ilovebooks89

Latest Posts by ilovebooks89

Season 3 is for the overthinkers. The ones who always had the crush but were never the crushes. The ones who only see flaws when they look in the mirror. The ones who throw themselves into books because those worlds treat them better than life ever has. The ones who are just so goddamn tired.

Fic-Love

Ich habe gerade letztens wieder ein paar FFs nochmal gelesen, weil es einfach so viele unglaublich gute in diesem Fandom gibt 😌

Und weil mich das jetzt brennend interessiert: was sind so eure momentanen Top 5? Egal, ob gerade zum ersten Mal am Lesen, wieder entdeckt, beendet oder nicht, ein "got me through tough times so it's engraved in my system now"...absolut alles willkommen 😊 Gerne mit kurzem Why dazu, muss aber nicht!

Ganz wichtig: das soll keineswegs ein Vergleich oder ein Wettbewerb sein! (I mean, ich selbst hab Stand jetzt 67 Favoriten auf ff.de - guckt da sonst gerne mal vorbei - keine davon hat es weniger oder mehr verdient als die anderen, gelesen und geliebt zu werden.) Es geht einzig und allein um einen Austausch, vielleicht einen kurzen Einblick in verschiedene Genres und Personalities und Empfehlungen, durch die die eine oder andere Person ja maybe sogar was Neues findet ☺

Ich fang mal an:

Let Me Down Slowly (ff.de) by NorthWings

Meisterlich in character und die Autorin hat ein wahnsinnig präzises Gefühl für Zeit- bzw. Szenensprünge. Ich liebe die Sehnsucht in und zwischen den Zeilen und lasse mich sehr gerne immer wieder aufs Neue von manchen Sätzen brechen :')

Closer (ff.de) by Jolie92

Das Push-and-Pull, die Sexual Tension, der Schmerz...es ist eine perfekte Komposition. Jede Leseminute wert. Kann kaum erwarten, dass es weitergeht.

Gefangen (ff.de) by thruthedoomdays; AU

Den ersten Teil habe ich - no kidding - ohne Pause in acht Stunden gelesen. So viel Herz und Schwere und Comfort in Einem...ich hab literally keine Worte dafür, wie sehr alles JK und ihre Verbindung und ihre Realitäten in dieser Geschichte für mich sind. Keine.

Liebe ist auch keine Lösung (ff.de) by Ria

Schreibstil einfach premium. JK in ihrem Umgang großartig getroffen. Heftig. Deep. Sexual Tension at its best (or worst?). Absolut kein Comfort, I'm a sucker for it. Love is pain, oder so.

So it went South (ff.de) by Candyrella

Candyrella hat Poetik im "Simplen" perfektioniert. JK sind schonungslos und ehrlich und verletzt, hier und da ooc, aber halt auf verdammt gute Weise. Besonders die Dialoge, die sind so f*cking echt und zerreißend.

Verlangen - Funkenflug (ff.de) by AlwaysKlako

Diese Story macht einfach Spaß. Atmosphäre, JK, Sommer, die förmlich greifbare Anziehung der beiden - zusammengefasst: intense. Und mit so viel Liebe zum Detail, unfassbar schön.

Ja, es sind sechs. Aus Gründen. Es gibt noch so, so viele mehr und ich bin allen fellow FF-Autor:innen sehr dankbar, dass sie tun, was sie tun <3

Falls ihr gerade die Lust und Kapazitäten habt: @coffifee @alwaysklako @papierflamingo @galli-halli @winterbunny-jk @mistofstars @sarcasmmeetssoulmate @other-people-have-good-names und alle, die mögen 😊

Let's spread some love 🫶🏼

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz etc

Mentally I'm stuck in Thriller Bark

everyone go read electrostatic potential, sacred new beginnings, one crowded hour, chasing the aurora and a leap of faith because these fics are sexy af. and stan tenrose and rose tyler ✌️

thing is - and hear me out - if s3 does by any minute chance incorporate any suggestion of a sex scene, it is imperative for me that they commit to the bit. i need crowley to nearly topple over trying to get out of his jeans, i need aziraphale to complain that they cant do anything downstairs because that would be scandalous, and i need them to trip over going up the stairs because they keep getting distracted. i need one of them to accidentally get an elbow to the face, i need them to have a long forgotten book digging into one of their backs, and aziraphale is horrified when crowley launches it across the room, and i need there to be hard cut to whickber street having a huge power surge, lines sparking, all the power going out, and every car alarm in a 2-mile radius start screaming, i don't need it to be explicit or overly romantic but i do need it to be fucking funny

the reveal that gomens 2 is like a bridge season between two massive plots is so fucking funny

like part one: dozens of people in a literal race to stop armageddon fifteen minutes before it happens with heaven hell and humanity all battling it out with flaming swords and a kraken and brian cox as the personification of death.

