IN WHICH I FLAIL AND SHRIEK OVER LES MIS

One thing you should know about moi. 


I AM VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY OBSESSED WITH THE WONDERFUL THING THAT IS LES MISERABLES.

me when it comes to Les Miserables

Do you have that one obsession/fandom that you just love so much that most of the time all you can do is just sit there and flail and THEN YOU FANGIRL SO HARD YOU LEGITLY CAN'T BREATHE???

yes.  exactly what I was talking about.

Les Miserables is that one fandom.


I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT. 


I love the book, the movie, the musical, the music, the actors, the author, basically everything about it.  My sister crocheted me a revolutionary rosette and it's like my favoritest thing to wear now besides my Eponine hat.


Why do I have such an unhealthy obsession with this French musical/book?  I DO NOT KNOW.


I JUST LOVE LES MIS, OKAY????


(And Enjolras)

So the other day, I watched the 25th Anniversary Concert. 


Now, I've heard a lot of bad stuff about this one.  For example, everyone hates Nick Jonas as Marius. 


BUT NOOO. 

The cast was FANTABULOUS. 


Alfie Boe was AMAZING as Jean Valjean.  He's my new favorite Jean Valjean.


Norm Lewis just blew me away by his performance as Javert.  OH MY WORD.  WOW.  He's my new favorite Javert.


Hadley Fraser was the most adorable Grantaire everrrr.  AND HE PRONOUNCED "Don Juan" correctly which made me go "YASSS" because this was like the first time Grantaire ever pronounced correctly and that used to bug me.  New favorite Grantaire.


Then there was Ramin Karimloo.  So apparently Ramin is a big thing in the world of Broadway....?  Until now, I had never really cared for him.  I never understood what the big deal was.  THEN I SAW HIM AS ENJOLRAS AND WHAAAAAA.  I NOW LOVE RAMIN KARIMLOO.  (Mind you, Aaron Tveit will always be my favorite Enjy, but Ramin was very close) 


Lea Salonga was an amazing Fantine.  The Thenardiers were fantastic.  I didn't even mind Nick Jonas that much!! 


So yes, I will be flailing over this cast for a long, long time now. 


And also, at the end of the concert, THE ORIGINAL 1985 CAST CAME ON STAGE AND SANG THE SONGS WITH THIS CAST and it was the most beautiful thing ever.  My emotions didn't even know what to do. 


Here is the link to the first part.  Go watch it.  NOW.  DO IT.  SHOO.


https://vimeo.com/66296888


Okay, I'm done flailing now. 


Before I end this post though, I would like to share with you my new favorite insult:

*giggles maniacally* 


I love this way too much.  YOU STALE BAGUETTE YOU. 


Goodbye, minions.  Go watch Les Miserables and cry. 

Do you love Les Miserables, too??  Have you seen the 25th Anniversary Les Mis in Concert?  What did you think of it?

Writer Problems and my Main Characters

Sometimes I just want to throw writing off a cliff.  (I don't know how that would work, but I would make it happen.  Shush.)


Some days writing is smooth traveling.  You are practically overflowing with inspiration, have entire countries of motivation at your beck and call, and your fingers are actually listening to what your mind wants to write for once.  Life is good. 

Then there are those days when nothing.  goes.  right. 


At all. 


Those days where your mind is blank, your page/screen is blank (and most likely cackling with evil, maniacal mock-the-writer laughter), and you feel like a complete and total failure. 


And let's be honest, those days pop up A LOT. 


How normal people think we write:

How we REALLY write:

(This is also the same concept for drawing.  Exact.  same.  thing.)


Anyway.


So my hiatus is over...or so I think.  I actually sat down after a month of nil motivation/inspiration and wrote Chapter Something-Or-Other!!!  (Yeah, I forgot what chapter it was.  14, maybe?) 


LIFE WAS GOOD.  People liked this new chapter.  I was once again back to feeling good about myself and my writing abilities. 


Then I sat down at my computer and tried to write the next chapter.  And guess what happened?


NOTHING.  ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NOTHING.

*cries*

I really hope it's not another month until I end up writing the next chapter, guys. 


"Write anyway, even if you don't have the inspiration/motivation" all you professional writers would say.  YEAH BUT WHEN I DO THAT ALL THAT HAPPENS IS:


1)  It's the worst possible thing I've ever written and must be immediately deleted so that the world will never know how awful I write
.
2)  I feel like a worthless mollusk that couldn't ever be a famous author someday CAUSE LOOK AT THE RUBBISH I JUST WROTE ALKSDGLKHS.


