Five Minutes to Midnight

ashlienl — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 01:50:23 GMT

P.S: I do miss you guys! A couple of you always remind me you miss my presence and I'm trying - especially now I have so few distractions, haha. Leave comments and I shall attempt to reply. Touchscreen phones tend to frustrate me after too long, you see.

Posted via LiveJournal app for Android.

ashlienl — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:51:52 GMT

My life in a nutshell: am engaged, practically unemployed, no money, my laptop's hard drive died, I had to put down my cat whom I've had since he was born, I've been sick for a week, my estranged great grandma died, I turn 23 in what a week, won't have seen my father for a month come midNovember, my parents are leaving Allison Dustin and I alone for a week, my parents are missing my birthday, have to miss NaNo and Dustin joined the army.

is that it? I ruining so.

Been reading a lot. finished the Percy Jackson series and fell in love.

I miss my computer.

I miss Franze.

I hate updating from my phone.

Uhhhh follow me on Twitter if you don't yet and you miss me? Ashurriii

Uhhhh the end.

Posted via LiveJournal app for Android.

Heaven Can Wait Up High in the Sky

ashlienl — Tue, 24 May 2011 00:17:12 GMT

Yesterday, after the weekend rains came, all the "woodland" creatures decided to come out and play. Keesha sat in the window and kept trying to flick her tail into my pictures. Anyway, this bunny hung out in the front yard for a good couple hours, and these birdies flocked for ages, and the chipmunk is always coming back. One of these days, I'll catch the squirrels out there. Maybe I should stick some peanuts out? The last one is just Franze, playing with Dustin. (:

Yamapi Legacy 1.5

ashlienl — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 01:04:53 GMT

Missed an update?
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4

( Earvin invites you in to Gen 1.4! No warnings! In fact, LESS than 50 images (WHAT?!)
and quite a few makeovers and toddler spams! )

Yamapi Legacy 1.4

ashlienl — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 02:27:24 GMT

Missed an update?
1.1 1.2 1.3

( WARNING: around 100 images, lots of baby terror, heathens, and dirty bottles. OH MY :O )

Yamapi Legacy 1.3

ashlienl — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 20:49:54 GMT

Missed an update?
1.1 1.2

( FOLLOW THE FAKE CUT for adultery, babies, toddlers, and more o:! )

Yamapi Legacy 1.2

ashlienl — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 06:34:32 GMT

Missed an update?
1.1

It hasn't even been a long time, but looking back at these pictures is WEIRD because I've progressed so far from here. XD I knew I should have written these up right away, so bear with me. ;A; I just want to show you all WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW but must spare you from spoilers ahoy.

In our last update, we met our gorgeous Romance Sim founder, Amaris Yamapi, who has a penchant for wooing the manly manly types. She met and connected amazingly well with a particularly green alien-type manly manly sort called Jesse and befriended the Countessa. With vampire-fying on the mind, Ama styaed out all night in hopes of a bite but nope, not even one. 8-( BUT LIFE GOES ON. Forever and ever. :D At least, that's the hopes with our dear Amaris. :D

And without further ado!

( Around 80 images behind the cut )

* Note: I have now transferred my Sim stuff to my newest Sim Journal ladyashliesims but I will continue to post updates here.
Feel free to friend/join the community!

Yamapi Legacy 1.1

ashlienl — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:05:11 GMT

Random conversation via Twitter with Ama lead to this new Legacy of mine. We were discussing The Sims, I think? And I relived the horror that was my first attempt at an Ama!Sim, whom actually looked a lot like Bella Goth, actually. o____o And I decided I wanted to make a new Ama!Sim, as a challenge to myself. And somehow, it spiraled into a new Legacy. :DDD

So I opened up Body Shop and set to work. And thus, the Yamapi Legacy came to life. I'm just doing standard Legacy rules here, with a minor addition that I've townified a few Sims, because Ama demands hotties to Woohoo with! And who am I to deny her such wishes?

This is our gorgeous founder, Amaris Yamapi. Hello, bb, you beautiful, exotic goddess you. Her nose was difficult to properly Sim, it should be noted. << We're both satisifed with how she came out, though. And isn't she delightfully lovely? *.* She's an S2 Sim with brown eyes.

She's a Romance Sim with a lifetime want to become a Rock God ~~and a wish to populate Westside with her ovaries~~. If you have red hair, high creativity points, and don't smell, she'll likely do you, but really. Manly mans of all kinds, please do apply.

Also, she is sloppy, with 2 points, outgoing, with 7 points, lazy, with 2 points, playful with 6 points, and nice with 8 points.