part 2: we are forced to have A Conversation About Our Relationship after being yelled at by the lesbians across the street

Ineffable Husbands really is that ship that has it all. They’re married. They’re divorced. They’ve never been together at all. They’ve been pining for 6000 years. They’re gay except they’re also not at all. They’re technically enemies to lovers but they’ve never been enemies nor lovers. Name any fanfic trope, they’ve probably been there, done that and they were entirely oblivious about it. Incredible ship.

unpopular opinion maybe but i want crowley and aziraphale to get outwardly mad at each other. like they're pissed now but it's all passive aggression and snarky comments. i want these bitches to scream at each other and be so incredibly honest and direct about their feelings just so they will finally communicate.

I am simply not interested in taking sides when it comes to aziraphale and crowley's little cosmic divorce. this is a jane austen romance, which means that both of our romantic leads need to grow and change before they can have their happily ever after. the problem isn't that one of them is Right and the other is Wrong, the problem is that they're each prioritizing a different problem and then approaching the problem they've backburnered with a long-standing habit or belief that they need to grow out of before they can succeed.

aziraphale is correct that heaven needs fixing! we can quibble over whether accepting a job as the boss is the right way to do that, but ultimately leaving michael or whoever in charge is going to lead to armageddon 2 armageddon harder. it simply will not work. the problem is that he's fumbling the relationship with crowley because he still needs to get over the idea of there being an inherently good and bad side and he needs to stop thinking that it's crowley being a demon that's keeping them apart. it's his own black and white logic that's doing that.

meanwhile, crowley is correct that he and aziraphale need to Name The Relationship and stop fucking around, and also that heaven and hell are the same institution with different labels and it's insane to think either of them is Good. but his impulse to respond to everything by trying to grab aziraphale and run is not gonna cut it here. "you can't fix an institution from the inside" is a philosophy of dubious value if your alternative is not attempting to fix it at all. if aziraphale is being held back by his cops and robbers mentality, crowley is being held back by cynicism and fear. they both need to let go of their flawed moral philosophies and emotional bad habits if they want to keep the world safe and be together! that's the point of the story splitting them up in the first place!

Something something the way that Crowley introduced himself to Aziraphale the first time they met in the garden and reacted as if they had never met before. Something about him later behaving as if he did actually have those memories of their time in Heaven together and trying to pass it off as being someone different now. Something about Heaven's way of punishing angels that go against the plan by erasing their memories. Something about Crowley seeing Gabriel without his memory and saying "ask him properly." Something about "remember it now" "it hurts, to remember. my head isn't built for that" "I know. Do it anyway"

Something about "I know. Looking at where the furniture isn't"

Something about I know

ohhhhhh I truly cannot get over the EVIL GENIUS of having crowley make a point of immediately taking his sunglasses off every time he's in the bookshop or alone with aziraphale this season, showing just how comfortable he's become showing his emotions and his vulnerability to aziraphale since season 1, opening himself up completely at every opportunity, showing us a side of him that's remained almost entirely hidden for millennia, only for him to silently and purposefully put his sunglasses back on immediately once aziraphale rejects his love confession. like, bravo gaiman, I saw what you did there and I'm never going to fucking recover from it. well done

good omens 2 is genuinely so funny. it's like a good omens/crossover fandom fic got turned into a whole 6 hours of television. crowley and aziraphale kissed and then immediately broke up. the main plot of the show revolves around trying to get two lesbians together jane austen style. half the runtime is dedicated to random historical flashbacks of crowley and aziraphale homosexually interacting. they got rid of every single one of the straight couples. it's canon compliant to the bible

Good Omens 2 was like reading a 100k fanfic in the middle of the night that you realize was left unfinished and last updated 5 years ago, and you are left alone with this earth-shattering cliffhanger

Okay so for what it’s worth

Neil Gaiman has said that season 2 is not the story he and Terry had plotted out 20 years ago, season 2 is the bridge that needed to be there to fill in the gaps between season 1 and season 3

So in other words. Season 2 is a bridge season. Season 3 is the season with actual meat in it

So we better work hard to get that season 3. I swear to god Amazon. Pay your fucking writers

