tag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501Yellow gingham on the bed, remember?And the canopy in red, or was it blue?spilling all over with cheetah lupone2018-01-02T00:56:08Ztag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:57680Chocolate Box 20182018-01-02T00:55:31Z2018-01-02T00:56:08Zpublic0Hello, generous Chocolate Box writer! Thank you so much for writing for me; this is my first Chocolate Box and I'm very much looking forward to it. :D I don't really hang out on DW, but I can be found on AO3 at <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/prodigy/profile'><img src='https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico' alt='[archiveofourown.org profile] ' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' width='16' height='16'/></a><a href='https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/prodigy/'><b>prodigy</b></a></span>. I'm including fandom-nonspecific likes and dislikes here, but if you're interested in more of my general tastes you can find previous exchange letters under my <a href="http://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/tag/yuletide">Yuletide</a> tag.<br /><br /><b>Likes:</b><br /><br />- Angst, drama, and conflict<br />- Personal history; characters that know each other incredibly well, whether they would like to or not<br />- Fraught power dynamics<br />- Hurt/comfort<br />- Happy, unhappy, and bittersweet endings (depending on the pairing)<br />- Enemies to lovers, lovers to enemies, and iterations of this process<br />- Noncon and dubcon (depending on the pairing)<br />- Rough sex<br />- Unresolved sexual tension<br />- Canon-divergent AUs<br />- Time loops<br />- Family and group dynamics<br /><br /><b>DNWs:</b><br /><br />- Unrequested ships<br />- Ritualized/modern/"safe" BDSM (safewords, etc.)<br />- Underage sex<br />- Genderbends or gender headcanons<br />- Setting AUs (college, coffeeshop, historical, etc.)<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57680.html#cutid1">MCU</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57680.html#cutid2">Star Wars Prequel Trilogy</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57680.html#cutid3">Lymond Chronicles</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57680.html#cutid4">Fate/Zero</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=57680" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:57377Yuletide Letter 20172017-09-25T05:20:11Z2017-10-04T05:33:03Zpublic0Hi, Yuletide writer! Thank you so much in advance for writing for me, I deeply look forward to whatever you have in store. ♥ I've been around the Yuletide block several times and you can find my previous letters <a href="http://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/tag/yuletide">here</a> if you're interested. I'm pretty easy, and my preferences haven't changed that much.<br /><br />My AO3 name is <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/prodigy/profile'><img src='https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico' alt='[archiveofourown.org profile] ' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' width='16' height='16'/></a><a href='https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/prodigy/'><b>prodigy</b></a></span>. You can find me on Tumblr at <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='http://ourlightsinvain.tumblr.com'><img src='https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico' alt='[tumblr.com profile] ' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' width='16' height='16'/></a><a href='http://ourlightsinvain.tumblr.com'><b>ourlightsinvain</b></a></span> or consult my good friend <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://relia.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://relia.dreamwidth.org/'><b>relia</b></a></span>/<span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='http://lifecrystals.tumblr.com'><img src='https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico' alt='[tumblr.com profile] ' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' width='16' height='16'/></a><a href='http://lifecrystals.tumblr.com'><b>lifecrystals</b></a></span> if you're interested in scoping out my tastes.<br /><br /><b>I like</b>: all ratings; happy and unhappy endings; romance; explicit sex and porn in non-PWP stories; gothic, horror-, and suspense-themed stories; canon-typical casefic and self-contained plots; linear and nonlinear storytelling; humor, including in dark and dramatic situations; canon-divergent AUs; pre-canon and backstory fic; interactive fiction; uneven and fraught power dynamics; worldbuilding.<br /><br /><b>I don't like</b>: PWP; fluff or domesticity fic; setting-based AUs (college, historical, etc.); crossovers and fusions.<br /><br />I'm opting into <a href="https://yuletide.dreamwidth.org/97299.html?thread=698387#cmt698387">Crueltide</a> and IF, which will both be links when they're up!