Shipping and OTPs

Before we get started on the actual post, I'd like to let you know that I've written a co-review of "Kill the Moon" (S08, E07 of Doctor Who) with nevillegirl at Musings from Neville's Navel. You can find the post here.

For those of you who aren't neck deep in nerd culture and fandoms, I'm going to define what these mysterious "ships" and "OTPs" are (No, it has nothing to do with FedEx).

Shipping (Ship is short for relationship, I think?) generally means that you think two characters would make/ are a cute couple. Sometimes people also ship characters as just friends- they don't necessarily have to be in a relationship.

OTP stands for "one true pairing". The thing is, most people have multiple OTPs. It can be taken in different ways, like you have one OTP per fandom, or even per character.

So, anyway, now that I've defined those critical terms and self-promoted a bit (as usual), let's get started! I'm going to be listing my OTPs and my thoughts on them/ why I ship them. Hopefully, this one will have a bit more substance than my horrendous INTJ characters post.

Let the shipping begin!

Clint Barton/ Natasha Romanoff- Marvel Cinematic Universe



"Agent Barton was sent to kill me. He made a different call." -Natasha Romanoff, The Avengers

How could anyone not ship this? I mean, they're just so perfect for each other. You want chemistry? They've got chemistry. I can totally imagine them going on this super romantic dinner date and then right afterwards going out to kick some HYDRA butt or something.

Cecil/ Carlos- Welcome to Night Vale



"Neat!" -Cecil Baldwin, WTNV Episode 16 (The Phone Call)

Why do I ship them, you ask? HAHAHA Cecil and Carlos are just... They're just... so cuuuuute together. Also I have a weakness for ships where one or both of the people in it are super awkward and nerdy and obviously in love but have a really hard time expressing it and I just... It's perfect. They're perfect for each other.

Jenny/ Madame Vastra- Doctor Who



"I'm a lizard woman from the dawn of time, and this is my wife." -Madame Vastra, The Snowmen

Jenny and Vastra are really one of the only reasons I'm still watching this Moffat stuff. I don't have as much to say on this one, but... PERFECTION.

Sherlock Holmes/ Molly Hooper- Sherlock



"You've always counted." -Sherlock Holmes, The Reichenbach Fall

As I said, awkward-nerdy-but-still-adorable ships are one of my weaknesses. I don't really have a whole lot to say on Sherlolly either, though, aside from that it's cute.

Billy Kaplan and Teddy Altman- The Young Avengers



"Oh, ugh. Is love really going to save us all?" -Loki, Young Avengers #13

Why, you ask? Excuse me if I laugh at you again. Billy and Teddy are the best together, there's no denying it. They understand each other, and they're just such a (I feel like I'm really overusing this word but) cute couple.

Gertrude Yorkes and Chase Stein- The Runaways

"I was reventilating him. Anyone who says different gets fed to my dinosaur." -Gertrude Yorkes, Runaways #16

Throughout most of the original series, they hated each other (Well, at least, Gert hated Chase. I have no idea if Chase hated Gert or not.) and then BOOM.  They were absolutely in love and it was perfect. And it wasn't perfect, either. It was realistic. They had their ups and downs. It wasn't all just fluffiness and rainbows, but they still stayed together, and... I think that makes it all the better.

Let me know what your ships and OTPs are in the comments!

Quarterly Rewind: Spring 2014

So, hi guys! It's me again, believe it or not. Sorry for the lack of posts lately! I've had a really hard time coming up with ideas for posts lately, but hopefully I'm back now. Keep an eye out for my review of Ash by Malinda Lo, as it should be coming soon!

(And yes, I've borrowed the Quarterly Rewind from Musings from Neville's Navel again.) It's a bit late, but hey, who cares?

Favorite Quote From A Book I Read This Spring

"I got to thinking that poems were like people. Some people you got right off the bat. Some people you just didn't get- and never would."

-Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Sáenz

This Spring In One Word

Busy!

Most Popular Review This Spring

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Top Two Books I Read This Spring

1. Ash, by Malinda Lo. I haven't even finished it yet, but gosh, this book is amazing. Queer protagonists! Fairy tale style storytelling (in a YA book)! What's not to like?
2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. METAPHORS! Metaphors everywhere!

Two Things I’m Looking Forward To This Summer

1. Horseback riding. I'm doing a summer camp, so that'll be fun. Even if it'll be really hot out.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy comes out on August 1st! I can't wait!

