Nemo is a stray puppy that was found by Into the Storm’s Gary Fuller (It surprises me when I see his last name as Fuller. I still think of it as”Morris” in my head). Gary’s boys have gone off to college, leaving an empty house behind for their single father. Gary is feeling a bit lost without them so, against his better judgement, he decides to keep the puppy. he soon finds that having a dog is like raising another child. Between his dog making constant messes of things and being overworked and taken advantage of in his job, Gary is trying to weather the transition in stride. He’s often clueless though; good thing he’s become friendly with that cute woman who works at the pet store…
do not forget to let the dog out. trust.
⭐
music question: a song by the last band you saw play live
I question that because I saw them 6 years ago, has it really been that that long since I saw a band play live? wow. I listen to small time bands at local festivals and in pubs, etc. but it’s been awhile since I purchased a ticket to specifically see a band. at any rate, Pilot Speed is memorable for me because I liked the way their lead singer periodically stopped playing his piano in order to clap his hands or sway them around to the beat of the song.
The first fanfiction story I read in this fandom was Trudy Brasure’s A Heart for Milton…and I paid for it first, before reading. That is odd for me, to pay for a fanfic story, I still can’t get over the fact that I did that! It was early on, during my “research” phase. My husband was gone on a business trip, the kids were at sleepovers and I had spent all evening surfing YouTube, watching the different films of Richard Armitage that were available to view (for free)
money is expensive
Here’s the thing though: I had not watched North & South yet. Nope, I read A Heart for Milton first. I always seem to do things backwards, I don’t know why. With my favorite book series, Outlander, I read book number three first. then books four and two, before finally reading book number one. I find it exciting to do things out of order sometimes.
Something that may also be worth noting is that up until that point, I would have rather had my nose broken on purpose, than to sink so low as to buy a published fanfiction story. That statement needs some background: as some of you know, the fandom I was involved in before this one was Twilight. I became quite an avid reader of Twilight fanfiction, for two years I had been living and breathing those stories. well, maybe not so much the living part (I have never, nor will I ever, own nipple clamps) just the breathing.
I enjoyed the alternate universe stories best, the ones where everyone was human and they worked in a hospital, or were attending college together, maybe they were mobsters or professional sports athletes; the possibilities were endless! So, I was one of the readers who subscribed to a little fic known as Master of the Universe. Bondage is not usually my cup of tea(thus the aversion to nipple clamps) but this fic was very popular and I was enjoying Edward’s part in the story. But as the story was nearing it’s close, suddenly the author started removing chapters, only giving us a short window of opportunity to read them. Well, damn! Here we go with the “pull to publish” bullshit again!
Free Smut! Down with Publishing!
This was something that was happening more and more in our community and it was getting quite annoying! I was able to sympathize with both sides when the issue first arose: some of those authors pored their life’s energy into those stories, why shouldn’t they be able to make some money off of them? but the thing was, it wasn’t just one story they were editing and selling to the publishers, they were taking several of their previous stories and reworking them for profit. that became an integrity issue for me. publish one story to have something under your belt, prove to yourself that you were a good writer and that you could do it, but then take that new found confidence and channel it into original stories. This was (and is) a controversial subject that was slowly dividing the fandom, and then that particular author went and got herself famous. You might know her as E.L.James…
Needless to say, after all the drama that followed, I had negative opinions regarding published fanfic. When I took a peek into this fandom’s fanfic though, one story seemed to get mentioned with much love and respect, and that story was A Heart for Milton. I followed a link to Amazon, and just decided to be daring and make a purchase. This circumstance was a little different since the author of the original book was deceased, making it more acceptable to tweak the story, as long as it stayed canon and didn’t veer off into unknown galaxies. Thornton in a more modern setting could be enjoyable though. maybe as a baker?
anyways, I was hooked on the story as soon as I started reading it. I could not put it down! John Thornton passing a note to Margaret through a book was priceless “Margaret, do you like me? check yes or no”. okay, that’s not really what it said, it was a bit more eloquent
If you have had a change of heart, give me but a sign. My heart remains forever yours. John Thornton
Reading that fanfic caused me to not only hunt down other North & South fanfics within the fandom, and leading me to Guy and Marian as well (again, long before I actually watched the series) but it also caused me to give in to viewing the mini-series itself. You’ve met Richard as John Thornton, so you can imagine all the lovely things I was feeling after knowing him with my eyes, and not just my mind.
did someone say eyes?