<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57377.html#cutid1">Fate/Zero</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57377.html#cutid2">Lackadaisy</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57377.html#cutid3">Alien: Covenant</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=57377" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:57333Yuletide Letter 20162016-10-01T06:16:40Z2016-10-01T22:01:29Zpublic0Hi Yuletide writer! First, thank you so much in advance for writing for me, and I hope you enjoy your Yuletide to the fullest. I haven’t been very active on Dreamwidth for years, but if you’re interested in finding out more about me or my fandom interests, I’m on Tumblr at <a href="http://ourlightsinvain.tumblr.com">ourlightsinvain</a> -- or you can feel free to consult my good friend <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://relia.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://relia.dreamwidth.org/'><b>relia</b></a></span>/<a href="http://lifecrystals.tumblr.com">lifecrystals</a> if you have any additional questions.<br /><br />My AO3 name is <b><a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/prodigy/pseuds/prodigy">prodigy</a></b> and my previous Yuletide letters can be found <a href="http://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/tag/yuletide">here</a>. But honestly, I’m pretty easy, so don’t worry about it!<br /><br /><b>I like:</b> all ratings; first, second, and third-person POVs; past and present tense; linear and non-linear storytelling; canon divergence AUs; backstory and post-canon fic; humor, even or especially in dark fic; angst and tragedy and darkness (with or without a happy ending); uneven power dynamics; explicit sex and porn in a non-PWP story; families and friendships; imaginative worldbuilding.<br /><br /><b>I don’t like</b>: PWP; crossovers and fusions; setting-based AUs (college AUs, historical AUs, etc.); fluff.<br /><br /><b>Other preferences</b>: I love shipfic, especially for the ships I’ve requested, but feel free to include other pairings if I haven’t specifically asked otherwise. I adore interactive fiction and would be delighted to receive it for any of my prompts. For <a href="http://yuletide.livejournal.com/1274987.html?thread=21829483#t21829483">Crueltide</a>: I love darkfic and I think the request of mine that best suits it this year is <i>Ex Machina</i> -- see below if interested. Please don’t feel limited to that fandom, however! If darkness strikes your fancy for any of my prompts, I’d be very happy.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57333.html#cutid1">Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57333.html#cutid2">Lymond Chronicles - Dorothy Dunnett</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57333.html#cutid3">Ex Machina (2015)</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57333.html#cutid4">トーマの心臓 | Thomas no Shinzou | The Heart of Thomas</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=57333" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:57086Yuletide Letter 20152015-10-19T21:34:54Z2015-10-20T01:03:11Zpublic0Hello, Yuletide writer! Hello, journal I use once a year! Thank you so much in advance for writing for me--I'm tremendously excited for the results. First off, don't sweat it, no pressure, and everything of that nature: if you have an idea you're passionate about that bends or breaks one of the preferences I express in this letter, I'd much rather read the fic you want to write than the fic I envisioned. You can consult my <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/prodigy">AO3 account</a> and my <a href="http://ourlightsinvain.tumblr.com">Tumblr</a> for more information about me and my likes. If you have any further questions, feel free to consult my friend <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://relia.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://relia.dreamwidth.org/'><b>relia</b></a></span> or the mods, as suits you.<br /><br /><b>I like</b>: plot and character arcs; canon-divergence what-if AUs; humor, whether wry and bittersweet or screwball; family relationships and friendships; politics (in the sense of in-universe maneuvering); adventure and hijinks; angst and bad things and tragedy (where applicable); world and backstory development.<br /><br /><b>I'm not so into</b>: fluff; pure introspection; PWP.<br /><br />As for other preferences: I love interactive fiction! I normally am all down with Crueltide but I don't know if any of my prompts suit it this year--if some particularly nasty idea gets into your head, though, go for it, I don't have any particular squicks. As for Yuleporn, I'm totally fine with and happy with sex being incorporated into the fic at large, but I don't necessarily like PWP, as I said.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57086.html#cutid1">Lymond Chronicles</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57086.html#cutid2">Hamilton</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/57086.html#cutid3">80 Days</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=57086" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:56632Yuletide Letter 20142014-10-18T04:49:17Z2014-10-18T05:04:52Zpublic0Hello Yuletide writer! Thank you in advance for writing for me and don’t sweat it! I don’t have much to say about my general taste in fic: I have an <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/prodigy">AO3 account</a> with some recentish stuff and some outdated and embarrassing stuff. I update my Tumblr the most, which you can find <a href="http://ourlightsinvain.tumblr.com">here</a>.