i never said i'd leave the city

blindmadness @ 2008-06-13T14:36:00

2008-06-13T18:36:35Z

Flistcut! My first significant one, really -- if I cut you, I felt like we never talked (sometimes this was literally the case) and I wasn't really paying much attention to your LJ (my fault, not yours). Sorry guys! Hopefully no one will be too heartbroken by it. D: ♥

(Also, if we do talk relatively often and you found yourself cut, um, it's probably a mistake and tell me. >__> IT'S BEEN KNOWN TO HAPPEN.)

CALLING MY ENTIRE FLIST AND BEYOND! <3

2008-05-21T00:58:56Z

(FIRST OFF: PLEASE KEEP COMMENTS SPOILER-FREE, FOR THE BENEFIT OF WEST COASTERS READING.)

Okay, so y'all are probably aware, unless you never pay attention to a word of my LJ, that I am a pretty big AI fan this season -- and, again, unless you've completely ignored my LJ for the past two months, you are probably aware that this is entirely because of this man.

So tonight is it. The finale. And even for those who don't watch AI, I want to ask you to vote for David Cook. I'm going to offer as much incentive as I can for this.

For every five votes for David Cook tonight from people who don't normally vote, I will write a drabble -- any fandom, any pairing, as long as I get a prompt (even a word is enough) -- or make three icons of any theme or pictures provided.

If you vote more, I will write more for you. (Ten votes, two drabbles, fifteen votes, three, etc.) If you hoard votes to tell me you've given fifty or so and request a longer fic, I will do that.

Don't want to take my word for it? Need incentive? I'll give you all the incentive you need.

David Cook deserves to win. He truly, truly does, and I'll do whatever it takes to get y'all voting to make this happen.

For those who have been around all season, voting every week? Twenty-five votes will earn you the above, because you guys deserve love and rewards too. ♥

The numbers are here: vote during 9PM-1AM EST and PST.
If you have AT&T, you can text "VOTE" to 5701.

Thank you so much if you do this, guys. Please, please pimp it even briefly if you have people with nothing to do tonight on your flist, or something. I'd really appreciate it, and so will he. ♥

Edit: rhombal and expatiates are also offering incentives -- the latter including paid account time and the former's post has spoilers in the beginning, so I won't link it, but her writing is much better than mine, so go to hers too! ♥

i remember feeling low, i remember losing hope

2008-04-25T16:25:33Z

I remember reading my first slash fic and being horrified by the thought.

I remember my then-best friend grabbing my hand while we watched The Matrix and not letting go for too long, and I remember trying to hide my smile because I didn't want her to.

I remember sitting in my room in my grandparents' apartment sketching the faces of two girls kissing and writing without spaces next to it "ohmygodIcan'tbelievethisIthinkI'malesbian".

I remember my grandmother telling me that homosexuality was the worst possible thing in the world, the worst thing that could ever happen to anyone, and I remember crying in the bathroom of our hotel room on the beach in Montenegro because I knew I had to forget who I might be.

I remember crushes on my eighth grade science teacher, my one and only real teacher crush, because she was so pretty and young and nice.

I remember coming to terms with bisexuality in an Internet environment where it was okay, I remember confessing a crush to a friend, and I remember her expressing that she didn't believe me, thought I was only doing it to fit in.

I remember believing firmly in gay rights, never in homosexuality being wrong, even when I was strongly Christian.

I remember the time I knew I was in love with a girl.

I remember telling one person in my school of 2100 and his offering me hugs, support, and genuine happiness whenever I told him anything about it.

I remember throwing my grandmother out of my room because she had sat me down and told me that homosexuality was worse than incest in the great scheme of things. I remember crying to my mother after it.

I remember spending a day as a nervous wreck, crying and shaking and unable to function properly, because I had to tell my best friend about my mother's hate.

I remember genuinely worrying, up until the day of, that I'd somehow manufactured a fake attraction through the internet and that I really was straight and everything would be ruined, and I remember every doubt leaving the first time I kissed my girlfriend.

I remember trying to tell my mother three times that I was bisexual and her still not knowing.

I remember writing a countdown on my whiteboard for the days until I saw my girlfriend again and someone drawing a smiley face next to it.

