#William Mathias

[lesser-known-composers]

William Mathias (1934-1992) : Vistas for orchestra Op. 69 (1975)

Performed by the New Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by David Atherton.

[mentaltimetraveller]

Mathias Poledna, Christopher Williams, Installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2009. Photo Achim Kukulies

[creepynostalgy]

Christiane Felscherinow in Decoder (1984)

[kazmafiette]

Yes, another "Canada? Who?" joke. I present to you, the SCANDI-WHO-VIANS???

[milliondollarbaby87]

Hamlet (2024) Review

Shakespeare’s timeless story of revenge is put into a modern style of a psychological thriller. ⭐️⭐️ Continue reading Hamlet (2024) Review

[edsonjnovaes]

Usuário usa baterias de notebook para energia elétrica de sua casa

Em um fórum chamado Second Life Storage um usuário afirma que conseguiu conceber um sistema de energia para a sua casa que lhe permitiu fornecer eletricidade durante oito anos. Para fazer isso, ele usou mais de 1.000 baterias antigas de notebooks usadas. Viny Mathias – IGN. 07 jan 2025 Sistema de baterias criador por Glubux I already produce a part of the electricity that I need. I have 1.4 kw…

[guycourtheoux]

MENOPAUSE une comédie en musique d'Alex Goude, c'est au Grand Point Virgule et on se régale de bout en bout

Le fléau, que vous pouvez découvrir dans les jardins du Palais Royal, n’est pas un spectacle comme un autre, loin s’en faut. En fait nous ne sommes pas spectateurs dans une salle de spectacle. Nous sommes des promeneurs qui suivent un récit. Voilà un semblant d’explication. Lisez ce texte : Vous avez maintenant une idée de ce que vous allez voir, je vous propose donc de rencontrer Léonard Maton…

[pupsmailbox]

NEUTRAL LEANING MASC NAMES︰ abner.　 abram.　 adam.　 adrian.　 alex.　 alistair.　 andreas.　 ariel.　 arlen.　 arley.　 arlo.　 ash.　 atlas.　 auden.　 august.　 austin.　 avery.　 bailey.　 baron.　 barrett.　 baylor.　 beauden.　 bee.　 bellamy.　 bennett.　 blair.　 blaise.　 bowen.　 brayden.　 brendan.　 bronson.　 bryce.　 byron.　 caius.　 caleb.　 callahan.　 callan.　 calloway.　 callum.　 camden.　 cameron.　 carlin.　 carson.　 casey.　 cassian.　 chandler.　 chase.　 cody.　 cole.　 connolly.　 corban.　 corwin.　 cyrus.　 dallas.　 damion.　 damon.　 daniel.　 darius.　 davis.　 dawson.　 daylon.　 denver.　 desmond.　 devin.　 doran.　 dorian.　 drew.　 elian.　 elias.　 ellery.　 ellison.　 emery.　 ethan.　 evan.　 ezra.　 fallen.　 farren.　 finley.　 ford.　 foster.　 gabriel.　 gannon.　 garner.　 gavin.　 gentry.　 graham.　 greer.　 griffin.　 guthrie.　 harley.　 harlow.　 hartley.　 hayden.　 henley.　 henry.　 heron.　 hollis.　 hunter.　 ian.　 irving.　 isaiah.　 jace.　 james.　 jameson.　 jared.　 jeremiah.　 joel.　 jonah.　 joran.　 jordan.　 jory.　 josiah.　 jovian.　 jude.　 julian.　 juno.　 justus.　 kalen.　 kamden.　 kay.　 kayden.　 keaton.　 kellan.　 keller.　 kelly.　 kendon.　 kieran.　 kit.　 kylan.　 landry.　 lane.　 lennon.　 leslie.　 levi.　 leyton.　 liam.　 linden.　 lowell.　 luca.　 madden.　 marley.　 marlow.　 marshall.　 martin.　 mason.　 mathias.　 mercer.　 merritt.　 micah.　 miles.　 miller.　 milo.　 morgan.　 morrie.　 morrison.　 nate.　 nevin.　 nick.　 nicky.　 nico.　 nicolas.　 noah.　 noel.　 nolan.　 oren.　 orion.　 owen.　 parker.　 percy.　 perrin.　 peyton.　 pierce.　 porter.　 preston.　 quincy.　 quinn.　 reece.　 reid.　 reign.　 rein.　 remi.　 remington.　 renley.　 riley.　 river.　 robin.　 rollins.　 ronan.　 rory.　 rowan.　 russell.　 ryan.　 rylan.　 sam.　 samuel.　 sawyer.　 saylor.　 seth.　 shiloh.　 soren.　 spencer.　 stellan.　 sterling.　 talon.　 taylor.　 thaddeus.　 thane.　 theo.　 toni.　 tracy.　 tristan.　 tyrus.　 valor.　 warner.　 wells.　 wesley.　 whitten.　 william.　 willis.　 wylie.　