<br /><br /><strong>I like:</strong> plot and character arcs; angst and darkness cut with humor and/or humor cut with angst and darkness; canon divergence what-if AUs; bittersweetness; fraught multishipping and the occasional love polygon; invented and expanded backstories; invented and expanded worldbuilding; pre- and post-canon fic.<br /><br /><strong>I don’t like:</strong> PWP; pure fluff or curtainfic; slice-of-life or sheer introspection generally.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/56632.html#cutid1">Fate/Zero</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/56632.html#cutid2">Lymond Chronicles</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/56632.html#cutid3">Regeneration</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/56632.html#cutid4">Johannes Cabal</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=56632" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:56575Dear Yuletide Writer 20132013-10-21T16:46:04Z2013-10-21T16:56:45Zpublic0Dear Yuletide Writer,<br /><br />Hello and apologies that this letter's so late-- I got your message through the mods, please excuse my tardiness due to IRL busyness. Thank you in advance for putting this much thought into writing me a gift I'll like! I'm sure it'll be great and I hope you have fun writing it and don't stress too much.<br /><br />If you've read my letter from <a href="http://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/48825.html">last year</a> or previous years, then you already know some general stuff. Not much has changed in that department, except that the kinds of requests I have this year may lend themselves to different things-- you can still find me on Tumblr at <a href="http://ourlightsinvain.tumblr.com">ourlightsinvain</a> where I update a lot more than I do here.<br /><br />A couple words on dark content and triggers and other stuff: several of these are at least semi-horror canons, several are violent, and one contains an at least borderline-abusive, if not straight-up abusive relationship. I wanted to say you can consider yourself to have basically carte blanche on violence, horror, abuse, and such to your discretion as suits the canon of each--I don't really have fic triggers and as long as everything is properly marked I'd be happy to receive IC darkfic. More details on how that applies to the individual canons below.<br /><br />I'm also open to fic of any rating--I might put a comment on the Yuleporn post saying so, but it mostly just applies to my BioShock: Infinite request. More on that in its section. But basically, if you have an idea for something but it involves content you're worried about, go ahead-- I read body horror, guro, dubcon and noncon, and a bunch of other stuff in that vein, so I wouldn't worry about putting me off, if it suits the story. I'm not sure that'll come up much with my particular requests, but I figured I'd let you know. Also, if you're not interested in writing darkfic whatsoever don't worry about it-- that's not a request, just a disclaimer.<br /><br />Onto the requests! I have them all blacked out in spoiler text since three of the canons came out just this year and ALMN would look, uh, lonely by itself.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/56575.html#cutid1">American Elsewhere</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/56575.html#cutid2">The Folly of the World</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/56575.html#cutid3">A Little Night Music</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/56575.html#cutid4">BioShock Infinite</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />If you have any more questions, you can go through the mods or, alternately, feel free to ask my friend <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://relia.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://relia.dreamwidth.org/'><b>relia</b></a></span>/<a href="http://lifecrystals.tumblr.com">lifecrystals</a>, who knows my preferences fairly well. Thanks again for your interest and your efforts, and happy writing!<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=56575" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:55681Life updates + lovememe2013-01-30T03:48:48Z2013-01-30T03:48:48ZMetric - Artificial Nocturnepublic5Thanks for all thoughts and condolences on the subject of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week; it's slowly on the mend, I think, and hey, today was warm enough to go out without a hat. A day at the end of January where I actually feel like voluntarily taking a hatless walk counts as a victory, I think. ♥<br /><br />I'm going to wait until another reading post is actually worthwhile before I make one, but I will always lament the dearth of men in <i>Emma</i> who are actually interesting enough for Emma Woodhouse. I may have a substantial pro-Emma bias, but I can never muster more than polite good will towards George Knightley. I think it's the age difference in their relationship, among other things; oh, well.