I remember wanting to step into traffic when my grandfather, my favourite family member, told me earnestly and seriously to watch out for befriending lesbians in college.

I remember my roommate's sister treating, upon our first meeting, the news that I was going to see my girlfriend soon like she would anyone else's being about to see someone they loved, and I remember her genuine happiness that we might be closer together next year, just because we were in love.

I remember being terrified of asking my father what he thinks of homosexuality because I don't want to ruin what feels like my last true strong family relationship with an older figure.

I remember crying with joy when I tried to find the words to tell my sister that homosexuality was okay and her nodding and telling me that she knew, that she might not like it but that she'd never treat it like our mother did.

I remember hating to think about the future because I can't think of one in which my mother calmly accepts the fact that any grandchildren I have might be adopted because my spouse might not be male.

I remember standing up on Coming Out Day 2006, my first semester of college, to a few spatterings of applause, and I remember my Theatre TA, my favourite one that semester, coming up to me after class, and I remember the exact tone of voice in which he said "That took courage. I'm impressed."

I remember sitting in classes of presumably progressive, young, liberal people and still being afraid to be completely honest.

I remember being proud of being who I am, no longer feeling the need for any sort of shame because I know it isn't wrong and I'm all right with it.

I remember still being afraid of what the future holds, both because of and despite of my staying silent.

I remember still hoping, still working, still living for a day where it won't matter to anyone, where I can choose silence out of discretion rather than worry and fear, where everyone accepts love for what it is, in every form.

♥

blindmadness @ 2008-04-12T20:50:00

2008-04-13T00:46:29Z

Okay, time for another installment of Project: Pretty. Odd., as I've decided to dub this album-mashup thing (even though I'll hopefully go past Pretty. Odd. eventually).

And this time we have... Die. Slow.

1. We're So Starving For The End.
2. Dead! At Nine In The Afternoon
3. This Is How A Handsome Woman Disappears
4. Do You Know What I'm Seeing? The Sharpest Lives.
5. That Green Gentleman Welcomes You To The Black Parade
6. I Have Friends In Holy Spaces Who Don't Love You
7. Northern Downpour Of Wolves
8. When The Cancer Met The Night
9. Maman de Cheval
10. Sleep Knows Something I Don't Know
11. Teenagers Behind The Sea
12. Disenchantin' Around
13. She Had The Famous Last Words
14. From A Mountain In The Middle Of Blood
15. My Way Mad Is Through Rabbits

Mostly I want to know how this affects the actual concept-album going on there. Is the Patient now on weed? Does lessthangreat's theory that Panic met the Cobra have any impact on the story? DISCUSS, GIEZ. I want to hear thoughts!

Also, by popular demand, your first installment of lyrics, too.

Whn Th Dy Mt Th Nght

I'm gonna make it when the moon falls in love with the sun
(All was golden in the sky when it sent you to me without wings)
Say a prayer when all was golden in the sky, but let the day meet the night
In case the sun doesn't find the moon
(Let her drink tea in a garden
Let the good green umbrella trees roll)

And I want these words to make things right in the middle of summer
But it's the wrongs that make the moon find the sun
Who does he think he looks like he's barely hanging on?
If that's the worst eyes saving his life he's got, better put your fingers back to the middle of summer

One night in the middle of summer and one more time,
Thanks for the memories when all was golden in the sky
Even though all was golden when the day met the night, they weren't so great
"He tastes like summer, only sweeter"
One night when all was golden in the sky and one more time,
Thanks for the memories of when all was golden in the sky,
Thanks for the memories of when the day met the night
"He, he tastes like you, only all was sweeter when the day met the night"

So he said "Would it be all right if we've been looking forward to the future
But my eyesight is going bad as we just sit and talk for a little while
If in exchange for your time, I give you this crystal ball?"
It's always cloudy except for when you look into where she says "That's okay
As long as you can make a one night stand
Not to break my little heart in a one night stand-off
Or leave me all alone when you only think in the form of crunching numbers in the middle of summer."

