One Day More: A Recap of My 21st Birthday

June 28 was my 21st birthday and I had no idea what was going to happen. My parents told me that they had a plan but I did not know what it was, even though they claim that they woke me up weeks ago and asked me about it but I apparently do not remember this. I was both excited and nervous.

I started the day with pancakes, sausage and a piece of cake for breakfast-dessert (lol) with a mimosa. I've never had a mimosa before but I think the champagne we had wasn't very good because it was way too sour. Even with bad champagne, though, I could taste how good it could have been...if that makes any sense.
I got a shower and my mom told me to dress up a little. I actually ended up getting a new dress that I had been wanting for a while. (We also had to get my dad a dress shirt, which we need to do every time he needs a dress shirt, so I don't understand where they all go; I think he wears them once and then throws them out.)
My parents looked very nice, of course. My dad wore a reddish tie to match my mom's dress. They were very cute.

So I knew that we'd be going to eat first but my parents wouldn't even let me know where that was and we ended up going to the Melting Pot, this fancy fondue place (I know, how weird does "fancy fondue" sound?) that I like. We've only been there one other time, for my parents' anniversary a few years ago. It's really good but really quite expensive. But it's fun.
So that was the first thing. As for the second thing, I consistently asked my parents for hints even though I didn't really want to know. I wanted it to be a surprise. And yet it was still fun to ask.

How long of a drive do we have?
When do you think we'll be home?
What sort of thing is it?
Is it more of a standing up thing or a sitting down thing?

We ended up having a 45-minute drive and my mom joked that she would make me keep my eyes closed for the whole drive. To be honest, that's essentially what I did. I sat in the back and read my book (sidenote: I'm currently reading Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine and I love it so far) and did not pay attention to the landscape outside.
We pulled up in front of a theatre and I looked up at the marquee.

They took me to see Les Misérables! I was so excited and couldn't stop smiling like a dork. The theatre was so gorgeous and I wish I had taken more pictures of some of the details inside. But unfortunately I did not.

(I did, however, get a chance to take a picture of this statue. I am not really sure if it's actually supposed to be Enjolras, or if they just put the flag there because Les Mis was showing but I still love it.)
We had pretty great seats, in a box just to the right of the stage. At some points, members of the additional cast stood at the corners of the stage and they were so close I could have almost reached out and touched them. It was magical.
The next day, my friend Justine asked how the play was but the truth is, I have no idea. I'm not enough of a play connoisseur to say when one is good or bad or better than another. I just know that I love Les Mis and I loved seeing it live. It could have been horrible and all the singers could have been off-key and I probably still would have loved it. That's just how I am.
Even though there was nothing exceedingly incredible, it really was a perfect night. I got to see a show that I love and that I've wanted to see for quite a while now, and I got to spend it with my family.
At the end of the show, while we waited for my dad to bring the car around and pick us up, we saw some of the actors leaving the stage door, or whatever it's called. I thought about asking them to take a picture with us but that sort of thing always makes me feel awkward. I mean it just feels so strange to go up to a person and ask them to take a picture with you. I even felt weird about this as a little kid when my parents would tell me to take a picture with a person in costume in a theme park. I just don't like it. And while I kind of wish, now, that I had asked, it's not a big deal. It was still a really good night (and one of my goals lately is to try not to let regrets devour me).
I just wanted to share it with the world, I suppose, or document it...or whatever the reason is for this blog.

My last picture of the night, of the front of the theatre, around 11:30 pm:

Joyeux anniversaire à moi,
Alyssa

I Was Made For You (Marius/Cosette)

I Was Made For You from heyitsalyssa on 8tracks Radio.

Horror Stories On Top of a Pretty Blond Man

Stupid Terrorist Boys from heyitsalyssa on 8tracks Radio.

Another fanmix. This one is for Gnomon, an amazing fanfic by luchia on AO3.

Of Red Red Rivers; Of Pale Skin and Bruises

Of Red Red Rivers from heyitsalyssa on 8tracks Radio.

So, I made a new fanmix! Hooray that's what the internet needed right? Right?!
So without further adieu I present my fanmix for Jehan and Montparnasse. Yep, weird ship, I know. Don't judge me...

Tracklist:
1. Starry Eyed by Ellie Goulding
2. Bad Thing by King Tuff
3. Looks That Kill by Shivaree
4. Baby, I Will Leave You In The Morning by Marissa Nadler
5. In Your Room by Depeche Mode
6. Nothing & Nowhere by Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton
7. Wicked Way by Benjamin Taylor
8. Out of the Blue by Julian Casablancas

Fanmix Day 7 - For a Male Character

Pylades Dreams from heyitsalyssa on 8tracks Radio.