3)  I write one sentence, look at that sentence, then has to go consume a pint of lemon cookie ice cream to repair the damage that one sentence did on my writerly ego. 

Writing is hard, y'all.  I really really REALLY wanna toss it into Mt. Doom and just be done with it.  (Did I already mention that?) 


Moving on.


My book!!!!!  *squeals and does happy dance*


This is the first novel I've ever started writing and ACTUALLY DEEMED IT OKAY.  All my other WIPs are shoved in a file somewhere because I can't bear to look at them. 


Except now I've gotten about maybe 1/3 into the story and all I want to do is rewrite the whole thing.  BUT I CAN'T BECUASE I MUST FINISH THE FIRST DRAFT FIRST. 


It's a painful process. 

Here is the cover:

Yes, I made it myself.  I find it very cringe-worthy. 


Here's the summary:


World governments are in chaos and upheaval in the aftermath of WWIII. The French monarchy has… been revived and is struggling to regain power. In order to create an alliance with the U.S., Shauna Riley, a normal teenage American girl, is married to Dauphin Louis de Bourbon, crown prince of France.

Pawns in the devious game of politics, Shauna and Louis must find a way to accept reality and take on the burdens of the crown...and stay alive.

I SUDDENLY HAVE AN OBSESSION FOR FRANCE.  I partially blame that on this book and my bf who also has a strange obsession with France.  BUT NOW I REALLY REALLY LOVE EVERYTHING FRANCE.  Research does that to you, I think.  Did I mention I'm learning French because of this novel?

Here are the main characters:

Shauna Riley


A seventeen year old pianist, Shauna's one dream was to attend the best music academy in the country.  Instead, she is snatched out of her country and becomes a princess of France.  She is from a small town in Florida, with two younger brothers and a country struggling to regain normality after the war. 


Although quiet and shy, she possesses great courage and strength even when her world is turned upside down and can be feisty when she wants to.  Shauna is torn between emotions and between loving and hating her new husband. 

Louis de Bourbon


Heir to the throne of France, Louis was forced to take on responsibilities that made him grow up too fast and give up his passion for art.  At twenty-seven years old, he is far from ready to rule a country. 


Although naturally gentle, he often appears to be stern; a trait that developed from looking after his wayward brother and worrying over becoming king.  Strongly devoted and loyal, Louis accepts his fate but is reluctant and most of all, lonely. 

Pierre de Bourbon


The unruly and flirtatious playboy of the family, Pierre is Louis' twenty-one year old brother who without the burden of the throne, lives to plague his family and new sister-in-law.  Prone to get into trouble, Pierre unwittingly becomes a vital character in a game of politics and treachery. 


Despite his faults, Pierre is a loyal brother and admits when he's done wrong.




And here are the main characters!  At least, the only ones I've found pictures for.  Maybe I'll post the rest later.




I must leave you now.  I'm supposed to be doing science right now *guilty look*. 


Do you ever get frustrating I CAN'T WRITE days?  Isn't writing HARD??  What do you think of mine characters? 

Regarding Phantom of the Opera

I have a conundrum, mine people.

I love Phantom of the Opera.  I’m a die-hard Phan, I love the book, the musical, the movie.  I love reading Phanfics, and I’ve drawn a Phanart:

Mah latest and bestest Phanpic

But…

Last night I watched the movie.  And throughout the whole thing, I was really, really uncomfortable.  There was a nagging something at the back of my mind.  Something was off about this. 

There are actually quite a few things I found wrong with PotO.  And it really bothers me. 

(If you love PotO, and you don’t find anything wrong with it, please don’t read this.  I don’t want to ruin anything for you.)

(Also, I'm mostly concentrating on the movie, because I haven't seen the whole play so I don't have authority to review it)

(Also.  Spoilers.)

Here goes nothing.

Phantom of the Opera is the longest running show on Broadway, and probably one of the most popular musicals ever.  So it must be great, right?  Right.  The music is phenomenal.  I’ll say that right there. 

I was raised with a love for the theatre.  My grandparents took me to shows and installed a love of musicals in me at a young age.  I acted in a few shows at my community theatre, and I just love musical theatre. 

So of course, being in the musical theatre environment, I couldn’t help but hear lots about the crowning gem of the musical theatre world, Phantom of the Opera. 

I listened to it, and I loved it.  I watched it, and I loved it.

Then I started actually understanding what it was about and actually listening to the lyrics. 


When I started doing that, somehow it wasn't as enjoyable anymore.

And, ladies and gentleman, this crowning gem of musical theatre is not as good and wonderful as I had thought.

HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT, you scream.  IT’S A BEAUTIFUL STORY OF LOVE.

Weeelllllllll........maybe.

First let’s talk about the main character and anti-hero/villain, Phantom. 

Okay.  I’ve heard a lot of people who ship Phantom and Christine, and who love Phantom, and all that, but I’m not one of those people.  Well, I used to be.  Then I started understanding Phantom better. 

Guys, this is a 30/40-something year old man who is probably more than a little insane.  And this 30/40-something year old insane man has been stalking this innocent young girl since she was like 10.  He has been singing to her while she sleeps.  Which means he has been watching her sleep.  (Talk about creepy)  He won’t let her see him, but he stalks her and teaches her to sing and it’s all very secretive and stuff.  Then when she is 20 years old, the Phantom finally abducts her and takes her to his secret underground lair because he is in love with her voice and...I think her, herself. 

Okay.  This is not love people.  This is creepy stalkishness and everything BUT love.  VERY CREEPY.  IF THIS HAPPENED IN REAL LIFE, WE WOULD PROBABLY NOT TURN THE GUY INTO A ROMANTICIZED GENIUS.  At least, I hope not.

All his songs are about possessing her and owning her and darkness and seduction and passion and more darkness and it’s all very WRONG. 

So then when Christine’s REAL lover, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, enters the scene, Phantom becomes mad with jealous rage and eventually takes Christine back to his lair under the opera house to force her to live there and be his wife.  When the gallant Raoul tracks him down and comes to rescue her, Phantom captures him and makes Christine choose: either she has to live with him or her lover will die. 

It ends up okay, (he lets Christine and Raoul go and then disappears off into the darkness of the burning theatre to never be seen again) but come on.  COME ON.  This is a madman; the most stalkerish Stalker of them all, and most definitely NOT a romantic lover.  He’s all about control and domination and lust and he threatens and kills people without a second thought.

HE’S A BAD GUY.

How do people love him over Raoul?  I don’t even know. 

Now for my second issue.  And this was the one that bothered me the most, I think. 

At the beginning of the movie, we see a portrait of Christine’s dead father, who looks very suspiciously like Phantom. 

This could just be me, but doesn't that look a lot like Phantom to you?  (The fact that that dude is Ramin Karimloo, who played Phantom in the Broadway PotO, doesn't help at all.)

Then she talks about how her father sent the Angel of Music to watch over her, and she thinks it’s Phantom (who happens to look like her father). 

Then later in the film, there is a scene where she steals away to the cemetery in the middle of the night.  She goes to her father’s grave, singing a song of how she wishes he was somehow here again, and the Angel of Music (Phantom) sings to her as if it’s coming from her father’s grave.  Then she sings as if she thinks it’s her father singing, saying "Angel or father, friend or phantom?" So....it's either her father or the Phantom?  Does she think that her Angel of Music is her father's spirit?? 


AND PHANTOM IS SINGING TO HER AS IF HE IS HER FATHER.  BUT...BUT...he is totally bringing in the "My angel of music, you try to resist me but your soul obeys" vibe so I'm so confused.  SO BEFUDDLED.  YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

what even...

This is a theme that comes up again and again, and it really bothers me.

This girl seems very confuzzled.  Like, a lot.  Does Christine think that the Angel of Music aka Phantom is her father?? 

In that case, take a moment to think about what that means.

Yeaaaahhhhh.  I’m really grossed out, too.

Phantom is a creep, but if he’s pretending to be the girl’s freakin’ father, than apparently she’s fine with incest and Phantom has absolutely no morals whatsoever. 

(Am I the only one who noticed this??  Is it just me??  Okay.)

I used to love Phantom.  He was so dashing and romantic and sad and Gerard Butler was extremely good looking as Phantom.  But…yeah, not anymore.

Now let’s move on to the songs.

The song “Past the Point of No Return” is so suggestive and sensual that I get very uncomfortable watching/listening to it, even by myself.  I won’t post a video of the song, because I don’t want to scar you, but take a look at some of the lyrics:

"You have come here

In pursuit of your deepest urge

In pursuit of that wish which till now has been silent

Silent

I have brought you

That our passions may fuse and merge

In your mind you've already succumbed to me

Dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me

Now you are here with me, no second thoughts

You've decided, decided"

 

"No use resisting

Abandon thought and let the dream descend

What raging fire shall flood the soul?

What rich desire unlocks its door?

What sweet seduction lies before us”

"I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why

 In my mind I've already imagined

 Our bodies entwining defenseless and silent

 And now I am here with you

 No second thoughts, I've decided, decided

  Past the point of no return, no going back now

 Our passion play has now at last begun

 Past all thought of right or wrong, one final question

 How long should we to wait, before we're one?”