Well, he was just hanging around in hotel rooms collecting page-six lovers
Then he fell in love and he didn't know how to get me out of my mind,
But he couldn't get you out of those clothes
Just hanging around and then he was a liner away from getting you into the mood to fall in love

One night in the middle of summer and one more time,
Thanks for the memories when all was golden in the sky
Even though all was golden when the day met the night, they weren't so great
"He tastes like summer, only sweeter"
One night when all was golden in the sky and one more time,
Thanks for the memories of when all was golden in the sky,
Thanks for the memories of when the day met the night
"He, he tastes like you, only all was sweeter when the day met the night"

(Coming up next: Goodbye. Blues. and I've Got All This Mad In My Ears And None On My Rabbits. Stay tuned!)

Do we want this to go on, y/n/your crack is electric/dear god no one should ever let you stay up late and talk to bandom people?

blindmadness @ 2008-04-11T01:35:00

2008-04-11T05:29:41Z

(I apologize in advance for anyone not in bandom -- this is going public because I don't have half of the people responsible for it friended.)

So. There was talk in a certain bandom chat about how OHNOES, BECAUSE PETE WILL BE MAKING HAPPY MUSIC DUE TO ASHLEE, FOB WILL BECOME PANIC. And then -- I kind of decided that clearly, the latest albums needed tracksmushing.

And thus was born Infinity. On. High.

1. We're So Starving For A Thriller
2. Nine In The Afternoon And The Break's Over
3. This Ain't A Scene, It's A Handsome Woman
4. That Green Gentleman's Like A Lawyer With The Way He's Always Trying To Get You Off (Things Have Changed For Me + You)
5. I Have Friends In Holy Spaces Who Hum Hallelujah
6. Golden Northern Downpour
7. Whn Th Dy Mt Th Nght
8. Don't You Know What Pas de Cheval Thinks It Is?
9. The (After) Life Of The Party Knows Something I Don't Know
10. The Carpal Tunnel Behind The Sea
11. Bangin' Around
12. She < The World
13. You're Crashing, But You're No Mountain In The Middle Of The Cabins
14. I've Got All This Mad In My Ears And None On My Rabbits

GOING PLATINUM, Y/MFY?

blindmadness @ 2008-04-02T01:40:00

2008-04-02T05:30:30Z

and so you've come here
to this corner of LJ
take a few more steps
(am i peter wentz?)

Things are shaping up to be pretty odd.

Cutting it just a little close.

2007-12-01T04:52:29Z

But.

... ^___________^

HERE BE DH SPOILERS. HERE BE DH SPOILERS.

2007-07-21T09:57:04Z

Soooo after being the sixty-first person to get the book at my Borders, I just finished DH.

Chapter One: FJKLDSJFLS. Just the beginning is making me explode. Is Snape trying to protect Harry or what? ;_____; *FLAIL*

... ... ...EW, REMUS/TONKS WEDDING. EWWWWWW. Not that I have anything against Tonks, but -- I really really hate that pairing and augh, ewwww, whyyy. ;______;

Chapter Two: ... "Our mutual attraction"? Dumbledore/Doge OTP? >____>

...oh god awwwwww, ickleDumbledore. ;______; It's so sad and cute.

"They were not alike." ONE OF THEM SEXED GOATS. >_____>

... ... ...OMGWTF, RITA SKEETER. >:((( THAT WHORE. *KILLS HER, KILLS HER DEAD, AJKLFJSDKJLDG*

Chapter Three: ...all that can really be said is awwwwwwww, Dudley. XDD That was -- so weirdly cute after how much he failed for the past six books.

Chapter Four: I blame Heathre for my excitement over getting to meet Tonks' parents. >___> Because -- omg! :D

...all of them are not overage. Hermione's birthday is in September, isn't it? So she's younger than Harry.

......*CRACKS UP* "Ooh, you look much tastier than Crabbe and Goyle, Harry." FJKLJFS, JKR, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING. XDDDD

........HEDWIG. ;_______________; fjskljfls oh god whyyyy. That seriously nearly made me cry, augh.

... ... ...*FLAILS*

Chapter Five: ...Ted as big-bellied is -- kind of weird to me. XD Again, I blame Heathre.

...augh, earless George. ;_______; That's also sad.

... ... ...NO. NONONONONO. SNAPE IS NOT EVIL. HE CAN'T BE. I REFUSE TO BELIEVE ANYTHING YET, GODDAMMIT.

...ajlkfjsdlkfjlsf Fred staring at George's lackofear just broke my heart. ;_________; Ohgod. This much damage five chapters in is such a bad sign.