Pylades Dreams

There’s blood and the color of it surprises him—a deep and profound red. It runs around him in rivers, warm and unnerving, drowning him. And then it’s the red of Enjolras’ coat. He emits a light so pure it blinds. He calls out to him, Enjolras silhouetted against the sun. He alights on his damned barricade with awe-inspiring white wings. Unseen guns go off and he falls through blackness and is gone. There’s a flash of gold and scarlet and white light in the darkness and, though he is blinded, he stretches his hand and feels something brush past his fingers. But he is clumsy and cannot quite grasp it. He knows he has failed again. Then he is falling through a world of red, stomach flipping and body tensing, waiting for the bone-shattering impact of earth and there is nothing but blood.
But it smells like alcohol.
I have no idea what this is. I was thinking about the fact that, in the brick, Grantaire is sleeping through most of the activity of the barricade and only awakes just before Enjolras is shot. This is, apparently, a dream sequence. Don't even ask.

A Snippet From a Story With No Title

Here's a very short little bit from an Enjolras/Grantaire fic I'm working on.

“Is that what you most desire? Ah! I don’t believe it so but alas! I shall go anyway. Until next time,” he said, bending in a bow with a surprisingly graceful flourish, the whole time holding his bottle and spilling not a drop. Then, turning away from Enjolras and to the room at large, “Oh! Pity me fellow mortals! Our fearless leader has kicked me to the street, in the cold—” “Get out of here, Grantaire.” Enjolras gritted his teeth but a few of the others were smiling. Grantaire walked out of the back room of the Musain (though “strutted” would be a more accurate term—the alcohol in his system showing no trace in his balance), planting a sloppy kiss on Louison’s cheek before he disappeared. Louison, who was used to his behavior, went on about her business, smiling good-naturedly. Grantaire, for his part, could hear Enjolras immediately delve back into whatever he had been saying, as if the whole incident had not happened. Though he would never admit it, it hurt a little that Enjolras could just skip over his existence so easily. But then, he supposed that was how gods were. For he felt certain that Enjolras must be some ancient god who deigned to walk among mere mortals. A god of truth and light and all that was righteous and good. Of course this only made Grantaire want to challenge him. Logically, it made no sense, he knew, but he was not a logical man and he simply could not help himself. He didn’t know why. He simply wanted to ruin that perfection. To be fair to Grantaire, as to Enjolras earlier, he did not feel romantically for Enjolras, not in any way that he understood. He wanted to kiss bruises into that marble neck, drag his nails across achingly perfect collarbones and hipbones. he wanted to tug on golden hair and whisper prayers against those damnably pink lips. Each man worships differently. But as it is that gods do not acknowledge those who worship them so it was with Grantaire and his Apollo. Perhaps, he thought wryly, that was why he argued with him so; angry words were better than none at all to the man whose thoughts are much too loud in the silence. And it was much too quiet tonight in the streets of Paris.

We All Go Down Together: a Les Amis fanmix

So I made a fanmix for Les Amis de l'ABC (link to 8tracks) so I thought I'd post it here as well. With the cover art and all that fun stuff.

It's essentially a war-themed fanmix, really. I attempted to put it in at least a little bit of an order, a semblance of an order. It begins with a call to arms and goes through a loss of conviction a bit then resurges with This is Why We Fight to signify them throwing themselves wholeheartedly again into the fight and, moreover, into death. Then An Ending (Ascent) which is to signify them dying and This is War ends with the refrain "the war is won" so I put that at the end to signify the final shot in the movie where they're all on the barricade.

So thanks for reading and listening (if you decide to). I really like making fanmixes and I have several more I'm working on so look forward to that.

I'll be posting some fan fiction too, I think. So yeah.

Alyssa

Writing a Thing

I am currently working on a Les Mis fanfic that's sort of Enjolras/Grantaire. It's kind of strange, though and probably rather dark. But we'll see how it goes. I dunno how long it'll be but if it's short I'll post it here. If it gets broken up into chapters I'll post it on fanfiction.net or something. But maybe I'll still post it here as well.
I'll post more about it soon. I might actually finish it today.

Song Analysis

You can listen to my fanmix on 8tracks here.

So the final tracklist for my Enjolras/Grantaire mix is...
1. Made for Glory by Landon Pigg
2. Inside a Boy by My Brightest Diamond
3. Night Terror by Laura Marling
4. I Would Do Anything For You by Foster the People
5. Hounds by The Antlers
6. Too Late by M83
7. Thin Air by Aqualung
8. Parachutes by Coldplay
9. Icarus by Bastille
10. No One Would Riot For Less by Bright Eyes
11. Radioactive by Imagine Dragons

Now I'm going to talk about why I picked the songs and all that fun stuff and it's probably going to get pretty long so if you have no interest in that there is nothing else here for you.

