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The way my schedule worked out this week (part chance, part because I worked on Saturday and had a family outing at too-fucking-early-o'clock on Sunday), I have today off, sans a few appointments.
So anybody in the mood to gab about fandom?
Things I have been into recently:
•Community (besides the ubiquitous Jeff/Annie, my interest is piqued in Abed/Annie, Abed/Britta, and Britta/Annie).
•The Vampire Diaries. I just rewatched the pilot last night and was filled with happiness and joy. And I remembered why I had the foolish belief back then when this show started that I could ship Good Girl/Good Vampire. Oh, to be so young and foolish.
•Harry Potter. I'm currently on the downhill slope of Goblet of Fire and Hermione is maintaining a high standard of awesome. (Also, I like Krum/Hermione more and more as time goes on. He was a famous Quiddich star! Who went for the brainy girl! Who tragically paid more attention to the Boy Who Lived and had a crush on her oblivious best friend! SPEND THE SUMMER IN BULGARIA, HERMIONE!)
•Anastasia! I rewatched that movie with my mom a couple of nights ago and it was a really good childhood flashback. (Mom: "Did they just blame the Russian revolution on magic? Did Dimitri and Anya just elope with no money?" Me: "I'm so glad you waited until I was older to nitpick like this. (But you're right, of course.)"
•*points to tag list* While some things I later end up disliking end up in my tag-system, that and my icons are a good way to see what things I at one point liked enough to believe I'd be talking about them more than once.
So anybody in the mood to gab about fandom?
Things I have been into recently:
•Community (besides the ubiquitous Jeff/Annie, my interest is piqued in Abed/Annie, Abed/Britta, and Britta/Annie).
•The Vampire Diaries. I just rewatched the pilot last night and was filled with happiness and joy. And I remembered why I had the foolish belief back then when this show started that I could ship Good Girl/Good Vampire. Oh, to be so young and foolish.
•Harry Potter. I'm currently on the downhill slope of Goblet of Fire and Hermione is maintaining a high standard of awesome. (Also, I like Krum/Hermione more and more as time goes on. He was a famous Quiddich star! Who went for the brainy girl! Who tragically paid more attention to the Boy Who Lived and had a crush on her oblivious best friend! SPEND THE SUMMER IN BULGARIA, HERMIONE!)
•Anastasia! I rewatched that movie with my mom a couple of nights ago and it was a really good childhood flashback. (Mom: "Did they just blame the Russian revolution on magic? Did Dimitri and Anya just elope with no money?" Me: "I'm so glad you waited until I was older to nitpick like this. (But you're right, of course.)"
•*points to tag list* While some things I later end up disliking end up in my tag-system, that and my icons are a good way to see what things I at one point liked enough to believe I'd be talking about them more than once.
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I love that movie. I love that movie even more after Russian History 311. I love it because it shows that you can make a fairy tale out of ANYTHING.
I love that they made Nicholas out to be a wise, benevolent ruler, overthrown by the evil communists. I love that apparently the Russian royal family (save Anastasia) were apparently murdered in the palace the night of the first revolution (or were there even two revolutions in this timeline?).
I love that apparently the season changes from DARKEST WINTER to THE GLORY OF SPRING in the week it takes them to go from Moscow to Germany. I love that apparently Anastasia's hair grows from cute short pony-tail length to flowing tresses in that same week.
I love the dancing, singing bugs. And the bat. I love the bat.
It's Always Spring In Paris
Yes!
And it's not like 'disappeared princess' isn't the start of about a billion fairy tales already.
I love that apparently the season changes from DARKEST WINTER to THE GLORY OF SPRING in the week it takes them to go from Moscow to Germany. I love that apparently Anastasia's hair grows from cute short pony-tail length to flowing tresses in that same week.
I KNOW, RIGHT? In the waltz scene I was trying to fanwank her hair. I was like, 'well maybe it's wrapped in a bun with a ending ponytail?
For me, it's like 'history, smishtory. I am in it for the Han and Leia dynamic do Russia. The bit where you find out that Vlad has been keeping score never fails to make me ♥
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:( the vampire diaries pilot! but.. but.. it was so awful! i'm so glad i decided to continue the show on a whim but i cringed my way through that horrifically cheesy pilot. it. was. so. bad! i became rabid about the show later of course, heh. ^_^
I LOVED KRUM/HERMIONE SO MUCH. &hearts i wanted her to seriously be with him for a while before she hooked up with ron. wonwon got lavender, she deserved a relatiobship too!
i'm ashamed to say i never watched anastasia! not properly, anyway. i remember getting cereal box toys of the two gremlin gargoyle thingers and keeping them for ages and ages, i think that makes up for it at least a smidge.
