#and the more upbeat part with “sailing on a ship...” is where i imagine him being tossed around and used by velvet and veneer

[zivazivc]

https://open.spotify.com/track/14UiJ7VaTWsG41YYAs6uha?si=O_wQSPfvRgexvWahmsbcng floyd song

I struggled a bit to figure out what song you sent because I don't have spotify and sometimes these links don't want to open ksjbdvb. but YOOOOO Floyd in the bottle song, hell yeah, thank you anon! you are strong, floyd, we love you

Please take my own (bipolar, ex bandmates au) Floyd in the bottle song, where he's going a bit mental from being trapped and having to think about his life 🤲

[bywordofaphrodite]

Book Reviews 5&6: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan & Alpha Force: Survival by Chris Ryan

This review’s theme is action and adventure ! audience age range: roughly 12 and up !

For this review I’m using the first book from two action/adventure series, featuring the only male authors I've selected of the ten books chosen for these posts. Both are action-packed books with ensemble casts featuring boys and girls, though the similarities mostly stop there.

As a lover of Greek mythology and fantasy in general, Rick Riordan’s sarcastic and upbeat hero of Percy provided a hilarious new way to look at the more serious myths concerning the gods and enemies of Mount Olympus (his slightly inaccurate retellings made acceptable because the series was made for a younger audience, not to mention it’s funny so who cares).

Alpha Force is firmly set in the real world, no magic to be seen, just hardened survival skills that seem more sitting to the SAS than a bunch of young teens- but with the author Chris Ryan being a member of the SAS himself, it’s exactly what you’d expect.

Nostalgic review

Rating: ★★★★★

Percy Jackson is one of those famous book series in a long list of teen/YA fiction that has gripped teens by the throat on its basic lore alone. During class my friends and I would go on Tumblr and Pinterest to pass time, and as readers we always ended up on That Side of Tumblr- yes, the side filled with cheesy edits of all the popular main characters of the time: Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games, Clary Fray of The Mortal Instruments, all the usual squad, and of course Percy Jackson himself. In a sea of lead female characters, Percy was a fun male lead to throw in the mix. It felt special too, that Riordan continued to write Percy’s story ageing him up as the books went on. We grew up with Percy too. I still keep collect the series even now; my brother’s gift to me for my 21st birthday was the Heroes of Olympus collection, though I haven’t read the older books in several years. I’ve always thought Riordan’s writing style not only improved over the years, but also adjusted well to writing for an older audience in the newer books, which was impressive. Additionally, Riordan listening to his fans and adding in more and more representation through great diverse characters definitely sweetens the memories attached to this series.

Alpha Force is just so good. And so underrated. It was between Alpha Force and Alex Rider for the second book in this review, but ultimately I decided enough people know Alex Rider (there’s a movie and a new series about him, go check the series out, it’s great!) and Chris Ryan’s hidden gem was something I wanted to discuss more. I went through an Extreme Survival Adventures book phase during early high school, devouring all kinds of action from deep-sea diving to climbing Mount Everest and every shipwrecked story on the shelves. I’ve always been a huge fan of the ensemble character groups where everyone has a distinct role that no one else can fill; I find it prevents boring main character syndrome where one singular person never needs any help and therefore has neither character development nor conflict. The Alpha Force series managed to deliver fantastic action sequences, smart yet surprisingly realistic characters and somewhat rarely in my experience- incredible female characters who actually had real personality and arcs that belonged to themselves and not the male characters. Honestly, this assignment has been a great excuse to make myself read these books again!

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief Review

Post-read: ★★★★

Synopsis: when struggling student Percy Jackson’s pre-algebra teacher transforms into a monster on school grounds and tries to kill him, Percy runs home to be told the truth by his mother about who he is: a demigod, and upon his arrival at the safe haven for demigods- Camp Half-Blood- Percy discovers he is the son of Poseidon, with water powers to boot. With the help of a satyr named Grover and daughter of Athena, Annabeth, Percy sets course for the Underworld to prevent a war breaking out on Mount Olympus.

(I wanted to make this four and a half stars, but I am incompetent at adding in the half, so if you’d kindly just imagine it is there that would be great.)

Okay! Let’s get into it!

With the first chapter titled ‘I ACCIDENTALLY VAPORISE MY PRE-ALGEBRA TEACHER’, I think the tone for the story is established rather immediately. The first-person narrative allows the character of Percy to talk to readers directly, and it creates a very easy feeling of Percy recounting his feelings and adventures as if in a one-on-one conversation. I felt just as drawn in rereading as an adult as I did when I was in school. Percy doesn’t fit it in at any schools and has been kicked out of six when the first chapter begins. His ADHD and dyslexia make concentrating and studying hard, and he’s always restless. The only people he feels are on his side are his friend Grover and his Latin teacher, Mr Brunner, who seems to be the only teacher who doesn’t have it out for him.

