Blog Chain: Hater Love

Even though I'm a few days late, I'm super excited to start my very first blog chain round!! *moonwalks* Without further ado, here's this round's topic:

Since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I think it's only appropriate to pay homage to those we love. But instead of our better halves, family members, and friends, this blog chain will be all about loving the haters: write a love letter to your favorite literary villain/villain-ish character. It can be short, long, serious, funny. You can use song lyrics or poems instead. Choice is totally yours :)

So. I give y'all my favorite literary villain-ish character:

Dear Severus Snape,

Thank you for teaching me about love. 

You are a badass.

No, you are not a nice person. You go out of your way to convince people of this, especially those with a surname that starts with a 'P' and ends with an 'otter'. You always wear black. If someone were to slice your skin open, you'd bleed sarcasm. Grudges weigh you down. You are were a Death Eater, for Christ's sake--Voldemort's most trusted Death Eater. YOU HELPED THE BOY WHO LIVED LOSE HIS PARENTS *even if you didn't know their identities and how much that reveal would screw you up*

And still, you teach me about love.

You teach me that love is this pretty and ugly thing. The kind of thing that can dig deep and linger forever, and the kind of thing that can dig deep and claw its way back out. We don't get to choose which kind we get. Sometimes, we don't even know which kind we have, but we always hope that first kind is the one we deserve. We fight for it and, as was your case, we might even die for it. 

You teach me about purpose, and how we can either snatch it or run away from it. You chose to snatch it and never let go. In the end, your selflessness--your love and purpose--proved to be your greatest achievement. 

And did I mention you're a badass?

Because you are.

Love, 

Me 

Make sure you check out Sandra's letter to her favorite villain, and stay tuned for Matt's!! 

Blog Chain: In Which I FEEL THINGS

For this blog chain round, Kate wants us to tackle the following topic:

Post pictures, songs, movie clips, poems, or novel excerpts that make you feel. Feel what, you ask? Feel anything. Happy. Sad. Angry. Nostalgic. Hopeful. Hopeless. Jealous. Joyful.

I have read in several different places that YA novelist John Green said of his latest novel, The Fault In Our Stars that he wants to make his readers "Feel All The Things." I would love that someone could go through this blog chain and through what we all choose to post have that same Feel All The Things feeling.

So. Things that make me feel.

Le things:

Photo taken after earthquake hit Japan in 2011 (source)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Older students are allowed to roam until the bell, but ninth-graders are herded into the auditorium. We fall into clans: Jocks, Country Clubbers, Idiot Savants, Cheerleaders, Human Waste, Eurotrash, Future Fascists of America, Big Hair Chix, the Marthas, Suffering Artists, Thespians, Goths, Shredders. I am clanless. I wasted the last weeks of August watching bad cartoons. I didn't go to the mall, the lake, or the pool, or answer the phone. I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don't have anyone to sit with.

I am Outcast.

--Excerpt from Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outtake from Supernatural episode, "Yellow Fever" (bonus points: JENSEN ACKLES)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dogs + Babies = Awesome (source)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What is there but a dream? You can't trade in your dream for another dream. [...] And I have a special, special note to the kids in Central Falls, Rhode Island, and Segway Institute of Learning in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to dream big, and dream fierce."

--Viola Davis's winning speech at 2012 SAG Awards for her role in The Help. 

There you have it! Some of the things that make me feel. *feels a lot* Make sure to stop by Abby's blog to see her entry, and stay tuned for Sandra's post tomorrow!!

And remember: tomorrow is Operation Awesome's Mystery Agent contest!!! :)

Game Of Thrones + Season 2 Trailer = AWESOME Monday Morning

If you saw Season 1 of HBO's Game of Thrones, you know that show is O_O

Last night, the trailer for Season 2 was released! 

Le trailer:

April 1st cannot come soon enough.

*dies*

Now tell me: do you watch Game of Thrones?? Have you read G.R.R. Martin's books?? (I haven't, but it's on my to-do list!). Are there any other shows you're excited about???

Chemistry: The Adorable Edition

Confession: I am OBSESSED with Once Upon A Time. No joke.

For those of you who don't know, it's a TV show on ABC. And it is awesome.

Anyway. I won't dwell on all the reasons why I think it's awesome, BUT I must point out something that's been on my mind since the show's third episode. You see, there are these two characters who are destined to be together: Snow White and Prince Charming. 