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the vampire diaries pilot! but.. but.. it was so awful
It kind of is. I think I have a lot of affection for it because of Vicki (god I miss her) and the fact that I know how good it gets later.
i wanted her to seriously be with him for a while before she hooked up with ron.
Agreed so hard. One of the most unbelievable things in the books is how many people got married to their childhood sweethearts. It was ridiculous.
As for Anastasia... I think it would hold up to an older watcher. You have to ignore a lot of real history, but if you can do that and just look at it like a fun, action-y, banter filled rom-com, I bet you'd really enjoy it.
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vicki was fab. i gotta admit, i liked anna more, i loved the whole unrequited thing. :3 in general, the pilot gave me entirely the wrong impression of so many characters i grew to love though, like caroline. i loved that caroline was actually their friend, though, and not just some vapid bimbo device.
i could kinda fanwank that away, i mean i get why jkr did it, and book 6 and ron's and ginny's flings and that stuff was her way of getting any other potential romances they could have had out of the way so it wasn't just one person for them, but.. i guess that was one of the reasons i couldn't really get behind harry/ginny, it was too nice neat package.
i don't know much russian history, so it'd probably be fine for me. i have seen bits, but it's kinda like mulan for me where it's always on tv and i always catch certain bits. i've seen the last 10 minutes of mulan countless times, and yet the beginning not even once. i should probably remedy that.
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Reading comprehension fail!
loved that caroline was actually their friend, though, and not just some vapid bimbo device.
Agreed! I'm rewatching the series, and that's one thing I really love - how clearly they are all best friends, with all that entails.
And Mulan is also worth watching in its entirety.
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ohhh that's a really good idea to do that just before s2 starts! i mean caroline pointed out to elena and bonnie that they didn't tell her everything, and bonnie agreed, and told her and i didn't expect that at all, so hurray! i wonder if it's like that in the books... it was pretty much the only lj smith series i couldn't get into at all, i don't remember anything. in any case, LOVE. i hope caroline gets some self-esteem and gets to do a little kick-ass shit in s2, i adore her and matt, but it enrages me a little how much she has to do for the relationship and how he takes issue with stuff she does and says, when he's the one still majorly hung up on elena, and you know if elena was willing he'd go back to her in a heartbeat. eh. go caroline!
i watched anastasia with my friend a few days ago! i really gotta do mulan soon, too.
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As for Caroline and Matt - honestly, I'm not a fan of either of them, and I hate how the boys (Tyler, Matt, Jeremy) and freaking indestructible but the writers keep killing off characters that I love - Vicki, Lexie, Anna, Pearl.
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This comment is also my response to Red. :p
I like to console myself when watching her cry over Won Won in the fourth movie by imagining that her and Viktor were fooling around behind the scenes. Makes me feel better.
I agree with Red in thinking it's ridiculous how many people ended up with their school sweethearts in HP.
Re: This comment is also my response to Red. :p
yep, like i said to red, i can see why jkr did it, and how she inserted all those flings in book 6 to compensate and not have everyone just be with the one person, but yeah; one more reason the epilogue is so dissatisfying for so many.
Re: This comment is also my response to Red. :p
Re: This comment is also my response to Red. :p
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That is a fantastic idea, and if you do it, please let me know.
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(Also, 10th kingdom for the win!)
Re: This comment is also my response to Red. :p
So agreed. And I choose that line in the GoF movie about Krum and Hermione not doing that much talking to mean 'we're snogging in so many deserted corridors it's crazy.'
it probably exists somewhere too, looking at the size of hp fandom, and yet finding it, for that very reason...
If you do, I would adore links. But diving into HP fandom is scary.
Re: This comment is also my response to Red. :p
lmao, ikr. finding something well-written would be the challenge... but there are some truly astonishing writers in the fandom. mission!
Re: This comment is also my response to Red. :p
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Also, it has a really great mix of humor with the larger elements of violence and abuse. It IS graphic, so be prepared for that.
