This is an unpopular opinion, I suspect, but I really really hate those posts that mock Harry for naming Albus Severus after Snape (and Dumbledore), and basically argue that Harry should have named his kid after Remus, Neville, Fred, etc. -- anyone but Snape. And yeah, I totally accept that argument if you're saying that Harry should have backed the hell off and let Ginny name one of her own children, because dude -- I feel you there.

( Cut for length...Collapse )

I prefer comments on Dreamwidth | comment(s)

Spoilers for the pilot of Agents of SHIELD under the cut.

( Review of Agents of SHIELD pilot. SPOILERS.Collapse )

Now I need to find icons...


ETA: ( Just realized something about that last scene!Collapse )

Also? I literally just got the whole hoodie thing. Oh, man. Fitting, though.

I prefer comments on Dreamwidth | comment(s)

I've started doing the 30 Days of Tamora Pierce challenge over on my Tumblr and figured I could crosspost to DW as well. For each day in August (I’ll figure something out for August 31), I'll post a bit of meta or squee about Tamora Pierce’s books, covering both the Tortall and Emelan universes.

———

Day 1: Tortall vs Emelan

Tortall

Tammy was more purposeful in fleshing out the various nations in the Emelan books than in the Tortall books, I feel—she spends a great deal of time describing the culture, foods, religions, etc., of the societies that the Circle kids encounter. For sheer world-building, Emelan is Tammy's best writing.

But I still love Tortall just a little bit more because I've lived with those characters since my teen years, and immersed myself in that world for so long that it's come to life and become an extension of my imagination the same as Narnia, the same as the Potter-verse for readers ten years younger than me.


Day 2: Favourite Female Character

Tortall: Keladry of Mindelan
Emelan: Lady Sandrilene fa Toren

Kel and Sandry are my unabashed favourites. I have very little in common with either character, but I admire their protective instincts and their sense of responsibility to those who are owed their protection. (With great power, etc.) It's true that noblesse oblige is possible only when there's an imbalance of power and, therefore, should not be valorized above true empowerment and equality. But when I read fiction set in a feudal society like Tortall or Emelan, there’s something intensely satisfying about a noble who lives out the adjective "noble" instead of the noun.


Day 3: Favourite Male Character

Lord Wyldon of Cavall

Why Wyldon instead of Raoul? Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy Raoul, but a big reason I find the Protector of the Small quartet the most interesting of all Tammy's books is that her heroine's victory isn't in defeating some mad scientist mage with delusions of grandeur--no, Kel's real victory is in winning the hearts and minds of Tortall. ( Cut for lengthCollapse )

"...Anyway, that's just how I feel about it. What do you think?"

I prefer comments on Dreamwidth | comment(s)

I've been re-reading Tamora Pierce lately and started in on Trickster's Choice this morning on my commute. The Daughter of the Lioness books easily my least favourite of the Tortall books (save for the Provost's Dog trilogy, which I haven't finished) mostly because Pierce makes a LOT of narrative choices that I find incredibly problematic. I'm not even talking about the "What These People Need is a Honky" trope that Pierce bumbled her way into with little awareness--no, I'm talking about the ( cut for possibly triggery content and spoilersCollapse )

I prefer comments on Dreamwidth | comment(s)

[I've posted this on Tumblr as well, but it got longer than I'd expected and DW/LJ is better suited for thinky posts and for meta in the comments.]


I've been reading a lot Star Trek Reboot fic lately, and inevitably I run into stories that include Starfleet but appear stuck in early 21st century North America with respect to culture, technology, and mores. I mean, I'm not saying these stories aren't fantastic in many other ways. It's very possible these authors are well-versed in canon and just didn't want to explore those elements in their stories. There's one fic in which Bones does sex work in order to pay for a flight to Iowa so he can catch the Starfleet shuttle, and I admire the author skillfully writing Bones into a corner to justify certain "anachronisms". (I think my biggest nitpick with that fic is that the johns are trolling the streets for random men, instead of hiring a sex worker with proper certification.)

But there's also a possibility that newer fans might not realize that Jim and his generation live in a post-scarcity world. ( Sure, Jim is a mess at the start of his story, and so is Bones, but none of their problems is because their *society* is a mess.Collapse )

I prefer comments on Dreamwidth | comment(s)

I watched Star Trek Into Darkness after work today. Below the cut are some brief reactions. I may try to watch it again, though I will definitely wait for a Tuesday so I can get the Tuesday discount.

( Spoilers for Star Trek Into DarknessCollapse )

I need some fic now please. Recs, anyone? Kirk/Bones, Spock/Uhura, or gen preferred!

I prefer comments on Dreamwidth | comment(s)

I just got back from watching Iron Man 3 with a friend from work. I really, really liked it! And even really loved parts of it? I burst out laughing a LOT. ( Spoiler-free reaction post to Iron Man 3 below.Collapse )

What did you guys think? I've avoided (most) spoilers until now, so I don't know what people have been thinking...

ETA: Warning for general-ish, vague-ish spoilers in the comments.

I prefer comments on Dreamwidth | comment(s)

I keep seeing Avengers fic in which people--usually Tony¹--think it's hilarious that Steve was born on July 4th. Like, these characters seem to believe it's a huge coincidence that Captain America would have the same birthday as the country America. And it just seems to me, well, wouldn't the more obvious answer be that (comics!)Steve Rogers is a patriot because he was born on July 4th? And that the Weasley twins are such big pranksters largely because they were born on April Fools'? That being born on a day dedicated to practical jokes might have encouraged and evolved their natural inclination for fun and jokes into, I dunno, a certain modus operandi and a very profitable business?