NEUTRAL LEANING FEM NAMES︰ abigaël.　 abilene.　 addison.　 adrian.　 ainsley.　 alexis.　 and.　 andrea.　 arden.　 aria.　 ashley.　 aspen.　 aubrey.　 autumn.　 avery.　 avian.　 ayla.　 bailey.　 beryl.　 blair.　 blaire.　 blake.　 briar.　 brooklyn.　 brooks.　 bryce.　 cameron.　 camille.　 casey.　 celeste.　 channing.　 charlie.　 chase.　 collins.　 cordelia.　 courtney.　 daisy.　 dakota.　 dana.　 darby.　 darcy.　 delaney.　 delilah.　 devin.　 dylan.　 eden.　 eisley.　 elia.　 ellerie.　 ellery.　 ellie.　 elliot.　 elliott.　 ellis.　 ellory.　 ember.　 emelin.　 emerson.　 emery.　 evelyn.　 ezra.　 fallon.　 finley.　 fiore.　 florence.　 floris.　 frances.　 greer.　 gwenaël.　 hadley.　 harley.　 harper.　 haven.　 hayden.　 heike.　 hollis.　 hunter.　 ivy.　 jade.　 jamie.　 jocelyn.　 jordan.　 jude.　 juno.　 kelly.　 kelsey.　 kendall.　 kennedy.　 koda.　 kyrie.　 lacey.　 lane.　 leighton.　 lennon.　 lennox.　 lesley.　 leslie.　 lilian.　 lindsay.　 loden.　 logan.　 lou.　 lyric.　 madison.　 mallory.　 marinell.　 marley.　 mckenzie.　 melody.　 mercede.　 meredith.　 mio.　 misha.　 monroe.　 montana.　 morgan.　 nico.　 nova.　 oakley.　 olympia.　 owen.　 page.　 palmer.　 parker.　 pat.　 paulie.　 perri.　 petyon.　 peyton.　 phoenix.　 piper.　 priscilla.　 quinn.　 raven.　 ray.　 reagan.　 reece.　 reese.　 remi.　 remy.　 riley.　 rio.　 river.　 robin.　 rory.　 rosario.　 rowan.　 ryan.　 rylie.　 sacha.　 sage.　 sam.　 sammy.　 santana.　 sasha.　 sawyer.　 saylor.　 severin.　 shannon.　 shelby.　 shiloh.　 skye.　 skylar.　 sloane.　 sol.　 soleil.　 sterling.　 stevie.　 sutton.　 swan.　 swann.　 sydney.　 tatum.　 taylo.　 taylor.　 tracey.　 valentine.　 vanya.　 vivendel.　 vivian.　 vivien.　 wren.　 wynn.　 yael.

[joefangs]

Still Bathsheba rejected him for mostly Sgt. Francis first and then Mr. Gabriel Oak.

Michael Sheen really is ridiculously attractive in Far From the Madding Crowd.

[amelmajrii]

Gabby Williams remporte le Trophée Alain Gilles 2024 🏆

Médaillée d'argent aux Jeux Olympiques en étant la meilleure joueuse des Bleues et meilleure défenseure du tournoi, elle devance Guerschon Yabusele, Mathias Lessort et Victor Wembanyama 🙌

[lesser-known-composers]

William Mathias (1934-1992) : Concerto for clarinet and orchestra Op. 68 (1975)

I. Allegro vivo 00:00-06:30 II. Lento espressivo 06:30-12:30 III. Allegro molto vivace 12:30-17:40

Performed by Gervase de Peyer (clarinet) and the New Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by David Atherton.