Made for Glory - I view this mix as being, for lack of a better phrase, from Grantaire's point of view. This song I take to be him talking about how Enjolras was born to be great.

You are made for glory / And it's no wonder why you're here / For all to see / But like a thorn upon my flesh / Your beauty haunts me / I can't find relief / And it's no wonder why you're here / To torture me

Inside a Boy - There isn't anything too specific about this one it's more the whole feeling of it. The sound is soft of dreamy and ethereal but I liked the violence of the lyrics We are stars colliding / Now we crash like lightning. Theirs is something of a violent sort of love rather than an easy and soft one.

Night Terror - I chose this one almost solely for the lyrics If they want you / They're gonna have to fight me

I Would Do Anything For You - I was conflicted about this one because it's pretty upbeat and I felt it might not fit well but I chose it for the lyrics Every day is a battle I face / Strange life I live but it's what you've decided / I'll give it all into your hands / Do what you will with me

Hounds - There were a few Antlers songs I was thinking about but I eventually chose this one (I don't like having more than one song by the same artist).

They want to conquer you / Abandon you / I want to burden you / Belong to you

Too Late - Mostly I liked the sound of this one. It sounds introspective and kind of dark.

Thin Air - This one made me think of the death scene (from the movie, at least) where Enjolras falls through the window, if you take it quite literally. Tell me that you'll love me forever / Or go without another word / With our hands holding tight together / Out into the new world / And you're standing on the edge of something / Tell me I was right to care / Well you know that I'm in love with you / Stepping out into the thin air

The repetition of I believe in you was also a good factor.

Parachutes - Just a short one that's a sort of bumper, I suppose.

Icarus - I saw a quote on tumblr that I'm not sure where it originates or if the person made it up themselves but I liked it: "He is Icarus; Enjolras the sun. He will burn to be near him." I liked this quote so much I came across several songs called Icarus and this one fitting quite nicely.

Icarus is flying too close to the sun / And Icarus' life, it has only just begun / And this is how it feels to take a fall / Icarus is flying towards an early grave

For me, it fit with the quote well (which I thought was a great description of their relationship) and alluded to their deaths.

No One Would Riot For Less - I imagine this as a sort of night-before-the-barricade conversation where Grantaire yells in a passion that he loves Enjolras and they're both probably going to die tomorrow.

So love me now, Hell is coming / Yeah kiss my mouth, Hell is here / Little soldier, little insect / You know war it has no heart / It will kill you in the sunshine / Or happily in the dark

Radioactive - I really didn't want to use this song because of it being in the trailer for The Host but I eventually broke down and used it to represent the day of the barricade. It's a very revolutionary sounding song but I liked the lyrics I raise my flags, don my clothes / It's a revolution, I suppose / We're painted red to fit right in
Red really evokes the revolution for me with the flags and Enjolras' coat but I especially liked the "It's a revolution, I suppose" because it was so cynical and Grantaire to me.

So there you go. I think that's everything.
 If you read any of that I appreciate it.

Alyssa

Fanmix Artwork

I'm working on a fanmix for Enjolras and Grantaire because I love them to bits and pieces and I thought I'd show you the artwork I made. It's probably not all that great. I'm pretty good at using photoshop to change things but not make things. Anyway, here you go.

I blurred the actual songs because I'm not totally sure about decisions and order yet and I know it's also probably strange to have a poem on the cover but I liked it and thought it might be interesting. So there you go, there's that.
I should also probably mention that this is the first fanmix I've made and put serious thought into so...
I'll post the tracklist as soon as I finalize that.

thanks for letting me ramble,
Alyssa

Books and More Books

Sorry I haven't posted lately I've been doing a lot of reading so I haven't been able to do much else. I'm still reading Les Misérables and I also got a book from the library, a sequel to Les Mis, called Cosette by Laura Kalpakian. That is very long so that'll take me a little while. I also have three other books from the library (Eleanor & Park, The Love Song of Jonny Valentine and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore) and I've started reading Game of Thrones.
So I just wanted to apologize for not being here and say that the absence will probably continue for a while. But, if you just can't get enough of me (yeah I know), I'm still posting book reviews on my tumblr.
But I'll try to at least post some little things here every once in a while. I'm working on some fanmixes, as well, so maybe I'll post those.

yours,
Alyssa