Like many a founder before her, she begins her life in a meager shack of meagerocity. Though possessions are limited, she is not without some ~style~ and while her walls are bare, she offers a splash of color where she can. A tiny bathroom up in the right corner, and the rest of her shack can easily be imagined as a tiny flat of sorts.

Check out the bunny bedspread! And the cupcakes!

And pink doors, too!

She begins her new life in Westside with an attempt to catch some butterfly companions. And she tried really hard, too! These epic faces she kept making are complete proof.

Unfortunately, naught was caught.

Ama: But where have the butterflies gone? ;A;

There, there, bb. At least you're gorgeous. ^^;;

But gorgeous is not enough for Ama, who dearly craved butterfly buddies.

:'[

This happens to be one of the first wants she rolled, by the way. Made sense to get her meeting some fine male specimens (hurr hurr you see what I did thurr?) then, yeah?

Rather than wait for a boring ~~ugly~~ welcome wagon, I sent Ama off to her first community lot. It beat spending the day searching for buried treasure and the paper girl never showed up with our paper on day one. <_< Therefore, it was only wise to send her off to meet some hot, manly manly types, whom to seduce with her ~~ovaries~~ sexiness.

I imagine she made these faces the time I called her up. :DDDD

Ama: Taximan! Come and get me! There could be something in it for yoooooooo~oouuu

This shot is for Ama. So she can see her bunnies. *.*

While waiting for the taxi to pick her up, she decided to hit up the fridge. Rather than, y'know, cooking anything, she decided to just stuff her face. God,I love that feature. XD

OMNOMNOM PUT IT IN HER BELLY!

I hope she found something delicious in there.

Ama: This is the face of HUNGER. DDDDD:

Once at Club LuLu, the first place she set off for was the dance floor. And she offered me a myriad of faces and poses to take pure delight from.

Ama: These are skills to be admired and desired!

This one just seemed ~picturesque~ I imagine she's basking in the glow of the lights, pretending she's a model, maybe imagining her future as a Rock Goddess or something.

And then. I spotted HIM. rosalen_knight 's Sim, Sage, now called Jesse in Westside. And, because Ama specifically stated she wanted to woohoo up a storm with Sims of all colors, most especially alien-sorts, I decided to set up a nice meeting between these two. :D

An amicable meeting leaves me with high hopes. Amaris just wants to get into bed, okay?

Ama: Green people turn me on. ;]

And. Uh. Things look to be going well? o_____O I'm gonna guess this one here is a boob man?

He can ogle her boobs all he wants, if it means he'll keep giving us "perks" like furniture discounts. Heck yes! Do want! Thank-you kindly, Green Sir.

No, really. THANK-YOU.

Things hit off really well, really quickly. Right away, Ama is charming the pants off of him, flirting up a storm, and he just falls for her wily, seductive skills. It must be the sexiness winning him over, or else her Spanish sweet talking or something.

Those nails look really vicious! o______o Also, she is a ~smooth operator~, clearly. Work that alien-dude, bb! You win him over, m'kay?

Jesse: -is won over-

Also, he has fallen under her spell. :DDD

Jesse: Daaaaaamn, Ama. You sho' is fine, bb!

And finally, she makes her ~moves~ Mack on, girl, mack on!

Simultaneous crushinatin'! Woohoo! This just gets easier and easier. :DDDD

They celebrate the new found birth of their "something or other" (because what kind of relationship could Ama really pursue? She just wants his baby. And maybe a few nights in bed. :D) they decided to dance. And look ridiculously cute while at it!

Aw yeah! Get it!

...uh. And... she... gets it? o______o

Hey. Ama, bbgurl. Whatchu doing? :|

He must've been "satisfied" by this point, because, without even a proper good-bye (perhaps he, too, is looking for a little bit of fun), Jesse up and left. :( But, that's okay. Ama doesn't NEED a man to have fun, m'kay?

Right after he left, we spotted THIS. Hellooooo insnaely good witch!

Though I have dreams of making Ama a vampire at some point in time, I can't deny her the opportunity to perhaps become a witch, or at least make friends with ~~Glenda~~ the Good Witch, now can I?

Unfortunately.... Ama may be better suited for an evil witch? :|

Ama: BITCH, PLEASE, I'm a Slytherdor, you've got nothin' on me. Please to be stopping the speaking. LALALA I CAN'T EVEN HEAR YOU!

And because Glenda the Good Witch bored her so much, she went off to jump around in the rain puddles. How delightfully childish, Ama. <3 You're too adorable for me to handle. :DDD

Splash, splash, splash! <3 WAUGH I love childish Sims *.*

After that, I decided Ama needed to go home and get some sleep. Inevitably, someone would be calling that evening to invite her on another outing to search out some hot babymakers, and I didn't want her to be an exhausted mess. Can't find hotties with rings around your eyes, after all.