...<333333333George. I have never loved the twins more than I do now, I swear.

... ... ... ;______________; Ohgodno,Moody? ;_______; fjklsdhfsdfls. Could have been much, much worse, obviously, but -- augh. .____.

I AM DYING HERE ALREADY, AJFKLDJFLS. XDD I WANT ANSWERS NOW. I WANT CLOSURE NOW. WANT. FINISHING. KTHX.

Chapter Six: ...no real thoughts on this one, except fjklfjls DYING. OF. ANTICIPATION.

Chapter Seven: ...JKR's kissing scenes leave a bit to be desired. XD Harry: OH GINNY, YOU ARE KISSING ME LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER KISSED ME BEFORE. Ginny: OH HARRY, LET ME FEEL YOUR HAND IN MY LONG, SWEET-SMELLING HAIR. Maja: ...yeah, I can see why they broke up.

...ahahahaha! Norbert's a girl. Best ever. XD

...dun dun duuuuun. Damn, I look forward to this. <3333Dumbledore, now let's see why he left them that stuff, fjklfs.

Chapter Eight: ...well. Luna's dad wearing Grindelwald's symbol is -- interesting. o____o

...Krum. XDD "Vot is the point of being an internetional Quidditch player if all the good-looking girls are taken?"

... ... ...oh god wtf Dumbledore's sister? o_______o Wtfwtfwtfwtf.

...AJLKFJSLFJLS END OF CHAPTER OH GOD WTF JKLJFLKSDF.

Chapter Nine: ...ajkdfjdsldjaslkjdlasfs. o______o That is all.

Well, okay, I was briefly thinking Moody might be alive, then was saddened again -- and augh, Malfoy -- and fjlksdjflkjsdlgs. Okay, done now.

Chapter Ten: ...fjklsdjfl awwww, Ron and Hermione falling asleep holding hands. ^____^ I ship them so much. ♥

...oh, man, Lilyletter. ;______; Hearing her voice for once is really good -- AND AWWWW, ICKLE!HARRY, FJKFLSD.

...HA! It was Regulus. Ha. FANDOM FTW.

...and wow, wtf. *flails a lot, fjklfd* I bet no one ever thought Kreacher played such a big part in all of this. Man, I am so pumped to finish this book already. XD

Chapter Eleven: Remuuuus. ♥ Most of my reaction here is just ^___^ing at him because he wins so much.

...akfkjflks the war is really, really scaring me. x___x

... ... ... ... ...OH GOD WHAT. WHAT. REMUS/TONKS BABY. WHAT. ;_______; WHY, JKR, WHYYYYY.

YES, REMUS, YOU DID MAKE A MISTAKE. >____> I'M GLAD YOU SEE THAT.

...ajklfjlsdfs. ;_________; God, that fight depresses me so, so much. Saddest thing ever read in a Harry Potter book.

... ... ...JDLKDSJFLKASJFLKJLSKJLDJKGL WHAT. UMBRIDGE. LOCKET. WHAT. WHAT.

Chapter Twelve: ..........WHAT?! SNAPE AS HEADMASTER?! Though, really, shouldn't be surprised -- BUT I REALLY REALLY AM.

...and wtf sudden Kreacherniceness. ♥

AND THIS IS ALL MAKING ME SO, SO NERVOUS, WTF. XD

Chapter Thirteen: ajldkjskflklsfajslfjsdlkfjalkjdlgjdklfg wtfwtfwtf djlkfdsjlfsl. Yeah, that about sums it up.

Chapter Fourteen: ...awwwwwww, Ron/Hermione. ;_____; OTP, dammit.

And ajlkfjskdfsd seriously now. What. Is going. On. Want. To know. Kthx.

Chapter Fifteen: ...eeee, Dean and Ted. ^____^ The name Dean made me doubletake at first glance, I admit. >___>

... ... ...fake sword? So -- what? What the hell. What.

... ... ... ... ...Ron. Ron. ;_________________; WHY, RON, WHY, FJKDLSJFLS AUGH.

Chapter Sixteen: Harry/Ginny is really starting to bother me. Randomly.

