Winter is still coming, True Blood 501-504, a meme, other crap

[flowrs4ophelia]

I've been dealing with an annoyingly unreliable internet connection for the past few months, so not only have I been updating even less than usual but rarely ever gotten around to commenting or replying to comments when I meant to. Add to that the distraction of Tumblr and I feel like such an unintentionally cold and distant LJ friend, heh. So FINALLY a few things I've meant to update about...


→ It's probably impossible the Game of Thrones hype hasn't already reached you in some form already (especially if you follow my Tumblr which is embarrassingly full of GoT stuff lately), but to reiterate, if you haven't tried watching any of it yet you are quite the miserable sod. XD It isn't since I started BSG and it was like nothing I could have expected that I've loved a series this much after just the first episode. It's so good that at first I was resolved about waiting a few more years to read the books so I could enjoy one or two more seasons not knowing what happens, but after the way the finale ended it's pretty hard to wait to find out what's next, so I've finally caved and cracked open the first book. I think once I finish AGoT I'll have to do a top ten list of scenes that weren't included in Season 1 as well as original scenes in the show not from the text. (The latter might have some very defiant inclusions of Ros stuff because I bite my thumb at all the hate for her. :P)

I usually don't pay a lot of attention to the Emmys, but considering how unlikely it can be for a fantasy that isn't even terribly accessible like True Blood to get this kind of recognition, I'm really pleased about the nominations it got. For it to have not just slipped by unnoticed in its first season is good enough, and probably the only great injustice they could do the show this year is not give it the main title design award. Though Peter Dinklage probably has it in the bag as well since he was smart enough to submit in the supporting actor category.

Those who've watched most of the season will get why I was a bit amused when I saw it was nominated for hairstyling specifically for the episode "A Golden Crown"....Heh. Heh.


→ Just for the lulz let's talk about how ridiculous True Blood still is.

Okay, just to get this straight, let me try to count how many different plotlines this season is attempting to cover:

1 - Sookie, fairies that still want something with Sookie I guess, and the Eric/Sookie romantic development
2 - Bill and his new life as the king and his now-ended relationship w/ his great-great-great-granddaughter, lol (or were there 4 "greats" in there?)
3 - Jason turning into a werepanther yeah whaaaat
4 - Jessica and Hoyt's marriage problems
5 - Pam trying to deal with the witch coven and the witches trying to deal with Pam, with Tara's involvement now that she's understandably racist against vampires but still most likely won't get any kind of a good arc as a rape survivor
6 - Andy Bellefleur's V addiction
7 - Alcide and his new and improved but probably still fragile relationship w/ Debbie
8 - Sam and his new shapeshifter girlfriend
9 - Arlene's devil child or whatever the fuck
10 - Tommy being a little shit and his family being a bunch of shits as always

What the hell, Alan Ball...THIS IS TOO MANY THINGS, OKAY. Never mind how bad or good these stories are so far - there are at least three or four of them that are actually turning out to not be excruciatingly uninteresting, but not even taking that into account, they've got to be crazy to be trying to give almost equal screentime to most of these different characters. How is the show supposed to sustain anybody's interest in any of the many things going on when each episode barely even gives us anything but some brief developments? I'm not that hard to please when it comes to this series because I've stopped expecting any serious quality, but I've stopped looking forward to new episodes much at all because each week is just another few precious scenes of stuff I care about (which is generally just Jessica and Hoyt, Eric and Sookie, and whatever we get of Alcide or Pam) among a half hour of other scenes I almost want to just fast forward through.

I'm actually not minding a lot of the scenes with Bill so far as much as everyone else. I love his relationship with Jessica and wish that could actually be more of a point of character development for him, but Alan Ball seems stuck on this idea that vampires can only have meaningful growth as characters through becoming more human-like and falling in love with humans, while becoming more comfortable with his vampire nature has to be a regression and mean he's becoming corrupt. Meanwhile what Sookie has really needed since the beginning of the show is not to stay in touch with her human side and what a nice girl she is but discover and understand the part of her that's not human, which is what Eric is mostly attracted to, yet that's not what we're seeing with sweet and helpless amnesia!Eric. It's been pretty cute and hilarious so far and I'm sure I'll keep enjoying it while it lasts, but this just isn't the Eric I've shipped with Sookie since Season 2. I just hope Eric/Sookie is eventually going to have a more interesting angle than him just turning into an alternate version of Bill.