As it turns out, neither Grover nor Mr Brunner are people! Grover is a satyr sent to watch over Percy until he reaches Camp Half-Blood, and Mr Brunner is the immortal centaur Chiron and the activities director at the camp, also watching over Percy. When the Fury Alecto- disguised as Percy’s pre-algebra teacher Mrs Dodds- tries to kill Percy on a school field trip, the satyr and centaur jump in to save him. Later at the camp, Percy continues to stay fast friends with the two and confides in them while they teach him everything about his new world. Percy meets many more kids at camp, all of whom struggled in the human world before finding their true capabilities upon discovering their status as demigods. Annabeth is one such kid, the daughter of Athena who is cold to Percy at first, out of loyalty to the history between Athena and Poseidon, but who ends up becoming fast friends with him, and later his girlfriend throughout the series.

Riordan’s writing is fresh, engaging and fun at every turn. His modern takes on the gods and their ancient stories and riddles makes for a terrific adventure, and the ‘quests’ undertaken by the demigods mimic the old mythology in a palatable way for young readers to digest easily and understand what exactly is going on. The best part about Percy Jackson for me isn’t the monsters and battles, but rather Riordan’s intentions when creating the series: he wanted to give his dyslexic son a hero he could relate to, and since the first set of books Rick Riordan has gone above and beyond expectations to create demigod heroes for kids spanning many different ethnicities, genders and disabilities. Of the many series popular among young people, I’m especially glad that this one full of so much representation is maintaining the hype it deserves.

Characters who aged well: Percy! At twelve years old in this first book of the series, and just the right combination of witty, kind, hot tempered, brave and cheeky to make a believable and lovable young protagonist; his diagnosis with ADHD and dyslexia not being portrayed as a weakness but rather a part of him makes Percy a special hero to neurodivergent readers. Annabeth, too, remains a great character, she’s intelligent, logical and ambitious in a positive manner, and never falls into the trap of being ‘not like other girls’.

Characters who aged badly: nobody! All the side characters are great, and even the villains are entertaining, especially alongside Percy’s ridiculous commentary. The gods are portrayed rather mockingly, which is a kindness really, compared to the awful acts they commit in the original myths.

Favourite scene/quote: ‘Deadlines just aren’t real to me unless I’m staring one in the face’ – I first read this book years ago and it’s still relevant. I can’t even be embarrassed to relate to it at this point.

My favourite scenes both centre on Medusa- or rather, her severed head. Furious with the gods- namely, Zeus, Athena and his father Poseidon- for sending himself, Annabeth and Grover on such a dangerous quest so quickly after his first day at camp, Percy stuffed Medusa’s head into a package and wrote the address of Mount Olympus on a delivery slip, ending with ‘best wishes, PERCY JACKSON’. To Grover’s distress at Percy’s being ‘impertinent’ to the gods yet again, Percy simply responded ‘I am impertinent’. 10/10 big mood.

The second refers to Sally explaining to Percy that she can take care of herself, and, leaving Medusa’s head in her fridge, Percy exits their apartment just as Sally’s abusive boyfriend walks in. The last thing Percy sees is his mother, ‘staring at Gabe, as if she were contemplating how he would look as a garden statue’. It’s a nice moment between mother and son, followed by Percy understanding the strength his mother has and how much she does for him.

Alpha Force: Survival Review

Post-read: ★★★★

Synopsis: Five teenagers end up stranded on a desert island after their sailing ship goes down at sea. Enthusiastic Alex, reluctant Amber and Hex and practical jokers Paulo and Li are all part of a ‘working eco-voyage’ that quickly falls apart, leaving them to survive on their skills alone against komodo dragons, sharks and modern day pirates somewhere on the Indonesian archipelago.

The story begins with Northumbrian boy Alex- the closest to a main character out of the five- scrubbing the deck of a ship called the Phoenix and lamenting the fact that he’s been lumped in with four people he would never have chosen to be in a watch with. Assigned to A-Watch by their mean supervisor Heather, Alex finds himself the unofficial watch leader… and the only person who really wants to be there. Also in A-Watch is Amber, the daughter of African-American software billionaires who recently died in an accident and left her the sole heiress to the fortune. Amber, still hurting from her parent’s death, is furious to be on board the eco-voyage organised by her Uncle John, who believes she needs to move on in a place outside her comfort zone. Amber spends a great chunk of time antagonising English hacker Hex, who was sent on the trip as a punishment by his school for ruthlessly hacking into the accounts of a teacher who bullied his younger brother. Rounding out the group are Paulo and Li, both of whom are very athletic and thrive in the outdoors, but also uninterested in doing any real work aboard the Phoenix. Paulo is a charming ranch hand from Argentina who loves food and flirting; Li is the Anglo-Chinese daughter of zoologists who enjoys testing out her martial arts on Paulo.

