Trabia Garden

I had a really lovely afternoon! It was an unexpectedly sunny day, so on a whim I went to Kensington Gardens to see the fairy village by the Peter Pan statue. Said fairy village is there because GISHWHES, Misha Collins's big ridiculous scavenger hunt, is going on this week, and one of the items is 'build a fairy house out of natural materials in Kensington Gardens'. I'm not participating, but I couldn't resist going to have a look.

I met some scavengers there, building their own houses! One had flown over from Germany to build a fairy house in Kensington Gardens; apparently she was the only non-US-based member of her team, so she'd gone, 'Er, well, I suppose I'm the closest.' She's planning to go to Wales and climb Mount Snowdon for another item tomorrow, so she didn't fly over exclusively for the fairy house, but I still have to admire her dedication.

(When I searched Twitter for 'kensington gardens' later, wondering whether anyone would be talking about the fairy houses, I found she had taken a stealthy photograph of me. (I'd love to show you photographs of the village, but I didn't have a camera myself, and participants aren't allowed to post their pictures publicly until the hunt is over. I imagine pictures will be everywhere soon enough!))

Later I met a couple of girls who'd come from slightly less far afield, and then a pair from another team came over to join us (one of them, for complicated reasons, dressed as Peter Pan). I can see that GISHWHES is a great way to make friends, because there's such an immediate point of bonding: lamenting how difficult some items are to complete. 'There's no kale anywhere! How are we supposed to make a throne out of it?' 'All the churches are closed, and I'm not sure I even know how to play "Carry On Wayward Son" on an organ.'

It was great to see the way passers-by reacted to the fairy village. Some kids tried to build their own fairy houses. While the GISHer from Germany was working on her house, a little girl came tentatively over to her and asked, 'Excuse me, are fairies real?'

It's a good thing it's too late to sign up for GISHWHES this year, because the people I met made it seem really fun. With any luck I'll be able to resist next year. I don't think I have the nerve to participate seriously.

Videos I didn't realise were essential to my life until I discovered they existed: Jensen Ackles holding a tiny pig. I love that you can see him steadily becoming more and more fond of it.


I'd forgotten how much I 'shipped Dean Winchester with both of his parents in 'In the Beginning'. That's, er, that's unfortunate. (To my mild surprise, the only Supernatural fic idea that's really struck me since I started this rewatch is one about Dean teaming up with his mother to hunt in 1973. JUST TEAMING UP, I PROMISE; IT'S NOT ANYTHING CREEPY. I was expecting something about the brothers, but I'll take whatever inspiration I can get. I'm also half-tempted to write something about Dean and Bela meeting again in the space between the third and fourth seasons; they infuriate each other, but in a weird way they also help each other cope.)

Dean twitching on the hotel bed during his nightmare in 'Wishful Thinking' really got to me. He looked so young and vulnerable and I really, really wanted to give him a hug. To be honest, I want to hug Dean fairly frequently whilst watching Supernatural.

'Heaven and Hell' is an interesting episode; it contains a fair few things that don't quite work for me (lengthy awkward sex scene with very little chemistry, too much focus on Hell as a place of physical rather than psychological torture, Dean's awestruck and improbable 'It's beautiful' upon seeing a tree), but it also contains a lot of things I adore. In particular, I love that Sam, Dean and Ruby spend the entire episode working together. They make an amazing, amazing trio and I wish we could have so many more episodes of them working as a team. And Dean comes to respect and trust Ruby!

'Heaven and Hell' is also the episode that convinced me Castiel had a great big crush on Dean, incidentally, and the episode in which I wholly embraced Genevieve Cortese as Ruby. And, if I recall correctly, it's the first episode in which Sam refers to the Impala as 'she', which makes me smile so much. It's an imperfect episode, but in many ways it's a good one.


A few nights ago, I dreamt that I was Annie Edison of Community, and I teamed up with Dean Winchester and Jeremy Clarkson to fight our evil doppelgangers. Dean ended up kissing my double, for some reason. Much affronted, I demanded that he kiss me as well. He did. I woke confused but intrigued.

WATERLOO ROAD WHAT

NO

THAT IS THE WORST PAIRING EVER

I GENUINELY DO NOT THINK I COULD HAVE COME UP WITH A MORE HORRIBLE PAIRING HAD I TRIED

And to think there was a scene in the episode that made me hope there might be half a chance of Tom/Karen. Alas, no; Tom/Karen must remain the baseless pairing of my heart, and instead we get the worst pairing ever. It's as if the writers went, 'Oh, hello, Riona! Would you like a piece of delicious chocolate cake? Yes, I thought so. Well, sadly we have no delicious chocolate cake to offer you, so we're going to hit you with sticks instead.' Is it absolutely necessary to bring out the sticks, Waterloo Road? I'm not entirely certain that the two things are substitutable.