I do think people are forgetting, sometimes willingly, that Aziraphale is JUST as heartbroken over the rejection as Crowley

They did not walk out of there with Crowley destroyed and Aziraphale bummed but getting over it once he was in the elevator. Aziraphale went to Crowley all giddy and excited because he really thought this was finally it, this was finally their chance to be happy, and he sees it as Crowley taking that chance and stomping on it. H wasn’t lying when he said he needed Crowley, he DOES, and now he thinks Crowley chose his hate for heaven over his love for him just as Crowley thinks Aziraphale chose his devotion to god over his devotion to him

It wasn’t as simple as “Aziraphale rejected Crowley” they both think the other rejected them it was essentially the messiest mutual break up you’ve ever seen

They’re both completely heartbroken and do not see the part they played in their own heartbreak. Both thinking THE OTHER caused it. It’s such a mess. It’s SUCH a mess I cannot STAND these two

Aziraphale loves Crowley so much that he is willing to rebuild heaven for him.

He loves him so much he is willing to give up everything if it means there is a chance he might smile again

Aziraphale loves Crowley so much that he will rewrite existence if Crowley can make stars again

Crowley loves Aziraphale so much that he doesn't need any of that

He loves him so much that he doesn't need heaven, or happiness, or the stars

Crowley loves Aziraphale so much that he is Crowley's heaven, or happiness, or stars

They love each other so much that it blinded them, and they never asked the other how they wanted to be loved

I can’t believe I went through all of Season 2 assuming Nina was the stand-in for Crowley when you actually pay attention it’s so CLEAR that she’s Aziraphale. I was tricked by her spiky, sarcastic, cynical outer shell and lulled into a false sense of security by Maggie’s bubbly optimism and wholesome goodness, because on the surface they reflect the ineffable husbands perfectly, in their personalities, their aesthetics, even many of their actions and morals. but not, and this is the real key, when it comes to their “relationship”. but those first impressions really had me damn fooled. 

I missed the blatantness of Nina’s “we’re just friends. actually we’re not friends. we barely know each other.” the same thing Aziraphale said in season 1.  the way he still struggles to quantify their friendship when Nina asks. Nina’s sarcasm when Crowley asks about rain and awnings because it worked for him (we all know it LMAO). hell, that whole convo the girls have in the rain is so AziraCrow (“I know. I’m not your type” “…You have no idea” hits so much harder the second time, help meeeee.) “Lindsay” maybe being symbolic of Heaven and Aziraphale’s toxic relationship with them and their abuse? (the handwritten text messages in red pen make me think of angry notes on paperwork, anyone else?) because Crowley has never actually cared about what Hell thinks of him, just not getting into trouble (or him or Aziraphale getting hurt). Maggie is always chasing Nina. NINA NEVER GOES IN THE RECORD STORE. Just like Crowley always goes to the bookstore, to Aziraphale, Zira NEVER WENT TO THE FLAT (apart from The Swap but that doesn’t count imo). Crowley has always chased Zira, not the other way around. Always there to rescue him, always going to him for company, always relying on their shared connection, always US. OUR SIDE. All through season one, he comes to Zira every time to work together, never trying to work alongside Hell in any way that isn’t to save their skins or Earth, while Zira hides things from Crowley because he STILL thinks Heaven is ultimately good and will do the right thing if he can just show them. fix it from the inside. 

Maggie working up the courage to finally say something, to put herself out there, while Nina is utterly oblivious and then when she does realise Maggie has feelings, becoming standoffish, putting up that barrier, fighting it, denying it, ITS SO CROWLEY AND AZIRAPHALE IN THAT ORDER. the way I was fooled into thinking Nina’s trust issues are Crowley because he does have trust issues ofc he does BUT Crowley has ALWAYS TRUSTED AZIRAPHALE. has always relied on him. has always been hurt when Aziraphale doesn’t immediately reciprocate the way he expects (the holy water request, the bandstand, the “off in the stars” etc). he’s always the one putting himself forward. Aziraphale has always been the one to second guess everything, to fight their connection, their similarities, their friendship. the girls really made me think it was going to be okay when they sat Crowley down, even as my inner sirens were going haywire about Metatron interfering, they were telling Crowley he just needs to open up and it’ll all work out BUT HE’S ALREADY AT THAT POINT. he may not say it, and by gosh is that part of their damn problem, but he’s always SHOWN IT. he’s not Nina who needs time to heal and recover from her broken trust, he’s always been Maggie believing it doesn’t matter, they’ll end up together in the end anyway AND I WALKED RIGHT INTO THE TRAP THAT THIS MEANT THEY WERE GOING TO BE OKAYYYYYYYYYYY

This scene was absolutely beautiful BUT it’s also the crux of the issue. You guys this is where the problems start. Because—because Crowley’s already cast out, he finds COMFORT in the idea that they are lonely together. “As far as he can” becoming “as far as they can” is an END to his complete “otherness” and something to appreciate, to covet, and to find solace in. He’s finally not alone.