:3 I thought the pjs were super adorable. :DDD

Ama had rolled the want to buy a Love Potion, y'know, to lure more hotties in, but once she greeted the Matchmaker, she found her monies could buy her naught. ;~; Who knew Love Potions were so expensive?! If only she had the prowress of the Half-Blood Prince, she could surely have brewed a love potion of the ages.

(I'm sort of surprised Snape never tried to ensnare the lovely Lily Evans with a love potion, come to think of it. Perhaps his love for her was so true he wanted only her realest feelings? But after he mucked things to hell, do you think maybe he thought CURSES I HAVE LOST MY ONLY LOVE, TIME TO BREAK OUT THE AMORTENTIA?)

Watch how she tempts poor, broke Ama with her crystal ball of man summoning abilities :(

Fortunately, it was not long after that Jesse called (!!!!!!) to invite Ama on an outing to the fine Downtown area. She obliged (duh) and made the choice to go bowling. :D After all, how better to show off to men than to show them just how well you handle balls? :DDD

Mansearching was instantly sidetracked, though, with the spotting of the Countessa!!!!!! VAMPIRE!!!!! WE NEED YOU!!!!!! :DDDDD!!!!!!!

The Countessa likes our Ama! THIS IS GOOD NEWS, KIDS. THIS IS GOOD NEWS! They spent a good while just chatting, too, which had me incredibly pleased. :D The faster I get (my first!!!!!) a vampire, the happier I will be. :D And hey, Ama is such a vixen of the night, it's only inevitable, okay? If male vampires do it for hundreds of horny females, surely sexy vampiress Ama can do it for horny Sim men everywhere? :D

I then sent Ama to talk to Jesse because he HAD invited her up.

And they made way for the photobooth. OH.

Jesse: Heeeee~eeey.

I think he's channeling the Fonz. :|

Voyeurs.

Not that I think Ama minds. Y'know. Up and losing her V-card in the photobooth. :D (Though, it was ACR autonomous, and I don't think the game registers that as losing the v-card, buuuut y'know.)

Over-energetic bartender: Yeaaaah! You got it gurl! WOOHOOO! Way to get some, uh-huh!

And how was your first ever woohoo of the game, Ama?

I think her swoon speaks for itself. :D

I then had them commemorate the moment with an AH-dorable photobooth session of photographic proportions.

How adorable is she in the upper left corner?!

Ama: Awww yeah! I'm too sexy for this booth ;]

After that, I sent Ama bowling. After all, she's at a bowling alley. It only seemed fitting.

Concentration! Bowling is srs buiznezz mkay?

LJAFKDJKFJD She's really gorgeous. *.* I love her.

MOAR BOWLING SPAM!

Another strike!!!! :D

I don't even know who she's cheering for; I just honestly thought this was too cute not to post. <.<

This is how she congratulated herself.

Okay. Alright. Get it gurl!

ARMAGOOOOOOD. Ignore the weird meshing issue ;~; JUST FOCUS ON THE ADORBS. :DDDD

As soon as she got home, this was hung upon the wall, and then to bed she went.

She actually wound up staying at the bowling alley until like, 7 a.m. the next day, talking to the Countessa and becoming friends. Thanks to the weird time issues of the game, she went back home that evening, though. @_____@ I'll never get used to that, but I'd hate to add the hack to align time spent on the community lot, because I like how I can manipulate the time that way. <.<

Once at home, a job was found. The first job to pop up? :D The Music Career! Huzzah!

And right away, a promotion! Even more huzzah!

Unfortunately, she was fired the next day due to a bad chance card <.< I even felt I shouldn't have done it, but I did. -hangs head- Alas. Two days later, she was able to get back in the music business, but until then, she was a military cadet. DDD: For the monies!

Ama: Dear Diary, I wish I had a gnome. I think they'd make a great roommate; they're not too loud, not too messy, and I don't have to feed them.

Ama: A television would be even better, though!!!! :DDDD

Hello. Please to be walking by while Ama is home to greet you, kthnkz. :D

We invited Jesse over for some more one on one time and they wound up in bed like this. Thank god for ACR; Ama gets to ho it up without me even having to control her.

She's the top. :DDDD

....see. The game lies to me. It's all WOOHOO WE JUST LOST OUR W-CARD even though they totes banged in the photobooth earlier. Ahh, well. SEXY TIME IS SEXY TIME.

Thanks to promotions and jobs, Ama was able to add a few things to the house. Look how bright and colorful everything is *.*

The next couple of days were uneventful. Fired, hired on in the military, rehired in the music industry. I sent her off to a community lot one evening in search of moar sexy mens, but unfortunately, found naught. However, Komei (<.<) had red hair, one of Ama's Turn Ons, so we flirted him up. Like Jesse, he was fighteningly easy to woo, though we couldn't get up to woohoo level before I sent her home.