WHY ARE THEY NOT THINKING OF THE SNITCH? HELLO, HARRY, DUMBLEDORE LEFT YOU A SNITCH, TOO. YOU HAVE YET TO FIGURE OUT WHY. IF THE SWORD IS AT GRYFFINDOR'S BIRTHPLACE, SHOULDN'T THE SNITCH HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH ITS INVENTOR'S BIRTHPLACE? YOU FAIL SO MUCH.

... ;___________; Oh, Harryparents. Augh. ...and, you know, the sad thing is that they're four years younger than my parents. XD Or, well, would have been. And Harry's nine years older than me, almost exactly.

Chapter Seventeen: ...<33333everyone who left Harrygraffiti. It's just what was needed.

...oh god wtf. o____o So, so much wtf.

........AUGH. NO. ;_________; HARRYWAAAAND. AUGH. ;_____; I don't like Harry, really, but -- augh. fjklfdjs.

Chapter Eighteen: ... o______o Jesus God wtf. Wtf is this. Seriously. jflkdsjlfs.

HARRY, SUCK IT UP, YOUR EMO IS LEAKING EYELINERBLOOD ON THE PAGES ON MY NEW BOOK.

Chapter Nineteen: ...ha, Forest of Dean.

...Ron! ^_________^ Oh, omg yay. <3333

...oh, Ron. ;__________; <333333 Poor, poor awesome Ron.

AWWWWW, HUG. ♥ SPN has so given me a newfound appreciation for boyhugging, man. XD Never taking it for granted again.

Chapter Twenty: This symbol is really getting to me. XD

... ...DEATHLY HALLOWS. OKAY, NOW IT GETS GOOD.

Chapter Twenty-one: ... ... ...well, huh. o____o

...XENOPHILIUS. D: But augh, they took Luna. ;___________;

ajfkjsldjflksdjglskdjflsdf.

Chapter Twenty-two: ... ... ...holy crap, this is making my head spin so hard. XD

... ...augh, Teddeath. ;_____________; fjklfjdslkf.

...Lee Jordan is my hero, oh god. <3333333 And FRED, FJKLDJLFS. <33333 They all win so much. ^_______^

... ...NICE GOING, HARRY. REALLY. GOOD ONE.

Chapter Twenty-three: djkshka this is all so creepy. ;______;

...<3333333333Draco for not giving them away right away. So. Much. Love.

...Ron's flailing over Hermionetorture is so -- augh. Heartbreaking. ;_____;

...ajdkljasljdalskfjlaskjflkajflkds Dobby. ;_________________________; Oh god, fjslkdjflksjdlfkdklfjlsdg. Sohorrible.

Chapter Twenty-four: I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON, SO HERE'S A PICTURE OF SNAPE WITH A COME-THE-FUCK-ON-AND-TELL-US-ONCE-AND-FOR-ALL-IF-HE'S-FRIEND-OR-FOE NEON SIGN ON HIS HEAD.

Chapter Twenty-five: ...augh, Remus/Tonks baibee. D: I'm so torn between AWWWWWWW, REMUSSPAWN and EWWWWW, PAIRING. >____>

Teddy Lupin is an adorable name, though.

...and I say lol goblins in favour of baibeecommentary, clearly. XD

Chapter Twenty-six: ...Harry. XDDD "He's not my type, but he'll do." One of those moments when I can forget I don't like him.

...and Harry using the Imperius Curse is really -- I don't know. Griphook telling him to also rubbed me the wrong way. Weird.

...ajlfkjsdf. o_____o This is so, so insane, oh god. *flails over everything*

And this is where I wonder when exactly the fact that Harry has Lily's eyes is going to be relevant. If it were that big of a deal, wouldn't it have cropped up already? I do only have eleven chapters left.

Chapter Twenty-seven: Nothing fun happened here, except for the Harry-Voldie mindmeld, which is old news.

Chapter Twenty-eight: ...OMG HI ABERFORTH. O___O His Patronus being a goat just killed me of amusion, I swear. XD

... ... o_____o G'Lord, this is -- um. Holy crap. Weird, weird shit. Jesus.

...WHOA, JESUS, NICE CHAPTER ENDING. O____O HI, NEVILLE.