<br /><br />Oh! So, lovememe. I've... never actually done a lovememe, it's so contrary to my netsocialization (someday I will write an article on the subject of netsocialization for those of us young enough to have received a "netsocialization," and I promise it will be 500% less silly and facile than most of Slate's--or whoever it is that usually writes these articles--material about internet social norms!), but this one looks like fun so: <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://staranise.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://staranise.dreamwidth.org/'><b>staranise</b></a></span> (which I keep reading as some iteration of the name "Stannis," oops) is doing a <a href="http://staranise.dreamwidth.org/383706.html">words and deeds</a>-focused one and my thread is <a href="http://staranise.dreamwidth.org/383706.html?thread=3123930#cmt3123930">here</a>.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=55681" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:54715Reading meme - Morpho Eugenia, Emma, etc.2013-01-20T01:36:27Z2013-01-20T14:59:46ZTchaikovsky, for research purposespublic7Stealing this from <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://qian.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://qian.dreamwidth.org/'><b>qian</b></a></span> to give it a try!<br /><br /><b>What are you reading now?</b><br /><br />I know <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://themis.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://themis.dreamwidth.org/'><b>themis</b></a></span> will probably roll her eyes at my recurring insistence on braving the Byatt gauntlet despite her overwroughtness and obsession with playing out the same gender roles in fiction over and over, but... I can't help it, her prose style has a certain je ne sais quoi. So I just finished with "Morpho Eugenia" which--had a lot of Byatt weaknesses in it, like uncomfortable exotification of a non-English locale as a metaphorical backdrop for what the English characters are up to, and presenting heterosexuality with that same vaguely predatory, conquest-based framework from the man's perspective, and in general I didn't care for it. But we'll see how I feel about "The Conjugial Angel," which is the second half of <i>Angels & Insects</i>.<br /><br />My other problem with "Morpho Eugenia" was <span style="background: black; color: black">the really boring and typical treatment of incest. I feel like incest in fiction, unless the story is About Incest in and of itself (and even then), always takes place between these two beautiful ciphers of people who just decide to start defying Westermarck just.. because... and outside the context of the kinds of toxic family environments in which these things actually transpire, and ignores that it's kind of one symptom that usually goes along with a whole syndrome of family dysfunction, not a sexy taboo act that springs out of nowhere. Then again, it's almost always a heavy-handed metaphor for something, or a lurid detail. Sigh.</span><br /><br />I'm also reading <i>Emma</i> because I feel like it, which is, of course, much better. Emma Woodhouse! It's kind of fun to mentally exercise yourself trying to speculate what other literary characters she directly influenced.<br /><br /><b>What did you just finish reading?</b> Apparently what I've read so far in 2013 has been:<br /><br /><i>Rivers of London</i> by Ben Aaronovitch: Fun! Great fun. I don't say that lightly, I do not generally find crime-procedural urban fantasy to be any fun whatsoever. But it's funny and upbeat and fairly creepy reading, actually, with a pretty horrific villain and supernatural conceit, and Peter Grant and Thomas Nightingale (I think he's a Thomas, anyway) are pretty endearing.<br /><i>The Secret History</i> by Donna Tartt: I... don't really understand this book's strange, melodramatic appeal, and yet I am sure I would and will reread it sometime. I think it has something to do with Francis. (There's a great YT fic called <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/600809">the mother of beauty</a> from this year.)<br /><i>The Bone Key</i> by Sarah Monette: Collection of Kyle Murchison Booth stories, which I have finally gotten around to reading all of. They're... uneven overall, and variable, and have a tendency to be kind of anachronistic, and I don't really like how Monette writes women in her horror stories, it cleaves rather closely and without much subversion to many misogynistic horror tropes (and horror is basically a collection of misogynistic tropes). But I'd read more of them, I admit. I like "The Green Glass Paperweight" and "Drowning Palmer."<br /><i>The Bloody Chamber</i> by Angela Carter: One of those "things I never got around to reading in the stage in my development when I should've!" It's... good, although I think it suffers from some <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeinfeldIsUnfunny">Seinfeld Is Unfunny</a> for younger people like me through no fault of its own and due to the oversaturation of dark feminist fairytales in the past 10 years?<br /><i>The Magician King</i> by Lev Grossman: Aaaaaargh. Basically everything that was piss-annoying about Grossman as an author in <i>The Magicians</i> was amplified, and--you know, I actually <i>liked</i> <i>The Magicians</i>, in spite of my general desire to slap the male heterosexuality right out of Grossman's authorial perspective, but <i>The Magician King</i> was just a mess and went from bad to worse in how it treated women. Not good.