The evening was, however, commemorated. :DDD LOLOL at the top left corner HOW IS SHE EVEN UPSIDE DOWN? <3 Bless.

ARMAHGOD!

ashlienl — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 03:05:39 GMT

ARMAHGOD E-MAIL FROM MICHELLE IN MY INBOX ALWAYS MEANS WRITING STUFF. EMMY AND GRAYSON WRITING YAY YAY YAY! *_______________* This just made my BORING day SO MUCH BETTER. Infinite euphoria go!

Edit
Oh my goodness. :D I can't stop grinning, I'm all kinds of giddy, haha! My night = made.

I need to do more writing, myself. I've got to do more writing. Yes.

Books I Own and Have Yet to Read...

ashlienl — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 10:04:13 GMT

The More Than Complete Hitchhikers Guide Adams, Douglas
^ The Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe
^ The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
^ Life, the Universe, and Everything
^ So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
^ Young Zaphod Plays it Safe
The Five People You Meet in Heaven Albom, Mitch
Catalyst Anderson, Lauren Halse
Burger Wuss Anderson, M.T.
On a Pale Horse* Anthony, Piers
Ogre, Ogre Anthony, Piers
The Looking Glass Wars Beddor, Frank
Eighth Grade Bites Brewer, Heather
Very LeFreak* Cohn, Rachel
Hunger Games Collins, Suzanne
Catching Fire Collins, Suzanne
Sugar and Spice* Conrad, Lauren
L.A. Candy Conrad, Lauren
Dramarama* Lockhart, E.
Crescendo* Fitzpatrick, Becca
Inkheart Funke, Cornelia
Neverwhere Gaiman, Neil
Stardust Gaiman, Neil
The Princess Bride Goldman, William
Beautiful Creatures* I will never finish this dumb book.
The Everafter* Huntley, Amy
The Magician's Nephew Lewis, C.S.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Lewis, C.S.
Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West Maguire, Greggory
Wicked Lovely Marr, Melissa
Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall Mass, Wendy
The Girl I Wanted to Be McCandless, Sarah Grace
Gone McMann, Lisa
The Host Meyer, Stephenie
The Angel Experiment Patterson, James
The Final Warning Patterson, James
Max Patterson, James
Queen of the Damned Rice, Anne
The Lightning Thief Riordan, Rick
The Titan's Curse Riordan, Rick
The Sea of Monsters Riordan, Rick
The Last of the Olympians Riordan, Rick
Intertwined Showalter, Gena
The Secret Circle: The Initian and The Captive Part I Smith, L. J.
The Secret Circle: The Captive Part II and The Power Smith, L.J.
The Forbidden Game Ombinus Smith, L.J.
^ The Hunter
^ The Chase
^ The Kill
Dark Visions Omnibus Smith, L.J.
^ The Strange Power
^ The Possessed
^ The Passion
The Last Days Westerfeld, Scott
The Book Thief Zusak, Markus

* denotes the book is in some way partially read, be it just begun, half way through, or close to finish.
To (hopefully) be updated as I go along. (And added to, as I buy books the way stereotypical women buy books and shoes.)

To come soon:
Ashlie's suggestion list of books for Regina to read. (As soon as I find where that damn list went....)

Anyway! Next up, once I finish Going Bovine, I'll be reading The Book Thief with Regina. <3

Finwick: Picspam 1

ashlienl — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 04:41:49 GMT

I'm actually terrible at ever doing Legacies not because I lose interest, but because I have no patience for taking pictures all the time. Also, the daunting task of learning to use the freestyle camera + a screenshot program + edit all the images really turned me off. However! I did recently start up a BACC challenge that I (of course) play more than take pictures of, but I DID take some pictures of my first family, the Finwicks. :D Mostly cos I'm ridiculously fond of Emmeline, in all honesty. xD

I went ahead and uploaded some of them, though! I don't think I'd actually KEEP this up nor would I make a Legacy out of it (though that's certainly how I played the first family). Regardless, maybe I'll do a Legacy and try actually keeping up? Or at least play some of my unplayed families, hmmm...

Anyway! A few pictures! :D

This is founder Emmeline Finwick, the adult-aged-up version of a Sim I made for another 'hood. I loved her so much as a teen I HAD to age her up and start off my city challenge with her. She was one of my first ventures into the world of non-normal colored Sims, and also you can see she was created before I discovered Pooklet colored eyebrows xD

Clearly, I skipped a lot of stuff. Like, y'know. The starter shack, meeting Sims, etc etc. I don't even remember where she met this fellow - Kent. I just remember latching her on to him at once. Time doesn't wait for babies, after all!