But—and this is important.

Aziraphale does NOT feel that. He can’t.

This moment is completely and utterly devastating for Zira. He finds out he’s not damned and sure, he’s relieved. But he’s no longer “an Angel” in the way that he’s learned is right. He’s now unchangeably and forever; less holy—a concept that is dearly important to his identity. “[Going] along with heaven as far as he can” is a FAILING on his part. Not heaven’s(at least to him). There is no solace or comfort—he finds existence like that—just the two of them—achingly LONELY. And that’s just how his perspective demands to be taken. It’s the only perspective he is capable of in that moment AND after it, too.

Take into account Crowley has went from having no one AT ALL to having SOMEONE. And he puts EVERYTHING he has into it. This is not good. It’s unfair to Aziraphale. And it’s unfair to himself. On the opposite side, you have Aziraphale. Who has just went from having the ENTIRE HEAVENLY HOST, to having this SINGLE demon— who, one minute ago, Aziraphale thought would be dragging him off to hell.

And the part that aches is that this perspective hasn’t changed. Aziraphale feels like his existence is lacking because he wants so badly to be GOOD. And good is Holy. Good is heavenly. He’s the problem for having morals that are misaligned.

Spoilers for the last episode:

Aziraphale has just been given the validation that he is not only GOOD but the most HEAVENLY Angel there is, the Supreme Archangel, even. And if heavens morals are now HIS morals, then that’s EVERY PROBLEM SOLVED. With a bow even, because Crowley’s basically on heavens side anyway, he’s GOOD, isn’t he? He’s been good this whole time, so why wouldn’t heaven want him back? Reinstating him as Angel would fix everything. They can be together, and they can be good, and they can be HOLY. All Aziraphale’s conflicting emotions about loving Crowley can be packed away because Crowley will be perfect again—and surely Crowley wants to be perfect—wants to be forgiven.(sorry everyone, that hurt me too, oof) Aziraphale is SHOCKED by Crowley’s refusal. He’s devastated that his version of perfect is treated as something naive and distasteful.

Crowley’s devastated too. He’s just lost “their side”. A concept that for 5000+ years has been THE ONLY THING he puts love into besides his car and perhaps his plants(And humanity, but he’ll never admit to that—I’m looking at the “No more dying” scene). Crowley is constantly being devastated by Aziraphale. He’s “too fast”, he’s too evil, he’s too good sometimes. Crowley has always been TOO MUCH. But this is different because for four years, he’s had “them”(on their own side) without the hiding, and without the denial and without Aziraphale constantly putting former jobs between them. PLUS he has a mountain of trauma centered around the concept of “forgiveness”, so that’s not great considering Aziraphale’s last words to him(THAT HE HASNT SAID ALL SEASON EVEN WHEN HE MADE CROWLEY APOLOGIZE IN THE FIRST EPISODE, AHHHHH). He’s losing everything and he’s desperate: Why isn’t he enough, hasn’t he been enough these last 4 years? Hasn’t HE been enough the last 6000?

Aziraphale has always been enough for Crowley. But being enough for Crowley doesn’t fix how Aziraphale has never been enough for himself, not since Job. He looks at this offer as a chance for HIM to be enough, and for Crowley to be FORGIVEN. Crowley looks at it as a betrayal because it’s Aziraphale saying Crowley ISNT enough, and he NEVER has been.

But that’s not what Aziraphale is saying. He’s saying, “Let me fix it for you”. Crowley is hearing, “Let me fix you for it.” Two completely different and completely horrifying concepts.

And then Crowley needs to say HIS piece(oh my gosh, btw, this was heartbreaking).

“Let’s be together on our terms” is basically what I’ve distilled it down to. But Aziraphale hears, “Let’s run away from our problems”

Aziraphale doesn’t want to run away, and Crowley doesn’t want to change who he is.