<br /><i>Cotillion</i> by Georgette Heyer: Heyer's so all-over-the-place for me but this one was really, really fun. And hilarious.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=54715" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:53710Rereading The Ladies of Grace Adieu2013-01-08T10:04:38Z2013-01-08T10:04:38Zpublic12<blockquote>"He is blushing," said Jonathan Strange, raising his eyes from the newspaper. "We have come, Henry, with the sole purpose of seeing Miss Parbringer (of whom you write so much) and when we have seen her, we will go away again."<br /><br />"Indeed? Well, I hope to invite Mrs Field and her niece to meet you at the earliest opportunity."<br /><br />"Oh, there is no need to trouble yourself," said Strange, "for we have brought telescopes. We will stand at bedroom windows and spy her out, as she goes about the village."<br /><br />Strange did indeed get up and go to the window as he spoke. "Henry," he said, "I like your church exceedingly. I like that little wall that goes around the building and the trees, and holds them all in tight. It makes the place look like a ship. If you ever get a good strong wind then church and trees will all sail off together to another place entirely."</blockquote><br /><br />Jonathan Strange is basically from another planet. This is why he is the best. Regency-set books are full of male characters who are <s>irritating macho douchebags</s> dark and brooding, or at best, manly and honorable (yawn); if only more of them were <i>complete space cadets</i>. He's like the lost, ginger Lovegood.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=53710" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:53070veni vidi interpretatus sum2013-01-03T22:58:14Z2013-01-03T23:05:56Zi sure hope that was legitpublic4<strong>Dad</strong>: Can yoyu translate "mutatis mutandis"?<br /><br /><strong>me</strong>: yeah, it's an idiom - meaning, roughly, changing what is to be changed, or changing what must be changed<br />only the necessary changes<br /><br /><strong>Dad</strong>: you googled it? :D<br /><br /><strong>me</strong>: nah, but i didn't translate it either<br />i recognized it<br />so i can't really take the credit<br />taking a crack at the grammar from scratch though, it's not a complete sentence, but then again, most things like this aren't<br />it's like, a clause you'd put in a sentence about something else to qualify it<br />(it's funny you should ask, i'm reading a novel right now about greek/latin/classics students at a college)<br /><br /><strong>Dad</strong>: can you translate "I came... I saw... I made bugs" ?<br /><br /><strong>Me</strong>: haha okay<br />hmm<br />i don't know the declension for insectum off the top of my head, so i'm going to assume it's... 3rd, i think<br />veni, vidi, feci insecta<br />if you literally mean bugs as in the creepy crawlies<br />and not 'mistakes'<br /><br /><strong>Dad</strong>: thanks :)<br /><br /><strong>Me</strong>: perhaps if you're making a programming language<br />err, programming reference<br /><br /><strong>Dad</strong>: yeah<br /><br /><strong>Me</strong>: what you're looking for is veni, vidi, feci errata<br /><br /><strong>Dad</strong>: "bugs" would be "defects"<br /><br /><strong>Me</strong>: yeah, i'd go with errata<br /><br /><strong>Dad</strong>: ok!<br /><br /><br /><hr /> <b><br />ETA</b>: ... later that same day...<br /> <br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/evilprodigy/photobucket-26695-1357254149706.jpg" align="middle" alt="" /><br type="_moz" /><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=53070" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:52744Yuletide 2012 Reveal2013-01-01T19:16:52Z2013-01-02T07:50:11Zi could pretend this isn't empty chairs at empty tables but it'd be a huge liepublic9I actually drafted this post at like 5AM in a bout of sleeplessness and boredom, FYI, so hi from the stream of consciousness. Also, Happy New Year, all! I think it's 2013 everywhere. That's four different digits. Sure is fun up here, woop woop. Apple juice is tasty. I still have a cold.<br /><br />Come to think of it, I wish my mom was around to make me <i>tteokguk</i> right now. Maybe I'll acquire some in Manhattan if anything is open today. I mean, I could always try and <s>make</s> ha ha, procure some on the lunar New Year, according to actual tradition, but we always ended up eating it on the solar New Year and sort of slinking off in the direction of Chinese celebrations come lunar because they throw grander parties and a Korean hates to be overshadowed. :P In conclusion: nooo come to me <i>tteokguk</i> whyyy<br /><br />For Yuletide this year I ended up writing two pre-canon backstory fics:<br /><br />For <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/scuttlesworth">scuttlesworth</a>: <b><a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/601662">All Souls</a></b>, <i>Johannes Cabal</i>, PG, Johannes Cabal & Horst Cabal, 8335 words: <i>In which a German schoolboy misplaces his brother.</i><br /><br />For <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://relia.