 

I am Bilbo.  This is me.

*coughs awkwardly*  Yeepp.  These are the actual lyrics.  There is so much wrong with this song….and the context…and…everything about it.  I'm not going to explain anything.  Just read them and figure it out yourself.

Moving on! 

“Music of the Night”.  What could be wrong with THAT song?  LOTS, my dear minions, LOTS. 

“Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation

 Darkness stirs and wakes imagination

 Silently the senses abandon their defenses"

 

"Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams

 Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before”

"Floating, falling, sweet intoxication

 Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation

 Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in

 To the power of the music that I write

 The power of the music of the night”

This song is so beautiful….but so wrong and unhealthy if you actually look at the lyrics hard enough.  It’s all about how darkness is better and give in to your deepest, darkest passions and how she'll belong to him if she does that and…..ick. 

I had problems with the other characters, too. 

Madame Giry just stands by and watches while her practically adopted daughter is stalked/kidnapped/molested/practically sexually abused and SHE DOESN’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.  She brought Phantom to the Opera House, so really it’s her fault.  She doesn’t even try to protect Christine from Phantom.  THE CHILD IS SCARED OF THE STALKER MAN.  YOU ARE A TERRIBLE MOTHER, MADAME. 

Christine...ah, Christine.  So pretty and charming with such a gorgeous voice...but kind of weak.  She goes along with Phantom’s devious schemes, and goes along with his advancements and there is lots of fondling and icky stuff.  When she woke up from her trance, she didn't seem in least concerned about being in a creepy underground lair with a guy who kidnapped her.


Granted, she was under a trance part of the time, but STILL.  If she could not see that this was a terrible situation, and she needed to get away from this situation, then there is something very wrong with her.  Also, since she had been visited by the Phantom since she was 10, she trusted him, but I AM 17 AND I WOULDN'T TRUST PHANTOM FOR A HEARTBEAT.  She was 20 and she trusted him blindly.  WHAT IS IT WITH THESE PEOPLE AND THEIR BLIND TRUST IN CREEPY STRANGERS.

But please don't think I dislike Christine entirely!  No, I really do like her.  She was willing to sacrifice her whole life by promising to stay and love Phantom so that Raoul could live.  Isn't that sweet?  There were a few brave parts, or at least I think they were brave...she could have been under a trance then....I'm not sure.

Now.  Raoul. 

Awwwwww Raoulllll

I have to say though, Vicomte Rauol de Chagny is marvelous.  He is a brave, handsome, wonderful little person who risks his own life and is willing to give his life for the girl he loves.  He’s the ideal man.  I think he’s the only character in the entire thing that I actually like. 


Was he a bit of a wimp?  Yes, he was.  A tiny bit.  Did he forget to keep his hand at the level of his eyes thus getting the Phantom's rope around his neck?  Yes, he did. 


Do I care?  Not in the slightest. 


His song, "All I Ask of You", is the sweetest thing ever.  Also, he is so freakin selfless and brave, it's adorable.  When he was tied to the portcullis, about to die, he asked Christine to forgive him, that he did it all for her, and to save herself and not worry about him, to not throw her life away.  HE ASKED HER TO FORGIVE HIM.  HE WAS ABOUT TO BE KILLED.  That was probably the most adorable Raoul moments of the whole movie. 

"I did it all for you"

Awwwww.  Is your heart melting?  It should be.


Anyway, Raoul.  Yes.  He was like the only character I really loved in PotO.  Did I have any problems with him?  Nah.  I'm biased.  I love Raoul.


So what was the point of this post?


The point was to dig up the iffy aspects of PotO and find out if the good outweighs the bad.

The Phantom of the Opera is highly appraised everywhere.  Everyone loves it. 

But is it really a good story? 

I have come to the opinion that it’s beautiful.  But beautiful is not always the same as good.  In this case, it's beautiful in both ways.  But mostly a dark, twisted beauty. This is not just a simple story of love, it’s more like a complicated web of lust and love and insanity mixed up in the lot. 


Then again, it has good aspects.  True love, for example, is proven wonderfully by Raoul and Christine.  The moral of the story is: Don't be a stalker.  Also, stranger danger. 

Is it a good musical?  Of course!  Is it gorgeous and sensual and heartbreaking?  Yes!  Is it clean and morally good and truthful?  Not really.  Even Raoul cannot quite make it okay. 

So I have a conundrum, people. 

Is Phantom of the Opera a good thing to be watching and listening to?  Or should it be avoided?

