. Solid, character-driven sci-fi. Great characters--especially Cordelia and Aral and Kou and Drou and Bothari. Interesting relationships I cared about. Good worldbuilding. A strong female protagonist who was very competent but didn't physically kick ass. Good pacing and plotting. Basically just goodness, all the way around. If I could find more "sci-fi" (as opposed to fantasy) like this, I would read a ton more of it. This was my first Bujold experience, and I was impressed. Very.

Anyone have any advice as to how to proceed from here? I know she wrote the rest of the books all out of order, so I'd like to know which order to read them in. Chronologically? Or is it more like the Narnia books, where you need to read them as they were written? Help please!

And now for what some of you have been waiting for...

* The Hunger Games (all of them!) by Suzanne Collins. What did I spend Friday through Sunday doing? Reading all of the Hunger Games books, of course. Because I am like that. And yes, becoming pretty addicted and loving Katniss/Peeta forever and falling for a lot of the supporting characters. Read the books, people!

I will now proceed to spoil you horribly. DON’T READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THEM!

( spoilers for the first two books )

( spoilers for Mockingjay )

And one last thing, because I am predictable:

( a final, MJ-spoiler-free note on shipping )

People, is there any good fic out there? I want good fic, and I don’t know where to look!



And now I have a thousand comments to reply to! I should get on that!