an idea occupies you like an army occupies a city

helsinki international film festival / rakkautta & anarkiaa, 2012.

2012-09-27T08:26:16Z

돼지의 왕 / King of Pigs, South Korea.

An animated film about two bullied friends who reunite to reminisce a mutual friend who stood up to the systemic bullying they all endured at middle school. This really cut deep into all kinds of societal problems and the issues created by social hierarchies and economic hierarchies in modern South Korea. It was an absolutely brutal watch, and the animation is not afraid to look ugly when the situation demands it. I'd recommend it, but I doubt it's rewatch material. The ending left both me and my friend silent as stone when we walked out of the theater; there are no easy answers, and all of the characters are as damaged as the next.

Magi i luften / Love is in the air, Denmark.

Shortly after King of Pigs, I went to see this teenage musical from Denmark about four youngsters and their love trials and tribulations that takes place during one night of partying. The whole film is bathed in surreal disco lights, reds and pinks and purples backlighting every scene, which gives it a very psychedelic feel, almost. As I commented on Facebook: "It's like if you took four of the most boring Glee kids and made them do party drugs in Denmark." That's essentially the film's biggest problem: the characters are boring. Lina wants to be a popstar, Daniel wants to have sex with Lina (and like annoying teenagers often do, he confuses this feeling with love), Stefan acts tough to keep himself in the closet and Therese just wants to lose her virginity. Stefan's coming-out brings some amusing moments, but otherwise these are just damn boring characters stuck in a weird film. And the songs most often feel out of place and even more bizarre.

Keep the Lights On, USA.

A relationship drama between two men that initially meet over a phone hook-up line. This was another dud for me, despite being a good film in terms of technical aspects - the cast is good, the cinematography and the way it's shot is just beautiful, and for some part, I was genuinely invested in the story. But in a way that's perhaps realistic, the story just meanders and while there are some powerful scenes here and there, it ends up being pretty dull. I suppose in the greater scheme of things, this is a pretty good gay-themed film in the sense that unlike so many others, it's not strictly speaking a love story, or a coming-out story. I just found it frustrating as I'd hoped it was better (based on what I'd read) than it actually ended up being.

Dicke Mädchen / Heavy Girls, Germany.

A middle-aged man's mother suffers from dementia and is visited daily by a social worker while the son goes to his job at the bank. This 90-minute film was filmed on digibeta, and the shoe-string budget film was mostly improvised based on two pages of script. Considering this production history, it makes sense for Heavy Girls to be as strange as it is, but also as poignant and heart-warming as it ends up being. Essentially it's a love story between the two men (the social worker and the son), and the story gets peeled like an onion, with a new layer of funny, and goofy, and tragic, and sweet. It's a strange little film, and therefore I can't quite decide how I feel about it; there are things I love about it, and things I'm not sure what to even think of. But if you can see it, I'd recommend it, for sure.

The Imposter, USA.

A documentary about a French man who tricked the authorities in Spain into believing he was a missing kid from Texas, which began a "rescue mission" that ended with him in a foreign country, in a strange family that didn't suspect him in the least. This was probably the best film I saw at the festival. I'd heard about the French imposter previously and read an article on him, but was still surprised by the film - the interviews of everybody involved shows cleverly how other people, too, lie and trick to impose their own agenda on the situation. I won't spoil anything but the story only gets stranger as the film goes along, and in the end, you wonder who's the one hiding the most - or whether you just got tricked by the man at the center of the film. It's a really interesting film and definitely worth catching, if you can.

tl;dr I made some bad picks but none of the films strictly speaking sucks, so not a total dud of a festival experience. I blame their Bollywood pick sucking so bad I didn't go see it (it was Ishaqzaade, by the way) and the Ace Attorney film which I REALLY wanted to see only airing on days I couldn't make it to Helsinki.

what do we want? more jane austen adaptations without monsters!

2012-08-05T13:03:15Z

So, calixa threw out a casual rec for this internet show/scripted vlog/genre-defying awesomeness and I gobbled it up in one night and have been obsessing ever since.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is an adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, modernized, Americanized and in form of a vlog. And it's utterly delightful if you're a fan of the story. It's just well-acted, well-written and highly humorous, and I am in love with so many of the choices the head writer, Bernie Su, has made in this series. It's very loyal, even though it modernises the whole story wonderfully, and in a sense the slowness in pace comes from that loyalty. A lot of the joy of watching this comes from the clever way they are constantly tweaking little things to suit the 2012 world the characters live in, and also anticipating when knowing the book and its events.

Source.

And it's also just so damned cute! Look at Jane here! Too cute.

Some of the changes are just too delicious. First of all, I find Lydia and Charlotte more fleshed out and interesting than in the book, and I really want to see how their storylines end - even with the changes, though, they still feel like essentially the same characters, serving the same purposes in the story as in the original. Secondly, the cast is not all-white, which is a small thing, but always refreshing. And since, in the modern world, marriages aren't exactly a financial arrangement rather than a romantic one, the way they're written Mrs Bennet and her marriage-focusedness is actually pretty understandable, though totally over the top.

Anyway, check the episodes out! They're short so you can easily catch up within an evening and it really is some of the best web video I've ever followed (Dorm Life I miss you).

aw i'm late forgive me.

2011-11-22T10:34:16Z

Hi!

Um. I've done Yuletide before, used to do it every year from like 2005 onwards but then didn't last year and only decided to jump back on this bandwagon last Friday, hence a little weirdness with the prompts.

Sorry this letter is late: I was agonizing over writing it since everybody else seems to have made such amazing letters, full of graphics and resources and all the rest of it. This won't be that kind of letter but more like the letters of yore when it was all simple and stuff.

Anyway!

Party Down

Like I said in my details, I kind of wanted to request Kyle/Roman because that's what my slasher brain picked up the most on that show, their bickering and antagonism that grew into grudging friendship/"bromance" if you wish to use that word. But I can't obligate you to do that since Roman wasn't in the list of characters! So other things I'd also love are just Kyle being Kyle (one of my favourites on the show is that Steve Guttenberg episode where he, for once, doesn't get what he'd like), or Kyle seeking guidance in Constance (their friendship is too awesome), or just gen fic of them catering an event where everything, as usual, goes from bad to worse. I ship anything that's canon in this show, and am open to other pairings as well if written convincingly enough. But I guess when in doubt, go gen.

I've seen all of the show so feel free to set it post-canon or during either of the seasons. It would make my world if some of them would actually 'make it', as unlikely as that seems, like Kyle being cast in Roman's hard sci-fi film, or Casey getting her own network, or Henry actually going somewhere with his acting career.. Happy endings are awesome, aren't they? Though I also like the realism that the show has, that it's not all happy endings.

If you didn't get matched based on this fandom: it's a cancelled US comedy show that's underrated and awesome, and stars a bunch of really funny people. It's 20 episodes in total so a reasonably short watch, if you're a US person yourself (I'm not) I'm pretty sure you could find it on Hulu or Netflix Instant or something like that. It starts out pretty 'meh' in my books but by episode four or five I realised I loved it.

The Inbetweeners

I've written one of the few fics out there for this and when a person on the flist mentioned this in the fandomy context I suddenly thought there needs to be more fic of this and so when I hit up the sign up form, I knew this had to be among my requests. If you're that flist person, what an awkward coincidence, hi!