Yes, all right, almost none of you watch Waterloo Road and so chances are this entry won't make any sense to you, but I had to express my disapprobation somewhere.


Oh, before I forget, I meant to make a quick note on the tennis yesterday. It's very difficult to get me to care about tennis most of the time, but dangle an Isner-Mahut match in front of me and I won't be able to take my eyes off the scores. I was so hoping they would play for another eleven hours, or at least that Mahut would win this time (he's my favourite because he looks like a porcupine), but alas no.

I want to write fanfiction set during the eleven-hour match last year, in which the world ends around them and Isner and Mahut don't notice because they're absolutely focused on playing. Isner hits the winning shot and falls to the ground in victory, and as he gets to his feet again he notices, for the first time, the eerie silence in the stands.

(Yesterday, I found out that Mahut was six foot three and went 'hang on, that can't be right, he's so much shorter than Isner'. And then I looked Isner up.

John Isner is six foot nine. How is that even a real height?)


And back to X-Men!

I'm quite amused by the way the appetite of fandom constantly expands to demand slightly more than it's been given, no matter how much it's fed. James McAvoy claims he had sex with Michael Fassbender four times, and the primary reaction I see on Tumblr is 'NOT ENOUGH TIMES'.

On that subject: James McAvoy, you massive troll. He and Misha Collins should work on something together. They'd end up competing with each other to see who could render the largest number of fans unconscious.

Here is a delightful thing I watched recently: the X-Men: First Class trailer redone with footage from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. No, seriously, it's beautiful. If you're wondering 'would that really work?', the first shot will give you your answer. Many thanks to nightfire_kvala for the link!

I think X-Men: First Class is officially my fandom of the moment. I wonder how long it'll be before I try to cross it over with either Silent Hill or Pokémon. Either could be fun, where by 'fun' I mean 'fun' in the case of Pokémon and 'completely devastating' in the case of Silent Hill.

...my goodness, Silent Hill was made for Erik Lehnsherr. But, then again, so was Magneton. Decisions!

I'm not sure The Bubble, in which three guests are locked away from the world for several days and then presented with news stories that may or may not have genuinely occurred in their absence, would work were anyone other than David Mitchell presenting it. The guests are essentially talking about things about which they know nothing, which naturally imposes limitations on their discussions, but I sort of wanted to marry David Mitchell when it began and I desperately wanted to marry David Mitchell when it ended, so I certainly enjoyed it. (Of course, the guests' inability to talk at length on any one subject means that the host has to get involved a lot, which I selfishly appreciate.)

Also, Reginald D Hunter is very funny and Victoria Coren seems a pretty cool chapess, and their interactions were great ('I learnt how to play snooker!' 'No, you didn't'). One thing about the format that definitely works: as the panellists have been shut up together, they've had the opportunity to develop a relationship before being brought onto the show.

(FIC I WANT FOR NO GOOD REASON: Mitchell/Coren/Brooker. Oh, I don't know. They would make a delightfully intelligent and ranty threesome.)

The start was a bit uncertain, but I was laughing a lot by the end of the episode, and I'm looking forward very much to the next one! (If anyone missed it and wants to give it a look: it is on the iPlayer if you're in the UK and on YouTube (1, 2, 3) if you aren't.)

Here are some suggestions to improve the show:

- I wasn't sure about the question on the assassins. If The Bubble is going to bring in topics like murder, I think the circumstances should be particularly bizarre. I don't think murder is an invalid topic for humour, but I didn't think there was enough scope for humour in that particular story to justify its inclusion.
- At some point, one of the fake stories should be a tabloid going 'WE PEEKED THROUGH THE WINDOW OF THE BUBBLE AND WE THOUGHT IT LOOKED LIKE THE PANELLISTS WERE GETTING AWFULLY FRIENDLY', just for the guests' reactions.
- Charlie Brooker should definitely be on the panel at some point. I am obviously suggesting this purely because it would be interesting to see how a news critic judges whether stories are true or false and for no ulterior motives at all.
- On the week on which Charlie Brooker is on the show, one of the news stories (probably one of the fake ones, although I suppose one can't be certain) should be about a zombie outbreak during the guests' incarceration. I don't care if it's too implausible; it would be brilliant.
- In the same week, one of the guests should be a clone of David Mitchell.


Here are some completely unrelated videos:

Hooray, the 'My Shiny Teeth and Me' video from Fairly Odd Parents has turned up on YouTube! I love this stupid song. 'Why should I talk to you when I've got thirty-two?'