After an argument with their supervisor Heather, Amber decides A-Watch should steal food and relax in a small boat beside the ship to thwart her- a fine plan at first, which goes haywire after the rope frays and they awaken to find themselves in the middle of the Java Sea with no one knowing they’re missing. Tensions rise between the teenagers as they panic over food and safety as they work to survive. Hex just barely survives a Komodo dragon attack, and their hope for help in spotting a family aboard a yacht goes down the drain when it becomes clear they are hostages of modern-day pirates. Luckily, for the family- the Larousse family who were friends with Amber’s parents, no less- the members of A-Watch manage to put aside their differences and put together their skills to save the day.

By the end of the book, the group have outwitted the pirates, saved the Larousse family and successfully sent an SOS signal leading to their rescue. During their recovery in hospital, Amber learns the truth about her parents: behind their billionaire software company her parents worked as undercover agents around the world, fighting against corrupt governments, powerful cartels and other dangerous ventures. Amber’s Uncle John agrees to let the five carry on her parents work as a team, noting that five teenagers could easily slip into situations that adults can’t. Hex then announces he has a name for the five: Alpha Force, taking the first letter of all their names and representing the new beginning for Amber to move on from the Omega (ending) necklace she wears round her neck to remember her parents.

Characters who aged well: all of them!

Alex’s love of the outdoors is endearing, and he never underestimates anyone else’s skills despite being the most prepared for struggles in the outdoors; he is fairly introverted and thoughtful without being boring, I think he’s very sweet.

Amber’s presence as a billionaire black girl with great navigational skills was a fun subversion of the unfortunate stereotyped roles black characters are given; she has great character development without losing her sharp-witted personality and she’s very funny.

Hex plays off Amber’s banter with ease after their initial clashing, and I like that, though he loves his electronics, he never lets the team down by adapting to the outdoors.

Paulo is just adorable, a charming boy from a ranch who likes to flirt with the girls he likes but always respects their boundaries. His positivity is also very uplifting.

Li: ahh my cool favourite Li. Not just providing Asian representation, but also mixed representation, which I was very pleased about as a kid, and still am. Similarly to Amber, Li subverts a stereotype of her own- she’s knowledgeable about things without being a nerd, and gets to be the most playful character alongside Paulo. In my experiences with male authors, the girls rarely get to be the ‘funny’ character so I always enjoyed this!

Characters who aged badly: no one!

Favourite scene/quote: “‘Or was Heather right? Are you too good for us, Alex?’ said Li, slyly.”

This quote signifies when Alex properly commits to being a part of A-Watch, going along with Amber’s plan to ignore Heather’s disciplinary instructions in favour of ‘stealing’ food. It’s the first time the group work as a team, and his hesitation gives way to helping his new friends even though he never does anything against the rules. I also just enjoy Li’s sneakiness at any time, really. The following scene where the five relax under the stars eating food and getting to know each other before all hell breaks loose is nice to read, and all the action sequences are really great, especially Amber’s dive with the sharks while escaping pirates.

Overall verdict:

I wanted to give both of these books four and a half stars, so let’s pretend I figured out how to do that. The only reason they both don’t get five stars is because the following books in their respective series improve after the first ones- both in writing style and character development- and I’m allowing room for that.

Starting off with The Lightning Thief, the headlong dive into action from chapter one was so fun, and learning about the monsters and mythology in time with the main character is always a welcome addition. As someone who read the original myths before any Percy Jackson novels, hearing them retold from Percy’s humorous perspective is very amusing. Anyone familiar with Percy Jackson knows that the movies released a few years ago were kind of a major letdown compared to the books, so the fact that Disney+ has now taken the series on board and begun casting (worldwide!) is super exciting! In line with Rick Riordan’s mantra of inclusivity, anyone of any ethnicity or gender can apply for the roles, which I think really fits the concept of what Percy Jackson represents.

There were very few reviews for Alpha Force due to how underrated it is, and all I could find was a few comments on Goodreads. One person mentioned that they felt the beginning of Survival was slow. I personally don’t know what ‘slow’ refers to in this case, as I felt the introductions and set up all very natural and in a way, necessary before the serious action kicks in. However, I tend to enjoy a few quiet scenes focused on character development that might not be for everyone. I’m still pretty sad there’s literally nothing else about this series on any fandom pages or anything, but I suppose I’ll just have to resign myself to just me and my brother talking about it!

In the case of both books in this review, my memories of these series were not simply clouded by the rose-tinted lenses of nostalgia. I remain just as impressed and in love with the worlds and characters within the stories, and I hope other people enjoy them as much I continue to.

[my-whumpy-little-heart]

💥🌸🔮💛 for Floyd Ray and Llyr! C:

Ah thank you Marti!!

💥 Are there any emotions your OC doesn’t know how to deal with, doesn’t understand or hates having to feel? Any reason behind this?

Floyd: already answered this with him and it was quite lengthy so linking the post with it right here!

Ray: Alright let’s do this. Ray does Not like to deal with sadness, and especially not grief. Anything that will impact him and cause prolonged sorrow is something he will desperately want to block out because those feelings feel Awful. Being the workaholic he is, this is usually trying to work through those feelings while doing anything he possibly can around the ship. In some more extreme situations, this spreads to roping in the rest of the crew with him, assigning more work and trying to keep everyone occupied so he doesn’t have the time to break down. 