But anyway, this happened in the last episode...



and this...



so all is generally forgiven for now. (God whatever kind of wolves they use on this show are so pretty. I WANT ONE.)


→ I'm having way too much fun jumping on the "writing bits of Harry Potter personal canon" bandwagon on Tumblr, and it's also making me realize just how long ago it was that I first got into the books. I feel like I used to have such a detailed and clear idea in my head of what some characters like Tonks and Sirius are really like to me and it's gotten a bit vague now that I haven't written any HP fanfiction or even had plot bunnies in my head for a long time.

I'm also looking for just about any kind of recs of HP fics because I feel like finding some decent classics to read and literally don't even know where to start because I never happened to read as much as I wrote in this fandom during the golden age. I made that post and then realized you can't even post URLs in replies or asks on Tumblr (ugh Tumblr you are kind of useless for some things), but if anyone has bookmarks or rec lists they want to direct me to I'd be happy. :)


→ FIRST SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS TRAILER HEEEEEE

→ And a meme...

Comment with "Come at me, bro"
* I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can get to know you better
* Update your journal with the answers to the questions
* Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions

jolinar_rosha asked me...
1. Out of all your uni subjects, which one is your absolute favourite?
I'm not at college/university anymore but one of my favorite classes I ever took was Anti-Hero Lit.
2. If you could travel into any of the worlds of your fandoms, which one would it be and why?
Middle Earth, but only if I could stay and live there. I've always wished I could live in the Shire in a cozy little hobbit hole with a pretty little garden. Seriously, if I'm ever absurdly rich, I will have myself a hobbit hole built somewhere in the countryside in Europe.
3. Do you cook? If yes, what's your favourite dish to cook?
Sort of? Haha. I'd like to learn how to cook a lot of new things but it's something I rarely take the time for. Home-made macaroni and cheese would be my favorite thing I can make now, LOL.
4. If you were a ridiculously-rich Hollywood producer, and could make *any* book into a film/series, which one would you choose?
I think it's time a big-budget franchise of Animorphs was made because the TV show was fail, hehe. MY GENERATION REMEMBERS.
5. If we lived in the middle ages, and assuming that gender/social status was of no consequence, what profession would you choose for yourself?
Man, this is the best question ever. XD Something that would let me ride a horse all day, like a messenger.

Comments

[the-angry-pixie.livejournal.com]

its quite possible that i will reply to this post twice. i'm skipping over the bit about True Blood because i havent watched the most recent episode. so i might come back and comment about that later.

but i really wanna comment and say OF COURSE I LOVE GAME OF THRONES!!! it is totes amazing. how did you find reading the book? i'm tentative about reading it cause i've heard that its a very "involved" read - and i know my limitations, i dont tend to be able to get through books that are really.... dense. does that make sense?

anyway yeah, i really love the tv series, and my sister tells me that the adaption from the books was done pretty well. i think my favourite character is either Arya or Jon (or Ned).

Also that meme is full of oisome questions. well done to your friend for coming up with them for you.

[flowrs4ophelia.livejournal.com]

The books are really enjoyable but yeah, it's definitely going to take commitment for me to get through all of them. They're not hard to get into because the writing style isn't super-sophisticated, it's actually pretty easy to read. It's just a lot of material, with a lot of names to remember after a while and everything (watching the show first and having faces to put to the names so far has definitely helped). I've heard that the second and third ones are easier to speed right through because they're more action-packed, but right now I'm about halfway through the first one and I feel kind of like it'll never be over, LOL.

[the-angry-pixie.livejournal.com]

i think for now i am content to watch the series, (cause ever there i got confused with all the names - though i like that, how they didn't coddle the audience and give every character a clear introduction). maybe i'll get to the books eventually. i'm sure they are great. anyway when are we to expect a new season? next year?

and i just watched True Blood. hahahhahahaha. i agree with all of your points. i have been saying it since last season. TOO MANY PLOTLINES BITCHEZ!!! i feel sorry for the hardcore fans who are really not getting a whole lot of development each week. but like you i'm a casual watcher and therefore just enjoy giggling at the many flaws it has whilst admiring Alcide's body the view.