Chapter Twenty-nine: ...oh, Neville. <333333 I love him so, so much. And the thought of that happening to Hogwarts is just heartbreaking, seriously. My childhood. ;_____;

DeanandSeamus hug! ^_____^

And jkfljksl, everyone's back again and it starts to feel like a real Harry Potter book again. ♥

Chapter Thirty: WHAT IS UP WITH THIS CHAPTER TITLE OMG *READS, HI*

...okay, I adore McGonagall, but -- seriously, I don't think Harry Crucioing Amycus over that was -- terribly good of him. o___O The more Unforgivables he does, the more respect I lose for him, which is probably bad, but.

...Percy! <3333 Omg yay. ^____^

...and teal-haired!Teddy is the cutest ever, awwwww. XD

Chapter Thirty-one: ...Helena Ravenclaw. Ha. XD

Also, am very pleased with the direction the book's taking now overall. We'll see if that keeps up.

So I was going to comment on YAEY HORCRUXDESTRUCTION and <3333Percy --

BUT AJLFKJDSLKGJSLDKGJLKSDFGF OH GOD NO NO NO WHAT FJSLKDJGLSDKJGLKDFJLG FRED OHGOD NO. ;_________________; NO NO NO THEY CAN'T DO THIS TO US, OF ALL THE WEASLEYS, OH GOD, NO. jflksdjglkjflksjflsdfss. ;_______;

Chapter Thirty-two: ajklfjdskhfkjsf ;_________; STILL SO SAD, OH GOD, WORST EVER.

..."I wanna kill Death Eaters" just struck me as funny. XD The situation is horrible, of course, but -- seriously. Nice phrasing.

...........WHAT. OKAY. SERIOUSLY. WHAT. WAS THAT ANTICLIMACTIC OR WHAT. ;__________: WHAT A WAY TO GO, AJFKLSDJKLGJSDF. ERIN IS GOING TO FREAK. ...not that that was my first thought or anything. >____>

Chapter Thirty-three: ... ... ... ... ...

Okay. What. What. WHAT IS WITH -- WHAT. OKAY, SERIOUSLY. IF YOU'RE GOING TO KILL OFF REMUS AND TONKS, FOR CHRISSAKES, GIVE US SOMETHING MORE THAN THAT. HONESTLY. SERIOUSLY. FJDLKSJFLKSDJFLKSDF SERIOUSLY THE ONE PERSON I REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO DIE AND WE DON'T EVEN GET A DECENT DEATH SCENE?! ;______________; WHY, JKR, WHY?! WEREN'T MOODY AND DOBBY AND FRED AND SNAPE ENOUGH?!

AndpoororphanedTeddy,ajdfklsjdflsdf.;___________________;

...oh god, oh god, ickle!Snape, oh god. My heart cannot take this. fjldskjflsdfs. He knew Lily when he was ickle and -- jfksldjfs. ;________; I don't even have especial affection for Snape, past Erin's portrayal of him, but -- fjklds. This tugs at my heartstrings so hard.

...oh god awwwww how cute. ;_______; And -- oh man, this got me. "They're not arguing anymore?" "Oh, yes, they're arguing. But it won't be that long and I'll be gone." "Doesn't your dad like magic?" "He doesn't like anything, much." SPOT-ON. SPOT-ON. XD I'M A GENIUS. A PSYCHIC GENIUS.

Oh god. This is so -- jflksdjfs. Ickle Lily and ickle Snape and -- he likes her so much and she's so sad over Petunia and -- fjskdlfjlksdf. I can't take this. Seriously. I just can't. My heart.

AND ICKLE JAMES AND SIRIUS. FJSLKDJFLSKDF.

...oh god. Best friends. Oh god. jfklsdjflsjlfs. ;________;

This is just -- fjklds. It kills me. Snape's not evil, he's not, he's just -- fjklsdjfls. ;_____; I think this makes me like him more than anything else could, honestly.

It seems so -- predictable, in a way. XD I figured it'd be so easy for Snape to have sekkritly been in love with Lily that it never would have happened, but -- there we have it. And seeing him that worked up about it is -- both really sad and really weird.

YES. YES. THERE WE HAVE IT. DUMBLEDORE DID ASK SNAPE TO DO IT. YES. ^_______^ WE HAVE IT, BWAHAHAHA.

... ...oh god, fjklfs. ;________; Snape. Augh.