Sort of a better image of his face. You can see his hideous clothes. Those plumpy vets forever amuse me. (I should start checking in on default replacement clothes sometime. Hm.)

I like his cheesy smile. Also, I'm simply a sucker for that interaction. The Sims jumping into each others' arms is rather delightfully adorable. :3

He didn't exactly bring much money, did he? At least he had a DJ booth in his inventory, amongst a few other items, which I promptly sold. The starting family for the BACC sucks, whatwith the yet unlocked jobs. Emmeline spent a LOT of time doing nothing but painting. Of course, I'd later realize I'd shot myself in the foot, selling that booth. Could have used it in a business of some sort!

Emmeline wasted NO time getting this going. Babies to make, businesses to start, blah blah blah.

Naturally, he said yes.

...uh. No idea what this is about, actually.

They were wed pretty fast. I seriously wanted to get this all on a roll, okay? XD I think she was already pregnant by this point, actually, and I always want the marriage to happen before the baby birth cos, y'know. ~bastard baby~ or whatever.

Poor Emmeline found her hair didn't have a preg-morph. :[ This is such a cute hair, though.

Not that that was a baby bump image. Baby on the way!

I love how much pain they look like they're in, yet they remain standing! Pregnant sims baffle me, really. Either way, I love their pained-faces, as sadistic as it sounds. They're cute! All huffing and puffing.

Halfway into the birthing process, I turned to my mom and said "I'll laugh if I wind up with twins," as a complete joke.

Lola! I was absolutely SHOCKED to find her skintone, haha! I think maybe I should have been more careful with the geneticized skintones I downloaded... variety is nice but this was... well. Different. :D

Typical family sim. Drop the baby on the floor. She got her mother's eyes and her daddy's hair and some weird skintone somewhere in between.

Recall the joke about twins. :|

This is Lydia. And again, I should do something about my geneticized skintones, because Emmeline just birthed a giraffe-alien!

She also took on her mother's eyes and her father's hair color.

No pictures as babies. They're boring, they lay on the floor, yadda yadda. Also, as all standard family Sims, Emmeline was a TERRIBLE mother. The children had no nursery, lived in the living room and were NEVER satisfied.:| Kent continually rolled fears of changing diapers EVERY TIME I SENT HIM TO DO SO. Ugh. I was just so frustrated with them as babies.

...oh.

...OH. Well.

C'mon, Lydia! Make me proud!

Decapitation!

I quite like her profile. her nose is cute!

She didn't scare me nearly as much as poor Lola does. Her nose is sort of large, but here's hoping she'll grow into it!

Of course, while their baby selves were difficult, their toddler forms were TERRORS. They never had to be changed at the same time, one was constantly awake while the other wasn't. Teaching them anything was nearly pointless, because they were always too tired and too hungry to do so. Eventually, I built a nursery for them, but forgot to put a roof over their head, so they nearly froze to death. OOPS?

I'm sure I must've had a reason for this image. Maybe it was simply: AWWWW LOOK AT THAT FACE!

Lola grew up! Not as horrible as a child.

I won't lie, though. Clearly, I'm favoring Lydia. IT'S THE NOSE, I swear. She's cute. :D

I'm horrible at taking pictures, seriously. There's a lot of cute Kent/Emmeline fluff, the beginning of their future boutique, the many hours invested in spending on the sewing machine. To my GREAT luck, Kent moved in to the family with like, 7 points of Charismas or something? So I maxed him out and sent him to showbiz! : D

Seriously, though, those brats gave me SUCH hell. <.< Ugh. I was so annoyed by them, haha.

So there you have it! some Sims :O

Rant Rant Rant [V. Sims]

ashlienl — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 02:35:49 GMT

I’m not sure how I happened upon 10+ GB of custom content for The Sims. Seriously. It doesn’t sound like a lot to me, because 10 sounds like such a small number. But then I take in account the fact I used to play with only 4GB max – and most of it was stuff I seriously didn’t like/didn’t use. No idea how I got to the 10GB point. (Okay, admittedly, that’s a lie; I know very well how it happened. I began to follow more Sims Journals, fell into the trapped-love of Pooklet recolors <3, and started to scour GoS again and researched MTS.) POINT IS, I need to clean this damned folder out because TWENTY MINUTES minimum to load a game IS SO FAR FROM COOL.

On the one hand, I think – maybe I should just start all over. Clear out my downloads folder, then go through and download only the stuff I want now. Except there’s a bunch of stuff I can’t remember downloading that I DO like, and I’ve had for AGES upon AGES and I’d hate to lose that. Arrrgh, it’s annoying that I’m even allowing myself to be bothered by this. The idea of starting it all over is almost appealing – if not incredibly time consuming. Considering my latest haunts include LJ Sims journals, MTS, and GoS, it wouldn’t be TOO difficult to redownload the bulk of what I use. Might help weed out things I DON’T want anymore, especially so as Wardrobe Wrangler does NOT get along with my computer. (It’s constantly throwing out errors – I don’t know why. Ugh.)