[teenytinytippy]

Hypnosis Mic Characters but I localized their names

Ichiro - Ian

Jiro - Jeremy

Saburo - Sebastian

Samatoki - Saul

Jyuto - Jim

Rio - Mason

Ramuda - Riley

Gentaro - William

Dice - Dice/Damian

Jakurai - Wolfgang

Hifumi - Francis

Doppo - Jack

Sasara - Mathias

Rosho - Richard

Rei - Derek/Abraham

Kuko - Isaiah/Isaac

Jyushi - Justin

Hitoya - James/David

Otome - Olga

Ichijuku - Gertrude

Nemu - Anne

Honobono - Sarah

Yotsutsuji - Matthew

[diegusting]

Imagine Demi ties up Orpheus and she makes Mathias, Jose, William, Servais and Antonio all compete in drunk game.

Literally the Hungover Games.

(They all like Alcohol as their favorite dish).

You bet this game is going to beat that one “longest idv game ever recorded” just because half the players are asleep, goofing around, crying, throwing up- in any case, let the best drunk win 😍

Also you bet Orpheus is still documenting this even while tied up-

I just noticed how many alcoholics are in this game- if you’re an idv character who went through grief you either resort to alcoholism or murder or both (or you can be part of the elite who didn’t)

[hetacupid]

Hetalia Human Names

NOTE: This is my personal interpretation and the names may diverge from canon and established fanon. Also I might update this every so often to make it more accurate, depending on the information I find.

Table of Contents

The Main Characters

Western Europe

Northern Europe

Eastern Europe

Southern Europe

Western Asia

South Asia

East Asia

Southeast Asia

Oceania

Micronations

Former nations

The Main Characters

Italy Veneziano: Feliciano Vergano

I chose the name Vergano instead as it keeps the essense of the original surname, but is actually Italian.

Italy Romano: Lovino Vergano

Germany: Ludwig Beilschmidt

Japan: Kiku Honda

Prussia: Gilbert Beilschmidt

America: Alfred Franklin Jones

I like the headcanon of his middle name being "Freedom", but Franklin is my personal favourite.

England: Arthur James Kirkland

I came across this in a fic a while back and never looked back. This man needs a middle name.

France: Francis Bonnefoy

Russia: Ivan Braginsky

China: Yao Wang

Canada: Matthew Williams

Western Europe

Austria: Roderich Edelstein

Belgium: Laura Janssens

Liechtenstein: Erika Vogel

Luxembourg: Henri Janssens

I've also used the name Gabriel before, but it doesn't seem to be used much in Luxembourg, so Henri would be more fitting.

Monaco: Louise Bonnefoy

The name Louise and it's masculine variant, Louis, appear a few times in the Monaguesque royal family.

Netherlands: Willem Janssens

Willem appears a few times in the Dutch royal family, and it sounds a bit older than other suggested names, which reflects his age and general vibes imo. I really like this name.

Switzerland: Sebastian Zwingli

Personally I see his name "Basch" as a nickname for Sebastian. It's also easy to adapt to his official languages: Sebastian/Sébastién/Sebastiano. The Romansh variant would be Bistgaun, but the archaic version seems to be Bastgaun, which is more similar to Basch. I headcanon that he goes by the name "Basch" in all languages to make it more cohesive.

Northern Europe

Denmark: Mathias Rasmussen

I'm from Scandinavia myself and I don't know if it's widespread, but I've heard people say "all Danish people are named Rasmus" more than once, so I like to incorporate that into his surname.

Estonia: Eduard Kaasik

Around 50% of Estonia is covered in forest, and one of the most common tree types is birch. Kaasik is a common surname and means "birch forest".

Finland: Timo Väinämöinen

Iceland: Eiríkur Steinsson

Steinsson means "son of Stein (given name meaning stone)",. Also Emil isn't traditionally Icelandic, but it's widely used. Personally though, I prefer the name Eiríkur.

Latvia: Raivis Bērziņš

The surname Galante corresponds with the modern Latvian opera singer Inese Galante, but I couldn't find anything to suggest it's commonly used or that it's Latvian at all. Bērziņš is one of the most used Latvian surnames and means "birch tree", like Estonia's surname. Personally, I don't see the Baltics as siblings, but I think this would be a cute reference.