Also, Genevieve Cortese adorably informs us that she does not have Twitter. I cannot fathom the rudeness I've seen in some parts of the Supernatural fandom, because I have seen no indications that she is anything other than perfectly sweet. Awww.

An incident from my Jane Austen seminar earlier this week:

Tutor: It's a bit like Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson: the genius detective and the really stupid--
Riona: WATSON IS NOT STUPID.
Entire Class: ...


BENEATH THE CUT: possibly the worst crossover idea I have ever had, presented in image form. Beware of flashing image.


( Jedward Cullen? )


I don't know why his clothes are also sparkling. Evidently he is just that sparkly. (And I really don't know why his trousers aren't sparkling if his jacket is. Well, all right, the practical reason is 'the sparkling was starting to hurt my eyes'. Perhaps the trousers are made of extremely dense sparkle-suppressing material.)

To those of you who are not familiar with The X Factor and therefore do not know who these gentlemen are: you are fortunate. Allow me to destroy that fortune with an educational video clip. (WARNING: bad singing. Really, really bad singing. Bad dancing. Bad outfits. These guys are absolutely appalling and bring me so much joy. I laugh uncontrollably every time I watch this clip.)

SO I KNOW WHAT I SHALL NOW BE PICTURING WHENEVER I ENCOUNTER ANYTHING TWILIGHT-RELATED.


Last night, I dreamt that I went to an open-air Supernatural convention on the islands around Sandover Village (Jak and Daxter). Jared and Jensen snogged each other, to amuse the fangirls, and then Jared kissed me (not in front of the fandom, although I remember thinking 'augh, what if someone sees? the fandom will hate me'), presumably to amuse himself. He was very sweet about it. I may now have a bit of a dream-induced crush.

Because this was quite fun the first time I tried it, I'm giving it another go!


- Write a list of characters and number them.
- Input the number of characters into this random number generator as the maximum and generate two numbers.
- Ramble about how the corresponding pairing/partnership/general interaction would (or, indeed, wouldn't) work. Perhaps write a snippet/one-sentence fic for it if you're feeling brave.
- Repeat to your heart's content.


( Fandoms represented: Doctor Who, High School Musical, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XII, Kingdom Hearts, Scrubs, Avatar, Silent Hill, Supernatural, Pokémon, Neverwhere. )

Apparently, my writer's block has spread to writing Livejournal entries, which cannot be a good sign.

My brother and his friends have apparently taken it upon themselves to watch as many Arnold Schwarzenegger films as they can get their hands on, and I have been joining them, because, whilst 'THINGS BLOWING UP/GETTING SHOT/GETTING SHOT AND THEN BLOWING UP' isn't usually my genre, it is a fairly hilarious experience. Commando is probably my favourite so far, just for the ridiculous one-liners. 'I HAD TO LET HIM GO.' 'LET OFF SOME STEAM.' Amazing. I suspect the writers came up with the one-liners first and then wrote in the events to accommodate them.

Here is an exercise for you: the next time you are watching a film, imagine that every role is being played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. We tried this with Mamma Mia! recently, and it immediately became so much better. (This also works with BRIAN BLESSED.)


( Thoughts on the ending of 'Kingdom Hearts II'. Not really spoilery, but cut just in case. )


Something I hadn't realised before: the relationship between Sora and Kairi is never made explicitly romantic. They are always friends, first and foremost. And there's plenty of subtext, with the paopu fruit and Donald's teasing and so on, but that's all.

I sort of like that. The idea of Sora/Kairi as a romantic relationship makes me really sad, just because Riku is excluded. You can't exclude Riku! (Sora/Riku and Riku/Kairi I can handle, even if Sora/Riku/Kairi is cuter, because Sora and Kairi are cheerful enough to be able to cope with being outside their friends' romantic relationship. Riku is much more likely to brood and retreat into the daaaaarkness in his heart. (Also, he's my favourite, so I may be biased.))

Oh, dear, and now I'm imagining Sora, Riku and Kairi all being replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Donald is replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger with a poorly-edited-in duck's bill.

Let's not think about this.


I've just remembered: during the Asylum convention, someone asked Jared Padalecki who should portray Future Sam Winchester, aged forty or fifty or sixty. The inexplicable suggestion offered by a member of the audience was 'Zac Efron'. The obvious real answer is 'Arnold Schwarzenegger'. Jared is slowly turning into him anyway, so it makes sense.

Today, reipan and hippyjolteon invited me to join them for a just-for-fun readthrough of A Midsummer Night's Dream in Finsbury Park. Actually, that's not entirely accurate: they invited me to watch a just-for-fun readthrough of A Midsummer Night's Dream in which they would be participating. This was, it transpired, a trap, and I ended up playing Philostrate.