I guess a good way to look at the matter is – if I would actually miss it, I’d know where to find it or something, right? Hmmm. Definitely contemplating this, now.

…except… if I start all over and get rid of custom skins my Sims have… what happens? DD: I’ll have to research that.

Maybe what I SHOULD do is just go into BS/CAS and make a list of everything I LIKE, that way I can regather the stuff. Is there a way to check the file name on certain items? Hmmm. I’ve got this really pretty red dress in formal wear I’d be sad to lose, otherwise I think everything else is good.

I might do this. I may just start all over download wise and redownload/install what I DO want to keep. I could just remove my downloads folder, reinstall lots and Sims I’m fond of and then go on a download spree. Again. (Though I suppose I could EASILY just yank the latest stuff out of the folder and keep that – obviously it’s stuff I like.)

BLAH BLAH SO MUCH WORK but twenty minute load times is RIIIIIDICULOUS. >: [

Day 2 [Challenge 2] Getting Into the Series

ashlienl — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:10:32 GMT

Did it take you a while to get into the series or did you immediately fall in love?

Immediate love. It was pretty much love at first page. My grandmother got the first two books for my sister and I, and I remember, at first I found the titles to be really weird and the cover looked funny. Back then, I was vociferously reading anything and everything I could get my hands on, though, so I was more than grateful for new books. My sister, younger than me, at the time expressed no interest in them. I guess she was sort of too young to be interested, anyway. I just remember reading it and at once I was hooked. It was my first real fantasy, something so different from anything else I'd read. The first chapter, the day with the Dursleys and Harry's arrival, struck me so honestly. This boy, orphaned at such a young age. I don't know. It was the premise of the story, the way it was written, and, of course, the magic. The beauty of the friendships, the magic on the pages. I was hooked from the very first page.

I was so hooked, in fact, that I read the first part of the book to my sister, because she was so certain the series sucked. So I read to her, and I did funny voices and attempted to read in a (bad) British accent and I distinctly remember giving Dudley a really, REALLY whiney voice, haha. Oh man, good times.

Day 3 [Challenge 1] Film Adaptations Made You Angry?

ashlienl — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:05:22 GMT

Are there any film adaptations that have made you angry because they left something out?

The quick and easy response to this is yes. Of course they have. I've stated before that, when I first started watching the movies, I was such a stickler for the books that I couldn't readily enjoy the movies. I was always nitpicking. And in some cases, I think I was justified - there have been some things left out of movies that were sort of important later and I knew they were shooting themselves in the feet by leaving that out. But over time, I've come to accept that the books and movies will never be perfectly mirrored, and I suppose that's okay. I love the books for everything the movies can't offer, and I love the movies for offering a visual. You have to look at them as separate things, because you will never be able to enjoy the movies if you want a direct book to movie adaptation.

That said, I think... hm. Not that it made me ANGRY but I do wish we'd gotten more of Riddle's memories in HBP. I loved that movie and I REALLY loved that book, but I wish they'd included more of his memories, because they were utterly fascinating, let alone the fact that readers could finally UNDERSTAND him. Not commiserate with him, no, but we knew where he was coming from. He was no longer a one dimensional villain. My favorite thing about villains are well-written ones, who aren't JUST mean or evil, but GREW this way because of who they were, where they came from, things that happened in their past, etc. And once we could see Riddle as a human who grew into a monster, you were able to... I suppose admire is the word I want to use, admire him. Unfortunately, we don't see enough of this in the movie. We see young Riddle, which at least gives you an idea of the fact that he was so dark even at a young age, and we saw him in the horcrux memory. But it doesn't give enough sense of who Voldemort is and how he got there.

Alas.

[11] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Wallpapers

ashlienl — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 00:20:24 GMT

I've been making a LOT of Harry Potter wallpapers lately. Okay, it's only 11, but it FEELS like a lot, y'know? Anyway, I've posted them all up in my graphics journal and they're all up on DeviantArt. Head over there, let me know what you think, feel free to use them! If you need another size, let me know and I'll make one up! Also, if you have any suggestions, do tell me. I'm thinking of trying a Bellatrix one and a Draco one, but I don't have an image in mind, just yet, haha.