Reasons behind it? I’m actually not sure. There’s definitely something there about why Ray is so insistent on keeping things upbeat and morale high most of the time but, I’ll be honest, he hasn’t revealed a whole lot about his backstory to me yet. I don’t know much of where he came from and what led him into piracy, but I do know a lot about who he is right now.

Llyr: Oh Llyr hates the feeling of humiliation or inferiority. A lot of his time in his story has been spent desperately trying to avoid that but, uh, yeah that hasn’t quite worked out despite what he likes to think. So he’s been miserable and rightfully so. 

The entire concept of him turning to his human form for the first time and immediately this species he’s considered inferior to himself for so long has power over and has to take care of him is. So overwhelming and such an unbearable feeling for him.

The only reason behind it is he was just raised like this. His parents were very against humans, having only had and heard of bad experiences with the species and decided using their human form was just a waste of time and energy when they could have a perfectly happy life living in the sea. They thought very highly of themselves and their family/species and taught that arrogance to their children.

cut because this got Real Hecking Long sorry my dudes

🌸 What’s a sentence that would make your OC’s day better? One that would make them laugh? One that would make their day worse? Why? What words would you have to say to them to completely ruin their day?

Ooooh okay this one’s gonna take some thought.

Floyd:

Make his day: “Need a hug?” or, alternatively but only from Ray, “Wanna cuddle?”

Make him laugh: *merciless tickling* or one of Ray’s puns might get a chuckle out of him. It’s gotta be a new one, though, he won’t take any of that recycling jokes bs.

Worsen his day: “What’s wrong with you?!” or “Why don’t you tell us anything?”

Ruin his day entire life: “I never liked you to begin with. It was all just pretend, moron, can’t you understand that?” or, if you prefer whumper feels, “Good morning, Benedict.” or Anything involving his first name really.

Ray: 

Make his day: “Thank you.” is usually a safe bet, or “I love you.” from the right people.

Make him laugh: any opportunity to tell a bad joke will make him giggle and everyone else groan in advance :3. for example...

The crew is going fishing and at some point someone speaks up, talking about something they saw in town.

“We might need to set sail again soon. Saw some suspicious behavior earlier and I don’t think we want to be part of that.”

Ray hears this and instead of considering the implications of those words, starts to giggle uncontrollably. Heads turn his way with inquisitive looks, and some of them soon fall into despair as they realize what’s about to happen.

“Oh, so, you’d say...” Ray trails off into silence. Everyone’s sweating nervously, waiting to get the punchline over with. The air is thick with tension. “...it’s pretty fishy around here?” A collective groan escapes everyone, but one or two people nod their approval and laugh a bit. The pun sympathizers have a special place in Ray’s heart. Mabel turns to look at him.

“Ray... please...”

“What?” he asks, grabbing the woven ropes they’ve been using to catch fish. “Are you saying that’s net what you wanted to hear?”

“No, it.. I’m...” Confusion And Concern Intensifies

“Come on, no trout these are the best jokes you’ve ever heard. There’s nothing to be scaled of!”

Mabel.exe has stopped working.

Worsen his day: “Ray, I found another problem with the ship--”

Ruin his day: *heard from afar* “Walk, Benedict, we don’t have all day,” followed by the clinking sound of a leash being pulled taut and a strangled yelp. (though, thinking harder into it, this could also make his day. hmn, we’re getting into spoiler territory so I think I’ll leave this up to imagination)

Llyr:

Make his day: “You’re free to go,” would be a nice one right about now.

Make him laugh: “You trust me, don’t you?” might get a small chuckle if said by a human, depending on his mood.

Worsen his day: “Kneel, brat.”

Ruin his day: “I know you’re a selkie.”

🔮What does your OC think is their best trait. What is actually their best trait? What about their flaws? Are they one to admit these flaws or do they like to pretend they’re perfect?

Floyd: Oh hmmm,,, for Floyd this is definitely a complicated one. I think he would eventually settle on his general ability to help others. His most prominent duty on the ship is often more social or medical matters, considering he isn’t especially strong. Like yeah he can do pretty hard physical labor, but not as well as some others. Braining things are more his groove, thinking stuff through and all that.

His actual best trait? Well he’s not as far off as I thought he’d be. His compassion is one of the best and most defining parts of him. It’s not really as much of sympathizing with people as it is just understanding people. He thinks people through well, often good at seeing what someone is like after watching their movements and expression after years of developing that skill for survival. Finding out what will please versus anger them can help him greatly. 

Floyd has a hard time deciphering Percival. He’s just a mess and that makes it really hard to find things the man wants. Well, other than what he asks of Floyd. And doing magic just to get hurt really isn’t his cup of tea most of the time so it’s a bit of a struggle huh.