They both want to be together so badly but they don’t understand why they each want it so differently. And Aziraphale can’t compromise because he’s brainwashed and LOATHES himself. And Crowley can’t compromise because he’s traumatized and LOVES Aziraphale just as he is. Crowley doesn’t want to be good on heavens terms. He can see Heaven for what it is; “toxic”. He hates heaven not only for what the Host did to him, but for HOW THEY TREATED Aziraphale.

They both don’t understand each other because for all the pleading and presenting and monologuing, they never once in that whole conversation, actually talked.

on my hands and knees begging you to reblog this is important research to me

hey everyone this is definitely not the met hd of la traviata from yesterday definitely don’t click and watch it

Where do you watch operas?

There are plenty of complete filmed opera performances available on YouTube, which you can watch for free. Unfortunately, not all of them have English subtitles, but if necessary, you can always find a translation of the libretto online to follow along with.

In fact, just for fun, as an example, I'll provide some links to complete filmed performances of the world's top 10 most popular operas, with English subtitles.

Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)

Teatro alla Scala, 1995 (Paul Groves, Andrea Rost, Simon Keenlyside, Victoria Loukianetz, Matthias Hölle; staged by Roberto de Simone; conducted by Riccardo Muti)

La Traviata

Studio film, 1968 (Anna Moffo, Franco Bonisolli, Gino Bechi; directed by Mario Lanfranchi; conducted by Giuseppe Patané)

Carmen

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 2006 (Anna Caterina Antonacci, Jonas Kaufmann, Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, Norah Ansellem; staged by Francesca Zambello; conducted by Antonio Pappano)

La Bohéme

Studio film, 1965 (Mirella Freni, Gianni Raimondi, Rolando Panerai, Adriana Martino; directed by Franco Zeffirelli; conducted by Herbert von Karajan)

Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)

Teatro alla Scala, 2006 (Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, Diana Damrau, Marcella Orsatti Talamanca, Pietro Spagnoli, Monica Bacelli; staged by Giorgio Strehler; conducted by Gérard Korsten)

Tosca

Teatro Real de Madrid, 2004 (Daniela Dessí, Fabio Armiliato, Ruggero Raimondi; staged by Nuria Espert; conducted by Maurizio Benini)

Madama Butterfly

Theatrical film, 1995 (Ying Huang, Richard Troxell, Ning Liang, Richard Cowan; directed by Frédéric Mitterand; conducted by James Conlon)

Don Giovanni

Zurich Opera, 2001 (Rodney Gilfry, László Polgár, Isabel Rey, Cecilia Bartoli, Liliana Nikiteanu, Roberto Saccá, Oliver Wimer, Matti Salminen; staged by Jürgen Flimm; conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt)

Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)

Metropolitan Opera, 2007 (Peter Mattei, Juan Diego Florez, Joyce diDonato, John Del Carlo, John Relyea; staged by Bartlett Sher; conducted by Maurizio Benini)

Act I, Act II

Rigoletto

Studio film, 1982 (Ingvar Wixell, Luciano Pavarotti, Edita Gruberova; directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle; conducted by Riccardo Chailly)

Found the best edit I’ve ever seen ohmygod

@/lvfrcptnswns on Twitter

life actually gets better when you leave the house consistently btw like im serious

the euphoria of it all……..

Idk i think some people miss the point of someone who's around my age lamenting that they've never dated or done anything or been in love, but really want to be. I saw someone who was 24 ask whether there was still hope for them (which I know is kinda dramatic), and the person who responded was like "do you have friends and family who love you and whom you love? Have you ever read a good book or eaten fruit or sat in the sunlight. Love is everyhwere 🥺❤️🥺❤️" and like yeah yeah I get that little love and platonic love is just as important as romantic and sexual love but really none of that changes the fact that that person and many others like them are desiring a specific kind of love under very specific circumstances and conditions. Loving your parents isn't the same as loving a significant other lol. And idk it feels patronizing or infantilizing I think, to see someone who's never been in a relationship and would like to experience that kind of bond with someone only to tell them "no actually you should love your friends and family and eat some good food ❤️" idk idk I understand the intentions but. People desire to be desired in specific ways. People want to feel desired sexually and Romantically and to know that they're wanted in those capacities. Yes it's not the only metric by which to measure one's value, but we're not being unrealistic or naive by desiring this. Yes all the other stuff is important but you would not tell someone who doesn't have friends not to worry about platonic love bc maybe they have an SO already and also the sun is shining and their parents love them and people are being kind for no reason. it's starting to get annoying

joseph sent that tweet confirmed!