fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2215 ]

[ SECRET POST #2215 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2215 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

There is a moving gif in this post.

01.

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02.

[Rose McGowan]

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03.

[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]

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04.

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05.

[Fringe]

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06.

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07.

[Touhou Project / Axis Powers Hetalia: Romaheta / Kuroshitsuji / Homestuck]

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08.

[Being Human UK]

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09.

[Three Kingdoms 2010]

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10.

[Legend]

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11. http://i.imgur.com/fO4RU.jpg
[linked for kind of porny/suggestive postures of possibly underage character]

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12. http://i.imgur.com/T28p7.jpg
[linked for illustrated porny x 2 (clothed, but that doesnt do much)]

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13.

[Downton Abbey]

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14.

[Xia Junsu/Tarantellera]

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15.

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[ ----- SPOILERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]

16. [SPOILERS for Downton Abbey]

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17. [SPOILERS for Homestuck]

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[ ----- TRIGGERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]

18. [WARNING for abuse]

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19. [WARNING for abuse]

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20. [WARNING for incest]

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Notes:

Late day at work, sorry.

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #316.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 1 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - template ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I think Harry avoids doing business with Marcone (which yeah, I love Marcone and sometimes I kinda wanna smack Harry for being against him, but I think it fits his character) because Marcone gets people dead. Bad people, usually, but still. Harry's generally against killing other human beings unless they're trying to kill him first. And because if you work for Marcone, that makes you one of Marcone's People. Harry doesn't like being anyone's People. Marcone is a Bad Man who kills people for money and sells drugs. He's usually the least of several evils, but he's still Not A Good Person, and Harry has a hard enough time not going down the left-hand path as it is. I don't think he'd be able to face the people he considers to be friends, like Murphy or Michael or Billy or Butters if he also had to tell them that he was one of Marcone's People.

(All prior to Changes. After that, all bets are off.)

The line you quoted is maybe a YMMV thing? Firstly because it feels more like dichotomy--Murphy is cute (the word being used frequently to describe less of her sex appeal and more of the fact that she is tiny, blonde, and kind of adorable-looking at first glance), and right now her face is so contorted in fury that she doesn't even look like herself (which is what happens when people, especially people with "cute" faces get furious). Secondly, because Harry is always picking on Murphy for being "cute" (which I always thought came off less as being sexist and more as being a friendly prick, since I usually tease my sister for the same thing, and my best friend teases me like that, etc), so it's just...eh, it's a kneejerk word for Murphy. But mostly the first--it's illustrating a point more than it's trying to do the equivalent of a Guillem March fight panel.

But Harry is a prick. He does tease people, both his friends and Beings Of Unfathomable Powers. And it's a flaw in him, rather than in the writing, because as you point out, it always comes back to bite him. (Compare to the far more annoying thing like characters having TERRIBLE flaws that are never treated as such in the writing.)

Plus, these books have Butters. And forget Marcone, I would marry Butters.

I agree with you about Marcone and Harry's character. I think a large part of the headdesk for me is that I'm a little more... flexible... in the morals department than Harry is (at least about some things), so I would totally be okay with being one of Marcone's People (especially if I could do things like shoot fireballs from my hands), and since the Dresden Files are written in first person I get some obvious dissonance there.

(It's been long enough that I count myself as only up to the second book. I read them as I get them from the library and find time.)

Mm... I dunno. You're probably right on the YMMV thing; I see the word "cute" as having an "ineffective" connotation, so I take it as more automatically belittling, if that makes sense. Also may have to do with the fact that the only picture I have ever had of Harry and Murphy is of Castle and Beckett, respectively, so there you go.

I do like that, since I see so little of it - that flaws-coming-back-to-bite-them thing. Too often (esp. since I'm just growing out of both YA fiction and easy access to a high-school library), the hero(ine) either has no flaws that s/he acts on significantly, or s/he has flaws galore and yet they have no bearing on the story. Plus fanfic is... well, it's fanfic. So every time I see something like this I cringe a little inside and just cross my fingers, and then I'm really happy when it's handled well.

I have no idea who Butters is but this sounds like an excellent reason to continue reading the books.

Ah, well, if you're only up to the second book and you don't mind some (minor, vague) spoilers regarding Harry and Marcone: Harry does get off his high horse when it comes to Marcone. He will never be 100% okay with him, and he will never deliberately work FOR him, but he is will to work with him and make deals with him. It's actually pretty rare that they are completely at odds, and it's almost a little adorable or hilarious the way Marcone sort of arranges things in his life in advance to accommodate or prepare for Harry barging in. Harry's never gonna like him, but that's because Harry is kind of a lug head.

I can see Castle and Beckett (though I don't know if that means you dislike cute in application to Beckett or what). Also, in the new Hawkeye comic, Clint and Kate, or Hawkeye and Hawkeye, have a certain Dresden-and-Murphy vibe. It could be a personal preference thing. Murphy reminds me a lot of my sister--short, blonde, and angry, but also physically adorable. I'll also add that the vibe between Harry and Murphy in the first couple of books, where she's still not 100% sure she can trust him and he still kind of does think of her as that spunky, tough cop chick, versus the later books, when he respects her and both of them have seen and supported each other through their most vulnerable moments, is pretty different.