Ray: Ray definitely thinks of his own compassion as his strongest trait. He tries his best to be understanding and kind, encouraging an atmosphere of love and positivity and offering his help to anyone who may need it. However, this is very prone to get him into trouble and comes in as a flaw just as often as it is positive. He has more of a emotion based compassion than Floyd’s logical thinking based compassion, and even though it allows him to be open with people and vulnerable when he needs it, it isn’t always good.

No, Ray’s greatest trait is his unwavering determination. He is the embodiment of Not A Quitter, and even if it may look as if he’s tossing in the towel and giving up, give it an hour or two and he’ll be back on his feet and trying to push himself too far and put himself in harm’s way all over again. Though this can also be very unhealthy and manifest in worse ways for him, it stands as his best trait to me because it’s so often positive and is the main reason he can effectively lead his crew. He has so much faith in all of them and in himself and that doesn’t give them much room to doubt his abilities.

Llyr: Ahhhhmmm okay. Llyr. He doesn’t have a whole lot of best traits huh. Well. He is resilient. I’ll give him that. He does a good job of hating on mankind through all the hurt he’s already going through. Because yes you’re still Very superior to these people easily dominating and hurting your dumb ass, buddy. Sounds About Right Huh. Listen we are just in a Salty About Llyr mood tonight because he’s. So spiteful. And as much as I love him for it, I’m also sitting here like “........you petty little bitch.” so hm I think that’s all the brain machine is gonna give for this question in particular.

💛 What is your personal opinion of this OC? Do you love them or are they your trash child? Are they your baby?

This was asked last and I’m answering it first because I’m laughing so hard I love this question.

Floyd: Ohhh Floyd is so babie,,, I feel so bad for him because the more I think about him and his character, the more awful stuff I realize he’s been through. And he’s the one still around here getting hurt, in Persistence at least. I love him and he’s wonderful.

Ray: Y’all, I’m love Ray so, so much. He’s really grown on me and considering what I have planned for him in both stories he’s in, he really do be in for it now but I’m so excited to see him deal with these struggles and overcome them. He’s so protective and headstrong at times and I love him so much for it.

Llyr: INDEED THE TRASH CHILD OF THE FAMILY!! HE’S SUCH A STUCK UP, EGOCENTRIC BRAT AND YET HE IS MY CHILD AND I’M ROOTING FOR HIM TO BE LESS OF A JERK EVEN THOUGH HE’S NOT COOPERATING WITH THAT. 

[marginalgloss]

palpable depth

I read The Letter of Marque by Patrick O’Brian alongside Eric Hobsbawm’s history of the revolutionary period of the early nineteenth century, and it gave me much to think about. In that era we see how market capitalism and state interests overlap, and how they are supported with what analysts today call ‘power projection’. The line of battle ships back then were the most sophisticated weapons of their time, handled by a combination of manpower and machine which was uniquely specialised. But the ships and the men who sailed them stood on the shoulders of giants, and what it is harder to find in any character study is the full shape of that giant.

There’s a tendency today to look at naval warfare of the time as being all spectacle. But considering the immense efforts and expenditure that went into launching these vessels, the actual business of fighting made up only the tiniest portion of what went into putting all those men out there. Tens of men might die on a voyage but how many died, how many suffered, before they could even leave port? And yet those short, incredibly violent engagements between over-crowded, over-engineered floating fortresses could have consequences far beyond the range of their guns.

You might think that the new context of a private military endeavour might enable a certain amount of commentary on what has, until now, been a relatively settled state of affairs. But for Jack Aubrey, the transition from public servant to private master is remarkably smooth. Perhaps that in itself is the commentary, but for the most part the author’s focus is on the incidental details that mark him out as a mercenary: the differences in livery, discipline, and so on. As ever, O’Brian seems outwardly admiring of all these efforts, though determinedly equivocal with regards to their wider benefit.

The story of The Letter of Marque follows on without a breath from The Reverse of the Medal. Captain Jack Aubrey has turned privateer, with his old friend Stephen Maturin stumping up the required cash to buy the Surprise and to pay his crewmates to come along. Stephen’s contacts in the intelligence world have given them a secret mission to South America, but the main substance of this book concerns a couple of exploratory ventures that are partly intended to restore Jack’s reputation and build up his fortune again. The first involves a Spanish ship full of quicksilver; the second a daring raid on a French frigate moored in an unfriendly port.

This is Aubrey’s first taste of success without a sting in the tail for a very long time. There’s still a lingering bitterness that comes from being an outsider to his beloved service — initially, this is described as a certain ‘sealing off…[that] had turned him into a eunuch as far as emotion was concerned.’ (It’s a fairly startling image; apart from anything else it is not altogether clear what a potent male model of emotion in O’Brian’s work would look like.) But since his victories bring sudden popular acclaim, his upset soon seems like more of an inconvenience than a threat. As so often is the case, for the most part he is simply too busy to worry about it very often.  It’s difficult to see at this stage if that seal will linger. Even the sudden death of his father gives him little cause for grief here.

