+Slowswift Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Happy new year! (Where did 2015 go... Naw, it ain't 2016 yet, everyone's just joshin'...) Celebrate! Being a Mormon, instead of champagne we had sparkling cider that was 75¢ at the commissary. Oh yeah. Martinelli's? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Honor Spren Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Happy new year! (Where did 2015 go... Naw, it ain't 2016 yet, everyone's just joshin'...) Celebrate! Being a Mormon, instead of champagne we had sparkling cider that was 75¢ at the commissary. Oh yeah. We had that too! Martinelli's rules! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistrunner Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Martinelli's? We had that too! Martinelli's rules! Martinelli's: the Mormons' wine.(It eliminates the need for a designated driver, in any case. ) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Slowswift Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Martinelli's somehow always makes the best sparkling cider. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashadar Mistborn Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 (edited) Mine would probably be a certain gray pony some of you might know Mine would be a copy of The Way of Kings, which would fly out and comically hit a dementor on the head. And Murderlina. It would hit Murderlina too. Edited January 1, 2016 by Mashadar Mistborn 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mail-mi Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 HAPPY NEW YEAR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curious Anamaximder Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 New Bad Day thread up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgedancer Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 New Bad Day thread up. Why? The old one was still perfectly open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curious Anamaximder Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Why? The old one was still perfectly open. It was at 99 pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiLyghtSansSparkles Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Back to reading the Remus Lupin article. Despite being an illuminating look at one of my favorite characters in the whole series, I have another nitpick: At Hogwarts, Remus revealed himself to be a gifted teacher, with a rare flair for his own subject and a profound understanding of his pupils. He was, as ever, particularly drawn to the underdog, and both Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter benefited from his kindness. What are you talking about Harry isn't the underdog Three-quarters of the school loves him and the rest are Slytherins He He got to play Quidditch as a first year No one else did that Not even Draco "My father will hear about this" Malfoy Do Do you even know what an underdog is Really now 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgedancer Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Back to reading the Remus Lupin article. Despite being an illuminating look at one of my favorite characters in the whole series, I have another nitpick: What are you talking about Harry isn't the underdog Three-quarters of the school loves him and the rest are Slytherins He He got to play Quidditch as a first year No one else did that Not even Draco "My father will hear about this" Malfoy Do Do you even know what an underdog is Really now An underdog is when dogs hide under the table at lunch and want some of the tasty human food, right? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiLyghtSansSparkles Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 An underdog is when dogs hide under the table at lunch and want some of the tasty human food, right? In that case, I have two. They have scrunchy faces and enjoy fried eggs. I mean, Neville Longbottom was an underdog of the highest order, but Harry? He's the most popular kid in school, and there's only one teacher who wouldn't bend over backwards for him. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hood Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Finishing The Crippled God. It should be over today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamEternal Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 (edited) I mean, Neville Longbottom was an underdog of the highest order, but Harry? He's the most popular kid in school, and there's only one teacher who wouldn't bend over backwards for him.Storms, that explains why I've never found the school based parts of the plot very interesting.The narrative tries to portray the most popular guy as the stereotypical school's underdog, so we have neither the true underdog nor a popular guy facing problems more connected to his position. That makes it feel forced and boring, and only when doing the more "choosen one" heroic stuff Harry falls into place and things get a little more natural. Edited January 1, 2016 by DreamEternal 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiLyghtSansSparkles Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Storms, that explains why I've never found the school based parts of the plot very interesting. The narrative tries to portray the most popular guy as the stereotypical school's underdog, so we have neither the true underdog nor a popular guy facing problems more connected to his position. That makes it feel forced and boring, and only when doing the more "choosen one" heroic stuff Harry falls into place and things get a little more natural. I actually found many of the side characters more sympathetic than Harry, for most of the series, and the world was fun enough to keep me reading. Honestly? I would've liked to see Rowling embrace Harry as a popular kid, rather than trying to shove him into an underdog role. I know the stereotype of popular kids is more akin to Draco Malfoy (for the first five books, at least; I actually found him sympathetic for the last two, even if Rowling didn't) but if they're genuinely kind to others, they can work. Look at Tadashi Hamada from Big Hero 6. The entire school loved him, and at no point were we meant to believe he didn't earn their love. Harry could've been another Tadashi, and I think it would have made his character feel far more genuine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlion Blight Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 It's the escapism aspect. Harry is meant to be the "normal" kid that gets to live out the fantasy of being the chosen one, popular, good at sports, etc. All while still hanging out with his lame friends because he's too cool to hang with the cool kids. Or something like that. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Honor Spren Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 I can see what you guys are saying with the popularity issues. But I think JKR did a very good job at portraying how fickle fame is. I also have been realizing that I am more accepting when it comes to fiction characters, than most people. Not sure why exactly. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zathoth Posted January 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Because fictional characters are, by definition, not real? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiLyghtSansSparkles Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 I can see what you guys are saying with the popularity issues. But I think JKR did a very good job at portraying how fickle fame is. I also have been realizing that I am more accepting when it comes to fiction characters, than most people. Not sure why exactly. Because fictional characters are, by definition, not real? She did. There are a lot of things she did right with that series. I think it's because, with fictional characters, we often have a chance to see inside their heads. We learn why they do what they do, and more often than not, the mistakes they make are made honestly and with the best intentions in mind. We can forgive them because we have reasons given to us to forgive them. With real people, on the other hand, we never truly know what they're thinking. They can tell us, but for all we know, they can be lying to save face. If they make a mistake, it's easier to assume they did it out of malice than out of misplaced intentions. We can believe the best of fictional characters because we feel we can trust them; with real people, we never really know until they betray us. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zathoth Posted January 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 I... just had a thought so I have a somewhat arrogant question to ask... Do you think the narrator in Blood and Art is sympathetic? I tried to get around the entire "No you idiot dont go down to the basement alone!" feeling you often get from horror movies by forcing her to do what she ended up doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiLyghtSansSparkles Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 I... just had a thought so I have a somewhat arrogant question to ask... Do you think the narrator in Blood and Art is sympathetic? I tried to get around the entire "No you idiot dont go down to the basement alone!" feeling you often get from horror movies by forcing her to do what she ended up doing. I thought the doctor's actions made sense, given her situation. To her knowledge, there was nothing supernatural about her patient's paintings; the murders and the art were connected only in his mind. So from her point of view, looking at the paintings alone posed no threat to her safety. I do hope she burned them with fire and got some serious medication afterward, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zathoth Posted January 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 I thought the doctor's actions made sense, given her situation. To her knowledge, there was nothing supernatural about her patient's paintings; the murders and the art were connected only in his mind. So from her point of view, looking at the paintings alone posed no threat to her safety. I do hope she burned them with fire and got some serious medication afterward, though. How about the patient? I hope the doctor burned the paintings too, but looks like the ending had something else in store You know I like this part about writing horror. Fantasy writers knows everything that happens behind the scenes, I just have guesses and interpretations, sometimes several. I dont know more than the readers do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiLyghtSansSparkles Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 How about the patient? I hope the doctor burned the paintings too, but looks like the ending had something else in store You know I like this part about writing horror. Fantasy writers knows everything that happens behind the scenes, I just have guesses and interpretations, sometimes several. I dont know more than the readers do. Not really, no. Deluded, definitely. Maybe a little pathetic. But I don't see him as sympathetic. If he put his art above the lives of his victims, no amount of weeping over their fates will justify his sorrow. He wasn't forced into what he did; he made a choice. That is interesting—and probably why I've never considered writing horror. I'd rather know everything that's going on behind the scenes and in the world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 This morning, when I was returning home from veterinary after saying goodbye to Makruś I've found this balloon in the bushes near my home. I know you all can't understand it, but those are best wishes for 2016. That was kind of magical to find a balloon wishing me a good year after something that tragic... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zathoth Posted January 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Not really, no. Deluded, definitely. Maybe a little pathetic. But I don't see him as sympathetic. If he put his art above the lives of his victims, no amount of weeping over their fates will justify his sorrow. He wasn't forced into what he did; he made a choice. That is interesting—and probably why I've never considered writing horror. I'd rather know everything that's going on behind the scenes and in the world. Hn... interesting. I think when it keeps screaming for you to feed it for months until you cant sleep you have a decently understandable reason. I have a feeling I would be a very infuriating fantasy writer XD I have this idea, which I probably will do something with one day that throws the old fantasy tropes out into the real world all naked and confused. So the old oracle is the drunk under the bridge, the dungeons are abandoned laboratories, amusement parks or the old annoying neighbor lady's house (With her loud, annoying dog actually being a dragon in disguise), the princess is the presidents daughter, the evil overlord is your boss and so on. Thing is there is a detective following the main character who doesnt know anything about the magic and explains everything from how it should work in the real world, so it is very possible the main character is just insane, then again, how did the main character just cut down three armed agents with a stick? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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