Three New Obsessions This Spring

1. Comic books. I still haven't read that many, but the ones I have read, I've loved.
2. Renaissance-era stuff. My school is doing a renaissance fair next year, so I've been doing a lot of research.
3. Polyvore, a new favorite website of mine. Which is weird. I've never really been into fashion. Even if it's fandom related.

Most Popular Three Blog Posts Overall This Spring

How to Read and Write Circular Gallifreyan

Elsa and Anna: Not the First

Why Gertrude Yorkes Needs a Bit More Appreciation

Three Posts I Loved On Other Blogs This Spring

Review: The House of Hades (Musings from Neville's Navel)

Bending Over Backward (This Page Intentionally Left Blank)

Writers Should Learn Languages (YAvengers)

Three Things That Happened This Spring

1. I've branched out in my reading interests a bit. I've started reading a lot more historical fiction, queer fiction, and comic books lately.
2. I was REALLY busy in May. I had a horse show and two big school events. It was fun, though.
3. I volunteered to help teach a book club at school next year with a few friends!

Six Songs That I Listened To Far Too Often This Spring

1. Cassandra's Waltz, from the Doctor Who soundtrack. It's so lovely and sci-fi sounding at the same time.
2. New Year's Day, by U2. I don't know what it is about this song, but I love it.
3. New Soul, by Yael Naim. Which is weird. This is more my mom's kind of music (I usually don't listen to upbeat songs), but... I like it.
4. Nobody but Me, by Save Ferris.
5. Warg Scouts, from the An Unexpected Journey soundtrack. This one is great for writing action scenes to.
6. I Can See the Light from Tangled.

Why Gertude Yorkes Needs a Bit More Appreciation

Okay. So, I just finished Volume Six (Parental Guidance) of Runaways last night, and, well... My. I haven't had this many feels since Reichenbach. So, that being said, this post is in honor of Gertude Yorkes.

1. Gert is the only superheroine I've ever heard of who looks as if she weighs over a hundred pounds. Now, Runaways does quite a good job at beating back the skinny, scantily clad cliche, but look at Gert next to say, Karolina, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

2. She has a pet dinosaur, for crying out loud. Fancy suits of armor and superhuman powers are all well and good, but you can't beat Gert when it comes to 'powers'. Need I say more?

3. She's smart. On the Marvel wiki, Gertude was rated a four out of seven on intelligence. Although not quite a genius, she even rivals Ultron's 'son' when it comes to smarts.

4. She realizes that not everyone is perfect, but doesn't let that impact her relationship with them. Even though she doesn't act like it, Gert is one of the most compassionate members of the Runaways. She helps Molly get past the fact that her parents are supervillains, and she gives her life to save Chase.

5. Speaking of that, she has one of the saddest death scenes in the Marvel Universe...

6. And her and Chase also have one of the most adorable relationships.

7. She's critical of society, and a deep thinker. Even Spidey says so, which is saying something.

8. She has pink hair. I think that's pretty cool, don't you? And she would also be quite fun to cosplay.

Quarterly Rewind- Winter 2014

So, I got this idea from nevillegirl at Musings From Neville's Navel. Basically, it's a meme going over the events of the past couple of months.

It's hard to believe that winter is over, isn't it? And I'll be turning fourteen in a couple of days. Weird.

So. On to the meme.

Image From This Winter

A photo taken during photography class at my school.

Favorite Quote From A Book I Read This Winter
“In the end, all it takes is one small action, by one person. One at a time.” 
-Ghost Hawk, By Susan Cooper



1. The Neptune Project, by Polly Holyoke. It quickly became one of my new favorite books. I love the characters, the story, and the writing.
My birthday! No. Okay. Um. Seriously.
First of all, the new X-Men movie, Days of Future Past. And Muppets Most Wanted. Honestly, it seems like all the best movies are coming out this year. I'm so excited!
Second... let's see. I'm going on a school camping trip; that should be fun, as I haven't been tent camping in a while now.
Disney. After Frozen came out, I've been totally hooked on Disney. Remember how I was mentioning adding 'yet another fandom' to the list? Well, here's another one. Give me a year and I'll be a sobbing wreck from all the feels.
Third. Let's see. Looking at FitzSimmons stuff on Pintrest because even though I don't watch Agents of SHIELD it's one of the bestest ships ever.

This Winter In One Word
Fast. The year has been going by much too quickly for me.

Most Popular Review This Winter
The Neptune Project, by Polly Holyoke.

Top Two Books I Read This Winter


2. Shada, by Gareth Roberts. It's like high-end Doctor Who fanfiction, plus it retains the trademark humor of Douglas Adams.

Two Things I’m Looking Forward To This Spring

Three New Obsessions This Winter
Marvel superheroes- the movies and occasionally the comics. I've never really been into superheroes before, but lo and behold. Here I am, a newly coined True Believer. Yet another fandom to add to my list.

Most Popular Five Blog Posts Overall This Winter
How to Read & Write Circular Gallifreyan
Way To Go, Marvel!
Photo Editing
What Every Fairy Tale Needs
The Neptune Project Review

Five Posts I Loved On Other Blogs This Winter
How to Write Strong Females
Mini Reviews: Heroic Edition
Love and the Pursuit of Evil
First Reaction to The Giver Film Trailer
Sochi and Stuff

Five Things That Happened This Winter

Hmm. Let me see.

I started a new novel, which I may or may not write a post about sometime in the near future.I downloaded the free trial of Scrivener, which I may or may not decide to use. I realized that my decision about which high school I want to go to will be a lot harder than I originally thought. I joined Pintrest and went crazy with it. And I learned the basics of html coding and css.

Three Songs That I Listened To Far Too Often This Winter

Let It Go, from Frozen. It's perfect stress relief, and always manages to make me feel better.

Plus, it's just plain awesome.



New Year's Day, by U2. I just discovered U2 on my iPod, and I love it. It's quickly made a place on my list of favorite music.

Eleanor Rigby, by the Beatles. It's so sad. But as Sally Sparrow so wisely put it, "Sad is happy for deep people."




The Song of the Lonely Mountain, by Neil Finn. It's so beautiful and rather haunting.



So, I think that's about it.

Goats

Lists

I've realized that my posts on here leave much to be desired. I created this blog intending it to be a place for me to share my thoughts, but I've realized that, when I post on here, it tends to be just a collection of Doctor Who/ Sherlock/ Harry Potter pics. Therefore, I've decided to make 3 changes to this blog, starting today.
1. I'll try to post at least once a week (Note the word try. I'll be homeschooled this year, so I'll be working much harder.)
2. My posts will (almost) always have some... substance? Is that the word for it? I won't just be posting random pics anymore.
3. I'll post for a wider audience. It won't all be Doctor Who/ Sherlock/ Harry Potter themed (Although you can expect quite a few of Doctor Who/ Sherlock/ Harry Potter themed posts, still)
Now, for today's post. :) I got this from Musing From Neville's Navel, and although I hope to do some better posts later on, here it is.

Top 5 Favorite Animated Movies

1. How to Train Your Dragon
2. Up
3. The Pirates
4. Finding Nemo
   
5. Brave

Top 5 Favorite Superhero Movies

1. Avengers
2. That's pretty much the only superhero movie I've seen...
3. So...
4. Same here.
5. And her

Top 5 Favorite Comedies

1. Elf
2. Muppets From Space
3. Anything Muppets, actually
4. The Princess Bride
5. I'm not sure what else to put here, actually.

Top 5 Favorite Movies as a Kid

1. Finding Nemo
2. Milo and Otis
3. Babe
4. The Aristocats
5. Anything with lots of talking animals

5 Worst Movies EVER

1. Alpha and Omega
2. Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
   
3. Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
4. Star Wars II: The Clone Wars
5. The Lion King (Although I did like the music)

Top 5 Book-to-Movie Adaptations

1. The Fellowship of the Ring
2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I
4. The Return of the King
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Top 5 Movies You Were Most Excited to See in Theaters

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2. Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II
5. Hmmm... I can't really think of any more.

Top 5 Cutest Animals in Movies/ TV Shows

1. The Ewoks from Star Wars
2. Adipose from Doctor Who
3. Doug from Up
4. Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon
5. Did I mention the Adipose?

Top 5 Favorite Actors/Actresses (in terms of acting)

1. Martin Freeman (The Hobbit/ Sherlock/ The Pirates)
2. David Tenant (Doctor Who/ The Pirates/ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
3. Catherine Tate (Doctor Who)
4. Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock)
5. Hmm... I can't think of anyone else. Maybe Billie Piper from Doctor Who?

Top 5 Favorite Actors That Bring Out Your Inner Fangirl

1. I don't fangirl.
2. I like actors for their skill, that's it.
3. Got it?
4. Same here
5. And here

Top 5 Favorite TV Shows

1. Doctor Who
2. Sherlock
3. Merlin
4. Wolverine and the X-Men
5. The Ultimate Spiderman

Top 5 Favorite Male TV Characters

1. The Doctor (Doctor Who)
2. John Watson (Sherlock)
3. Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock)
4. Arthur (Merlin)
5. Captain Jack Harkness (Doctor Who)

Top 5 Favorite Female TV Characters

1. Morgana (Merlin)
2. Gwen Merlin)
3. Martha Jones (Doctor Who)
4. Donna Noble (Doctor Who)
5. Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)

Top 5 Favorite TV Animals

1. Animal (Muppets)
2. Kermit  (Muppets)
3. Gonzo (Muppets)
4. Fozzie Bear (Muppets)
5. K-9 (Doctor Who)

The CA Capitol Building

We went to visit our state capitol building today as a field trip and I thought it was pretty cool. Here were some of my favorite parts.

• I found out that the CA government is based on English parliament. The carpeting in the Senate is red, to show the British "House of Lords" and the carpet in the Assembly room is red because of the "House of Commons", because the commoners had to sit on the grass.
• The people who built the building wanted to be recognized, so they found secret ways to be recognized. One put a tile in the floor on backwards, and another one carved his wife's name (Rita) in the plaster.
• Both the Assembly and the Senate were dominated by Democrats (Which Assembly member Connie Conway, who we met on the trip, seemed pretty ticked about.) I found it interesting that the microphones they use have stickers on them to represent their political party- Republicans are red and Democrats are blue.
• The Senate is more traditional. They vote and do roll call by voice, while the Assembly uses technology.
• The Senate is half the size of the assembly.
• The Assembly members feel very strongly about wrestling.

Science Olympiad

 

For those of you who haven't heard of it, Science Olympiad is, basically, a science competition for nerds (and geeks) that takes place all over the US (Maybe other places too, I'm not sure.) I recently took part in the 2013 comptition. Unfortunately, our team didn't make it to the state competition, but I got three third place medals and a second place. I'll be posting about all the stuff I learned for it later:). It may be helpful for those of you who are interested. Ask your school's teachers about it. Lots of schools take part, but they usually start early in the year and require an invitation. The events I took part in were based on astronomy, music, and geography. Be sure to ask a teacher about it if you're interested! It's lots of fun, but takes a lot of dedication. (procrastinating doesn't work!)

The Outsiders Book Review

 

 Our class recently read this, so I figured I'd post my review of it here (with a few modifications).

Basically, The Outsiders is about this kid named Ponyboy (weird name, I know. His brother's name is Sodapop.), who is part of a gang called the Greasers (Not a real gang gang, just this group of boys who are best friends and stick together no matter what. They do participate in fights, which they call "rumbles", against their rival group, the "Socs") whose friend kills another dude named Bob(Who is a Soc) (First it's Ponyboy, now it's Bob. At least there's no Fred.) and has to run away. Ponyboy goes with him and they end up saving these kids from a burning church. (Major Spoiler Alert Ahead!) Johnny (His friend.) dies in the end, and then another one of his friends, named Dally, ends up killing himself (Sort Of) because he thinks it's his fault.

First of all, on the plot of the story. It was pretty good. It flowed smoothly and kept me hooked. However, one thing bugged me about it. The author, SE Hinton, claimed that she (Yes, she. More on that later.) wanted to write a realistic story about teenagers and growing up, and she did a pretty good job at that, but I didn't find it very realistic that Johnny, a sixteen year old, was willing to dive into a burning building to save these two random kids he didn't even know. It is, however, much more realistic than the "Mary-Jane-Goes-To-The-Prom" novels of Hinton's time.

Now for the characters. I found them very well written. They all had detailed descriptions at the beginning of the book. It was a little annoying that I had to read through a whole chapter on the characters, but I also enjoyed having the background information before I started the book- it was really helpful to know that before I really got into the story.

I really thought that the About the Author page was the most interesting part of the book. The author wrote the story in high school because she said she "Wanted a realistic story about teenagers and was through with horse books". Authors are better about that now, but it's still hard to find a YA book that includes something other than romance and love triangles (Stop with the love triangles already, people!) She called herself SE Hinton because she didn't want people to know that she was a girl- she figured that people wouldn't want to read a book about teenage boys and gang violence if they knew that it was written by a girl.

Overall Rating: 8/10