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://relia.dreamwidth.org/'><b>relia</b></a></span>: <b><a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/606273">John Childermass's Last Employer</a></b>, <i>Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell</i>, PG, John Childermass/Gilbert Norrell, 12574 words: <i>To the city of York, in the year of our Lord 1780, there came a young man who had fallen upon hard times.</i><br /><br />Both very different and challenging prompts. Thanks to <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://nextian.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://nextian.dreamwidth.org/'><b>nextian</b></a></span> for beta on "Last Employer" and <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://kaianos.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://kaianos.dreamwidth.org/'><b>kaianos</b></a></span> and <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://corialis.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://corialis.dreamwidth.org/'><b>corialis</b></a></span> for beta on both fics; I really couldn't have done without you guys. ♥<br /><br />ETA: I can't get <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://kaianos.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://kaianos.dreamwidth.org/'><b>kaianos</b></a></span>'s username right on literally <i>any</i> platform, apparently.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=52744" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:52077Merry Yuletide!2012-12-26T00:03:48Z2012-12-26T00:03:48Z"what child is this" is stuck in my headpublic3Joyeux Noel to e'eryone who celebrates. ♥<br /><br />For Yuletide this year I got a lovely, bittersweet little <i>Scarlet Pimpernel</i> fic, <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/601439">The Truth of Her Face</a>. Thank you, nonnie!<br /><br />The challenge seems to have gone off this year with hardly any hitches at all, aside from some on the participant end of things (whoa, that is a <i>lot</i> of defaulters); overall it's been great, however, and I hope everyone's having a good holiday season whether or not you participate.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=52077" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:51786So, Yuletide. Ahahaha, hahaha, ha.2012-12-16T07:51:41Z2012-12-16T07:52:13ZEisley - Plenty of Paperpublic27So how's everyone else's procrastination coming?<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=51786" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:50075BBC One's doing Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell2012-12-01T08:15:19Z2012-12-01T08:15:19Zpublic3 So I guess you've all probably <a href="http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/jonathan-strange-mr-norrell/23665/jonathan-strange-mr-norrell-coming-to-the-bbc">heard enough about this</a> if you follow me on any other social platforms, but I don't even caaaaare, I'm in that floaty bubble where you mostly have not started thinking about all the ways the BBC could mess up that thing you care about.<br /><br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/evilprodigy/bdsfirefight2.gif" alt="" /><br type="_moz" /><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=50075" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:48999A Song of Ice and Fandom2012-10-16T23:56:07Z2012-10-17T00:06:10Zpublic0So I've seen it before, but I was recently re-linked to ThinkGeek's $30,000 Iron Throne -- made of fiberglass, really, but honest advertising never got anyone anywhere. It's mindbogglingly expensive for a site that mostly sells novelty pens and mugs, of course, and kind of cutesily packaged with well-meaning joking malapropisms for flavor text (I'm not sure they remember what the iron price actually is, but okay). But I laughed, it was ridiculous enough. Oh, ThinkGeek, what a card, that sort of thing.<br /><br />Then I'm like: wow, geek culture has gotten commercialized. The "Iron Throne" is a good example of that, but so is all of ThinkGeek honestly, and San Diego Comic-Con, and io9, and... everything, really. This is a really obvious yesterday observation that lots of people have made so I am not trying to make a new observation here, just pondering my own personal experience with it in the form of A Song of Ice and Fire fandom and how the experience of being a "fan" has changed since the advent of GoT.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/48999.html#cutid1">I was about 13 when I first read A Game of Thrones.</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=48999" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:48825Dear Yuletide Writer 20122012-10-14T22:43:44Z2012-10-15T19:08:56Zthe new Stars albumpublic0Dear Yuletide Writer,<br /><br />Hi there, mysterious person! Thanks in advance for writing my Yuletide fic, I’m sure it’s going to be awesome. I think I should let you know right off the bat that I am pretty damn easygoing about challenge and exchange fics: below and in the prompts I’ve listed what I had in mind requesting each fandom, but if you find yourself fired by a burst of inspiration that gives you a different idea, do it. \o/ I’m sure I’ll be thrilled.