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What are your thoughts on Isabelle? I was all prepared to put her firmly in my 'Dislike!' category until right up when she was actually honest with her husband... 'Bitch With A Backstory/Regrets Who Does It To Protect Someone' I can live with- her story up until then was fairly unredeemable IMO. I'm definitely hoping they work her back in a lot in the second season.
...And I still dislike Bonnie as much as I did the first time around, check. She's just become very cold, almost 2D in being all anti-vampire and *nothing* else. Caroline has more going for her as a character in my book, even though she's so completely in the dark about everything.
Shame about Anna, though. :(
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I am pretty neutral on Isabelle, actually. I mainly like how she moved the plot forward and gave more insight into Elena's past. I don't have much affection OR dislike for her. I'll let you know if that changes in rewatch, though.
And I still dislike Bonnie as much as I did the first time around, check.
Another character I'm neutral on. I WANT to like Bonnie, because on paper she's a really cool character and I love how she's best friends with Elena and has been set up in a sympathetic yet antagonist role, but... something just doesn't grab me about her.
Shame about Anna, though. :(
Crying, crying shame.
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Ahh, I'm finally getting back into Goblet of Fire because I just finished A Game of Thrones last night at 4 am, and let me tell you, that book gave me really, really weird dreams. But ugh, that was always one of my disappointments, that Hermione and Krum didn't really reappear. I couldn't even define why I liked it so much at the time, but it was just such a, "YES!" moment when they came down to the ball together.
I guess distance would've made anything more between them kind of difficult, but... aww, okay, I guess I'll just be sad about it forever.
That all being said, it's really striking me, as I reread the HP series, how amazing the worldbuilding is. I knew, when I read them as a kid, that I absolutely loved these books. My friends and I would play games where we would pretend we were going to Hogwarts.
It's only in rereads that I'm realizing just what a perfect fantasy world it is. It's so tangible that it feels like it could be real, even all these years later. The details that she puts in about the wizarding objects, traditions, etc. just give the books so much. I mean, there's a reason a whole bunch of kids from my generation were really disappointed on their 11th birthdays, and it's not because J.K. Rowling is a spectacular, brilliant writer, it's because she knows how to build a world that makes the fantastic seem totally plausible.
Every fantasy book needs that base to stand on, or else the audience just can't believe in it. Judging by how much time I, as a 19 year old, spend going, "UGH I WANT A BROOMSTICK CAPSLOCK RAGE" when I read these books, I'd say she did a pretty good job.
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You should. I personally find it FAR superior to TB. That said, I must warn you that the opening episodes are rather rocky - at least watch episode six before deciding to give it a pass (and it only gets better from six on).
I couldn't even define why I liked it so much at the time, but it was just such a, "YES!" moment when they came down to the ball together.
It was a total YES moment. I think because it's a fantasy that is super-primal to a lot of girls - that you can be the smart, non-veela girl and the famous Quiddich player is going to pick YOU and then if you make the effort you can be just as pretty as the pretty girls.
That all being said, it's really striking me, as I reread the HP series, how amazing the worldbuilding is.
Agreed. The world-building is what Rowling really excels at and I think that's one of the reasons that it was not only so popular but had SUCH a massive fandom.
I mean, there's a reason a whole bunch of kids from my generation were really disappointed on their 11th birthdays,
Count me in.
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Duly noted!
SOMEDAY MY LETTER FROM HOGWARTS WILL COME! It just got delayed, I'm sure! I mean, not all owls are as reliable as Hedwig!
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Um, the weather change is obviously because of the thematic moving from the gloom of the past to the spring of a new day (and I love Paris in the Spring time- moments), but, well, St. Peteresburg and Paris are also in a different climate and lattitude. I've always blamed the weather change on that. :)
What do you think they did after they eloped?