Anyway, again my optional details pretty much spell it out: I'd either love slash or fic centered on the girls, something from their point of view (because teenage awkwardness is not a phenomenon just boys experience). Of course the problem with the latter is that the canon doesn't give you much to work with. But whichever way you choose to take it, I'd basically just love it to be in tune of the show's humour. I basically just love the insults and the ridiculously teenagery things that sometimes surface (like how poor Jay gets a personality transplant every time his dad is in the room, or how Simon throws a fit when his parents are all-in-all being quite reasonable, or Will being exasperated at his mum's mummying). It's just funny on so many levels, I guess that's what makes it a great show.

If you want to take it to a totally different direction, something about Will's poshness in comparison to the other boys' backgrounds would be nice. I've been brought up on British comedies but certain cultural things, like the strong emphasis on class, still somewhat evade my full understanding, so anything to do with that would be highly interesting, especially if you're British yourself and understand that sort of world better than I do.

Or you could write anything based on the film. I haven't seen it but I doubt I'll dislike it, everybody I know who loves the show said it's really good.

If you didn't get matched based on this fandom: it's a British comedy series about four teenage boys and their deep, metaphysical, cringeworthy but hilarious awkwardness. There's also a film out which I've yet to see but probably will get my hands on the DVD by 25th of next month.

Two Guys A Girl and A Pizza Place or Two Guys and a Girl

I kind of just saw the fandom on the list of nominations and jumped on it because Irene/Berg is one of the best het OTPs and just adorable and I want fic of them. I love how they hid their weird little thing and how it went from just sex to something more and the height difference and I kind of sound like the most vapid shipper, I know, I know. I used to watch this show and dig it but not really even watch regularly and then this pairing happened, and I couldn't miss an episode (and since the time slot on Finnish television was ridiculously late, it was a commitment to stay up late). I liked Irene as a comedic character before that, even though she was ridiculously over-the-top, but the last two seasons just sort of defined this show for me, since everything I'd shipped (Ashley/Pete in their hateful glory) had happened or was happening (Johnny/Sharon was too cute!) and then Irene/Berg, which just totally caught me by surprise, happened.

Of course, in the days before DVR and DVD's this would happen - that you'd only remember parts of a long-running show because those parts interested you the most so you only really followed the show during that. I realise this might not be the case for you, dearest writer! I can't assume you like the same things as me. So of course I'd also just be pleased with cracky gen of Irene, I don't know, trying to marry one of her cats to Berg, be the maid of honor and then get off with Pete, who'd be the best man (would she? I guess she would..) or anything of that sort. Like I said, Irene is over-the-top so most bizarre scenarios can be plausible in her head.

Oh and if you do write them as a pairing, I'd be up for anything from fluffiness to porn, just so you know.

It's a bummer and quite puzzling that this show isn't out on DVD for you to rewatch but I think there are ways and means of procuring it otherwise, I think I remember rewatching my favourite episodes on Youtube some years ago..

If you didn't get matched based on this: it's a four-season long American sitcom, with Ryan Reynolds and Nathan Fillion among its more known cast members. It's surprisingly enough not out on DVD, even though it's fairly known and stuff! My request is for a pairing that only got together in the last season of the show.

--

I'm really bad at saying what I like in general since they don't tend to apply to what I requested (like angsty pairings doesn't describe anything I asked for). But I guess specifically in light of all of these, I like crack and witty bantery dialogue, and cuteness and sexuality crises and best friends and bickering.

There. But I am pretty easy to please and I am open to you taking the fic where your inspiration takes you because that tends to serve the fic in general.

Again, sorry for getting this so late!

friendscut.

2011-10-29T11:23:45Z

I basically took off accounts that were

a) dead for years

b) people who barely posted

c) people who I barely knew even though we'd had each other friended for aeons

d) ..and in return, people who didn't seem to read my journal much, either.

So if I've got used to seeing you around my flist, even if we've not made a deep ~personal~ connection, don't worry, you're probably not defriended.

Feel free to defriend me in return.

fic: cort & fatboy show, misc. insanity, pg-13.

2011-09-25T13:35:34Z

So I wrote this in June and it was like, "Take Cort & Fatboy's most bizarre flights of fancy, add fanfic clichés, go!". With bonus casual violence and unauthorized use of The Sabertooth Vampire. Since it's based on the June shows and everything up to that, there's still Ryan & Courtenay on Wednesdays.

cort and fatboy and the tragedy of the self-perpetuating fanfic
cort & fatboy + guests, no actual sex but plenty of stabbing, the intellectual properties within this wtfery aren't mine. no pugs were harmed in the writing process of this fic. lots of words.

Chapter 1: The Aliens Made them Do It

It was Monday morning and Cort and Fatboy arrived to the Cascadia.fm studios in good spirits, only to find that the internet radio station had been invaded by aliens.

“Oh noes!” Fatboy exclaimed.

“Shut up!” the alien ordered. “Now, you must make out with the tall hairy man or we will destroy this planet.”

“The whole planet?” Cort asked.

“Yes.”

“As in, everything?”

“Yes.”

Cort shrugged. “Well, it was bound to happen one day. Nice knowing you, Fats.”

The alien looked puzzled. “So you won’t make out?”

“We don’t really want to,” Fatboy said.

The alien turned to the other alien, busy listening to old episodes of Suck It at the computer.

“What are you whispering about?” Fatboy asked.

“Can we start doing our show now?” Cort asked.

“The whole ‘we’ll destroy the planet’ thing usually works in these things,” the alien muttered to itself. “Oh well. Time to get more specific. We’ll destroy Fatboy’s laser disc collection and all the beer in all the world, unless you two make out like two establishedly heterosexual men should in ridiculous fanfiction scenarios such as this one. Now get on with it.”

Fatboy cringed. “But my laserdiscs...”

Cort sighed. “Does it count as making out if he runs into this knife I have?”

“Not unless you make out after he runs into the knife,” the alien replied.

Cort nodded solemnly. “Well, Fats, you know what you have to do.”

“Will you stop me from bleeding once we’re done?” Fatboy asked.

“I can punch the wound, see if that’ll help,” Cort said.

And so Fatboy ran into Cort’s knife and they made out. Aside from the puncture wound, it was okay.

“Meh,” the aliens said in unison and got on their space ship and flew away to a galaxy without George Lucas.

The door soon opened and a happy-looking Aaron Duran appeared. “Hey guys, what did I miss?”

Cort was cursing at his computer and Fatboy was bleeding profusely. In spirit of solidarity, Aaron wrapped a copy of ASBAR against the wound, and Fatboy was soon healed by the power of Goddamn Batman.

And so they learned that there was indeed a use for Frank Miller. To find out more, visit http://tfaw.com.

Chapter 2: Doppelgänger is a Very German Word

On Tuesday Cort and Fatboy were nice and early at the studios to make up for the Monday show being consisting of Fatboy insisting people “SWEAR TO” him and then whining about how he didn’t want to get stabbed again, while Cort looked on gleefully and Aaron conceptualised a brilliant new comic he was working on in between preventing kids from rubbing the Princess Leia statue’s crotch.

David Walker sauntered in with his usual style and grace, and pretty soon, another Fatboy followed him.

This caused some confusion.

“Why are there two of you?” Cort demanded to know.