Also, based on what I read, surnames became common in Latvia around the 19th century, with Bērziņš being one of them. Latvia could have picked up whatever the people around him (Estonia) was using and made it his own.

Lithuania: Tolys Laurinaitis

Norway: Sigurd Bondevik

Sweden: Berwald Oxenstierna

Eastern Europe

Belarus: Natalya Arlovskaya

Bulgaria: Mihail Petrov Isporov

Isporov is the family name and is derived from an alternative name of Asparukh, the first king of the First Bulgarian Empire.

Czech: Tereza Novakova

Hungary: Erzsébet Héderváry

Moldova: Marcel Popescu

Poland: Feliks Łukasiewicz

Romania: Vladislav Popescu

Slovakia: Jozef Novak

Ukraine: Iryna Chernenko

Southern Europe

Greece: Herakles Karpusi

Portugal: João Silva Ferreira

Spain: Antonio Fernandez Carriedo

Western Asia

Cyprus: Stasinos Karpusi

Stasinos was one of the first European poets who wrote the epic poem Cypria.

Turkey: Sadiq Adnan

TRNC: Tarkan Adnan

South Asia

India: Rajesh Thakur

East Asia

Hong Kong: Leon Wang / Wong Kulung

Macau: Chen Wang

South Korea: Im Yong-soo

Taiwan: Mei Lin

Southeast Asia

Thailand: Prasert Chakri

Vietnam: Lien Nguyen

Africa

Cameroon: Emmanuel Mawdo Ahidjo

Many of the most commonly used forenames in Cameroon are of French or English origins, such as Emmanuel.

Mawdo means ‘elder’ in Fulfulde.

Ahidjo refers to the first president of Cameroon.

Egypt: Gupta Muhammad Hassan

Seychelles: Michelle Mancham

Americas

Cuba: Carlos Machado Rodríguez

Oceania

Australia: Daniel Kirkland

New Zealand: Zachary Kirkland

Micronations

Hutt River: Christopher Kirkland

Kugelmugel: Leopold Edelstein

Ladonia: Erland Oxenstierna

Molossia: Jacob Jones

"JJ" :)

Sealand: Peter Kirkland

Seborga: Romeo Vergano

Okay listen. I have no explaination, I just really like this name. Also, if the names of the trio is Peter, Wendy, and Romeo, they're all named after characters from literature. I think that's fun.

Wy: Wendy Kirkland

Former Nations

Ancient Egypt: Neferure

References the only biological child of Hatshepsut.

Ancient Greece: Helene

Ancient Rome: Marcus Valerius Maximus

Marcus is the praenomina (given name) and refers to how Romulus and Remus were said to have been twins of Mars, the god.

Valerius is the nomen gentilicium (hereditary name) and means “to be strong”.

Maximus is the cognomen and means “the greatest”.

Germania: Alaric

Holy Roman Empire: Otto Beilschmidt

Personally I like the idea that HRE and Germany aren't the same person, but share the same body.

[darcymariaphoster]

Hetalia/Hunger Games Crossover

I'd originally started this for a friend some years ago, but I lost that friendship and the motivation to write this. It was a behemoth of a concept to start with, which is why I'd decided to rush the beginning and focus mostly on the games. According to the notes I made for this, I didn't actually create most of this cast -- I'd sent my friend vague character notes and asked them to assign a Hetalia character to each one and then built the cast off of that. Which is kind of a cool concept for a gift for a friend, tbh. This was when I was still into Hetalia the first time, so it's actually not Nordic-centric for once. 😅

Below are notes and the beginnings of the idea.

This was written in 2014. (Someone tell me they can tell a difference in my writing from 10 years ago to now. 😭😂)

Happy readings!

