A day with Calvin and Hobbs

Okay guys, I’m going to go way back for this one. Do any of y’all remember a little cartoon by the name of Calvin and Hobbs?

I loved those guys. I always thought they were one of the best cartoons I read growing up. I loved Calvin and his mischievous plans.

I always enjoyed the way he made the these fantastical plans and then only we got to see happen, while his parents were funny and sarcastic. They always made me laugh, and I enjoyed so many hours of them. Everyone I know who’s read this fantastic comics always has a fondness for them them.

Especially those quotes.

And this.

And then there’s his mother.

Of course I personally enjoyed Calvin for his hatred of math that only rivals mine. I mean seriously, the only thing Calvin hates more than math is school itself, and that is quite impressive for a six year old. But then maybe that’s because he has to leave his best friend behind everyday.

Look at that face, I’d be sad too. But I think the thing I enjoy most about Calvin and Hobbs is there love for dance.

Let’s face it, they’re just too awesome!

The Long awaited Mockingjay has come!

*SPOILER ALERT*

This post contains an in-depth analysis of Mockingjay: Part 1 and the book itself. If you haven’t watched the movie, go watch it. I assure you its worth the ticket.

There, I’ve sufficiently warned you. You may continue at your own risk.

I’ve just seen Mocking and oh my heaven it was glorious!

Hold on a moment, I need to fangirl.

Okay, I feel better now.

Alright down to business. Now I will admit, Mockingjay wasn’t exactly my favorite book, not because it wasn’t good, but let’s be real here, Mockingjay was the proverbial Deathly Hallows of this series. People just wouldn’t stop dying. It was heartbreaking. So as you can imagine, I was weary walking into the theater, even though I’d already seen the stunning work done on Catching Fire. I have to say I enjoyed every moment. The first thing I have to say is the movie is extraordinarily well paced. Each scene I thought moved very well into the next, and I was never bored. The each scene was beautifully cut, and I personally thought the casting was superb. Coin was perfect.

(even though she’s one hell of a bitch not nice person.)

There were some differences from the book though. We all know how Katniss goes a little crazy throughout the book, and honestly who could blame her? I mean the fact she survived the first games with mild PTSD certainly shocks this fangirl. I think the fact they keep Katniss strong while still making her seem human I think was a delicate line they played off very well.

Another thing that was different was Effie Trinket.

I thought that this was also a stellar decision directing wise. Effie was brilliant, and she really helped to sell the propo team.

And oh dear lord were Cinna’s designs beautiful.

Just look at her, so badass.

When I saw I almost started crying. I hate that he’s dead. Another excellent character is President Snow. Man has Donald Sutherland official sold me on his character. I’m fairly certain that there is no one more devious than that man. That scene with the roses, oh my god I could feel the tension and fear.

Now, I know that some of you guys were quite disgruntled when it was announced Mockingjay was going to be split into two parts, but I think for once, I agree with Hollywood.

Shocker, I know especially since they butchered City of Bones and Vampire Academy, but I’ve always thought that Mockingjay would have been better off in two books anywho.

But you gotta admit, the way they ended part one was phenomenal. It really sets up the power trip Coin’s about to go on.

Man I can’t wait till she’s dead.

I think overall, I’d definitely give this movie a solid A-. It definitely kept to the original intent of the book, but I think also added enough to make this movie something that could easily stand on its own. I can’t want for part two!

We’ll Take Down the Capital!!

Right, Katniss?

Thought so.

Fangirl's Dictionary for the beginner Part 2

Okay so without further ado here's part two.
Enjoy!

-Nazi- used as a suffix when referring to a person who is obsessive about some particular aspect of fanfiction.  People who are anal about proper use of the English language will be referred to as 'grammar-nazis', those who nitpick deviations from the source material are 'canon-nazis', et cetera.  The term was originally an insult, but many of the so-called nazis in question have taken it up with pride. Don’t argue with these people, it will be their pleasure to tear your comparatively minimal knowledge to shreds.

Newbie- (Hint: this is you guys) somebody who is new to a community.

OOC- acronym for 'out of character'.  It can mean either a post to a roleplaying group that is 'spoken' by the player rather than the character, or that a character in a piece of fanfiction is doing something at odds with the way the reader expected them to behave, based on their personality as presented by the source material. An out of character can either be done really well, or badly. It all depends on how you write.

Otaku- The word commonly used to refer to someone who has no life outside of their obsessions. (Which is not me, thank you very much. Have you not read my blog description?)

OTP- acronym for 'One True Pairing'. A person’s OTP is when they consider a certain pairing to be the only pairing possible in a world or set of characters. A word of caution: don’t insult anyone’s OTP. I wasn’t joking when I was said that wars have been started over OTPs.

Pairing- two characters in a romantic and/or sexual relationship.  Many fans choose which fanfiction they read based exclusively on what pairings it explores. But if they ain’t your OTP, don’t be afraid to branch out into other pairings, you might be surprised what you find.

Plot Bunny- an idea for the beginning (or middle, or end - some fragment, in isolation) of a story, generally occurring to an author in a flash of inspiration and then leaving him or her to work out the rest of the plotline by the hard away. My personal definition is when I get the urge to write a scene or story, or ‘following the rabbit down the rabbit hole’, and the rabbit is called a plot bunny.

PWP- acronym of 'Pornography Without Plot' or 'Plot?  What Plot?'  Refers to a piece the only purpose of which is to be smut.

Rapefic- a piece of fanfiction in which one character rapes another. Not that I like these ones, but it’s a good code to know. (Though I suppose it is self-explanatory).

