recs and political unrest

This upcoming Sunday there's a national election here in Spain that has everyone in a frenzy, and with good reason. In a few days I'll find out whether or not I'm going to be governed by a coalition of fascists, so I'm understandably stressed xDD

I'm semi-active in the political landscape of my area (semi, because for professional reasons, it would NOT be a good idea for me to officially join a party), so I've been doing stuff these past weeks and I'll continue to do it on D Day -basically offering free car rides to the polling station. So I really, REALLY need to decompress for a few days. In case I really, REALLY can't do it on Monday...

In that vein, I thought I'd offer a few recommendations, Just Because. It might become a semi-regular thing, but for now...

-ONE SHOW: a little while ago I finished THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL. I had watched all previous four seasons last year, and although I did enjoy it, I was a pretty casual fan. But the choices they made in the final season impressed me, and were a balm after one too many disappointing journeys for female leads I've had to witness. Both Midge AND Susie were characters that resonated a lot with me, each for their own reasons, and I'm immensely happy with how the last season decided to close their stories. In hindsight, I should've had more faith: I'm one of those (inexplicably few) weirdos who LOVED the Gilmore Girls revival LOL. I think its ending AND TMMM's show that ASP knows how to stick the landing with endings I will find satisfying and, most of all, true to her characters, without concerning herself for the wrongful assumptions, misconceptions and spectations tha audience might've built in their heads along the way.

-ONE BOOK: I wanted to give a shout out to a friend's book, "WHEN THE STARS ALIGHT". The novel, the first installment in a trilogy, came out last month. If you think you'd enjoy a high fantasy book with a setting very different from the clichés of the genre, a majority female cast with weight in the narrative, heavily descriptive and immersive prose, and a gothic heroine/villain Romance (capital R) under no illusions, I'd recommend it. I posted a more detailed review of the ARC here, for anyone curious. And check out the author's page, for info on where to buy a copy (especially if you don't want to depend on amazon), other material she has like newsletters, short stories or merch, etc.

Here are a couple of pictures of my copy, because it's beautiful and I wanted to share them:

 

-ONE FILM: today I'm going to go with a very short film (only 4 minutes long, really), a revenge tale called "SNOW STEAM IRON", by Zack Snyder. I know he's a polarising director LMAO, but as a lover of Beautiful Aesthetics fuck anybody who objects to them, as if they mean a story lacks substance by default. This one doesn't IMO, despite its shortness. Warnings for violence, specifically violence against women, but it's not particularly explicit, by my standards.

-ONE ESSAY: "FAME, MALE PRIVILEGE AND A MEDIA CIRCUS - REVISITING ERROL FLYNN'S RAPE TRIAL 80 YEARS ON" by Patricia A. O'Brien. If this brings to mind recent events... well. Join me in my despair and fury about how we're definitely, definitely never getting out of the patriarchy.

Aaaaaand to not end on that depressing note. I made a new icon! It's Lisa Simpson, because I've randomly had her on the brain lately. If you're asking if I was one of those annoying little girls that seriously related to her... you're onto something LMAO. I'll be using her for more fandom-y stuff, since all my other icons minus my default are specific to an original WIP.
 

She looks so detached and unimpressed. Inspiring.