Stephen, meanwhile, is concerned in part with intelligence matters; but mostly he’s thinking about Diana, his estranged wife. An opportunity has arisen to visit her in Sweden, where she has been living for the last few books with Jagiello, who we met way back in The Surgeon’s Mate. But it won’t be till the end of this story that they meet again, and we get to find out exactly where they stand now in relation to one another. 

In the mean time, the book is full of incident. It is all good-natured, upbeat stuff, even though it is peppered with strange nuggets of darkness. There’s the offhand revelation that the new cook is an actual devil worshipper, for example, or the sad fate of the French agent who aided Maturin at the tail end of the last book. I like O’Brian’s scheme to wean Maturin off his long-standing addiction to opium. His servant Padeen begins stealing it from his cabin, and making up the absence in the flasks with brandy. Being that Padeen is so large and somewhat slow, nobody seems to notice him walking around stoned on the stuff. There’s a sort of dark poetic irony in the situation of Maturin effectively offloading his own addiction on the poor man, even if he doesn’t entirely know what he’s doing. Padeen is bearing the load that Maturin hardly imagined he was even carrying; one has to read into these things to tease the politics out of O’Brian.

It’s a strange thing: even as these books go on — and become in many ways more colourful, more enjoyable — the author’s aversion to anything really difficult becomes more pronounced. Emotion is difficult; confrontation is difficult; settled routine and lasting relationships are difficult. Looking at the circumstances of one’s condition is worst of all. Better to sail onward. Better to break it all up, with violence if you have to.

But this book also does something strange and new for the series. There is throughout this recurring image of a hot air balloon. It’s partly an object of Stephen’s fascination, a little like the diving bell was previously, but in this case it seems to come up in spite of him as well as because of him. Apparently people are talking about balloons all the time in 1812. A balloon begins to feel like an animating spirit of the book. Second-hand reports of the experience feel like dispatches from another world:

‘“…But what I had not derived from his account was the extraordinary intensification of living, the palpable depth of the universal silence, and the very great awareness of the light and colour of this other world – an otherness that was made all the stronger because through an occasional gap in the clouds our ordinary world could be seen, with silver rivers very, very far below and the roads distinct. Yet in time that changed to rock and ice, even farther below; and in my keen delight there was mingled an undefined sense of a dread as huge as the sky itself; it was not merely a fear of being destroyed, but worse; perhaps that of being wholly and entirely lost, body and soul…”’

There’s a peculiar richness to these moments that is quite unlike anything seen before in these books. It is a deeply reflective quality; the author’s descriptions of the natural world touch upon it, but here more than ever before the imagery is bent towards the service of expressing the psychology of the characters. That ‘dread’ suggests an invocation of the romantic sublime; but though for the reader it’s tempered with our knowledge that nothing really bad can happen to the characters, it still has a personal, transportive effect on them. There is simple, penetrating imagery here that has all the feeling of a Magritte painting:

‘…now he was living with time in the sense of duration once more, for he knew with dreadful certainty that they had been rising for hours on end, that they were now rising faster still. And as they soared towards this absolute purity of sky so its imminent threat, half-perceived at first, filled him with a horror beyond anything he had known. Diana was wearing her green coat again and at some point she must have turned up the collar, for now its red underneath made a shocking contrast with the extreme pallor of her face, the pinched white of her nose and the frosted blue of her lips. Her face showed no expression – she was, as it were, completely alone – and as she had done before she held her head down, bowed over her lap, where her hands, now more loosely clasped, held the diamond, very like a sliver of this brilliant sky itself…’

There’s something quite French in that use of ‘time in the sense of duration’ — the Proustian durée, I suppose. But there’s also something terribly English in the musical hesitancy of the way the phrases fit together. Think back to the first book in this series and it seems inconceivable that something so otherworldly could have a place here. But as time goes by in these chronicles, it’s fascinating to see the author toy with the possibilities of the form so openly; time is constrained, condensed in an impossibly long 1812 to serve the machinations of the plot; but now time also proves endlessly malleable in the service of consciousness.  

[mint-sm]

LOS CAMPESINOS! REVIEW/ANALYSIS: Hello Sadness

Okay, so this requires a slightly longer intro for context, because actually quite a lot happened that led up to this album being the way it is. The biggest word that immediately strikes this album is “change,” and it all begins with the stuff that happened outside of it and the band itself.

First of all, according to this interview from early 2011, this then-unnamed next album following “Romance is Boring” was intended to be a “more direct and poppier affair” after “Romance is Boring” started to breach more towards experimental noise pop. It’s likely to assume that it wasn’t going to be like a “Hold on Now, Youngster…” level of pop appeal, because not only did the band at the time not look fondly on that record as I’ve mentioned before, but also, indie music was going through a bit of a change at this point. This type of overly punchy, maximist “indie” style of previous albums was starting to die in its popularity, as it was slowly just kinda blending into the mainstream (and as we all know, mainstream means everything has to be boring now because shut up).