As for HP... knowing you are in a re-reading gives some of our discussions about HP more context. I LOVE book four. Its such abridge in tone, I think, which structurally I've always loved. I mean, there's foreshadowing and stuff in everything but I like the symmetery provided in her series and how later books corrolate to earlier ones so well. Like Book One and Seven are very closely connected both in that so much was foreshadowed in the first book, and thematically. Harry confronts Voldemort on his own again, his parents and their deaths are revisited (well, if you count the flashback, literally revisited!), and the forest. Books two and six connect closely both in terms of Ginny (and even the theme of crushes in general though that was also in others), and more importantly in terms of Voldemort/Riddle's past becoming important again, and, of course, we find out the truth that was foreshadowed in book two when Dumbledore says a piece of Riddle's soul was stuck into Harry by accident (when he explains the parsel tongue). Books three and five also corrolate closely, what with both having major arcs about James Potter's friends, Remus and Sirius. Interestingly too, both have strong arcs involving Fudge and the government. In book three Harry is well-beloved of the ministry and sees Fudge in person whereas in book five he turns on him, and the important lesson that not everyone will believe you or work with you (a major theme and point of frustration in book five) is first learned in book three when Dumbledore basically explains that the government won't just listen to Sirius or free Buckbeak. Up till that point, Harry et al had not seen that. In Book one they are rewarded for breaking the rules, and book two they right an old wrong in proving Hagrid's innocence. I'm rambling...sorry. I just love the symmetry in all this. :)
Hermione/Krum is awesome. Though, I'm wondering, since in the book we know they keep in touch as pen-pals, if Hermione has to deal with Krum still kinda liking her. I've had those where a dude who by all objective accounts should be a great guy but just didn't do for me wanted to "stay friends," but really was just trying to keep in the game. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.....Anyway. Hermione is a catch and people should be all happy she goes to the one random dance the school puts on with them. :D
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We all know that the characters emotions change the seasons!
What do you think they did after they eloped?
Honestly, I think running a detective agency would be the best fit for them. They'd get adventure and the chance to lie to people and play roles without being criminals.
There is a lot of symmetry in the books, which I think helps keep them feeling all part of the same series even as the tone gets darker.
Though, I'm wondering, since in the book we know they keep in touch as pen-pals, if Hermione has to deal with Krum still kinda liking her. I've had those where a dude who by all objective accounts should be a great guy but just didn't do for me wanted to "stay friends," but really was just trying to keep in the game. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.....Anyway.
You know, I could easily see that happening. Where their friendship has an extra layer that Hermione has to navigate or they end up severing contact because it gets too painful. (Someone should write that fic.)
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2) Where their friendship has an extra layer that Hermione has to navigate or they end up severing contact because it gets too painful. Well, no one could ever accuse Hermione of having the emotional range of a teaspoon! :)
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And Krum/Hermione . . . no. At least, not then. Dating a guy two years older than you is a bigger deal at 15 than it is once you're past the age of majority. Not to mention, then and there she's busy working toward defeating Voldemort; best not to have her distracted too much.
If, say, Krum invited her for a visit at the end of book 7 -- when the dust is still settling and she's now permitted some time to breathe and recover from a year on the run -- she'd jump at the chance to just get away from everything. And from there, who knows?
The thing with Ron won't last. Wartime romances don't always survive peace, and school romances don't always survive graduation. Ron's got a double whammy against him.
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Dating a guy two years older than you is a bigger deal at 15 than it is once you're past the age of majority. Not to mention, then and there she's busy working toward defeating Voldemort; best not to have her distracted too much.
To be honest, I disagree. Sure, dating someone older is... something you pay attention to, but Hermione is super-mature for her age, and they clearly WERE dating, so it's not like it's unreasonable for the to CONTINUE to date (and seriously, I don't know one person who ever saved the world who wasn't distracted by romance at least a little bit while in the process of doing so).
The thing with Ron won't last. Wartime romances don't always survive peace, and school romances don't always survive graduation. Ron's got a double whammy against him.
Have you read the final book yet?
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Oh, I like that!
And regardless of wartime romances (which I buy, sometimes) and childhood romances (which I also sometimes buy), I adore Ron and Hermione's dynamic, so THEY were the pairing that I believe (and enjoy believing) got together and stuck it out.
When I'm not pining over how great Krum and Hermione would have been.
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I haven't watched enough of Community yet to really comment on it, but the episodes I've seen have been fucking brilliant. My god... the one where they were being harassed by high schoolers was so irritating but hysterical.
We could always discuss how freakin' AWESOME Pam from True Blood is. Or how I'm kinda falling out of love with the whole Eric/Sookie angle.
Or maybe we can talk about how I recently rewatched my fave Disney movie ever, Beauty and the Beast, and once again discovered that Belle whoops all Disney princess asses combined -- excluding Mulan.