[jolinar-rosha.livejournal.com]

heeheehee. First of all, let me happily bask in your Game of Thrones love. Because I've been reading the books for years now, and I'm so ridiculously excited that people love the series (I practically did barrel rolls when I found out that not only were they making one, but that Sean Bean would be Eddard Stark)! I loved everything about the series, I think it's as faithful a reproduction of the book as a TV series is possible to get (some lines were lifted whole out of it, even). And I absolutely *love* the title design too, such a great idea, to show each place every time!

(people hate Ros? Why do people hate Ros?)

Skipped all the True Blood commentary, though, because I'm trying to let the season end - or come near the end - before I start watching it ('cause otherwise I'd go insane waIting for each episode. It was bad enough with Game of Thrones, and I knew what was going to happen too!)

aaand, meme: 2) hey, that's a cool idea actually. A hobbit-hole would be awesome - and it'd be cool in summer too. :)
5) oooh messenger. Nice. Probably dangerous, what with the highwaymen and all, but nice!

[flowrs4ophelia.livejournal.com]

people hate Ros? Why do people hate Ros?
IDK, the idea I'm getting is that people are just really frustrated about all the screentime "wasted" on her instead of used for other characters that the writers kind of neglected who are actually in the book. Which I don't even understand because pretty much all the scenes involving her are clearly just for the purpose of giving a little more insight into characters like Theon and Littlefinger who don't get that kind of development so early on in the books but are important. The way people complain about her in ohnotheydidnt you'd think Ros had her own original storyline that's taking away so much attention from the canon characters, lol.

[jolinar-rosha.livejournal.com]

really? But, like you said, they weren't her scenes - they were actually Theon and Littlefinger scenes! And the one with the Maester in the end, that was his scene too. That's so strange, that people would protest about that.

[mutantjules.livejournal.com]

YOUR GAME OF THRONES LOVE MAKES ME HAPPY

also, remind me and I shall come back later with HP recs. :D any pairings or themes you're particularly fond of?

[flowrs4ophelia.livejournal.com]

Hmmm well, Lupin is my favorite and pretty much my fandom bicycle so any good fic about him or shipping him with anyone would probably interest me. I've always wanted to read more Remus/Sirius but never found a good place to start. But I'll try anything very well written, really.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Hello there -- I was just stopping by and enjoying your Harry Potter summertime posts, and I thought I might leave a few fic recs for you, even though you are probably no longer in the mood for them :) But eventually you'll probably be in the mood again, right?

The Water Horse (http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=1951&chapno=1) by Igenlode Wordsmith. Medium-length fic. Professors Snape and McGonnagal attempt to create an Unforgivable antidote, and in the process they unleash a monster. This is a clever horror story with wonderful characterization and suspenseful action.

Platform i (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3848700/1/Platform_i) by shewhoguards. The first time Remus Lupin goes to Kings Cross, he winds up at Platform EightandOneQuarter by mistake. Oneshot. A light, hopeful-turned-hopeless look at Remus, imaginary numbers, and the growing realities of prejudice.

12 Small Steps Against Inertia (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3705304/1/12_Small_Steps_Against_Inertia) by The Hart and Hound. It will put your heart out like an only eye (unrequited Snape/Lily). One shot. Gorgeous and complicated, with a clear-eyed view of Snape.

The Red and the Black (The Neverland Remix) (http://remix-redux.livejournal.com/25363.html) by daphnaea. Sirius is reading The Communist Manifesto. Somehow, Remus knows, this will end in disaster. Longish fic. Hilarious and sometimes sad and painfully well-characterized.

Learn (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2211492/1/Learn) by Alphard. Remus finds himself with three Animagi on his hands, and then faces an even stranger discovery: that James and Sirius and Peter have, just perhaps, figured out how to think. One shot. I enjoy this author's stories in general.

A spirit of brotherhood (commentary) (http://dvd-commentary.livejournal.com/70637.html). Longish fic. This one is a stretch, but here's the thing: the website that used to house the fic is gone, but you can still read the fic in its entirety through this LJ 'commentary' on it. This may be too annoying/distracting for you, but it's quite a unique and well-written look at Snape, Lupin, and Black having to bear with each other for the sake of the Order.

Anyhow, those are a few fics off the top of my head that I think highly of. Hope you may enjoy some of them :)

[flowrs4ophelia.livejournal.com]

Oh, thanks for these! :D