On the show, they look like this:

So. That's them as their true fairy tale selves. This is them in the real world setting, where they're both victims of an evil curse that's wiped their memories:

In the real world, they have NO IDEA they're Snow White and Charming. At all. That's not the saddest part, though--David (Charming in the real world) is in a coma when we first meet him. Mary (Snow) reads to him in her spare time, even though she doesn't know him. Her big heart keeps her coming back to the hospital, spending time with someone who's never had any family members visit. He's alone, and she doesn't want him to feel lonely.

When David wakes from his comatose state, things get reeeeally interesting. I knew he'd wake up eventually. I also knew that he'd be grateful to Mary for how she treats him, and that he'd want to get to know her. I also also knew there would be STUFF that keeps them apart. The romantic tension quota is HIGH, my friends. Oh, so high...

Which leads me to why I wrote this post about two people who are in love on a TV show: the chemistry between Snow/Mary and Charming/David is adorable. It's not the ohmyGodIwantyousobadletsmakeout chemistry. It's not the I-have-always-loved-you-and-now-you-are-mine-forever chemistry. It's just... beautifully awkward. In the fairy tale world, they're enemies who later work together to get out of a bind, and fall in love. In the real world, they're strangers who share a deep connection, but they're so not equipped to handle that connection. They both struggle with accepting why they're drawn to each other, and neither feels comfortable with the idea of being a couple just because there's something between them. STUFF needs to be dealt with first. It's all that STUFF that adds fuel to the awkward fire. They're even adorable when they argue. 

What does this offensively long post have to do with writing, you ask?

Think of your main character and the love interest. Hopefully, you've created enough tension, romantic  or otherwise. Now look at them again and ask yourself: what do they admire about each other? The minute you have your answer, ask yourself another question: how can I make my characters feel uncomfortable about the traits they initially admired in each other? Snow cannot stand the fact that Charming's such an honorable guy, and yet that's one of the reasons why she loves him. Charming cannot stand the fact that Snow does whatever she wants, even if it means risking her life, and yet that's why he loves her. Denial is what makes their relationship awkward to me. Sweet, funny, and beautifully awkward. 

So. Once Upon A Time. Watch it, swoon, and learn something :)

Now tell me: any other fake couples you think are adorable/awkward/awesome??

  

Blog Chain: Childhood Memory

For this blog chain round, Jonathon Arnston asks:

Imagine the home where you grew up, and start drawing a floor plan. As you draw, memories will surface. Grab onto one of those memories and tell us a story.

Le story:

My puppy is missing. She's been here for less than a week, and she's already sick of me. 

Great.

"Ruby?" I scan through the jungle-ish backyard, seeing nothing but green. And a bit of brown, but that's a stump--when we first moved here, this huge coconut tree towered over the whole house. Dad had the good sense to cut it down, though. Whenever a coconut fell, I'd gasp so loud, you'd think the Backstreet Boys had arrived at my doorstep. Shirtless. But there are no shirtless Backstreet Boys and no Ruby here today. Just green and a bit of brown. 

I walk back inside the house. My dog isn't on her throne, the red velvet recliner Mom bought for those of the human variety. She's not hiding behind the home theater speakers, either. Or in front of the big floor fan, which blows her hair out as if she's racing through a hurricane.

Someone is shouting in my parents' bedroom. I walk down the hall, ignoring the Vin Diesel poster taped on my door, and head into the room at the end. The TV is turned on. Cartoons are arguing about something. My little brother lies on my parents' bed, totally out cold. He holds on to the bed sheets as he snores. 

And sleeping right beside him, paws up and on the sheets, is Ruby.

I sigh. "You've got to be kidding me..."

So. There you have it, folks. One of the most traumatizing memories of my life. I am still going to therapy because of it. 

Thanks to Jon for an awesome topic! Make sure you check out Christine's entry over at her blog!

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS By John Green Is...

Perfect.

That's all the review I have for you, folks.

Oh, and if you must know, I cried. A lot.

But John Green does that to me. I'm used to it.

Now go read this book. Seriously. You won't regret it.

*basks in John Green's awesomeness*

A MILLION SUNS Giveaway Winner!!!

Folks, the random number generator has spoken. I'm pleased to announce the winner of Beth Revis's highly anticipated A Million Suns.

That winner is...

*drumroll*

*more drumroll*

*confetti*

Christina Lee!

Congrats, Christina! I'll be emailing you soon!! 

And thanks to all of you who entered! There'll be more opportunities to win free books, so don't worry :) 

Have a great Monday!