AND SERIOUSLY WHAT. WHAT. HARRY HAS TO DIE? WTF? HOW -- WHAT. SERIOUSLY. HONESTLY. WHAT.

Chapter Thirty-four: ...okay, there are three chapters left, he's not going to die. ~~Damn.~~

Chapter Thirty-five: ... ...y helo thar, Dumbledore. o___O

... ...and that was -- so very, very weird, and yet so illuminating. And immensely predictable, of course, but hey, can't win 'em all.

Chapter Thirty-six: ...oh, Narcissa.

... ...and -- um. Wow. o____o That -- was interesting. Almost as expected, but not quite, and -- wow.

................COLIN DIED?! ;______________; AJFKLSJDKLFJLS NOOOOOOOO. AUGH, WHY, JFKSLDJFKLSD.

Epilogue: ...well, let's just say that I didn't need to read the title to know this one was a bad idea. XD

And, okay, I don't know, that seemed -- unnecessary. Like too much of a cookie-cutter ending. James, Albus, and Lily? Scorpius Malfoy? Teddy Lupin/Victoire Weasley? I mean -- bleh. XD I know it was sort of meant as closure, but -- I don't know. It felt really unnecessary and "OH RIGHT, EVERYTHING YOU COULD HAVE PREDICTED WOULD HAPPEN DID. PREDICTABLY." Bit of a damper.

Overall, I -- I don't know how to feel about this. ...part of this can be blamed on it being 5:43 am and my having spent the better part of the last ten hours reading JKR's writing after getting five hours of sleep after twenty-six hours awake -- but yes. Point being --

As I mentioned to Erin earlier, the thing about Harry Potter isn't that it's brilliantly written at all. It's, in fact, mostly mediocre writing. And so I think, in the time since HBP has come out, I've been kind of spoiled by reading a lot of really, really well-written books. So -- I can't say I was overwhelmed and deeply impressed by DH. I can't really say it was everything I hoped, either, because I have no idea what the hell I was hoping. And so much of it was just -- the Trio on their Epic Quest, which I guess is the whole point of the books, but -- it felt so wrong without all of the supporting characters there. And with so many of the books ending on OMINOUS NOTES, having OMINOUS NOTES all over this one was just -- well, inevitable, really, considering the war, but -- still. Weird.

The entire tone of the book, I think, was what got me. It started at the end of HBP, but it's continuing onto this, and it's -- not really an abrupt shift, as they've obviously been getting darker, but -- a weird one. I wasn't really used to it. So most of this book was overshadowed by that.

Adding to that is the fact that the death toll was really, absurdly high. ;_____; I mean -- Hedwig dying saddened me. I figured there'd be more after Moody, Ted also saddened me -- and I thought there might be another after Fred, but -- Snape and Remus and Tonks and Colin? Way to -- massacre a lot of loved people in one fell swoop, JKR, Jesus God.

Overall, though, I'm pleased. I think it's a fitting conclusion, since it contained all of the expected elements (the Deathly Hallows was a bit much, though -- necessary, I guess, with the wand thing, but to add in something that big so close to the end? bad move) and played them out to the extent one would expect. The Harrydeath scare was a good move, I think, since I didn't honestly believe she'd kill him off but weaseling out of it entirely would have been bad.

I'm very, very pleased that Snape was proven good; I am very much less than pleased that he was killed before Harry knew this. Honestly. That was just unnecessary. ;_____; I'm also a little less than pleased that he was in love with Lily; like I said, it seemed too predictable to wind up canon for me. XD (And apparently, it really isn't terribly omgsignificant that Harry has his mother's eyes. Or, well, I found it significant, I guess, but not to the degree I was expecting it to be. Christ, JKR.)

I am also pleased that we saw Dumbledore again. ^___^ I really, really hate Remus/Tonks, though, and the fact that they spawned bothers me a lot. XD AND THEN KILLING THEM BOTH AJFKLJSDFDLKSJFLSDA WTF JKR SERIOUSLY. I'm really annoyed that Remus, at least, didn't get a proper death scene, not even mention of someone telling Harry about his death later. I mean -- seriously. Wtf. ;____;

And -- yeah. The epilogue? Not so much with the liking. As mentioned, seemed unnecessary, predictable, stale, formulaic, etc. (I'm also irrationally annoyed that we didn't find out who Draco married. Since he ended up not so bad in the end, too.)