CHEAT SHEET

District 1 *career*: [luxury items] Francis Bonnefoy & Matthew Williams

District 2 *career*: [masonry, weapons, trains] Arthur Kirkland & Elizabeta Héderváry

District 3: [electronics, mechanical] Kiku Honda & Heracles Karpusi

District 4 *career*: [fishing] Lovino Basile & Antonio Carriedo

District 5: [power] Lars Janssen & Amelie Lemmens

District 6: [transportation] Peter Dalton & Basch Zwingli

District 7: [lumber] Berwald Oxenstierna & Tino Väinamöinen

District 8: [textiles (clothes)] Roderich Edelstein & Gilbert Beilschmidt

District 9: [grain] Belle Vogel & Chloe Walker

District 10: [livestock] Wynn Taylor & Demarco Hughes

District 11: [agriculture] Sadiq Adnan & Gupta Hassan

District 12: [coal] Ludwig Glockner & Alfred Jones

→District 13: [nuclear weapons]←

Ludwig’s little brother: Alarick Glockner

Person at home who is in love with Ludwig: Feliciano Vargas

Previous Victor: Markus Marino

“Effie Trinket”: Jakob Sigurdsson

Personal Designer: Feliks Łukasiewicz

Game-Maker: Yao Wang

President: Ivan Braginski

Host: Mathias Densen

~

[Cheat for names:

Chloe: Wy

Amelie: Belgium

Belle: Liechtenstein

Mathias: Denmark

Alarick: HRE

Markus: Grandpa Rome

Jakob: Iceland

Wynn: Australia

Demarco: New Zealand

Lars: Netherlands]

~~

The Reaping

I stare around town, standing on my front porch. Light is barely breaching the horizon, dyeing the wispy clouds orange and pink while it casts an eerie glow across the land. A few people are already up -- mainly the miners, along with the butcher and baker -- but I know the rest of the town is trying to avoid the inevitable. The Reaping is today and everyone dreads it. Every year it happens; the same person -- Jakob Sigurdsson -- comes in, all dressed up in his Capitol clothes; two people are picked to represent the District. He always makes it sound like a good thing, something to be proud of, when you’re picked. And for a select few Districts, it is. But we aren’t one of those few and we see the Hunger Games for what they are -- a slaughter.

My District -- District 12 -- is one of the poorest in Panem. Nicknamed the Seam, we produce coal for our country. The entire town always seems to be covered in a thick layer of coal dust, making it look dull and grey. I watch the miners make their daily trek from home to the mines, most carrying lunch-pails but not everyone. All look tired, worn, done. I don’t know what it takes to be a miner, not really. Thought my father was one, I barely remember his schedule and his exhausted face is fading from my memory. Instead of spending all my days in the mine, I get up early to do a different task but one no less important.

I hunt.

Hunting is technically illegal because it’s past our borders that all the animals dwell. But even Peacekeepers want fresh meat and are normally fairly willing to turn a blind eye if they get a cut. So I hunt and trade for other things my family needs.

Slowly, I wander through town, heading for the border. This “border” is just a ten-foot high wire fence with “Caution: Electric” signs posted here and there. And that’s an absolute joke, since our District is lucky to get more than two hours of electricity in the evenings. Still, as I approach the fence, I pause to listen for the hum that means the wire is live. When I’m sure it isn’t, I go to the bushes that hide the weak spot in the fence -- one of many; this one just happens to be closest to home. I crouch down and step through the hole.

Once beyond the fence, I jog to the first line of trees. Coming to the woods is a reprieve. While the town seems to lack color, the woods are full of it. Greens and browns of every shade surround me and I feel okay again. I retrieve my bow and arrows from a hollow log and head deeper into the security of the trees.

“Ludwig!” I turn my head toward the voice and spot my best friend, Feliciano, waving from a small break in the trees to my left. I smile slightly, something I only seem able to do around him now, and wander over to him. “I got something for us!”

“Funny, do did I,” I say, reaching into my pocket for the goat cheese my little brother had left on the table for me early this morning. My little brother, Alarick, owns a goat that I’m grateful for because it means cheese and milk we can either use or trade. Plus, it keeps Alarick busy now and again.

Feliciano beams at me as he produces a loaf of bread from behind his back. “Ta-da! Fresh from the bakery! I traded a squirrel for it!” he explains happily.

I momentarily forget about the cheese, too surprised by this amazing treat, as I take it from him. Most of the bread we make at home is different from the bakery's, being that the Capitol takes most of the wheat for their own bread, leaving oh so little for us. This is real bread; less dense and slightly sweeter. “He must be in a giving mood…” I mutter, my mouth watering. It’s still warm. I reluctantly hand it back.