Round Robin- a fanfiction that has several authors that contribute to fic in segments. Kind of like that game in english class where someone starts a story and then you have to keep writing it.

Seme- the 'dominant' member of a homosexual relationship.  In smut terms, the seme is the one doing the penetrating.

Shounen-Ai - this term literally means 'boy love' in Japanese, and is used to refer to non-explicit fanfiction or fanart dealing with homosexual relationships between two men. The equivalent term for female characters is shoujo-ai.

Slash- fanfiction or fanart dealing with homosexual relationships, usually between men.  By convention, the first name listed is the 'dominant' member of the relationship.  'Slash' is used as both a noun and a verb: to 'slash' a pair of characters is to write erotic fanfiction about them.  An author who writes such pieces is called a 'slasher' (not to be confused with 'slasher' as in 'mass murderer').  Source material is described as 'slashy' if the characters behave in a way that can be interpreted as homosexual romantic tension.

Twincest- fanfiction in which a pair of twins are in a sexual relationship with one another.  Common in Ouran High School Host Club.

Uke- The 'uke' is the submissive one in a homosexual relationship.  In smut terms, the uke is the one being penetrated.

Yaoi- stories with male relationships. 'Yaoi' tends to be the more popular term in anime fandoms, whereas 'slash' is used elsewhere, but the two are basically interchangeable.

So here you have it. A crash course. Now this by no means is a course (I do not have time to teach a course on the nuances of fandom. I can barely enlighten my friend on the wonders of Code Geass) but hopefully this will get you through the labyrinth that is the fandom so you can learn more about this world and become your own expert of fandom. So go forth my lovelies, and share your knowledge with the world, have fun, become the largest fan you can be, take over the world
Wait, no, not that last one.

(Also on another note, if you want an even more in depth dictionary, visit this site. I stole a ton from this site, so it's good, and very thorough. Also I thought I should site it because I don't want to get arrested for plagiarizing. That would be slightly inconvenient.)

Fangirl's Dictionary for the beginner Part 1

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Harry Potter will never die. Ever.

Okay so I was trolling Facebook other day, and I came across this:

At first I was like:

I was so pissed someone got a Harry Potter spin-off before me, but obviously I couldn’t have sold my soul because I  already sold it trying to bring Lelouch vi Britannia back to life  really like my soul.

Yeah.

But then of course I got super super excited, because there was going to be another Harry Potter movie, and books, and little novellas that were going to be awesome. Like seriously, my roommate started looking at me super weirdly, so I had to calm down. On the outside. But on the inside I was like:

Anyways, you could tell I was excited, but then I got to thinking, what does this mean for the Harry Potter fandom at large. I mean obviously it’s a huge success, considering that since the final movie the Harry Potter fandom has been gasping for air like a fish out of water. That was until our Queen J.K. Rowling gave us life again. It must’ve been a funny scene on Tumblr:

Man, the Sherlock fandom must’ve been pissed, but don’t worry guys, we’ll get a new season.

Eventually:

Oh look, only forty three years until season three.

No big.

*cries in a corner*

Anyways, back to Harry Potter. The date is set Potterheads: November 18, 2016. Mark it on your calendars, set it as the date for your wedding, but remember ladies and gents, cause it’s proof that Harry Potter is immortal.

Which means we totally need to start thinking about finding immortality for J.K. Rowling, or she’s going to die before we get our fill of HP.

(Also George R. R. Martin, but that’s another post.)

List of my (obsessions) Fandoms

Just because I feel like I should let you in on my current list of my current obsessions interests. Now this is a running list, so I may have forgotten some fandoms. I'll be adding them as I remember, and/or am drawn into another fandom.

Books

Hunger Games

Mortal Instruments

Harry Potter

Divergent

Vampire Academy

Eragon

House of Night

Delerium

Graceling

Cinder

Matched

Percy Jackson

The Selection

Tiger’s Curse

Beautiful Creatures

Anime

Code Geass

Inuyasha

Attack on Titan

Fullmetal Alchemist

Vampire Knight

Shugo Chara

Sword Art Online

Tokyo Mew Mew

Infinite Stratos

Ouran Highschool Host Club

Princess Tutu

Astrea Testament

Guilty Crown

Heist Society

TV shows

Once Upon a Time

Revenge

Blacklist

Scandal

How to Get Away with Murder

Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Sherlock

Leverage

Stargate SG-1

Stargate Atlantis

Stargate Universe

Legend of Korra

Game of Thrones

Movies

Pan’s Labyrinth

Frozen

Pitch Perfect

Rise of the Guardians

Why crossovers are the best thing since sliced bread

Crossovers are awesome. They are the true fruit of fanfiction (after OTPs of course). For those of you who aren’t aware, crossovers are when you take two different fandoms and mash their worlds together, coming up with a combined universe with elements of both fandoms. Now crossovers can come in many shapes and sizes. They can come in references:

Or they can come from a comment on a picture:

Or they can be a complete mash-up of two fandoms, creating a completely new universe that makes you want to kidnap a writer to write this just so you get it out of your damn head-

Or just write it yourself (which is honestly sometimes half the fun):

The best part is that no crossover is the same. Every single one is different, because every person creating them is different. I enjoy every crossover I find, and I love writing them even more. I can’t describe how much fun it is to take two completely different worlds and find a way to make them fit together, not just so it sounds plausible (because there is nothing worse than a complete and utter OOC fanfic) but so the essence of both worlds can be reflected in your piece, but at the same time grow from the original worlds. They can be anything from funny to sad, somber to joyful.

And then there’s the just plain racey:

But let’s be honest, there’s always one fandom you just can’t help but look up in the M-rated section. It’s just so much better that way.