…and now I’ve forgotten what my actual point was. Armitage eyes make me stupid. so yeah, A Heart for Milton was my gateway to RA Fandom fanfic; best $4 I ever spent.
⭐
music question: first song that you ever heard, that you still listen to regularly
This is a fluffy story consisting solely of the honeymoon from North & South. It’s not very long and doesn’t have much actual plot, but I enjoy it because of the feelings of “new love” that it provokes.
Propriety is very important to Margaret but all the new sensations that have been awakened in her by John are warring with that principal. There is a sweet sensuality revolving around simple pleasures like touching each other’s skin and the freedom to caress whenever the mood strikes, etc.
There is a scene in the very first chapter when they’re on the train and John has dozed off. Margaret is resting her hand upon his shirt and suddenly has a curious desire to touch his skin. The sense of forbidden wonder, from Margaret who is attempting it and John who is feigning sleep just so he can feel it, is addicting!
There are a lot of “you mean the world to me” sentiments but the way that the author chooses to describe what John and Margaret are thinking and feeling has a flow that is almost poetic at times. This is one of the first fanfics I read in this fandom and I go back to it from time to time when I need a quick fix 🙂
This song is full of heartache and yearning and I feel it in my chest each time that I listen. It doesn’t make me feel sad necessarily, but just the wanting.
My plans for seeing The Desolation of Smaug opening weekend fell through, so I was determined to see it yesterday; nothing was going to stand in my way!
N-O-T-H-I-N-G!
*maybe you should tame that hair a bit first, just a suggestion*
“I hope you’re not still sick, Son,
because I’m going to push you out the door and force you to go to school
*I’m going, Mom! I’m going!*
in order to teach you a valuable life lesson:
never stand in the way of a fangirl.”
I ended up seeing the 3D/48FPS version, just because it had the earliest start time
(I had to be back before Daughter got home from school)
*send me the bill, I need to get home!*
Confession: I’ve never seen a cinema movie in 3D before;
I’ve only ever seen the ones they show at museums and amusement parks.
“Tilting Windmills”
While I enjoyed the experience, I think I’ll bypass the 3D next time. It enhanced the fantasy setting and made the fictional characters look more real, but almost too real.
need some gravy for those sausage fingers?
I enjoy fiction because it’s not real. Visually, it sometimes seemed
like I was watching an elaborate Soap Opera.
*It’s true: Thorin and Thranduil were twins, separated at birth*
The storyline itself I liked,
especially once we met Bard the Bargeman.
*when I said, “let’s use the toilet and leave” that’s not what I had in mind!*
Quite a few fans did not like the deviations from the book but it seemed to me like the writers were already appeasing by including the must have scenes that they did. I could have done without the spiders, for instance, or Beorn’s house (though Beorn himself was awesome) if it meant the flow would have been as smooth as it was from Laketown on into the Mountain.
I might be slightly biased
A Hobbit fanfiction instead of the original Tolkien Hobbit?
That’s perfectly fine with me; I love fanfiction!
So in my fanfiction movie adaptation, I would keep the Prancing Pony scene at the beginning but then jump straight to getting the dwarves lost in Mirkwood and captured by the Wood Elves. That way I could spend more time showing the dwarves as prisoners, losing hope, and feeling locked away like animals.
yes, exactly like that…
I would also set up more of the love story between Tauriel and Kili. This could be my missing Eowyn and Faramir romance from the LOTR, seeing as how it was totally overshadowed by Aragorn and Arwen 🙄
“I could have anything down my trousers”
I’d get rid of the Orc storyline as well; battling the elements of Mirkwood while feeling the pressure of Durin’s Day fastly approaching, would create sufficient tension. Keep the spiders if more action is needed but for the love of Cod, leave out Legolas! He was so unnecessary and borderline annoying. Tauriel going against the Elven King to follow her heart and fighting that inner turmoil of loyalty, would have been enough conflict without using a love triangle.
#prettierthanyou
I loved Laketown and the Dragon scenes, so I wouldn’t change any of them. I found the added action with the Dragon enjoyable and exciting 😎
The scene with the key at the secret doorway was probably my all around favorite of the movie. Anticipation, frustration, the dashing of hopes and then relief; roller-coaster emotions at it’s finest! I felt that Thorin’s hesitance to rush in to rescue Bilbo though was not solely due to dragon sickness, I think it was PTSD too 😦
“memories, pressed between the pages of my mind”
All in all, the movie exceeded my expectations and I’m very excited to see it again with my family.
One last thing: did anyone feel the cross-over potential during the confrontation between Thorin and Smaug?
“KHAN!!”
A Vicar of Dibley/Star Trek/Hobbit fanfic?
it could work…
*the Dragon planned to outwit the Vicar in order to get his people back, but he never expected to fall in love with his foe*
I was part of a discussion this past week that loosely touched upon a popular element of fandom: Shipping.
use UPS, to get it there overnight!
Shipping is when one has a fondness for a specific romantic pairing, either in regards to fictional characters or real life people.
*insert choice here*
Unfortunately sides are often taken where shipping is concerned- either in opposition to the pairing itself, or just the practice in general.
I was made aware of some negative murmurings that were the result of my conversation, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to clarify a few things:
but you’re brothers! I know your mother taught you better than that
In regards to Fan-Fiction:
It’s fiction, anything is possible.
listen to the lady, Thornton. anything.
We all have our preferences in ships, styles, etc. but just because some may not share our preferences, we should not automatically assume that they will then prevent us from enjoying them.
In regards to Real Life pairings:
I’m aware that there are those who feel that since a celebrity is far removed from our everyday realities, then that is akin to fiction and so the same sentiments apply. I do not agree with that, but again, my views do not automatically cancel out anyone’s preference for those Real Life pairings; whether they be fact or just hopeful suspicions.
I’d ship this. if I was into that sort of thing.
Sometimes these two different areas of shipping merge into the form of
Real Person Fiction:
This is when a fan-fiction story is written involving Real Life people as characters in a fictional setting. I’ve read a few RPF in my time but didn’t care for them, for various reasons.
do I really want to know what put that look on his face?
I realize that others enjoy these stories though, so I won’t try to prevent them from reading what they prefer.
I’m sensing a theme here
If someone does not feel the same as I do in regards to shipping or fan-fiction, this does not mean that lines need to be automatically drawn.
so that’s a no to Alan, then?
We can chose to discuss our differing opinions in an exchange of ideas, or we can just agree to disagree. Our approach should not turn into a quest to bring others over to our side.
Geraldine: I quite like the Bible.
Harry: Oh, a bit far fetched for my tastes.
Geraldine: Right. Fair enough.
When I do share my personal opinions, I try to do so honestly but respectfully. Which is why I often resort to lighthearted comments, as a way to double-check myself.
If I offend anyone, or if someone would just like to discuss something in greater detail with me, feel free to use the contact form located on the “about” page of this blog. I enjoy conversing with others on a variety of subjects.
“variety” may be the wrong word…
Fandoms are families. Differing views and disagreements will arise, it’s how we handle them that sets us apart from other fandoms.
“I just ask you to look after each other.”
When your need to be right overshadows the simple joy of sharing in the enjoyment, I would strongly urge you to reevaluate why you are here, in this particular fandom.
“To live and let live, without clamour for distinction”
Nowhere in Particular RA 