“Have you seen the latest Doctor Who episodes?” Fatboy asked.

“Oh, that would make sense!” the second Fatboy exclaimed.

“Now there are two of them!” the other Fatboy said gleefully.

“Well, more for me to stab,” Cort commented with a shrug. “Dave, what’s up with you?”

“Not to sound like Byron,” David Walker began, “but what is with the simmering sexual tension between you three?”

“We had to make out to stop an alien invasion,” Cort said, and looked horrified for a moment. “Why did I say that?”

“Better yet,” one of the Fatboys commented, “why are you drinking Truth Serum?”

“Fuck!” Cort hissed. “This is the worst new VISO flavor yet!”

“Guys,” David said, “I’ve been cast as the voice of Sharktopus.”

They celebrated the news with good beer and casual misanthropy.

Chapter 3: Tech News For All Genders!

When Cort and Fatboy came in to do their show on Wednesday, they were less surprised by the sight of Courteney Hameister making out with Ryan Fleming of Digital Trends and more surprised by the fact there were no aliens to initiate this encounter.

“Hey guys,” Ryan said, “I’ve been transformed by the love of an incredible woman, because that’s not a cliché or anything.”

“All he wants to talk about now is the emotional integrity of the Final Fantasy franchise,” Courtenay said. “It’s so great you guys.”

“Whenever I get drunk, I turn into Steve,” Ryan explained further. “And Steve, it turns out, is a great poet of the erotic, vagina-worship variety.”

“It’s adorable,” Courtenay said. “But we should go do a picnic now. I’m pretty busy and important.”

“You’re beyond pretty,” Ryan said with hearts in his eyes.

“But what about Tech News?” Fatboy asked. “What about Foxconn atrocities, PS network leaks, Wii-u?”

“Would you kindly get a life?” Ryan asked.

Fatboy frowned. To get a life, he went to http://digitaltrends.com.

Chapter 4: Sex Pollen

When they came in to do the Thursday show, Fatboy sneezed.

“Gesundheit,” Cort said but Fatboy successfully resisted his German custom of defecating on Fatboy immediately after saying ‘Gesundheit’.

Byron Beck had not showed up as he had important things to get to, like seeing Daniel Baldwin launch his new line of edible underwear at a great new sushi rollercoaster restaurant in downtown Portland. Instead they got Big Jim, high off the success of his £2 billion advertisement deal with Pearwasp, the British equivalent of Applebee’s.

“I’d love to chat to you longer,” Big Jim said, “but I have people to entertain and money to roll around in.”

He left, and afterwards, Cort sneezed.

“Bless you,” Fatboy said. “In a totally religiously non-committal way.”

But as it happened, what had caused them to sneeze was the incredibly potent sex pollen in the air, which caused them to do many a depraved act, after which they felt incredibly sated and yet distinctly uncomfortable.

“What the fuck,” Fatboy said. “Hey, were you even naked for all that?”

“Of course,” Cort replied. “I removed three whole layers of hair for you!”

“It’s weird,” Fatboy said. “I don’t feel like we had any sex at all.”

And after meticulous, Sherlock Holmes-style deduction, they concluded that in their sex pollen craze, Cort had actually just humped Fatboy’s kangol hat and sweater that lay on the floor.

“In my defense, it looked just like you,” Cort said.

“We should never talk about this,” Fatboy replied.

‘Racquel Welsh’s lunchmeats’ on the textbox commented, “worst byron show, ever.”

Chapter 5: Mystery of the Buried Identities

On Friday, Cort was already at the studio when Fatboy arrived.

“Finally!” Cort said when Fatboy came in. “I’m your girlfriend in Cort’s body!”

“Wait, what,” Fatboy said. “How is that even possible?”

“This is fanfiction, stupid,” Cort replied. “Now you must come closer because I’m scared in this sasquatch body and want a hug.”

“Oh, cutie,” Fatboy said, rushing to embrace his beloved, trapped in Cort’s monstrous body.

“Haha, gotcha,” Cort said and stabbed Fatboy just as Mike Russell came in.

“Hey guys, look what I brought!” Mike said and what followed after him was a real life Sabertooth Vampire.

“Grobble grobble,” came the sound as the Sabertooth Vampire moved, careful not to hit his teeth and came up to the chair next to the fourth microphone.

“Robert promised him his own radio show!” Mike said, excited. “Too bad he doesn’t really speak. But at least he’ll always be here on time.”

The Sabertooth Vampire had propped itself on its teeth on the desk and it was looking dissatisfied with its choices in life all of the sudden.

“Made for late night, this guy, am I right?” Mike said.

Fatboy was too busy bleeding to respond.

“Mike, what’s up with movies?” Cort asked, settling behind the microphone while Sabertooth Vampire looked thirstily at Fatboy.

“Well, me and Sabertooth Vampire went to see Stick It 2 Vampires last night, and I have to say, it got everything right that I think Twilight got wrong,” Mike began. “But what I’d really like to talk about is the hiphop remix of the 1920’s Metropolis that’s playing at the Hollywood Theater next Tuesday.”

“That’s great,” Cort said. “Fatboy, would you mind providing your lifeblood to the Sabertooth Vampire?”

And so the week ended with Fatboy being fed on by a fictional vampire in a silent comic strip.

And Byron Beck never find out any of this because he doesn’t actually listen to the show.

The End

fic: ek hasina thi/being cyrus, pg-13.

2011-09-12T13:23:15Z

This is a Bollywood film crossover fic I've been working on for a long time, ever since I got the idea in like 2008 or something. I finally found it on my hard drive and decided to finish it, because while it's not my most amazing work, I really enjoyed the idea and even enjoyed the execution of it.

corpse of our former self
ek hasina thi/being cyrus, cyrus/sarika, pg-13, 1,700 words. all characters belong to their original creators. this takes place after both films, so spoils both.

How broken does a person have to get in order to be fixed? I thought about this and various other things before I met her for the first time. It was quite an ordinary Delhi afternoon, hot and air filled with all kinds of particles, dust and pollution. Wasn't that how all remarkable encounters happen? On ordinary days, in every day places. Regardless, this was how I met Sarika and how she met me.

*

I never really slept like other people slept, rested and content, so that morning I needed to be woken up, shaken awake by something outside my own existence.

“One coffee, please,” I told the waitress, her big eyes meeting mine. She looked shocked and answered me quickly and coldly in Hindi.

“I'm sorry, my Hindi's a bit weak..” This wasn't exactly true, I spoke it semi-fluently but had never had any interest in learning the language that I didn't learn from smiling lips.

In orphanages you always hear the curses first, the Uttar Pradesh or the Maharasthra accent spitting out venomous things at you for being too loud, too unruly. I liked to think it wasn't my own English-speaking, English-thinking arrogance that was building a language barrier between me and every autowallah in Delhi, but rather the ghosts of days past, with their Hindi-speaking tongues. It was unfair, really – this was my problem, not theirs.

Now. Though in the past there remained a looming figure, a shape I escaped from, I had confidence in the future as myself. Just myself. I had climbed into my little escape pod and launched into the great unknown world without her and really, wasn't that what truly mattered?

“I said, tea's better. I'll bring you tea.” Her words sounded so grave I didn't argue and just shifted in my seat nervously as she turned her back and walked away. Relax, breathe, I have to tell myself sometimes. Nobody knows me. My tracks are covered.