It was fun, though! Everyone involved was brilliant, and the play was so enjoyable that I didn't really care about the 'in a park in the pouring rain' aspect of it. I met many delightful, intelligent, witty people, over whom, because I am me, I was later to knock half a pint of lager. To the actors of Bottom and Helena, should you somehow come across this entry: I am very, very sorry.

Assuming my hopeless clumsiness has not rendered me No Longer Welcome amongst the readthrough group, I'd love to go to another of their performances!


Unrelatedly, zeitheist has come up with the idea of Misha Collins/Jack Harkness, and it is such a beautiful concept that I felt compelled to share it with you. Misha would make such a good Torchwood agent! He worked in the White House; his wife wrote a book on threesomes; he is a lunatic. He winks inappropriately at people who ask him questions at conventions. You can't say Torchwood have never even approached him.

Hang on, have I ever assigned a Pokémon to Captain Jack Harkness? What a horrible oversight. I bet he'd have a Houndoom.

(What would the rest of the Torchwood team have?

...this is actually extremely difficult. Er, Gwen can have an Eevee. It eventually evolves into a Flareon. Tosh has a Porygon that lives in the Torchwood computer system and pops up on Owen's screen to give him disapproving looks if his e-mails to Tosh aren't polite enough. I have no idea about Owen or Ianto, though.)

I have returned from the 'Asylum' Supernatural convention!

Firstly: I was terribly nervous beforehand, and it was very expensive, and the organisation was dreadful, and we lived off crisps and Subway sandwiches for three days, and I've never queued so much in my life, but it was such a good experience and I'm so glad I went. I was sharing a room with wanttobeatree and theoret, who are amazing, and all of the actors were some combination of friendly, hilarious, adorable and insane.

(From what I've heard, however, Jensen Ackles may have had a less good experience, which makes me quite sad. THINGS FOR FUTURE CONVENTION ORGANISERS TO BEAR IN MIND: you cannot force a man to sign a million autographs in two afternoons, because his hand will fall off.)


Friday was a rather frustrating day of travelling on trains and failing to travel in queues, of which the highlight was playing 'Truth or Unicorn' in the photo queue with a_starfish. Basically, the players sit in a circle and spin a toy unicorn, and then the person to whom the horn is pointing has to either act like a unicorn or tell the truth... about unicorns.

We are easily amused. Also, wanttobeatree is an excellent galloper.

By the time we filed into the panel room on Saturday, we had spent countless hours in queues and on trains, and we were tired, and the start was delayed, and I was wondering whether I had made a horrible mistake by coming, and then a fanvid to 'The Boys are Back' from High School Musical 3 started up and I knew it was going to be a good weekend.

Here is the story of my favourite part.


( That Time Riona Got Autographs From Genevieve Cortese And Also Some Dude Called Jared Padasomething. )


Speaking of High School Musical (well, I was before the cut): an audience member suggested that Zac Efron play Sam in ten or twenty years' time. THAT'S RIGHT: ZAC EFRON IS FIFTY-YEAR-OLD SAM WINCHESTER.


At some point in the future, I shall probably make a rambling and disjointed entry about the actors who were, you know, actually there to talk and things, all of whom were amazing. For now, however, all you get is this little tale of my being smitten and ridiculous. Also, I'll tell you that at one point Jensen Ackles, rather oddly, said, 'If I were a dude, I would be here.'

It doesn't make any more sense in context.

Here is a danegen fanvid that is entirely about what massive dorks Jensen and Jared are. By the end of it, I'd been grinning so much my face hurt.


More Final Fantasy VIII! I don't even know how many times I've played through it - five? six? - but this was the first time I realised that what you see on the Timber screen before the presidential broadcast starts is a message.

BRING ME BACK THERE
I AM ALIVE HERE
I WILL NEVER LET YOU FORGET ABOUT ME

afsjghsahfagsh ADEL YOU ARE SO FREAKING CREEPY.

Also, I love that the random nameless Galbadian soldiers have personalities. They may be your enemies, but the one on the train just wants to propose to his girlfriend. Awww.


Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are celebrating it today! Over here in England, we call it 'Thursday'. Here is a seasonal snippet I overheard whilst walking around campus a couple of weeks ago:

Girl: ...and then they killed them! But first they got them together for a big feast, and they said 'we'll all be friends...'
Guy, amused: Oh, really? Oh, is that what Thanksgiving is about?

But we've got a day to celebrate a terrorist's fiery death, so we can't really judge. At least Thanksgiving is marked by gratitude, rather than, er, burning of effigies.

And, as gratitude is a good thing whatever country you're in: you guys are the best. ♥!