He rips it in half and gives me a section. I pull out the cheese and we sit down. “Well, I think everyone wants to feel close again,” he muses, nibbling on the bread and cheese. I rip my section in half and pocket a portion, intending to share it with Alarick later. “Considering the day and all…”

“It’s a funny time to desire that,” I mutter, looking around. I spot a bush with some blackberries and stand, going over to collect a handful for us. I offer them to him as I sit again. “I mean, shouldn’t we want to feel that all the time, not just right before a death sentence?”

Feliciano sets a berry on top of a bite of cheese and pops it into his mouth. “Maybe we’re too scared to,” he says finally. “Maybe the idea is normally just too much but, on this day, we forget to be scared of the whole thing because we’re all too scared for ourselves and our families.” He looks at me. “It’s stupid, huh?”

“It’s probably true,” I sigh, picking at the bread. “How many times did you put your name in?”

He looks uncharacteristically upset for a moment, torn between a triumph and a sickening dread, as he admits, “Eighteen.” I gape at him, horrified. “I have my siblings to think about, just like you have Alarick. So how many times did you put yours in?”

I’m reluctant to reply. I feel a bit selfish, now. See, every time you enter your name into the Reaping, your rations temporarily go up. With six other siblings, Feliciano has reason to. But I only have my mother and brother. “Eleven,” I mumble and shove some cheese and a few berries into my mouth.

He laughs, my favorite sound in the world. “We’re horrible. Our chances are so high and we do this every year!” His smile is sad when I look at him. “Let’s just go. Let’s just run and run…”

“And go where?” I ask, wishing more than anything that I could be as optimistic as he is about the idea. But I know there’s nowhere to run.

“Anywhere,” he answers easily. “There’s got to be something else besides here.” He leans back, watching the trees quiver with the slight breeze. “Anything must be better than here…”

I nod thoughtfully. “Probably. But… What about Alarick? And your family? We can’t just leave them…”

He pulls his knees up to his chest and sighs deeply. “I know. We could take them with… Maybe in a few years, when the littlest can run.” He glances at me.

“But, for now, it’s the Reaping day,” I remind him. “And the odds are not in our favor.” The words are a twist on what Jakob always says before he draws names. We look at each other and smile. I almost laugh but the sound doesn’t quite make it to my lips.

x~x

Everyone is gathered in front of City Hall. Even the miners came home early for this. We’re all dressed in our best clothes. THe youngest group of only twelve years stands in the front of the crowd and it goes back until eighteen. Parents and children too young hover behind everyone else nervously. A giant screen has been erected off to the right of the City Hall building. We’re all waiting anxiously for Jakob to step onto the stage. The waiting part of this drives me crazy. They put on a big show just to draw names. Maybe that’s important to other Districts -- like the career Districts -- but for us, it seems like a waste of time. I shift restlessly from one foot to the other, until I bump into the girl next to me and receive a dirty look. But, finally, Jakob waltzes onto the stage and taps the microphone, smiling his tiny smile when we all cringe at the backfeed it gives off. The cameras all start rolling, some on the crowd, others on Jakob.

This year, Jakob is wearing a turquoise-blue suit with gold trim. He’s done up his eyes in a similar fashion, making the dull grey of his irises that much more noticeable. His ever-changing tattoos are gold swirls up his neck and on the sides of his face. He looks ridiculous to me but I know he must be in style in the Capitol because he’d never wear anything less. “Happy Hunger Games,” he purrs into the microphone. “And what a special time. This marks the 75th annual. Exciting, isn’t it?” No one so much as coughs in response. He’s kind of used to this now, though, and his expression doesn’t change. “Let’s go straight to the clip then, shall we? We’ve changed it a bit this year so I suggest you keep your eyes open.” The way his Capitol accent highlights the last part and how his eyes seem to sparkle a bit makes me shiver. I’ve imagined that Jakob had not originally wanted the job he’s got -- doing the Reaping for District 12 and showing the tributes how to live a short Capitol lifestyle. I’ve always thought he probably wanted to be a Game-Maker and the idea that he’d be good at it makes me glad he’s stuck with us.