Butters is adorable. They're pretty quick reads, if you have time.

I still pick up YA (some kids) fic from time to time (I work at a library, and there's just so many books, and I don't have a lot of reading time, so I usually pick up the ones I know i can get through pretty quickly). Just finished all but the last of Artemis Fowl and started with two series: H.I.V.E. (Higher Institute of Villainous Education) and Skullduggery Pleasant, which also might be fun reads, if you like that sort of thing. Any suggestions?

Those spoilers are strangely adorable, in a sort of head-tilting way. I really should actually read all of these books at some point - you've thoroughly convinced me it's worth it.

I used to like a lot of YA/kids books, but now I play a drinking game with them (with soda or something, not old enough to drink yet): pick up a recent YA book. If it has a female protagonist and male love interest is mentioned in the blurb, take a shot. If the male LI is dark, brooding, mysterious, unattainable, aloof, "off-limits," or any combination of the above, take a shot for each adjective. If the male LI is some kind of paranormal creature (but still humanoid, that's important), forget the shot glass and take a swig. If there's so much rape culture inherent in the book that you can see it from outer space just by reading the blurb, drain the bottle.

On the other hand, if any of this is subverted, or if the romantic combination is anything other than female/male humanoids, and it's not a "Woe Is Me, I Am Gay," kind of book, check it out or buy it immediately.

As for actual books, I've read Skulduggery Pleasant, though it's one of those that you read up to what's currently written and then you forget everything by the time the next one comes out. I haven't read HIVE but I've been meaning to, I just can't find the time.

There was a book series called Nightmare Academy, or something, that I was reading and liked quite a bit, though that was in eighth grade so I don't know if they're actually any good.

I've started re-reading the Secrets of Droon series and I'm surprised at how good it is, despite being, y'know, for kids. The writing's good and while it has a lot of obvious fantasy tropes (old wise wizard, Narnia-time, etc.), they aren't annoyingly overused. The individual books take me like ten or twenty minutes to read, but there's a lot of them.

Emily Rodda's book are pretty good - Rowan of Rin and Deltora Quest come to mind, don't know if she's done anything else. They kind of hinge on riddles and puzzles as their main plot devices, some of which are kind of obvious and some of seem to have come out of a handbook on espionage. Your enjoyment of those books probably depends on how much you like rhyming riddles, though, and like most kids' books, they are on the formulaic side (get the seven gems, pass the five challenges, one of you will turn back every mile, etc.).

There was one series I used to read... had unicorns and high fantasy in it... what was it called... Unicorn of Balinor? Something like that. Again, don't know if it's any good from an adult point of view, but I liked them when I read them.

I've seen Droon and Deltora come through pretty often. Might have to set one aside the next time it passes my way. ^_^

I totally hear you on the YA books. It's something we've been noticing and making fun of a lot, the current trend of broody paranormal romance that followed on the heels of Twilight. It's probably one of the reasons that I do fall back toward kids books as well--there are a lot of really well written ones, and they don't usually need to focus on romance. I think I've seen the Unicorns of Balinor, or at least it sounds familiar. Have you read Bruce Coville's Into the Land of Unicorns quartet? Or really, any of Coville's work. He always does a great job with his female protagonists and letting them be people and not necessarily needing a romance because Other Things Are Happening Right Now.

We've considered starting a drinking game at the library, but we think the city would frown on it. ;)

:) Tell me what you think of them when you get around to it, k?

Yeah, there was Twilight that made a zillion bucks, then Hush Hush and that whole noxious crowd. Less a crowd and more a miasma, really. Though I'm reading a wonderful deconstruction of Twilight, here: http://www.anamardoll.com/2011/02/twilight-twilight-deconstruction-index.html, which is both very funny and enlightening.

Unicorns of Balinor is, I think, that one with the girl who suffers a horse-riding accident, and to pay for her medical bills her parents are forced to give riding lessons to the annoying stuck up rich girl, and then her horse turns out to be magical or something, and there's character development and all sorts of good stuff. The TV Tropes page is spoileriffic, so here's Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicorns_of_Balinor

I've read some of Coville's stuff, I think. That one where the teacher is an alien in disguise, or something. I may have read other books of his and not remembered; I read a lot as a kid, when I had much more time to do so.

It's kind of sad that our standards from media are now so low that "a female character is a person" and "there isn't a Romance shoehorned in" are exceptionally good things. Sigh. Unfortunately I work in my high school's library (as a TA, they don't pay me), so I get to sit through a lot of this.

On a vaguely related note, my friend tried to get me to read Interview With a Vampire and the related books a while ago, and I lost interest because I hadn't hit the point where I have lots and lots of hormones mucking up my brain yet. Are they actually any good/should I read them, or are they basically the same mindless Twilight drivel but with more sex(y subtext)?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #2215 ]

Re: Weird misogyny aside, is this worth reading?

Re: Weird misogyny aside, is this worth reading?

Re: Weird misogyny aside, is this worth reading? (Some minor spoilers)

Re: Weird misogyny aside, is this worth reading? (Some minor spoilers)

Re: Weird misogyny aside, is this worth reading? (Some minor spoilers)

Re: Weird misogyny aside, is this worth reading? (Some minor spoilers)