Come see them here at zomgiicons

Day 1 [Challenge 2] Top 3 Characters and Why

ashlienl — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:49:34 GMT

Can I count the trio as one entity? I think I’m going to, and if that’s cheating, oh well. I’m a cheater.

o1. The Trio
Separately, I love all the characters. Hermione is brilliant, bookish, emotional, and became such a strong woman. Ron grew up jealous and shadowed and turned out to be this loyal friend, such a STRONG wizard, and found his own way to shine. And Harry, the boy at the heart of it all, lost so much and still remained such a GOOD person. Save a few moments (and face it, we all have our own moments), they were all rather selfless, strong characters, who in their own ways were fairly independent but my favorite thing about them was how effortlessly they worked together. They had fights and all outs but they always made up. They were like a family, reliable, close, and sometimes frustrating. But the BOND between them all, the love shared between them…. You know there was no way they’d ever part in the future, even had Ron and Hermione never married. There was a bond forged between them that couldn’t easily be broken. Little things occasionally came in the way, but when you’re a teenager, those little things seem so big.

AND THEY SAVED THE FREAKING WORLD. Hermione and Ron departed from Hogwarts, left their family, and stuck with Harry to help him. They sacrificed and were willing to give their own lives for their best friend. And I love them all for who they are. Hermione, for being this brilliant witch, a genius of her time, an activist, a good friend. Bossy, emotional, but such a wonderful person. Ron had to grow the most, from an immature, rather spoiled boy who suffered from overwhelming envy and was often overlooked by people in favor of his own friends. He had serious self-esteem issues to overcome. And with all Harry went through, it’s a wonder he turned out the way he did. I’m proud of them all. I wish I could say they were MY friends, y’know?

o2. Neville Longbottom
I was a fan of Neville not exactly from the start, but early on. The forgetful bumbly boy grew into someone amazing, that’s for sure. I can’t remember when I really started to like Neville, but I remember the first time my heart shattered for him. When Hermione stopped “Moody” in Defense Against Dark Arts, because the Cruciatus curse was horrifying him so much, I knew at once something was up. And my heart warmed for him. I loved watching him in OotP, as he went from this really self-conscious boy and grew into this strong, confident guy. IT WAS AN AMAZING. And I loved him, and I loved how he started up Dumbledore’s Army and how he fought alongside Harry so often. He’s a brave guy, a TALENTED guy, and he’s such a good person.

o3. Luna Lovegood
Misunderstood and in her own world, Luna is easily a favorite of many, and I understand why. She’s such an individual, so easily her own self. She knows people make fun of her, but she doesn’t show a great deal of being bothered, but at the same time, she highly values those she considers close friends. She’s so honest, so open, and has such a fantastic, open mind. Easily an opposite to Hermione’s logic, Luna believes in that which cannot be proven, including things so fantastical that even witches and wizards scoff. But for all her whimsy, she’s a strong girl, she’s certainly independent, and she expresses the same loyalty I love in all my favorite characters. Beyond that, she’s shown to be compassionate as well. Brains, bravery, loyalty, friendship, compassion, individuality. How can’t you love her?! When it boils down, Luna is sort of the epitome of who most adolescent girls wish they could: she’s herself.

Day 2 [Challenge 1]: Your Favorite Movie

ashlienl — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:33:19 GMT

Confession: For the longest time, I never had a favorite movie. I’ve always watched the movies, most on opening night, and I’ve never missed a chance to watch them, but I was always one of those people. You know the ones, those of us who were always THIS WAS WRONG, AND THAT WAS WRONG, AND HOW COULD THEY LEAVE THAT OUT AND OH MY GOD HOW COULD THEY MUCK THAT UP?! And because of that, I didn't care much for the movies. I watched them, but I didn't really... CARE for them. (And don't get me wrong, I remember watching PoA and LOVING IT because it was so much darker and much more the Hogwarts in my mind.) Somewhere around Half-Blood Prince, though, I found myself in love with a Harry Potter movie, and I also realized: the movies will NEVER live up to the books. And they can’t. Books rely on your imagination and nothing can compare with that. Not all details are going to make it – they don’t have the time, the abilities, the effort. And I’ve learned to be okay. Now, I look at a movie and look at what was left out and decide if it was a necessity or not. And because of that, Deathly Hallows part one, thus far, is my favorite.

I know things were left out, but I understand why most were. House Elves were never a large focus, Potterwatch being left out didn’t really change anything (though I wish it had been), and for what they got right, which was quite a bit, SO MUCH OF IT WAS SO ON PAR. I think the acting was, by far, most superb this time around. Emma, who had never been my Hermione, was FINALLY MY HERMIONE and Dan, who wasn’t quite the Harry of my head captured him and Rupert FINALLY got a chance to shine. He’s always been my favorite, one of the best cast in my mind, and he got to do more than just be funny or dumb; they all displayed amazing emotions, portrayed beautiful chemistry and I was just ENAMORED.