Every time the waitress walked past me and my slowly diminishing cup of tea, she eyed me carefully, suspiciously. Did I remind her of someone she knew? A sudden panic hit me again as I thought about the name I would give her if she happened to ask. Every name I could think of seemed to be filled with different meanings, memories. I couldn't be Xerxes as the only voice in my head then was my sister's, endlessly manipulating my actions until I no longer knew whether it was me moving each of my limbs or her omnipresent will. Cyrus was a nice enough name but so full of darkness. I couldn't hide from that part of myself, or escape it, as I had left a fingerprint in the world as Cyrus, even if only in blood. More fingerprints remained, ones as John, Advi, Khavar, Rashid, Daniel. And none of the names ever lead back to me.

I ordered another cup of chai, just to see her reaction, see her expression softening as she further examined my features.

“Have we met before?” I asked her.

“I don't think so,” she replied, friendly but hesitant to make eye contact again. Shy, I thought. Perhaps I should be like that; another play I could try on.

“Maybe we'll meet again, then,” I said as I got up to leave, and maybe I sounded threatening to her, as she took a step back. I placed the money on the table, and walked away. When I turned to look back, she stood there, the money still on the table, staring at me.

I didn't know what to make of her; from her eyes, I could see the feeling was mutual.

*

Phir milenge, as they would say in Hindi, and we did meet again. Much, much later Sarika would tell me, in that voice she used to speak of the past that meant to go unspoken, this is how it begun back then. Him, in different places, casually everywhere she went. She was suspicious, scared, and yet something formed between them anyhow. It took her a long while to get any of the words out. I didn't pressure her.

So we met again, and things developed, as clichéd as it sounds, along their own route. It's difficult to say, even in retrospect, how and why and what sets off the course of action. We met, and then we began to meet less randomly, precise meetings we didn't quite want to call 'dates'. Maybe it was just the connection there, some kind of mystic sense of knowing that we were dealing with pasts of equal burden. Or almost equal burden; I still hide some things from her. I have to.

*

Eventually she told me how I resembled him. But even then she was very careful, as though I was the kind of psycho he was (and then I think to myself, I'm probably worse – but I'm getting better, aren't I?), who would lash out at her if she didn't do what he wanted. She was vague, describing his eyes and how mine were softer, more human. She was very careful, and I was very careful, and just like this, with silk gloves and pillows all around us, we began to discover each other and those little things we'd worked so hard at hiding all this time.

Because really, fear was our everything in the end. Fear of ourselves, fear of loneliness, fear of being found.

“I'm not afraid of rats,” she said. “I'm not afraid of anything anymore.”

Then she smiled at me, maybe in effort to make herself believe, or maybe I was the weaker party there, with all my fears wrapped in more fears. Either way, the connection or the attraction or the illusion of power she seemed to have over herself made me so overwhelmed I kissed her.

I wouldn't call it love because in my family, love is an emotion you pretend to have in order to survive. But then, perhaps that's why I needed Sarika. Just to survive on something we could both pretend resembled basic human caring.

*

And so months went by, and we had to move out of Delhi, so we moved together. The wedding ceremony was at a temple, ceremonious and unofficial, but in her god's eyes enough to live under the same roof. It felt odd to share my living space with somebody, as I was so used to my schemes covering every surface, malicious planning scaling the walls, but that was in the past, so everything around me was the bare minimum of things. Her things overlapped with my things, the little altar she set up, the picture frames and books she read. They made everything feel so regular, so normal that I was almost starting to believe in not just the present, but the future also.

Us. Normal. Well, I was always an optimist.

*

I can never forget the first choked question, her breath erratic after she shakes her hand away from mine.

“Have you ever killed a person?”

We never discussed the numbers or the how. She told me about him and I told her about my sister, and her story was of deceit where mine was of something even I didn't know. So I pushed the focus on Sarika's end instead, and held her as her tears stained my t-shirt, when she thought she was so torn apart she'd never be put back together. Trying to give her a sense that everything would be all right in the world again.

*

You don't fuck over a person who's been fucked over and killed because of it, so I understood my boundaries and eventually she opened hers. She was beautiful in bed, no longer stiff with fear but full of playfulness and the sex stripped me of my remaining anxieties.

And then my sister found us.

*

The car park outside our colony was not noteworthy in the least, but I could sense another presence. Coming up the staircase, I could hear voices - Sarika's calm but stern Hinglish in contrast with my sister's angry English.

"Don't give me that shit," she told Sarika. "When is Xerxes coming back? You don't even know him. You don't know shit."

"I know everything I need to know," Sarika replied.

I ran and I hid, like the coward that I still was. My sister left, after seeing the side of Sarika that few lived after witnessing, and wisely considering herself lucky for the fact, she never came back.

*

I still felt as if the fear had been set in my bones, planted there permanently because my sister was always out there, and so long as I lived, she wouldn't die.

Sarika held me, and now the vulnerabilities had shifted to my end, and I was the mess that needed fixing.

In these moments I told her so many of the things I'd still kept inside, and she told me more. More blood and guts came spilling out in our confessions, until the corpse of my former self was nearly entirely dissected in front of her.

She looked at the remains and kissed me. It occurred to me that all the while I'd thought we were fixing each other, we weren't. We were just avoiding being fixed by being together.

A continuation of a game we'd called life. A psychologist's field day.

Love, I guess.

*

“We're not killers,” Sarika told me. “That's not who we are.”

I tried to believe this lie, this categorisation we made because we had no excuses; we'd only had motive. We stood in a different category than our victims, we told ourselves, when the fact was, we were the same shit as the rest of the humanity, same cruel pitiful wrecks that we killed and that are out to kill us.

“We're not killers,” I told Sarika during her darkest moments, when the fact is, we were.

And we only truly knew one thing for certain: that we couldn't afford to kill each other. Not now, and not ever. We'd finally gained something we didn't want to lose.

doctor who 6x08 omggg.

2011-08-28T12:33:18Z

I knew they weren't going to kill Hitler.

Omfg the deal with Mel. At first I was like, "Er, is this Moffe setting up some sort of new companion by CONVENIENTLY making her bff with the previous two companions?" and thinking she was a bit extreme and unsure whether I'd be into this sort of character but but but it actually makes sense that she's basically the crazy id version of River who basically just wanted to spend some time with her parents by SPENDING THEIR LIVES TOGETHER. Shit is whack [/summation of Moffat!DW]

But then she regenerated and it was psychokiller!River-before-she's-River and whoah. As camp as Alex Kingston gets, the characterization actually made sense in context and was rather fun to watch.

And Amy/Rory omgggg. Their poor confused existence just got a lot more confusing. ;__; Amy thinking Rory was gay ;___; Rory punching Hitler OF COURSE.

Typical extreme epic from Moffe - Doctor dies, River kills Doctor, River brings Doctor back to life and sacrifices her regenerations for it.

Rory, amazingly enough, does not die.

What made me tear up was River/Melody having the TARDIS teach her how to fly her. ;____________; DAUGHTER OF TARDIS OMFG. Amy/Rory/TARDIS ot3.

So I read on Tumblr some people were unhappy with this episode but am unsure whether this is just normal tumblr bullshit or fandom's actual opinion. Did see somebody say "unhappy about River regenerating into a black girl". NICE RACISM THERE, TUMBLR PERSON. Words on tumblr are typically such fail. Better stick to gifs.