<br /><br />I figure I’ll just list some stuff I generally like and don’t like in fic, to give you a better idea of my tastes! Keep in mind these are all totally optional and in fact not all of them are going to fit any given prompt or fandom, so please don’t stress about how to include a particular thing -- they’re meant to help you brainstorm! In addition, you can check out my <a href="”http://archiveofourown.org/users/prodigy”">AO3 account</a> for fics I’ve written and bookmarked, my <a href="”http://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/profile”">DW profile</a> for some of my interests, and my <a href="”http://ourlightsinvain.tumblr.com”">Tumblr</a> to watch me dick around for whatever reason.<br /><br />… incidentally, this appears to be the year where I requested four different angst-and-tragedy prompts by coincidence so ahahaha sorry about that. Apparently this Yuletide is my Year of Starcrossedness. Also, as three out of four of my requests turned out to be recent novels, I’m putting them all behind individual cuts as well as highlight-to-read spoiler text, just in case. <i>The Scarlet Pimpernel</i> prompt is not actually spoilery, but it looked lonely all by itself.<br /><br /><b>Some stuff I generally like</b>: well-deployed humor and banter, bittersweetness, plot!, backstory, fun and detailed settings, non-linear storytelling, linear storytelling, meta, realistic and non-glorified depictions of war and violence, romance, social or humanist themes, politics, sex (also BDSM and BDSM dynamics), AUs and AU interpretations, fic that is critical or questioning of the source material, pastiche, fucked-up and problematic relationship dynamics, love-hate relationships, semi-unrequited love and other disparities in feeling, academic bullshit.<br /><br /><b>Some stuff I generally don’t</b>: fluff and schmoop (errr however you define these terms, I’m using them to mean “fic written specifically to showcase some cute moment in a couple’s lives” or what have you), total canon-rigidity/canon-worship, sanitization of history, narratives where one person in a relationship is Completely Right.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/48825.html#cutid1">CNV</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/48825.html#cutid2">OTTU</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/48825.html#cutid3">TSP</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/48825.html#cutid4">CA</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />In conclusion, please don’t freak out too much about your fic, as useless a reassurance as that is. You now know basically all you need to know about me in order to write a fic I’ll like, and I know one important thing about you: we have shared tastes. And that means you’re awesome. Go knock ‘em dead. ♥<br /><br />Love,<br /><span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/'><b>prodigy</b></a></span><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=48825" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:47391Dusting off2012-06-22T02:20:29Z2012-06-22T02:20:29Zpublic1Crap, I really haven't attended to this thing in a while. I'm alive! And reading/watching/writing things! Just busy!<br /><br />Today I saw a car parked in Laguna Beach with a bunch of typical sanctimonious bumper stickers, including the Coexist one, and then -- with a twist of horrific irony -- a quote about ignorance by <i>Rudyard Kipling</i>. Putting an anti-bigotry sticker next to a Kipling quote on your car is a true achievement in lack of self-awareness.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=47391" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:46320Game of Thrones 2.07-2.082012-05-22T03:53:00Z2012-05-22T03:53:00ZCERTAIN AS THE SUNNN, RISING IN THE EEAAASTTpublic0 Way too busy for ep reviews the past few weeks, hoping to get back on track with Blackwater. But this is my only episode reaction that really matters.<br /><br /><img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4dxhlxFmG1ql3i4oo1_500.gif" alt="" /><br type="_moz" /><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=46320" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:44367The Avengers2012-05-10T04:22:17Z2012-05-10T04:22:17Zpublic2Cursory post acknowledging I've seen <em>The Avengers</em> and it was pretty good, actually, if you don't think about it too hard. The plot was pretty stupid, Fridge Logic abounds, and the movie sort of accidentally endorsed a mildly fascist set of philosophies and handwaved away the sheer abundance of civilian death that transpired during it, but I was a fan of the way the characters were handled and a lot of the individual sequences were neat. I liked it. It was good popcorn entertainment. Joss Whedon did the best by what he had, I think. Black Widow and Hawkeye were my favorite characters, followed by Hawkeye's arms. Over and out.<br /><br />Back to adventures.