I may or may not be doing a bunch of research right now about the 1920s and the mafia in preparation for a Klaine AU…

How to write a good AU fic based on another book/tv show/movie: Place your characters into the universe of whatever book/show/movie you’re using. Make appropriate tweaks to their personalities based on the circumstances they’ve now grown up with. If you’d like, take key plot points and general themes from the book/tv show/movie you’re basing this on, and put them in your fic. 

How NOT to write a good AU fic based on another book/tv show/movie: Copy the entire book/script and change the names of the characters, adding in one or two paragraphs of new internal monologue as you go. 

There have been lots of AU fics (good and bad) flying about for the past few weeks, and I just had to say this. I’m done now. 

darrenchris:

babyfroggi:

havetardiswilltravel:

theconsultingbitch:

renkris:

Highlights:

“According to proposed changes, a level three English component which asks students to respond critically to a Shakespearean drama will expire in 2012 and not be replaced.”

“Last week it was revealed NCEA students were getting top grades in English by writing about Twilight, a young adult novel series based on a human girl who falls in love with a vampire.”

[source]

Fuck this.

I’m moving to Gallifrey.

This is made of non-acceptability.

So much disappointment 

While I don’t think Shakespeare should be phased out (though I’m not a particular fan just because I don’t find his sense of humor to be the most appealing), I do like how they didn’t say what they’re writing about with Twilight. I could get some damn good grades pointing out why it’s not a positive example of relationships or a well-written piece of fiction, as could many other people; I do know people who’ve written papers on that. Just because an article spins something one way doesn’t mean that’s how it is.

There are dozens (if not hundreds) of topics a person could legitimately use Twilight for. And, quite frankly, if a person is reading Twilight, I’d be ecstatic to see them at least put some critical thought into it (which one would assume would be required to get any sort of decent grade). 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with reading ANY book in existence, be it Twilight or something else, as long as the reader is actually thinking for themselves while doing so. Hopefully writing papers on that is actually making them think critically about it. 

As for the Shakespeare stuff, I do agree that this should be kept in Lit courses, simply because it is an excellent example of popular writing from that era of English history. Of course, there’s a lot of stuff I think should be covered in literature classes in high school, most notably an increased look at non-European/Greek literature. But that’s a whole different topic… 

Basically, there’s a lot of stuff students would benefit from learning in high school that they’re not being taught. You can’t teach it all, and sometimes you just have to push certain topics off onto electives or college courses. I guess I would have more to say on the subject if I knew WHAT they intended to replace the Shakespeare lessons with. (If they’re just getting rid of it and not adding anything to take its place, I oppose it)

Well, not really unpopular, but it doesn’t seem to be that popular either. 

I don’t think Blaine if filled with doubt and self loathing. I don’t think his attitude is all just an act to cover it up. I mean, granted, there’s got to be SOME self loathing there because A. he’s human and B. he’s a teenager. Moments of low self esteem are just a fact of life, especially at that confusing age. But I’ve been seeing a lot of comments lately about Blaine thinking he’s not worthy of Kurt and hating himself and blah blah blah and I really don’t think it’s true. 

Blaine might think Kurt is too good for him, but if he does, it’s because Blaine is a happy puppy who sees the best in people, ESPECIALLY Kurt. Kurt has always held a special place in Blaine’s world, even before his epiphany in Original Songs. (SLS and BIOTA give Blaine some lines that say pretty much exactly this, but you can see it even before that) It’s not because Blaine hates himself. He has regrets, yeah. He has things he has done and things he does do that he’s not entirely proud of. But don’t we all? 

Just because he has those dark points in his life doesn’t mean he’s some horribly tragic character. He’s just a teenager who has had a lot of shit to deal with. And like all teens, he’s just trying to find his way through it all and find himself in the process. It’s not all sunshine and daisies, but I don’t think he hates himself just because he regrets things in his past. I think he wants to be a better person than he has been, a stronger person, and I think that Kurt inspires him so much to be that person. But I don’t think he hates himself for not being that person in the past. 

I mean, I haven’t been watching TGP, but my roomie is a HUGE fan of Celtic Thunder, so I was happy for Damion and I really like Sam’s hair, so yay for him too. 

But then I heard that they both get 7 episode long arcs. WHAT? 

As much as I want to see these two on the show, I’d rather those seven episodes be spent on Mike or Blaine’s stories than completely new characters who I have yet to give a fuck about. 

And I know that, when they’re introduced, I might actually give a fuck about them. They might become my new favorite characters. Who knows! But right now I just want time with my old characters who I love and who are going to be graduating soon. Give me some Sam and Damion lovin’ next year when we boot out half of the current cast. 

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But New York is where they’re going to get married and adopt three lovely children named Pati, William, and Ellie. 

(via llarchive)

dikidia:

menfenced:

dikidia:

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(via anderchangster)