If I had to critique this business; was it really necessary to make a boner reference when River brushes up against the Doctor? Side-eying you right now, Moffe. (On the other hand, this is the guy who wrote Coupling so this sort of thing is to be expected. He is essentially writing Who!fanfic. Of course his OFC is sexy, time-line breaking & magical. ;D) One thing that I am mildly worried about is keeping the characters in character through all this wild plot bullshit but Moffe's typically got a good handle on that, so..

What else, hmm. Okay, people, I have to say, it's not that super-confusing. River Song was born as Melody Pond, brainwashed to be the weapon The Silence uses against the Doctor, only the Doctor meets her and she grows fond of him (beginnings seen in this episode) and they fall in love and all this beautiful business but unfortunately meet at weird points in the timeline and it's a bit awkward and I guess she's the one to kill him. She might actually kill him early in HER timeline, but at the end of his (obviously), thus before she actually, I don't know, likes him and stuff. I mean, later on she fights against her own makers (the Silence) with him but it doesn't really negate the fact she kills him.

I mean, that's my take on it, anyway. If you begin to map it out, it's not as mindfucky as it first appears.

Anyway, now I want fic of Mel!River living with her parents and watching them fall in love but the Who fandom is a scary big place..

Best line? "I danced with everyone at the wedding. The women were brilliant, the men ..a bit shy."

such fun!! a meme everybody should do.

2011-08-25T00:06:47Z

Gif meme
1) Open your gif folder.
2) Use every 3rd gif as a reaction to the following statements.
3) ???
4) Profit!

I actually made a gif folder just so I could do this, mah awesome gifs were pretty spread out as it was.

Your parents' reaction when you were born:

How you felt on your first day of school:

NO I DID NOT MOLEST ANYBODY LIKE THIS NOR WAS I MOLESTED LIKE THIS THAT WOULD JUST BE WRONGGGG

Your reaction when you learnt to ride a bike:

Awkward chestbumps oh yeahhh.

Your reaction to getting a birthday present from your best friend:

Craig Ferguson is ever apt.

How you felt when you got your first crush:

Like I needed Kang Ji-hwan to teach me how to dance, YES.

How your first crush felt when you told them:

AHAHAHAH REALLY NO.

Your reaction when your parents sat you down to have "The Talk":

THAT'S RIGHT. Like a boss.

How you felt after your first kiss:

Aww I'm adorable.

Your partner's reaction to that kiss:

LOOOOOL.

How you felt after your very first hangover:

Nope, really not this hot.

How you felt after having sex for the first time:

Uh.

How you felt waiting for your exam results:

Cuuuuuuuuute.

Your reaction to failing an exam:

Okay with sliiiightly less nudity.

Your reaction to passing an exam:

Yup.

How you felt getting into your chosen university:

You know it.

Your reaction to being dumped by your partner:

Dig this one. COME AT ME BRO

How you felt after smoking pot for an evening:

Oppa~

Everyone's reactions to a party you organized:

Awww I love these two.

Your reaction to finding your true love:

Two pony gifs in one post = best post.

Your reaction to graduating:

Oh god I hope not.

How you felt on your wedding day:

BLISS. These kdrama gifs are really good for the dating q's.

How you felt during your wedding night ;D :

lololololol what even.

Your reaction when you find out you're pregnant:

Crab dancing!

The gif that describes the rest of your life:

Molested by a microphone. JOY OF JOYS.

Your family's reaction when you pass away:

THANKS. NO REALLY THANKS. (I don't even get a high five?)

Now I can't get over all my awesome gifs. /pets them

last potter review i'll ever lj. wow. that feels weird.

2011-07-16T14:58:47Z

I almost don't know what to write.

I think part 1 bumped up my expectations because I came away feeling slightly underwhelmed, despite the fact the visuals were good and I think they retained the core of the story in the last book quite successfully. Maybe I'm just waiting for the feeling to settle? Unsure.

I guess they cut the Albus-Ariana-Aberforth story and left it for deleted scenes? Aw, I was looking forward to that. :| I guess I understand, the film was already two hours long. But still.. Alby~

The Gringotts happened so fast! I was expecting it to be a longer, more epic scene. I liked it, and I confess I don't mind them spending more time on the Battle of Hogwarts but ..yeah, idk.

NEVILLE FINALLY ARRIVED. And in a big bad way. But I'm stuck between feeling happy and simultaneously annoyed at the fact that Kloves once again failed to actually build this character in any relevant way pretty much up until this movie. I know, I know, Kloves-hating is so angry Potter-nerd from 2004 bullshit of me, but I don't know, it's just .. did anybody who watched the films and the films only go "well, this feels like a fantastic natural development"?

Luna was awesome. Luna is always awesome. Fact.

Basically the whole Battle, the preparations (McGonagall!) and the action itself, the visuals etc were stunning and awesome. Dug it.

Omg how good was Helena Bonham Carter as Hermione disguised as Bellatrix? SO GOOD. You know, I once read somebody rant about HBC is overrated as an actress, la-di-dah, I guess any appreciated actress is overrated according to somebody but while I agree Bellatrix can be OTT and maybe not her best character, I think this kind of stuff shows how good she is. She was Hermione *precisely* as portrayed by Emma Watson. I was impressed.

Underwhelmed with regards to Ron which hasn't happened in a long, long while. Rupert, you're allright, there wasn't that much Ron stuff in this part of the story I guess. The basilisk hunting and Chamber of Secrets excluded.

Look, I know the R/Hr kiss couldn't have happened in the same way as in the book because the whole Free The Elves! plotline was nonexistant and while I accept the way they did it, and the girl next to me did a very tiny "whoo!" sound as it happened, it was just okay to me. And if you know how much I love that pairing, it shouldn't have been just okay to me. Idk. Am I being too picky? Gah.

And Ralph Fiennes, oh how crack your Voldy is. There were a couple of rather awkward Voldy moments. T'was weird.

..as were the Dead Squad, who felt a lot less cheesy in print. Oh well.

And I hate to keep drinking this Hatorade you guys but the epilogue was like, cringeworthy whereas it's just tolerable in the books. The accentuated perceived Oldness in the actually young stars. I don't know. Cheesy kids. Some people like that shit, a lot. I accept that. I'd rather know what everybody was doing with their lives, but I guess that's my young nonfamilyness speaking or whatever. At core, the story is about finding love & family and all this stuff.

And to end:

SNAPE ;_______________________________________________________________________;

best ever

teh ned

fivil @ 2011-07-12T10:22:00

2011-07-12T07:22:40Z

Is this the real life?

Is this just fantasy?

You guys, Joe Jonas is like, the sexiest man on earth.
Side-eyeing myself right now.

sexy guys talking about sexy stuff, basically all sex all the time, no seriously.

2011-07-07T20:29:54Z

So .. one of my favourite podcasts is becoming a documentary, because apparently Cort and Fatboy have some pretty damned awesome fans (this I knew), awesome enough to make a documentary of how an internet radio show gets crafted into the stylized, glorious outcome of a podcast.

Here's a trailer of sorts, composed of scenes that were cut (starts out kind of dull, but stick with it!):

Can't wait to see the finished product. It's so weird to see the guys .. like, actually see them. So used to listening.