My head-canon is that you can't separate who Steve is from what day he was born. That is, the specific day he was born has informed his character, who he is, spangly outfit and all. Say you're a kid and on your birthday, every year, your mom bakes you a little cake or gives you a penny for candy AND the whole country spends the day waving flags and eating pie and setting off fireworks and talking about how this is the land of the free and whatnot. Wouldn't your little kid brain start making certain patriotic associations? And then you grow up and there's a war and maybe you join the army?

I mean, leaving aside the fact that these are fictional characters with birthdays purposefully chosen by their creators, doesn't that make a lot more sense than, whoops, big coincidence?

¹ There's one fic I particularly enjoy in which Tony refuses to believe that Steve's birthday is actually on the fourth and he keeps celebrating it on random days of the year, certain he'll eventually hit on Steve's real birthday.


ALSO! Vid rec ganked from giandujakiss!

Title: The War Was in Color
Vidder: settiai
Music: "The War Was in Color" by Carbon Leaf
Spoilers: Captain America, Avengers, Avengers deleted scenes
Summary: "Sit down, son. Let me fill you in." Or, alternatively: STEVE *REALLY* FEEEEELS!

Wow, it's like this song was composed with Steve Rogers in mind or something! settiai didn't try to do anything flashy, just carefully selected the clips that would accompany the song's lyrics in order to tell Steve's story. Very moving.

ETA: VERY VERY CAREFULLY SELECTED CLIPS. Holy crap, I just re-watched and there's SO MUCH in this vid. It's like meta in vid form. ( Cut for rambling and length.Collapse )

I prefer comments on Dreamwidth | comment(s)

...and the characters designated to be the not-so-great good guys."

I nearly posted this on tumblr, but then realised that might blow up in my face. Instead I'm just going to share my thoughts here, because even if someone decides to wank, it'll be easier to control the fallout. Of course, friendly disagreement =/= wank.

hackedmotionsensors:

I’m kinda curious about that last anon, tbh. But maybe I can explain a bit?

Lets use Tony, my favorite, as the absolute perfect example.

He is, without a doubt, a pretty terrible person. He’s a big factor in starting the Civil War, he went against the government and friends because he thought he was doing right, he’s lied to people closest to him, he’s an alcoholic, he’s arrogant and proud, he does self sacrificing shit a lot of times because he’s too proud or masochistic to ask for help.

But he’s a good guy. And he always does what he does with helping people in mind.

Steve is NOT THAT DIFFERENT. He’s ALSO a big reason there was a Civil War, he ALSO went against the government because he thought he was doing right, he has a horrible temper, he’s stubborn sometimes pointlessly so, he like a lot of the other heroes underestimate females (villains or otherwise) because they are women, he started dating someone because they looked like someone ELSE he was in love with and can we remember that they were related? ( Cut for length.Collapse )

I pretty much agree with the above. (Except for the part about Steve being a dick. He can be dick-ish, but he's not actively a dick.) I'm biased, obviously, since Tony is my favourite. But hey, Steve is my second favourite so I tend to like some balance in my appreciation for these two characters. It's true in Marvel, just like it's true in DC (which I'm more familiar with), that there are some characters who inevitably get more flack than others because Editorial seems to believe that's kind of the whole point of their characters.

( Rest of my thoughts behind the cut-tag.Collapse )

I prefer comments on Dreamwidth | comment(s)

If you're in Toronto and have some free time in the afternoons and evenings this week, may I recommend that you take a look at MAD Pride Toronto? According to their website, "Mad Pride is an arts, culture, and heritage festival created by psychiatric survivors, consumers, mad people, folks the world has labelled 'mentally ill', and those in solidarity with us."

Today was Day 1 of MAD Pride and the first event, held at Ryerson University, was a four-person panel looking into the "schizophrenia" label. Two panelists were doctors in the field, one panelist was someone recovering from schizophrenia (who had a really interesting take on whether it's possible to "get better" from schizophrenia) and the last panelist had a brother who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

I really wished the panel had gone more in depth regarding how schizophrenia is inadequate as a medical diagnosis, but they only had three hours (plus intermission) and there seemed to be a concerted effort to give as much time to the panelists with personal experiences as to the doctors with facts and figures. In any case, it was an interesting session and I'm glad I went.

The MAD Pride Parade is this Saturday! Which I don't plan to attend but, hey, if you're downtown, there's a parade. Also? The Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference is this weekend. There will be an estimated 15,000 people at the ACC. Yeaaah, I'm gonna stay home where there are no people...


Other things:

1. Stargate fandom, I have abandoned youuuuu! It's so sad, Stargate has been my primary fandom for so many years. And yet. AND YET. Maybe one day I will! At the moment I'm all ficced out.
   
   But gaffsie just posted that Sunday's character love post was Colonel Sumner, so I felt compelled to write a little comment. Oh, Sumner! I love you and Bates and all the stoic, lawful good, antagonistic, non-villain minor characters in all the fandoms! :D
   
   
2. ALL AVENGERS, ALL THE TIME. ( Blathering about pairings I've been reading.Collapse )
   
   
3. Movies: I still haven't seen Spider-Man yet, but I've now seen Snow White and the Huntsman. ( Cut for general spoilers.Collapse )
   
   OTOH, Brave. ♥ ( Cut for mild spoilers.Collapse )
   
   
4. I have been eating a lot of Yogen Früz lately. It's delicious, but quickly becoming an expensive habit!

How is everyone else doing? Anyone melted from the heat yet? *g*

I prefer comments on Dreamwidth | comment(s)