This wasn’t really helped by how the original team had already been in a transitionary period of shifting its lineup, and sadly, much of it entailed band members that really did lend Los Camp a lot of its unique and compelling energy: Drummer Ollie Briggs, violinist/keyboardist Harriet Coleman, and probably the most notable loss, lead vocalist/keyboardist Aleks Berditchevskaia, who actually left before “Romance is Boring” was released. A new lineup with Jason Adelinia, Rob Taylor, and Gareth David’s sister, Kim, was formed for the album, and while I’m comfortable with this shift, and it was inevitable since this is a band that at that point had been around for about 5 years, it’s still a shame, because damn, a lot of what made their previous records so dynamic, lively and colorful came from them.

Also, during this time, Gareth was apparently going through a really nasty breakup, and it shows in the subject matter and lyrics of “Hello Sadness,” and that statement about this album being “more direct and poppier”... well, the end result is definitely more direct, but poppy it is not. It’s the band’s most clear-cut breakup album, and it’s likely the darkest album they’ve ever released by a wide margin. Oh, some of Los Camp’s initial appeal still remains, with the catchy melodies and choruses, intricate poetics, and some genuinely poppier tracks, but here are all the things you have to consider:

The instrumentation has become less vibrant as a result of the moodier atmosphere the album’s trying to convey and possibly as a result of the changed-up band lineup. New vocalist Kim Campesinos!, while not bad, doesn’t have the sing-songy, colorful, or vibrant energy and chemistry with Gareth that Aleks provided in previous albums, and now she’s just more of a backup singer, meaning no more lively call-and-responses from here on in. The surrounding music scene has changed to prefer a more refined alternative-rock sound than the concentrated and blasting noise rock or punky influence of before. And on top of that, the album was recorded and released in what the band’s lead vocalist/lyricist described as “the year of the most upsetting breakup of my life.”

And it’s called “Hello Sadness.” Does it end well?

IT'S NO LIE IF THE WATERS ROSE / AND DROWNED THAT PLACE FROM COAST TO COAST / YOU WOULDN'T SEE THIS SMILE LEAVE / MY FACE FOR ALL ETERNITY /

Well, no, not really, but it does start very well, at least! The first few tracks of this album start off the band at its liveliest and poppiest, though there are some changes, primarily the nitty gritty of the production style. Much of the noise and grit that was found in the band’s previous works is gone, making things a bit more mellow, but tracks like “Songs About Your Girlfriend” come pretty close. It’s a very tight track, there’s a lot of really nice melodies and riffs, and while it doesn’t speak too much differently about Gareth’s lyricism -- it’s basically about being a fucking rock star in the face of an ex and her new boyfriend -- it’s still a fun bit of indie rock with a lot of potential for getting stuck in your head.

The first track, “By Your Hand” is also very catchy; I have to imagine this was one of the earliest songs made for this album before the band started to go in a moodier direction, because it’s just that nice to listen to. Again, it’s not as bombastic or dramatic-sounding as something from any of the band’s previous albums, but it is very lively and has a lot of pop appeal; those little looping e-piano riffs, the brass accompaniment in the background, and the catchy crowd choruses, and the lyrics are kinda just like some cute, kinda funny romantic encounter. I could imagine this playing as like maybe like a theme song to some teen-oriented high school movie or something, it’s basically just a decent, pleasant-sounding pop tune with some really nice choruses and some vibrancy to it.

YOU DO NOT LIKE US CAUSE / YOUR GIRLFRIEND LIKELY DOES / AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS AGREE ON HER SOFT-SPOT FOR ME / I'LL HAVE MY HARD HANDS OVER / HER SOFT SPOTS SOON, YOU WILL SEE /

However, the title track is where I think the band starts getting really interesting. Something I’ll touch on more in a bit is that the album honestly doesn’t do a very great job at presenting conflicting emotions, something that I’ve very much praised the band for, since most of the time, it doesn’t seem like we’re given enough context for any of the scenarios presented to feel anything more than just “sadness.” I’ll explain why I think that’s the case in a bit, but essentially, most songs from this album feel like they’re presenting one strong emotion, but previous songs of other albums presented far more.

The song “Hello Sadness,” however, I think stands alone since it IS able to establish more of an internal conflict, clearly illustrate it for us, and manage to bring us on Gareth’s side, as he just belts these gorgeous-sounding vocal melodies that paint a really strangely hopeful yet utterly futile-sounding and hollow mentality, but in a way that works to the song’s advantage as the production is probably the most simultaneous bombastic and heartbreaking on the entire album, building up to just this epic climax of wailing guitar riffs, epic drums and background vocals, and Gareth just fucking roaring his lines.

Throughout this album, Gareth is trying to bring us onto our side and convince us the idea that heartbreak is pretty much akin to death, and I think this song, more than any other on the album is able to do that and make it just so utterly epic.