This thought occurred to me this week, about how this particular podcast is like five podcasts in one. Monday's guest runs a comic store, so it gets geeky, comic-related and all things pop culture. On Tuesdays, shit usually gets real - real talk, real indepth, sometimes just plain real funny. Wednesdays, you get tech geek news/discussions, and discussions of a various relationship/sexuality/creativity tangents - again, thanks to the guest. Thursdays, well, it's anything from the guest digging into the hosts' sex lives in a hilariously vulgar, outrageous manner to actual talk on gay rights, psychology of fame or whatever the hell. And Fridays, the show turns into a pop culture/film podcast where "BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH!" gets exclaimed in bewilderment and all this other wild shit.

So the show's kind of a weird beast in that it doesn't have any particular wheelhouse. It's comedy, but it's not always (meant to be) funny. It's geeky, but it's far from being just geeky stuff for geeks. It's got these moments where it gets sombre, or political, or silly, and so it ends up being like a buffet of podcasting.

I guess what I'm saying is, for me, the show's all of these things, but the guys sometimes say that it's totally okay to just listen on one particular day. So if one hour five days a week seems like too much time to be spent listening to a particular podcast, you can try one of the days, see how you like it, try another..

And so, surreptitiously I'll drop this link here and be on my merry way: CORT AND FATBOY.

PS. Before you ask - Fatboy used to be fat, hence "Fatboy".

where the hell did today go.

2011-02-08T21:26:53Z

Doing this meme again.

10 pictures. No context/text.

yuletide recs.

2010-12-26T14:51:34Z

Wrote zilch this year, hence no gift!fic for me in return. Oh well.

Still a good year in fic otherwise.

"Hey, at least the camera's waterproof; we just got water with our proof. Success is sweet." David pulled back the covers and slipped into bed. Maddie flinched as his bare leg slid against hers. "Hey, it's alright. You can touch me. I'm not poison oak."

"Ya got that right," Maddie's voice was muffled. "Poison oak is quiet."

Synchronized Swimming, Moonlighting, David/Maddie // Magical and delightful and full of awesome in-character banter and OTP-y cuteness (because this show is all about the OTP). Aw. Totally makes me want to rewatch the show.

“So: When was the last time we received any food parcels?”

“Was it... twelve days ago?”

“Yes, well counted, Peter. Question two: Who do we think sent those food parcels?”

“Them. We're pretty sure it was Them.”

“Correct. The packaging was all wrong. Question three: Why do we think They were trying to keep us alive?”

“Because They prefer Their food to be fresh.”

The Show Must Go On, That Mitchell & Webb Look // The quiz show at the end of the world. Same sort of brilliant dark humour as these skits in the show. I was surprised and then delighted. The ending to this fic is pretty brilliant as well.

“You said you wanted to ride me like a pony!” Moss argued, “It just didn’t feel right.”

“And telling her that we’re gay did?”

“At the time, yes. Upon further consideration I do concede it was a bad plan, but right now you are both drunk and topless… it is hardly the time to be talking about sex.”

Wild Drunken Sexy Time, The IT Crowd, Jen/Moss/Roy // Smutty threesomes shouldn't be conceivable with these characters but apparently they are. This meets the requirements; funny & in-character. Loved it.

Insert Tab A into Slot B. Shake repeatedly.

---

"I give up," Abed declares, tossing his pen down. "Everybody's gay."

Britta's hand goes up immediately. "I call Annie."

Creative (Non)Fiction, Community, ensemble // Abed has to write fanfiction. Yes. You read that correctly, and it's just as funny as you could imagine. :DDD

[---] it still doesn't come close to matching how Abed always remembers to tell Troy to look away when there's a centipede on the Discovery Channel. Or how Abed totally doesn't think it's weird when Troy suggests reenacting Forrest Gump with GI Joe dolls, and doesn't even look at him funny when Troy ends up crying after Cobra-Jenny tells Spy-Trooper-Forrest that she has AIDS.

The Closest Approximation, Community, Troy/Abed // I am pretty sure that this is the One Troy/Abed Story to Rule Them All. The transition from bromance to romance is always tricky but with this fic it totally works, and it just builds on the whole crazy universe these two have built for themselves.

And speaking of Community, I don't have the time to properly rec everything cool I read in that fandom but I loved this Troy/Abed story a ton (hermit crabs! awkwardness!), as well as this story where the gang goes through genres and this sweet fic about Abed & Troy finding the rest when they go missing, this one where Troy & Abed realize their life is a romcom and this magically sweet Troy/Abed fic featuring egg-babies.

"One day later than yesterday, one day closer."

"We should have this put on a record," Jim says. The bed shifts under him as he moves. "I could play it on the gramophone in the mornings, and then you wouldn't have to wake up at all."

"That would deprive you of your fun," says George. "What would you do without a foil to your insufferable cheerfulness? Half the pleasure of it's in your feeling superior to me."

One Day Like This, A Single Man, George/Jim + Charlotte // Flows beautifully, captures the wistful mundane feeling I always got from the flashback scenes in the film. This is just the sort of fic I would hope for this film.

This small room is suddenly strange, packed with their ghosts: Rosa, Golbez, Baron; Odin, and their childhoods. Cecil pours generously; this wine is spiced, and even just the scent of it warms his face. Kain raises his in a solemn toast, and Cecil is reminded of a scene much like this, he and Kain as fumbling teenagers, with pilfered wine and tangled clothes, and his face flushes darker.

“Here’s to the Dragoons,” he says, purposefully, because it was their old toast, wondering whether Kain will rise to the bait—

“And here’s to the Knights,” Kain says, smooth and intense and they both drink deeply now. The memories are playing across Cecil’s vision like the flickering firelight, and if it weren’t for that low burn he’d be content with this winter, sitting beside a fire with his best friend and drinking mulled wine.

Content With This Winter, Final Fantasy IV, Kain/Cecil, Cecil/Rosa // The prose is just beautifully fitting to the world and though I don't normally go for Kain/Cecil in this fandom, this fic was so good I simply couldn't stop reading. It gets smutty towards the end but characterizations runs thick and deep throughout, so it's just a very worthwhile read. And Rosa in this is just wonderful, so much like I see her.

I am getting stupendously tired of writing this entry so let's just say I also recommend the two fics for MLP: Friendship is Magic and this Arrested Development George Michael/Maeby story (as well as the other ones written in the fandom for those two this year). The archive, as usual, is filled with good stuff so have a look around. :)

deathly hallows film part one ~

2010-12-18T19:53:46Z

(For new flisters - yeah I am a total, utter HP nerd and love the books to bit so reviewing the films is just an obligatory thing. Hi!)

Well, I certainly liked it. Me and naroona were talking before the film about the previous HP films and whether we enjoyed them. It turned out we had quite differing opinions - she really liked GoF whereas I remember being slightly disappointed in it, and she had absolutely no memories of OotP which I absolutely loved. HBP she didn't remember much about, either, and I remember liking it but not as much as OotP which was like .. the first HP film that was good, as a film rather than just as an adaptation.

This one seems to snugly fit into that category as well (still love the fifth film more, though). I really like Yates' direction and in terms of character relationships this seemed to be better than HBP. Maybe it was also the fact that the kids are no longer kids exactly, and are improving as actors, even if they still have their flaws. But the feel of the film, the cinematography and the pacing was mostly really great and of course, the seventh book is just incredible with regards to the story (in my view anyway) so that part was easy to love.