Is it strange that the only two Disney princesses I really fell in love with aren't technically princesses at all? Huh.
(Anastasia was awesome, btw. I love the theme song for it. And I had a serious crush on Demetri. Even at such a tender age, I liked my men animated and with unnaturally pretty hair.)
Let's see... Leverage! Did you see the new episode for that yet? It was amusing and it's really started making me ship Elliot/Sophie, which is causing havoc with my Nate/Sophie fangirl. It's a pickle.
I think ... that's it. There might be more fannish stuff, I just can't think of any right now.
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Trufax, that is one of the worst episodes (imho). Seriously, that show is so well written.
We could always discuss how freakin' AWESOME Pam from True Blood is. Or how I'm kinda falling out of love with the whole Eric/Sookie angle.
Yeah... I was never OTP about them, and while Eric is hot... they don't really grab me, especially lately.
Is it strange that the only two Disney princesses I really fell in love with aren't technically princesses at all? Huh.
Not really. They tend to be more self-made women than the ones who are already princess are. (And let's face it, Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora are pretty damn lame. I have much affection for Jasmine, but I know she doesn't do it for you.)
(Anastasia was awesome, btw. I love the theme song for it. And I had a serious crush on Demetri. Even at such a tender age, I liked my men animated and with unnaturally pretty hair.)
God, Dimitri is SO crushworthy. He's just yummy. So, so yummy.
...
Maybe SOMEONE should write some SMUT with him and Anastasia. *pointed look*
I haven't seen the newest episode of Leverage (I'm about three behind, but that does pique my interest.)
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Even at its worst, the writing really IS clever and top notch.
"Yeah... I was never OTP about them, and while Eric is hot... they don't really grab me, especially lately."
It really wasn't my OTP either, but it was preferable than Sookie/Bill. Sookie/Eric : Naruto/Sakura as Sookie/Bill : Sasuke/Sakura to me.
But this last episode managed to kill my cockblock pairing completely -- and NOT just because he, you know, collared her like a dog in the end. At this stage in the game, I feel like the writers have pretty much killed off any chance of that couple ever working. I mean, for fuck sake. Bill nearly freakin KILLED her and she STILL doesn't mind having nasty, dirty sex with him.
I want Eric to stay single, have awesome twu fwends moments with Pam, and pwn the fuck out of Russel. I think the best part of last week's episode was what Pam said about Godric. That right there tells me that Eric is one seriously awesome maker.
"(And let's face it, Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora are pretty damn lame. I have much affection for Jasmine, but I know she doesn't do it for you.)"
Cinderella isn't as lame as the other two. I appreciate the fact that she did have hardships ... but she didn't resolve them herself in the end. She had a bunch of talking, singing critters do the work for her. Belle and Mulan both FOUGHT for what they wanted. The critters that helped them were secondary in that.
I think one of the most beautiful scenes ever was when Belle went back to Beast. She really didn't care that he was a monster, and that was especially poignant to me -- both as a kid and now.
Jasmine isn't as grating as Snow White ... but you're right. She doesn't do it for me.
HAHAHAHA! Oh, lord. Here you go, corrupting the muse....
(check back around 10 tonight. I'll more than likely have something up for that)
Leverage's recent was really cute. The two before it kind of lagged a little, which makes me sad. It's kinda funny that Leverage started stronger than Burn Notice, but now BN is starting to really, REALLY hit its stride.
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But yeah, I kind of like Eric/Sookie as the not!Bill/Sookie, but at this point I'm like, 'meh, Sookie seems to want Bill, she seems to like the way he treats her, it's her life.'
I think one of the most beautiful scenes ever was when Belle went back to Beast. She really didn't care that he was a monster, and that was especially poignant to me -- both as a kid and now.
Agreed. Plus she was smart and liked books and stood up to him.... tangentially, several fanfics I know have dealt with Belle having to kind of fall in love with Beast again, now that he's a prince.
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Really now? Fanfics for B&B? I went scouring through ff.net looking for some good ones. It was ... disappointing. Can you give links to this? I don't mind my childhood being corrupted.
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And check out the B&B fics listed here:
http://redbrunja.livejournal.com/451168.html
http://redbrunja.livejournal.com/536490.html
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*rubs belly* Those were good fics. I enjoyed them very much.
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