In conclusion: yay. ^___^ I'm kind of amazed that it's over now, beyond the shadow of a doubt (though, seriously, wait for the fan letters begging JKR to write about the spawn), and I'm not going OMG THAT WAS SO COOL OMG END, but -- yeah. Fitting end to the legacy, and I'm looking forward to the internetsplodey that'll be properly happening soon.

AND NOW I AM GOING TO SLEEP, BECAUSE I DESERVE IT.

Non-DFers should probably skip this one. >__>

2007-01-11T04:52:51Z

Okay, in the tradition of the Dili -- ask my puppets questions. Any from here or here (though the latter are encouraged more) are fair game, and I'll do my best to poke them into answering honestly. :D

blindmadness @ 2006-10-08T16:15:00

2006-10-08T20:05:24Z

So I'm doing my Rhetoric rereading, and it strikes me once more how much I hate Plato's Gorgias. This is why -- the work can be summarized like so: "HI, THE SOPHISTS SUCK A LOT :D :D LOOK AT THE BLATANT STEREOTYPES I'VE CREATED. ALL SOPHISTS ARE LIKE THIS. RLY. WATCH MY SELF-INSERT TOTALLY PWN THEM! ...BUT HE'S NOT A MARY SUE. HE HAS SOCRATES'S NAME. NOT MINE. :D"

...I'm not even kidding. The entire thing is just him mercilessly bashing clear overexaggerations of the Sophists. Were it fanfic, it would be getting flames by the second.

Gorgias: Yay rhetoric!
~~Plato~~ Socrates: But rhetoric sucks.
Gorgias: Nuh-uhhh.
~~Plato~~ Socrates: So what is rhetoric, anyway?
Gorgias: Uh...words. Yes. Words. And persuasion. And justice! :D
~~Plato~~ Socrates: But there's a difference between really understanding justice and believing justice is something else.
Gorgias: Totally.
~~Plato~~ Socrates: So you can't really understand justice during a short trial.
Gorgias: Not really.
~~Plato~~ Socrates: So rhetoric is just a mockery. ^__^
Gorgias: ...oops, looks like you pwned me.
~~Plato~~ Socrates: *wins~~*

Polus: OMGWTFBBQ HOW DARE YOU?! >:O >:O GORGIAS IS TEH AWESOME AND YOU SUCK AT LIFE. RHETORIC 4EVER!1!!1!!1
~~Plato~~ Socrates: ...chill, boy, wtf.
Polus: RHETORIC/ME OTP. ^_________^ I HEART IT~~
~~Plato~~ Socrates: ...right. Except rhetoric is totally fake. Like makeup makes you look good but exercise makes you healthy, rhetoric makes you look smart, but justice makes your SOUL HEALTHY.
Polus: ...
~~Plato~~ Socrates: RHETORIC IS A LIEEE.
Polus: ... ;____;
~~Plato~~ Socrates: *wins again~~~*

Callicles: >:D I am manly and cynical and I WILL DEFEND A RUTHLESS POWER OF RHETORIC.
~~Plato~~ Socrates: ... *sigh*
Callicles: NATURAL SELECTION, YO. ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE. You should also pursue desire, because the beautiful and just life means NEVER REPRESSING YOUR DESIRES. >:D This is the REAL morality, yo.
~~Plato~~ Socrates: ...you're totally a slave to your desires. Rhetoric is like lust, but philosophy is true love.
Callicles: ... ... ...um, except you totally suck. WE WILL NOT BE ENSLAVED OR CHARMED BY THE WEAK LIKE YOU.
~~Plato~~ Socrates: You're so misguided. Turn to the light and the love of wisdom!
Callicles: NEVER. I WILL CONTINUE WITH MY UNJUST, VICE-RIDDEN LIFE AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME.
~~Plato~~ Socrates: *sigh* Can't win 'em all.

Plato: The moral of the story, kids, is that Sophists are bad, evil, corrupt people, never believe a word they say. Please ignore my use of rhetoric to further my accusation that rhetoric sucks. :D

...yeah. The Greeks are special, special people.

blindmadness @ 2006-09-24T15:33:00

2006-09-24T19:24:18Z

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