Rather than pretend I can write a coherent, well put-together review, let me do a list of likes & dislikes & random observations. For the benefit of the reading-lazy, any negative view is -, positive a + and ambivalent ~.

+ Wasn't Snape's hair at Voldemort's mansion thingy FABULOUS? Holy blowdryer! Oh Severus. Your wives have not yet tarnished my liking of your character. :)

- naroona expressed the view that Voldemort should have a nose-like thing instead of the slit because when he talks it comes out looking mildly comical. I agreed at first after watching but later decided it was really more about the dialogue.

~ Speaking of -- Look, I'm an unapologetic non-fan of Steve Kloves. He's got a bit better over the years. For example, he's noticed that Ron actually is not just your standard comic relief idiot, he's genuinely sarcastically funny and can be quite clever, so he has actually taken to heart some of that actual characterization. So this one, in terms of the dialogue and the script, is actually quite good and the adaptation works. A few awkward bits here and there but not the book-canon-slaughter cringefest that some of his scenes (wow, that sounds a bit overly harsh .. but seriously, I used to get so angry about these things. Thankfully don't care that much anymore. :D)

+ LUNAAAAAAAAA. Harry/Luna is the OTP that should've been, fuck everybody who thinks different. Okay, perhaps not 'fuck', I respect all kinds. But. Harry/Luna, man. Beautiful stuff, beautiful interactions. And her dad! :DDDD

+ Weasleys madness :D We finally get to see Bill! And he's naturally gorge and not really mutilated by the werewolf attack - mind you, they didn't do the whole "female Weasleys dislike Fleur" thing so I guess it didn't need to be proven that Fleur would still love him despite his "hideous" appearance.

+ The whole Ministry of Magic scene with the Polyjuice was. OMG. Loved it so so much. First off, their polyjuice-selves were such fine actor picks and actually encompassed the awkwardness of the characters it was just kind of awesome. And the Death Eaterite MoM with the amazing interior designs but the clear Nazi vibes of the leaflets and the anti-Muggle literature in Umbridge's office, loved it all so much. And the wife kissing Ron! Made me roffle.

+ naroona kept poking me in anticipation of the scene where Ron destroys the Horcrux. I was like what, what, I know what's going to happen but later she commented it was because she disliked it. Hmm. Okay. I think the imagined nekkid H/Hr is a bit ...spelling it out, I think when I read the scene (if I recall correctly) I thought it was more about the voices being inside Ron's head somehow or something. But I think I liked the scene just fine in the end. Maybe it was just about being glad seeing Ron at the forefront of a scene FOR ONCE?

++++ RONNNNNNN.

+ What bias? :D I don't know. Any time a film can remind me why a character is my favourite, it's kind of a job well done. And Ron is really one of those characters I am just stupendously fond of. Like I said in my OotP review (which I just re-read as I did all of my reviews of the previous films), I love him so much it's kind of sick - not Snapewives sick but kind of sick all the same. The scene where he and Harry argue, it was ...really fitting. Like it just felt as it needed to feel. And the R/Hr constant little hints and bits and things were just adorable and I want to rewatch the film just for them. *melts*

~ I'm trying to think of things I disliked. I guess the camping thingy was a bit ..dull but the scenery kind of made it worth it and as naroona pointed out, it needs to be frustrating because it is frustrating that they can't find it.

- Fuck I feel like a cold person but, um, Dobby's death? who cares.

- I really thought they'd have discovered more of the Albus stuff early enough to make it into this movie but I guess that's not really a complaint as much as it's "omg plz gimme". Albus~

+ Necrophilic Albus/Voldemort/Elder Wand OT3 is so canon .... I mean, what.

+ The animated sequence was really nicely done, though perhaps felt a little out of place? It's tough when you have one thing that you have to do but absolutely have to break the ordinary visual narrative of the film to do it. Still. I think they did it nicely.

+ I would definitely watch it again, even the bits I wasn't enormously fond of? For a Potter film I feel like that's always saying something.

- NEVILLE. Okay. I'm with Fatboy of C&F on this. The movies have robbed us of one of the better storylines of the entire book series. Neville gets one scene in this movie? Ohgod. What a waste. Yes, I understand sacrifices have to be made. But not at the cost of one superb character -- at least not this one? I'm also with Fatboy that by the time they get to Part 2 it's kind of too late? But they've given him moments in the other films. Just not enough. Sigh.

+ olololol Draco why so useless and amusing.

So yeah, lovely stuff and I really look forward to part two. I mean, I really really look forward to part 2. Pretty sure that should everything fall into place, I'll want to see it as soon as humanly possible.

Or really, I just wish I could locate my copy of the 7th book. Where the fuck has it disappeared? *despairs*

my new favourite show. seriously.

2010-11-14T12:35:01Z

It teaches so much about friendship. And magic. :)

And each episode passes the Bechdel test so.

Why are you not watching?

british films that don't suck.

2010-08-29T13:01:38Z

Saw this one last night.

Wild Target is about the world's sweetest assassin (played by Bill Nighy, who else!) and the outrageous thief (Emily Blunt) he's hired to kill. It's also got Rupert Grint being naked a fair bit which will make those of us who still remember Philosopher's Stone movie like it was yesterday feel really awkward but hey, kid's a good actor and can grow facial hair nowadays so whatev.

I enjoyed it. It wasn't amazing but considering how low my expectations tend to be with British films after countless disappointments, it wasn't bad, either.

Four Lions, a comedy about home-grown jihadists I saw and loved back in May but I think it's out on DVD in parts of the world by now so well worth getting your hands on, if you can (or just downloading - I think if it gets a US anything, it'll be a very small anything).

The director really kind of achieved the impossible here; it's a hilarious comedy that doesn't condone the actions of its characters but also doesn't tar their religion with the extremist brush. These guys are idiots - dangerous idiots, but idiots nonetheless. And watching them reach new heights of idiocy is simply hilarious.

Unlocked post for the fuck of it.

fuckin' a, man.

2010-08-13T15:35:56Z

If you're a fan of one-line film reviews, here's one:

The Expendables is a beautiful movie about emotionally stunted men talking about their feelings.

Essentially, that's all you need to know. Stallone, I genuinely fucking salute you.

favourite show this season.

2010-07-23T19:41:50Z

Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this tv season)

Community

I didn't really begin watching this comedy show about a bunch of community college students until half-way through the season but it was exactly what the doctor ordered; a splendid comedy with a brilliant, varied cast where there wasn't too much emotional/relationship bullshit to drag the comedy down (yes, HIMYM, I am glaring at you, geez). It was just fun happy times, self-aware and clever, and though it took me like 5 episodes to really like it, and then 9 to make me fall endlessly in love, the second half of the season was so friggin' stellar by the time we got to May and I met up with anno_superstar in London, we were both just astounded at how fun and amazing the show turned out to be - definitely among the best, if not just plain the best new comedy out there on American TV.

Here's hoping it stays as fabulous next season.

tv meme, day 2.

2010-07-22T20:06:35Z

Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching

Misfits

"Watching" implies on-going and though only on-going in the British sense (you'll have to wait for November for new episodes). Still, that gives you plenty of time to watch the first series (6 stellar episodes) and fall the fuck in love.

