Leigh Bardugo's Blog, page 661
September 24, 2013
add this one to the “pivotal moments of my youth”...
add this one to the “pivotal moments of my youth” collection.
DC Nation: Batman of Shanghai
DC Nation: Batman of Shanghai
Hello. I was hoping to ask your opinion about a segment of the recent slash defense post, knowing full well that you weren't the one who wrote it. The writer mentions that everyone on Teen Wolf is good looking as if that was a coincidence. Likewise, in you
Hey there,
So glad you enjoyed the books. Let’s talk hotness!
I don’t think the author of the original post treated the attractiveness of the Teen Wolf cast (male and female) as a coincidence, but as the result of being a television show on MTV. Generally, you’re going to find that most romantic leads (hell, most leads) are cast with conventionally attractive people. That said, you’ll also find a much greater range of faces and body types among male leads and sex symbols.
Consider Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch: Cumberbatch has glorious cheekbones, but he’s not say, Henry Cavill. Freeman isn’t unattractive but he isn’t some gloriously ripped specimen of youth and beauty. So, yes, there are lots of attractive guys out there in mainstream media, but there are plenty of guys who don’t fit the typical standard of Hollywood hotness and who fans slash with gusto.
As for the men and boys of YA, I feel obliged to point out that not all of the guys of this genre fit the hotchacha mold. Consider Levi (receding hairline) from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell or Beast (horribly scarred) from Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers. David from Shadow and Bone is pursued by the most beautiful girl in the series and he’s no Robb Stark. That said, hotness is definitely the norm for guys in YA and I readily admit that this is one of the wish fulfillment aspects of the genre.
But is that wish fulfillment damaging? One of the arguments often used to attack YA and Romance is that these genres give their readers unrealistic expectations when it comes to guys. But I think women and girls can handle the transition from fantasy to reality just fine. Are Jack Reacher and Han Solo somehow more realistic than Jace Wayland and Dimitri Belikov? No, they’re just presented through the lens of male desire as opposed to female desire.
Also, the hotness of YA isn’t reductive in the way of porngraphy. Yes, a lot of heroes and love interest are gorgeous, but they’re many other things as well—tough, kind, wounded, loyal, brave, intelligent, difficult, dangerous. It depends on the story because they’re characters with identities that exist beyond looking good and wanting to bang.
Thoughts on Dexter Series Finale - SPOILERS
I talked about this on twitter, but I’m going to talk about it here too, because I just read this discussion of the finale with the show’s EP Sara Colleton, and it speaks to my biggest frustration with the finale.
Admittedly, I’m not sure that a discussion of Dexter is even topical at this point. As far as anti-heroes go, he’s been eclipsed by Walter White in a big way. I’d also say that, as an author ending a trilogy next year, I’m not trying to be a jerk about unmet expectations. Endings are tough. It’s rare that anyone says that they loved the final book or movie or season best. You’re just not going to make everyone happy.
That said? I’m not happy.
This season got off to an amazing start and I was so ready to be brought back into the Dexter fold. When Hannah reappeared I grew wary, but I was still in. Then came that played out scene with Julian Sands as the cartoonishly evil rapey husband. From there out, the episodes felt strangely arbitrary—new characters were introduced only to be eliminated, Deb’s recovery was complete and seemingly instantaneous, and most importantly, Hannah and Dexter were no longer psychopaths but cuddly soulmates with splendid impulse control. (Did Hannah do anything this season other than make salads, profess her love, and give Harrison another pretty blonde to love?)
All of this was vexing, but with the show’s treatment of Deb we crossed the line from baffling to infuriating. Deb was a fantastic character and Jennifer Carpenter has acted the eff out of everything given to her. Deb was a worthy antagonist for Dex (as opposed to blank-eyed serial killer #23) and the promos for the show—particularly the posters sure as hell set us up for that arc.
And even if the show didn’t want to make her Dexter’s main antagonist, how about having her go dark and face off against Conway? Or even darker and face off against Batista?
******* SPOILERS SPOILERS MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*******
But the show didn’t give us any of that. Instead, they sidelined Deb completely and then turned her into a LITERAL PROP. Okay, Dex is responsible in a completely roundabout way, but way to pull your emotional punches, show.
And then our girl, our brilliant, fierce, badass girl becomes a vegetable. She doesn’t have her own journey anymore. Nope, she’s just a motivator, a narrative convenience in the real hero’s journey. Deb deserved better and so did we. (And if you’re thinking I’m flashing back to Ros and the way HBO invented her just to turn her into furniture, you’re damn right.)
embers-of-winter:
Chibi Darkling and Alina. Alina’s got...
Chibi Darkling and Alina. Alina’s got Morozova’s collar on but is wearing her kefta.
"Like calls to like." - The Darkling, Shadow and Bone
omg, look at them. SUCH CUTENESS.
chuckhnsen:
30 25 DAYS OF SHADOW AND BONE CHALLENGE
DAY FIVE:...
30 25 DAYS OF SHADOW AND BONE CHALLENGE
DAY FIVE: FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER
The prince, the privateer, sobachka,
Nikolai Lantsov
May be one of my favorite edits
“The thought filled me with grief, grief for the dreams we’d...
“The thought filled me with grief, grief for the dreams we’d shared, for the love I’d felt, for the hopeful girl I would never be again.”
That grief flooded through me, dissolving a knot that I hadn’t even known was there. I closed my eyes, feeling tears slide down my cheeks, and I reached out to the thing within me that I’d kept hidden for so long. I’m sorry, I whispered to it.
I’m sorry I left you so long in the dark.
-Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone
September 23, 2013
rainbowrowell:
whiskeyfortheway:
sriusblcks:
#Viktor was...
.
#never understood krum hate #he’s like what everyone wanted draco to be #surrounded by dark magic and bad influences #treated like royalty #even without his famed seeker status he was pureblood elite #and yet he never treated anyone as lesser #he liked muggle born hermione for her mind AND physical beauty #thought harry was a great quidditch player #and never once compared harry to his own skills because he’s humble #was genuinely flattered that ron wanted his autograph #liked cedric and made a poin to tell harry so #also told harry he would be an ally in the fight against voldemort #the only time he did dark magic was under the imperius curse #to which he can’t be held responsible #three years later he talked to an in-disguise harry at bill and fleur’s wedding #just a regular person he didn’t know was harry #and investe himself in that conversation #he made such an effort to interact at hogwarts and i feel like most the fandom dislikes him for no reason #because he was the type of character who wanted to rise above the expectations others held of him #he knew durmstrang’s bad rep and actively wished to do better #i don’t know y’all i just think we should all appreciate viktor krum more (kneelb4todd)
PEOPLE DON’T LIKE VIKTOR KRUM?
LET ME AT THEM!
I wonder if we can have Durmstrang added to the Authors House Cup at Leakycon? I already have the right hat.