The clip, a short history of Panam and why the Hunger Games are held, does not seem any different to me. Jakob’s expression changes ever so slightly, causing him to look completely blissed out. When the video ends, he stares back out at the crowd. “I love that. It’s so powerful,” he murmurs, and I’m not entirely convinced that he hasn’t momentarily forgotten the microphone in front of his mouth. “Now,” he says, seeming a bit more alive. “Let us get to what we’ve all been waiting for! Let’s draw some names. And, of course, may the odds be ever in your favor.” Everyone stands a bit taller, more rigid, as he walks to the bubble holding all the names. He spins it twice and the sound echoes. Then he reaches in and pulls out a slip of paper. He moves back in front of the microphone and unfolds it. No one is breathing. “Alarick Glockner,” he announces gleefully and everyone except me lets out a collective sigh of relief.

I stare at the twelve-year olds, picking out the shimmering blond of my brother’s hair easily as he steps forward with a prompt of, “Come on, don’t be shy,” from Jakob. He looks like he’s trembling.

Everything in me shuts down and so I feel nothing as I frantically push through the crowd shouting, “Alarick, no! I volunteer! No! I volunteer!” Peacekeepers try to stop me and I see Alarick look back at me, horror on his face. “I volunteer!” I scream, pushing against the Peacekeepers in an attempt to get to my brother.

Jakob stares at me consideringly. “Let him through,” he says at last and I’m released. I immediately run to Alarick and hug him briefly before passing him to Feliciano, who has appeared just as Alarick is getting hysterical. Still feeling rather numb, I hear Jakob call me forward; I walk on leaden legs onto the stage. As Jakob takes my arm and chirps, “What’s your name?” I remember the cameras broadcasting this to the entire nation live and feel sick.

Shakily, I answer, “Ludwig Glockner…”

He’s practically beaming. “I’ll bet that was your brother, eh?” I nod. “Well, very brave indeed. Ladies and gentlemen, District 12’s first volunteer!” While he claps, everyone else in the crowd touches three fingers to their lips and raise them into the air toward me. I don’t feel brave. I definitely feel like I might pass out. I know the sign they’re giving me and it scares me. It’s a sign of respect and -- more importantly -- a sign of passing within the Districts. It hasn’t been used, to my knowledge, since the mine blew up a decade ago. It’s almost rebellious.

I glance at Jakob, to gauge his reaction, and am surprised to see that he seems uncomfortable. Rather hurriedly, he declares, “Let’s draw the second name.” He goes back to the bubble and spins it twice before fishing for a slip of paper. He finally snatches one and steps back to the microphne. “Let’s see who will be joining Ludwig this year…” He unfolds it and reads the name, “Alfred Jones.”

A blond boy, around my age, slowly steps through the crowd and I try not to roll my eyes. His expression reads uncertainty and mild fear. He walks to the stage adjusting his glasses, and, when he does, his entire persona. By the time he’s standing beside me, he looks determined and taller than my first impression had suggested. “And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen,” Jakob announces cheerfully, his comfort level back to normal. “District 12’s tributes for the 75th annual Hunger Games!”

[heavenlyyshecomes]

recommend me some books that you’re convinced no one has heard of but you. books that don’t seem to have any fan base, or even independent people talking about them. your homegrown, organic, from-the-dirt little books if you please

i always somehow seem to find such books omg so i have a long list but i'm including some i've read recently that i loved!!

briefly, a delicious life, nell stevens (ghost of a teenager falls in love w george sand who's vacationing w her kids and chopin)

snake agent, liz williams (super fun one abt a detective pairing up w a demon from hell to solve crimes)

wylding hall, elizabeth hand (70s band goes to an isolated manor to record their album)

minor detail, adania shibli tr. elisabeth jacquette (read up summary + tws before reading because it's very heavy but amazingly executed)

angels & saints, eliot weinberger (about... angels and saints but surprisingly funny; interspersed with medieval 'grid poems' which are v beautiful too)

a month in siena, hisham matar (sort of a travelogue? or a snapshot of a trip to siena, v nice stuff about art)

one hundred shadows, hwang jungeun tr. jung yewon (strange, lucid, a dream, and one of my favourites)

tell them of battles, kings, and elephants, mathias enard tr. charlotte mandell (michaelangelo's time in constantinople, very decadent)