<br type="_moz" /><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=44367" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:43882On the Unbelievable Awfulness of Girls2012-05-04T15:17:37Z2012-05-04T15:17:37Zpublic5<i>Girls</i> is awful. It's really bad. It's just bad. It has no redeeming qualities. I watched all three extant episodes out of curiosity and also trainwreck syndrome and afterward I feel a bit dirty and regretful, like I slept with a scuzzy dude who disrespected me and was a terrible lay. Well, <i>Girls</i> basically does disrespect me, as it is casually racist, homophobic, and contemptuous of everyone who is not its entitled and self-pitying target audience. It was also a terrible lay. I recommend watching it if you are a giant douchebag and want passive-aggressive reinforcement that your sociopathic behavior is somehow normal, or if, like me, you enjoy pain for some reason. <br /><br />It's the usual 1899-masquerading-as-2012 conservative shock-jock fare, but with tits. That's about all I have to say on the matter.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=43882" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:43380Important Post, Serious Business2012-05-01T04:38:34Z2012-05-01T04:38:34Zuh as for that GoT post I'm workin' on itpublic0<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gRhPeJ3uzOc?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><br />Outdoor fucking starts today!<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=43380" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:43058The Cabin in the Woods2012-04-28T04:50:13Z2012-04-28T04:50:13Zpublic2This film was more or less the opposite of <i>Hot Fuzz</i> or <i>Shaun of the Dead</i>. <i>Hot Fuzz</i> is an action-comedy satirizing cop action movies where the plot's influenced by the characters' awareness of action movie tropes. It's incredibly sharp and pointed and packed wall to wall with visual and cinematographic references to a lot of different action movies, as well as in-text dialogue ones. You can tell the director's watched a lot of action movies. It's also an excellent and compelling action movie in and of itself, as well as being fucking hilarious. In making <i>Hot Fuzz</i>, Edgar Wright didn't waste any screentime or camera angles; it's just intelligent enough to be good meta and it's just stupid enough to be fun. As far as self-aware send-ups go, it's a damn good self-aware send-up.<br /><br /><i>The Cabin in the Woods</i> was not <i>Hot Fuzz.</i> <i>The Cabin in the Woods</i> was like an attempt at a horror movie satire by someone who doesn't actually watch a lot of horror movies. Which I wouldn't be surprised if it was. It was bland. It was at turns kind of funny, faintly vexing, boring, and baffling. It wasn't terrible. It wasn't great. It was indecisive, mostly toothless, sometimes exploitative under the guise of irony. Basically, if you got a somewhat clever but overconfident 14-year-old to write a meta horror movie for their NaNoWriMo, you would get <i>The Cabin in the Woods</i>.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/43058.html#cutid1">But I guess it's watchable. Spoilers.</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />On second thought, pretty much everything I have to say about it is negative, aside from a few things being funny. I still can't say that I hated it, though. It just didn't inspire that kind of strong emotion. It's lukewarm, faintly annoying, a bit soothingly predictable. It's not worth hating, but I'm not sure it's worth nine dollars, either. I am disappointed, though, I was really hoping this would be the Joss Whedon vehicle that convinced me he was back on his feet at all.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=43058" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:42300Game of Thrones 2.04 - Garden of Bones2012-04-23T01:54:26Z2012-04-23T02:40:20ZLuigi Boccherini - Musica Notturna della Strade No. 6 Op. 30public14Liveblogging this time.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/42300.html#cutid1">There is only one god and his name is Spoilers. And there is only one thing we say to Spoilers.</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=42300" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:41732Game of Thrones 2.03 - What Is Dead May Never Die2012-04-16T02:20:21Z2012-04-16T02:20:21Zpublic17Brienne! Brienne Brienne Brienne! Game of Brienne! What Is Brienne May Never Die!<br /><br />You have to understand, of my four favorite ASoIaF characters, one of them is in my icon, one of them is in two of my other icons having a bad day, and one of them is in one of my other icons having a really bad day. And one of them is the Maid of Tarth.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/41732.html#cutid1">But rises again, harder and spoiler.</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=41732" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-05:290501:41692Game of Thrones 2.02 - The Night Lands2012-04-09T03:33:54Z2012-04-09T03:33:54Zpublic7Second verse, same as the first.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://prodigy.dreamwidth.org/41692.html#cutid1">Did you pay the spoiler price or the spoiler price?</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />I'm not sure all that much happened in this episode either to advance the plot, but it felt like it went faster than the last one, I think because they didn't try to cover all the plotlines (a notable absence of Robb, for one). I liked it, but I hope this goes more places next week.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=prodigy&ditemid=41692" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments