Beth Winter

I was somewhat dragged to see Thor, because my mother of all people decided she wants something pretty and brainless.

Not brainless, as it turned out (Kenneth Brannagh directing, J.Michael Straczynski with a writing credit, team from Terminator:Sarah Connor Chronicles - I should have guessed), but so. Immensely. Pretty.

Honestly, I could screencap any moment of the Asgard scenes and hang it on my wall. Classic pulp SF art, all soaring spires and gold and crystal, with angles and costumes to match. These are my childhood fairytales, and oh, they made them sing.

And really, nothing ruins it. I adore and root for Loki, of course, who is smart and tragic and engaging (and avoids chewing through scenery, unlike everyone else in Asgard and Jotunheim). There's not a single weak person in the cast, from Anthony Hopkins on down. For female characters, we get four strong major ones (a full third of MCs, impressive for a Hollywood movie) and the Bechdel test is passed with an impressive amount of technobabble. Good music. Very decent writing for a comic book movie, you can really tell which Shakespearean undertones they aimed for (and managed to hit). Chris Hemsworth in tight and/or missing shirts is the cherry on the cake.

I can get behind this kind of summer movie :) Pirates next, Captain America and X-Men First Class - anything else interesting coming out?

(Also, for a 3D movie this didn't give me a headache at all. I think the amount of CGI helps.)

In brief:

Game of Thrones - I didn't read the books, and I think that might be why I'm so repelled; I don't know who those people are, and instead of making me care (with the exception of small humanising moments for Clan Stark), HBO's going through the predictable checklist of "let's shock people!!!" that made me stop watching True Blood, combined with stock political fantasy material. Unless the second episode presents a dramatic departure, that'll be it for me.

The Borgias - This, on the other hand, I like lots. My kind of murderous priests, and the storytelling is aces ♥ Doesn't hurt that Jeremy Irons is having the time of his life, and Cesare-guy is adorable when he goes all threatening. (And the women - Giulia Farnese in particular, possibly the first time in American television I've seen the other woman done as a sympathetic character.)

Castle - Still watching, still enjoying :) This and Mentalist remain my mostly-mindless entertainment shows. (And White Collar, when it's on.)

Doctor Who - WHY ISN'T IT EASTER YET?

http://vimeo.com/user6151504/videos <- a high school musical of Star Wars: A New Hope. This is rather awesome, even if Vader could use a better mic. Part 3 of Act 1 is the best :D

Ganked from shirabyoshi:

Look at your LJ userpics list. If you have fewer than fifty icons, pick every fifth one. If you have between fifty and seventy-five icons, pick every seventh one. If you have over seventy-five icons, pick every tenth one. If you have fewer than ten, pick all of 'em. List them on your LJ, and tell everyone exactly why you have each one, why it's interesting to you, what significance it has.

( Seeing as I have 126... )

I've put up two items for charity auctions for help_japan:

Fanfic of 2,000 words or more in any fandom I've written in - and any musical I've seen, Western, Takarazuka or otherwise! Offer of three, to top three bidders, starting at 10 USD - your chance to get fic written for That Obscure Musical of your choice...

Grab-bag of Polish folk crafts - we have some fantastic wood carving and wooden crafts in general, as well as sweets, jewelry, and handmade toys. 30USD value and I'll try to up it if the winning bid is higher than that + shipping :)

Dead to the world, though I now have kitchen cabinets (!), far too many bills to pay and still a mountain of stuff to buy. One more Ikea trip, a few more broken nails putting things together, a thorough scrubbing, and the flat will be as ready as it will be. Photos this evening.

In the meantime, meme swiped from 3peanuts:

( Contents of my bag )

And just for the record: tonight will be the first time in four weeks that I have a free evening. Not a free day; a free evening without work or shopping for the flat.

I may need to slow down a little.

I wasn't terribly productive (especially next to fyrie with her 11 stories *swats*), but then rather than snowed in for a week, I was doing semi-regular 12-hour days at work while overseeing the ongoing renovations of my future flat. (All Christmas cards I got this year mention the renovations. Am I babbling about them that much?)

Oh, and my main stories were written by Herself *swats again* I guessed from Raindrops, because that's our Amidio and Thanatos in the flesh, but Gazing into the Abyss fooled me. No fair changing style on me :P

I also got a lovely treat from Skazka - a Sandman snippet from the ending.

Yuletide was fun as usual. And I love the Kudos feature - the "Like" button that's so easy to click!

With my assigned recipient, I had to stretch myself to write an Alfred story. I have no idea where I got that Alfred from!

I also promised one to windstar127, and writing a young Rosalie was fascinating - I'd like to do more either with her or characters like her, young and innocent. I write too many omnipotent dark warriors ;)

And speaking of which, the response to this fic - written because the recipient's Yuletide letter just resonated with me - kind of floored me. 88 comments and kudos, on a story that's all about women (five to three men, and all main characters) and all about the powers and the different kinds of queens.

Snow, melting (1952 words) by Beth Winter
Fandom: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis, Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alice/Hatter
Characters: Susan Pevensie, Mirana of Marmoreal, Mad Hatter, Mallyumkun, White Rabbit, Bandersnatch (Alice in Wonderland 2010), Alice Kingsleigh
Summary:

Alice isn't sure that she did the right thing by taking Susan Pevensie to Underland.

I like the fact I wrote this one :)

For the record: the one reason I adore the new Who Christmas special beyond compare is because of its quotableness. ELEVEN.

Case in point:

Eleven: "You'll find I'm universally recognised as a responsible adult."
Kid: "...it's just a lot of wavy lines."
Eleven: "It's shorted out. Finally, a lie too big."

(I think I need to write more Eleven just because of the babble. I LOVE writing babble.)

Recs later, because I'm still hyperventilating over my two gifts :D

Gazing into the Abyss - Archduchess Sophie and Death, and oh, a perfect arc for her, showing her strength and mind and emotion. (Also, I believe I spy a Japanese Death ♥)

Raindrops - Yes. That would be MY Oscar and Alain ♥ Fwee doesn't begin to describe it.

A white Christmas, it seems. The snow melted a little today and a freeze is coming, so yesterday was probably the last we've seen of the true fluffy stuff. The decorations in the city centre are stunning.

( darkness and snow and lights )