Misfits is a rude, funny, glorious show about five juvenile delinquents who get struck by lightning and get super-powers. Instead of wallowing in angst or sporting capes by episode two, they just deal with it. It's like Skins meets Heroes back when Skins had really likable characters and if Heroes was better written. These are anti-heroes, and the show makes no bones about it, but even so, you root for them, for all their anti-social behaving ways.

30 days of tv.

2010-07-21T14:09:50Z

Now that I've only 9 work shifts left and therefore vast amounts of freetime ahead of me, I might as well do this here thing.

Day 01 - A show that should have never been canceled

Arrested Development
Clichéd, perhaps but honestly with almost all of my favourite shows, I think they either over-stayed their welcome on the airwaves or ended at exactly the right friggin' time. Even with Arrested, the brilliant and influential comedy show that deserves all the overhype it got and gets to this day, it's really not as so much that it needed another season, it's more like it needed not to be fucked with so relentlessly by the network and therefore get those stub-seasons. Three full seasons, perhaps even a fourth. That seems like an ideal run. Now it's a cult classic, hopefully gaining more and more fans on DVD but ...still. I was left wanting more.

And what the fucking fuck is happening with that movie? Jason Bateman needs to stop being an asshole and everybody else involved needs to get their shit together.

Sigh.

from one epic otp to another.

2010-07-14T21:14:00Z

Today as I was walking home I thought about how funny it would be if Steven Moffat ripped himself off and put entire scenes of Press Gang into the new Who.

And I just got this image in my head of Amy and Rory, before they were dating..

Rory: Don't you think you could be a little nicer to somebody you know has a crush on you.
Amy: :)
Rory: I don't mean me.
Amy: *continues smiling*
Rory: I know you didn't say you meant me but it's obvi--
Amy: *grinning now*
Rory: :(

My heart cries out for a crossover so bad.

Except I just googled and there are crossovers out there, just not of new!Who meeting PG. OLD FANDOM IS OLD. BUT LOVELY. I am off to read despite the fact I know fuck all about Six. (But omg this fic makes the ending of Press Gang kind of make sense, I can't even. *squee*)

"what do i write with?" "the pointy end."

2010-06-28T21:09:26Z

Today is the day you will get into Press Gang.

What is Press Gang? It's this brilliant late 80's/early 90's British teen comedy/drama, written by Steven Moffat (new Doctor Who, Coupling). It's just funny and touching and deals with some srs topics in a wickedly lovely way.

I hesitate to call it children's television , even if it is, because people are prejudiced against children's television, even though Doctor Who is children's television and seems to do pretty nicely across the board. This is definitely the kind of television that doesn't pander to children.

AND IT'S JUST SO FUNNY AND CHARMING AND ADDICTIVE and everybody needs to watch it now.

Look, most of it's on youtube! Couldn't make this easier for you. I personally fell in love within 10 minutes of it, your mileage may vary of course but do give it a go! And once you go nuts for it, you can buy the Region 2 DVD set which have fanzines and are rather cheap and just really worth it.

And there's an awesome, awesome het OTP who have bicker and stay awesome when they get together and are in my top VERY SMALL NUMBER HERE of OTPs alltime.

This show is just so charming. Oh and I made a fanvid for its OTP which is kind of half-assed but I still like it.

Just ..give it a go! I know it's so 90's but it's also really good.

this is so awful it is brilliant.

2010-05-25T17:20:20Z

My favourite (strange, so 80's) Wonder Girls song.

Just.. those vocals. Wtf ♥

finale season - sad endings for girls (mostly).

2010-05-21T21:42:00Z

Okay, so.

CASTLE:

Fuuuuuuck what a cruel ending for Beckett. I don't hate it because it was done right -- Castle ends up with a woman who he has a past with, and has always maintained a relationship with, and he sees Beckett being rather happy and cosy with another person. It's not a dick move on his part, it's just a bunch of very unfortunate timing for her, realizing that she actually cares about him being there and that the superficial flirtation isn't just all superficial flirtation any more. I just felt so dreadful for her. She's not thankfully a stereotypically emotionally shelled 'tough woman' but she has an edge of that, and it was definitely a step for her to admit to having feelings.

A step she didn't get to make. God Stana's acting was good in that scene.

I am so glad they got S3. Happyhappyhappy. September yet?

COMMUNITY:

Hmmmmm. Well, first off, hilarious ep - no doubt about it. A couple of lines that just killed me, like Troy's line about jump-sharking (Troy overall in this episode was A++++ but hey nothing new there) & "Am I 'black boobs'?". There was rather little of Shirley, which was somewhat unfortunate but then, they brought back John Oliver. ♥ YOU ALCOHOLIC BRITISH PONCE ILU.

Ahem.

So. Let's talk about Jeff/Britta. Because half-way through the season, beginning of season, most of the season I wasn't keen on Jeff/Britta. But then the show was like, "But Jeff/Britta have kind of amazing interaction and call each other on their bullshit and it's kind of funny and fabulous, right?" and then they boned and I was actually kind of like, "Right on!". I've grown fonder and fonder of Britta as the season went along, she's just this total goofball and one of the funniest female characters I've seen on TV in a loooong time. Brilliance.

So you know, when they were selling me Jeff/Britta in this episode, I was actually cheering (which I never thought I would be). Because Jeff flirted with Britta before he knew Britta, and by know he really knows her and that's the basis of a good relationship, right? So I can ship it.

And then they throw a total curveball with the Jeff/Annie kiss. And if you'd told me when I was watching 1x10 that this would be the finale I would've been like FUCK YES AWESOME. But now I was just like "..oh. Wait, what?", like where did this come from? And why is it happening NOW?

I was kind of just ..feeling bad for Britta. She put herself out there and confesses her feelings but sadly to a guy who is just the WORST at this shit. Ugh I think I am back to thinking Britta deserves better. And that she should GET better.

So yeah. I'm not sure if I ship Jeff/Annie as hard as I did when I first saw 1x09. Maybe I just need to rewatch that episode to rekindle that affection - I still like the two and think the relationship is great, but I wasn't so sure there was that romantic tension there anymore.

ANYWAY WHATEVER I STILL LOVE COMMUNITY A TON YAY S2.

30 ROCK:

I wonder if they're going to have Matt Damon's character as a semi-regular guest. I'd love for Liz to get a permanent boyfriend. With the character being a pilot, he can't be around all the time, but he can be around sometimes and in this show that would probably be for the better, his character wouldn't get tiring and they could all these long-distance relationship issues and Liz could still have her individual storylines.

So it would work from the storytelling angle and also, his character does seem like perfect fit for her.

BUT I STILL LOVED WESLEY SO MUCH OMFG. "Why is your face like that?" & "fancy slippers" OHGOD. I've never seen Michael Sheen in anything, I don't think (maybe an odd British comedy episode somewhere sometime?) but now I want to see him in more stuff. If only they'd actually LIKED each other, they would've been the best couple everrrr.

Sigh.

Oh well. Good episode. 30 Rock keeps being solid & one of the more reliable, fun sitcoms to watch. All hail Fey.

dr who :(

2010-04-25T10:44:37Z

Dear Steven Moffat,

I love you but as one of this planet's four statuephobics, I currently hate you. :(

Thanks. :(

Yours sincerely, fivil