It’s got me absolutely hyped for part 2.

Harry Potter 30 Day Challenge 2

ashlienl — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 06:16:41 GMT

ANOTHER ONE! I'll catch up tomorrow. Exhausted today.

01. Top 3 favorite characters & why.
02. Did it take a while before you got into the series, or did you immediately fall in love?
03. Favorite villain & why?
04. I know you love them all, but list all of the books in order from favorite to least favorite.
05. Which one of the deaths did you have the hardest time with?
06. One of your favorite quotes.
07. Favorite movie?
08. Anything you’d change in the epilogue?
09. What would be your favorite class at Hogwarts?
10. The cloak, the wand, or the stone?
11. Is there a character you didn’t like in the books, but loved in the movies or vice-versa?
12. Least favorite character?
13. Favorite location from the movies?
14. If you could work at any place in Hogsmeade which would it be?
15. Top 3 favorite scenes from the series?
16. If you could ask your favorite character one thing, what would it be?
17. What would your Patronus be?
18. What book have you read the most?
19. If you had to date a character who would it be?
20. What would a boggart turn into in front of you?
21. Favorite magical creature?
22. Have you ever been to a midnight showing of a movie?
23. Favorite Dursley?
24. Who is your favorite professor at Hogwarts?
25. Which character do you think they did the best job casting for the movies?
26. Does it bother you that the movies differ from the books?
27. What movie have you watched the most?
28. Have you ever been to the WWoHP, if not do you plan on it?
29. What would be the first thing you’d buy at the Twins’ joke shop?
30. 5 parts of the Deathly Hallows movies (1&2) that you’re looking forward to the most?

Harry Potter Day 1 - Your Favorite Book

ashlienl — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:50:16 GMT

I really loved Deathly Hallows. My first read through, I felt the camping part took FOREVER and dragged but I think mostly it was because I was so ANXIOUS. I read the entirety of that book from the moment I got at midnight and stayed up all night reading until 9, 11? a.m. And it’s been years, until just a couple weeks ago, that I finally read it for the first time since then.

And I loved all of it. I loved the wedding, the Ministry Break-In, the camping, Ron’s fight with Harry and Hermione, his destroying of the locket and his return. I loved the scene at the Lovegoods and I loved the break-in of Gringotts. I loved the epic final battle, Harry’s trip to limbo.

I loved the battle. I LOVED it. The first time, I rushed this. I was dazed. I never took it in. This time through I was able to properly savor, to weep for the lost characters, to overwhelm with emotional joy. When the House Elves started battling? PURE FREAKING AWESOME. It was an emotional book for me to reread; there was so much that had never sunk in until I reread it and despite the fact that it meant it was over, I loved it for being the end, for everything typing up and finally making sense.

I loved that Ron and Hermione finally came together. I loved that Harry finally killed Voldemort (though I suppose Voldemort really killed himself… xD). I loved that Dumbledore explained himself, that the war was over, that in the end, all was well.

My close second, however, is Half-Blood Prince. What’s your favorite? :D

Harry Potter 30 Day Challenge

ashlienl — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:48:59 GMT

Day 1: Your fave book.
Day 2: Your fave movie.
Day 3: Is there any of the films adaptations that have made you angry because they’ve ignored important parts of the book.
Day 4: Least fave female character and why.
Day 5: Fave male character and why.
Day 6: What house would you want to be in.
Day 7: Fave female character and why.
Day 8: What do you think would be your fave lesson.
Day 9: Least fave male character.
Day 10: Horcruxes or Hallows.
Day 11: What character would you say you are most like.
Day 12: Fave ship.
Day 13: Least fave movie.
Day 14: Team Voldermort or Team harry.
Day 15: Who would be your best friends at hogwarts. (three only)
Day 16: Fave professor
Day 17: Are you excited about The Deathly Hallows movie or scared it won’t do the book justice.
Day 18: Least fave book.
Day 19: Do you prefer the books or films.
Day 20: If you had to meet one member of the cast, who would it be.
Day 21: Out of all the characters that died, if you could bring one back, who would it be.
Day 22: Harry Potter or Twilight
Day 23: Any part of the books/movies that makes you cry.
Day 24: Any particular scene you wished would have been put in the movie but it wasn’t.
Day 25: Nineteen years later. Are you happy how it turned out, or do you wish something was different, ie Neville married Luna.
Day 26: If you could be able to work one spell without a wand what would it be.
Day 27: Would you rather own The Invisibility Cloak, The Resurrection Stone or The Elder Wand.
Day 28: Do you listen to Wizard Wrock, what do you think about it.
Day 29: Did you enjoy A Very Potter Musical.
Day 30: What affect has Harry Potter made on your life and how much does it mean to you