I CHRISTEN ALL THE SHIPS THAT SAILED / ON YOUR LITTLE KISSES' SALIVA TRAILS / GOODBYE COURAGE / HELLO SADNESS AGAIN! /

Unfortunately, this album takes a bit of a nosedive starting from the middle section, and that’s where I start having a lot of problems. See, as I’ve said, Gareth is trying to build up a sort of emotional state where much of the enjoyment comes from thinking “wait, what emotion am I supposed to be feeling here?”, and never getting a definite an answer because it just makes their music that much more versatile. Sadness has always been a thing in Los Camp records, but it’s made much less overbearing by covering it under some other conflicting emotion, and Los Camp has shown to already be masters in making things feel equal parts of multiple moods and emotions at once, be it anger, disappointment, fear, sarcasm, or even joy.

However, with “Hello Sadness,” much of the songs feel content in just evoking a single mood of anguish and despair and that’s kind of it, and unfortunately they feel kinda boring after a while, especially since the instrumentals on songs like “Life Is a Long Time” and “Every Defeat a Divorce (Three Lions)”, just feel kinda standard and unsophisticated and not all that diverse or intriguing, sonically or lyrically.

A part to making heavily emotional artwork work is to have the artist(s) be able to bring the audience into their intended mental place, and give them context to be able to relate and convince them towards this feeling. Unfortunately, this album kinda lacks context, and it’s just not that compelling, and that’s a shame.

We can tell from the lyrics of a lot of these things as to what Gareth is feeling, maybe some of the circumstances, but despite how flowery and… interesting some of the lyrics are -- for example, the “three lions” of “Every Defeat a Divorce (Three Lions)” appear to be based on the lions on the English National Football logo, which come to life and start clawing him to death as a metaphor to heartbreak. Yeah. -- they just can’t move me, because I don’t really “get” or really relate to the context most of these songs were born of, and he doesn’t really do a great job of convincing me to get invested.

I can get the high anger and volatility of something from as harsh and abrasive as “Plan A” from “Romance is Boring,” and I can get the mildly cringeworthy but upbeat cheeriness, lighthearted joy of “By Your Hand” of this album, but I just can’t get a lot of the other lyrics that ultimately boil down to “I’m sad. I’m disappointed. Heartbreak is like death. Here’s another lyric about me being brutally killed by a giant animal to illustrate that. Would a bird do this time?”

YOU KNOW IT STARTS PRETTY ROUGH / AND ENDS UP EVEN WORSE / AND WHAT GOES ON IN-BETWEEN / I TRY TO KEEP IT OUT OF MY THOUGHTS /

Not that it doesn’t get a little better by the end, though. That bird line above is referencing “The Black Bird, the Dark Slope,” which does pick up a lot more energy, and honestly kinda feels like a darker-and-edgier reinterpretation of the band’s twee indie rock days. It’s less gritty and raw-feeling, Kim’s vocals, while not bad, are just kinda relegated to a background accompaniment, maybe with a few lines here and there, and the lyrics just get kinda ridiculously too edgy at times (seriously, THE ENTIRE SONG is about a giant black bird tearing him apart limb from limb), but it still works pretty well, again, kind of like a blacker, cleaner response to something from “Hold on Now, Youngster…”

But the ending doesn’t really do this album concept a proper service, I think. “Light Leaves, Dark Sees Pt. II” is just kinda… dull, and while I don’t dislike slower songs just by principle, this just feels kinda plodding and too listing to really make it feel any more than just kinda lazy. I much prefer “To Tundra” earlier on this album, which is still a little too basic lyrically and instrumentally, but it does have a more satisfying climax, or “Baby I Got the Death Rattle,” which is also not the most adventurous song on this album, but does have a little bit more viscerality and punch to it, and as well a pretty nice and funny outro.

AND I CHEWED MY ONLY NECKTIE / FROM THE METAL FRAME OF MY BED / WHERE I TIED YOUR WRISTS TOGETHER / SPENT ALL NIGHT GIVIN' (OH, YOU GET THE MESSAGE!) /

Overall though, this album is kinda boring, but totally listenable. It has a few really good ideas, and some of the songs from here do rank as some of my favorite Los Camp tracks, and overall it’s not really a tedious listen, but ultimately it’s just not the most engaging thing this band has to offer. If you actually do manage to fit that moody or darkly snide atmosphere it’s almost completely consumed with, I think this might do it better for you (there was a time of depression when I considered this my favorite more than “Romance is Boring”, so heh), but as its own thing, it’s kinda just meh.

It’s a shame that this wasn’t as dynamic as I was hoping it would be, or as compelling, but you know, times change, life hits you, and if this is all you can really feel like writing? Eh, go for it. Thankfully after this, Los Camp would later spend a longer while for their next endeavor, something that would stand out much more, and perhaps be… less sad? How could they do that? :O

Eh… we’ll get to that next time. (3/5)

FAVES: “By Your Hand,” “Songs About Your Girlfriend,” “Hello Sadness,” “Baby I Got The Death Rattle”