It’s really hard for me to love PotO after knowing all of this stuff about it now.  I want to keep loving it, but then I don't want to.

I don’t want to leave the Phandom….but I do want to leave the Phandom. 

“THIS IS THE CHOICE.  THIS IS THE POINT OF NO RETUUURRRNNNN.”

What do you think, minions?  Do you love PotO?  Do you have issues with anything in it?  Does your conscience scream at you that it's not a healthy thing to be watching/listening to?  Do you proceed to ignore your conscience and go on with your Phan-ish little life?

______________________________________________________________________________


So, here's my ranty post for the week.  Next week I'll probably be back to loving PotO with my whole heart and soul, so please don't take this too seriously.  I'm most probably just over-exaggerating and over-thinking this whole thing.  So don't be angry at me, all you PotO loving minions out there. :) 

Jinx....Jinx again!

If you didn't get that quote, you must be a hermit living in a crater on a moon somewhere.  Seriously. 




eheh.  *eye twitches*

This was NOT supposed to be about Frozen.  Agh.  NO.  I HAD A POST PLANNED OUT AND SOMEHOW IT WAS INFILTRATED BY FROZEN.


I used to like Frozen, back when EVERYONE loved it, and EVERYONE was obsessed with it, and EVERYONE was singing it 24/7....but now.....




No.  Just no.  I can't stand the movie now. 


The only thing I like about Frozen now are all the theories associated with it...mostly the ones about Hans.  (Because I still love Hans, okay, and any Tumblr theories about anything are bound to be mindblowing.)


AND NOW THEY'RE MAKING A SEQUEL AND I'M GONNA CRY OVER THIS BECAUSE WHY.  WHYYY.  Disney, do you realize what you are doing to us?  You are going to start up all the 6 year old girls again and bring misery and agony down upon us sane-ish people again.  AGAIN. 

BEYOND POWER OF SPEEEEEECH

I don't think I can survive another year of Frozen madness. 

Who was the idiot who decided to make a sequel to Frozen, anyway? 


DISNEY.  WE DON'T WANT A SEQUEL.  SEQUELS JUST RUIN THE FIRST ONE BECAUSE SEQUELS ARE ALWAYS TERRIBLE.  You'd think they'd have caught on to that by now...


Anyway.  What was I talking about.


OH YAS. 


I wanted to tell you a story that was related to the title of this post. 


So one thing you must know about my siblings (aka the Ragamuffins aka the Kidlings aka Five Children and It ["It" being the smallest of my siblings] aka the Street Gamin) is that my siblings are epic. 


One minute I'm screaming at them and chasing them with spatulas and wanting to strangle them with Phantom's lasso, and then the next minute we're having epic duets together and swing dancing. 


However most of the time I'm just like:

So yas,  I love my insane, terrible, annoying, idiotic siblings.  The fact that they let me call them Street Gamin and will sing Les Mis duets with me when we're not trying to rip out each other's throats is proof of how epic they are. 


So the story.  We were coming home from this Thing.  My grandparents were driving the car.  All us kids were in good moods and happy from being at the Thing with our grandparents. 


Out of the blue, I yelled in my best Jack Kelly New-Yorker-accent, "Pulitzer and Hearst, they think we're nothin'!  Are we nothin'?"


And, ladies and gentlemen, the entire Gang yelled back, on perfect cue, "No!"


So I continued.  "Pulitzer and Hearst, they think they got us, do they got us?"


The Newsies in the back seat screamed, "NO!"  I think one sibling yelled "YES!" but he or she was shushed by the others.


Moi, now Jack "Cowboy" Kelly, sang loudly, "Even though we ain't got hats or badges, we're a union just by sayin' soooo!"


All the Street Gamin chimed in and we belted out, "AND THE WORLD WILL KNOWWW!"  Followed by Newsie-style whooping. 


My poor grandparents were so befuddled. 


It was one of the best moments of my life. 

And for all of you who had no idea what I was talking about, that song is from the Disney movie "Newsies".  It's probably the most underrated movie of all time.  I only discovered it a few months ago on Treskie's blog and then I got my whole family obsessed and it's been downhill gloriousness from there.  


The movie is a musical about newsboys in the early 20th century going on strike and there is lots of singing and dancing and feels.  It's beautiful.  Go watch it.  The music is fantabulous. 


The song we sang was from "The World Will Know", one of my favorites.

So long, minions! 

Are you excited for Frozen 2? (*maniacal laughing* HAHAHA NOOOOO)  Have you seen Newsies?  Do you ever have epic spontaneous sibling duets?