10 Favorite Characters Tag

I was tagged by Sarah at How to Watch a Movie. Thanks for tagging me! Sorry this is so late, by the way.

Sarah made an awesome list for this tag, by the way, so go check it out if you haven't!

Instructions: For this quick, fun blog hop, you just name your 10 favorite characters from movies or TV, then tag 10 friends (if you can) to do the same!

I've decided to list my favorite characters in no particular order, to make it easier for myself.

1)  Elizabeth Bennet

I'm going to start with Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.  I have always admired Elizabeth's fiery personality.  I love that she speaks her mind and expresses her opinions.  She doesn't let the limitations placed on women in the Regency Era get her down.  I love her intelligence and her witty comments and observations.

2)  Zuko

Hello, Zuko here.

Avatar the Last Airbender is my favorite animated TV show, and if I had to pick a favorite character, it would be Zuko.  Zuko undergoes an incredible amount of growth as a character.  If I were to use a character for an example of amazing character development, it would be Zuko.  His character development is the best I've ever seen.  I could write a 30 page essay on it.  If you've seen Avatar the Last Airbender, you'll know what I mean.

Character development aside, Zuko is absolutely adorable.  He has so much personality.  At first, he comes off as intimidating and hot tempered, but throughout the show, other sides to him are revealed, and you grow to love him more and more.

3)  Wonder Woman

Not from a particular film or TV show, but I just really love Wonder Woman in general.  I've loved her since I was little.  Female super heroes seem far too rare, or at least, they don't get represented very much in film.  I have been hoping for years that she would get a proper movie, and recently, I've heard she is getting one.  I just hope it's good.  It worries me, however, that the director was changed, because I can't help but feel that's a sign the film making isn't going very smoothly.  I remember the new director is female, which makes me happy.

4)  Gandalf

I love Ian McKellen.  He's one of my favorite actors.  I think Gandalf was the first role I saw him in, and he did an amazing job of playing that character.  He captured the charm of Gandalf's character, and he quickly became my favorite character in the Lord of the Rings series, although Sam would be a close second.  I remember loving Gandalf as a kid, and my love for his character was revived when I went to see The Hobbit.

5)  Violet (Dowager Countess of Grantham)

I used to love Downton Abbey, but sadly I don't really watch it anymore.  I stopped enjoying it as much when both of my OTPs were ruined.  *glares at season 3*

However, I will always love Violet's character.  I absolutely adore Maggie Smith, and she does a fantastic job of making Violet snarky, lovable, and hilarious.

I'm just going to leave this video here because why not.

6)  Haku (spoilers for Spirited Away)

Spirited Away is my favorite Studio Ghibli film.  I love many of the characters in Spirited Away, and Haku is quite possibly my favorite.

Haku is a River Spirit that is able to transform into a dragon, although, this is not revealed right away.  He seems to be shrouded in mystery throughout the movie, and at first, you might not be sure you can trust him.  Chihiro, the main character, becomes doubtful of Haku, but she puts her trust in him and he helps her find her way home in the end.  And in return, Chihiro helps Haku find himself, and gives him his identity and freedom back by telling him his name and reminding him who he really is.  I like characters that are mysterious and questionable, and characters that are trustworthy, caring, and protective.  Haku is all of these things and more, and proves to be an intriguing and memorable character.  Plus he's really cool.  So there's that.

7)  Mulan

Let's get down to business, to defeat, the Huns!

Mulan was my favorite movie as a kid for a lot of reasons, one of them being Mulan's character.  I will admit I looked up to Mulan quite a lot, and I wanted to be like her.  It was inspiring for me to see a female character be capable of fighting and saving the world.  I loved, and still love, her personality as well.  She is definitely one of my most favorite female Disney characters.

8)  Levi Ackerman

Levi is my favorite character in the anime Attack on Titan.  When I first began to love his character, it was mostly for his personality.  Some fans of Attack on Titan view him as cold and gruff, and perhaps he is a little gruff.  But there are so many more sides to him than that.  He tends to express himself through body language rather than words, and although he may seem impassive, it's clear through his actions that he cares deeply for other people.

In the latest manga updates for Attack on Titan, more of Levi's backstory was revealed, to do with his childhood, and what happened to his mother.  It was heartbreaking and provided a lot of insight for his character, but I'll leave it at that.

9)  Marceline

There are a lot of things I like about Marceline from Adventure Time.  I love her singing voice and her personality.

I enjoy episodes with Marceline the most, and my favorite Adventure Time episodes are both to do with her backstory.  I'll admit, those episodes got me a little emotional.

10)  Roy Mustang

There are so many great characters in Fullmetal Alchemist:  Brotherhood, and so many to choose from, but I think I'm going to go with Roy Mustang for this list.  One of the things I love about Roy is how he can be light hearted and humorous one moment, and serious the next.

He can be very intimidating when he wants to be, and he's not above getting revenge for the sake of a friend.  Oh, and he's a flame alchemist, which is pretty cool.

And that's my list!  This was fun to do. :D

Top 6 Most Traumatizing Moments in Childhood Movies

There are a lot of traumatizing moments from childhood movies that I have carried with me...throughout my entire life, basically.

These scenes are ordered from least to most traumatizing.  In other words, these are the scenes I found to be especially disturbing when I was little.

1)  The doll head in Toy Story

Okay, I didn't really grow up with Toy Story.  I think I only watched it once.  But I will always remember the Doll Head Scene.  This thing just really creeps me out.  I mean, look at it.  What's so creepy about it is that it's nothing but a head, with spider-like arms attached to it (due to my fear of insects and spiders, this makes me very uncomfortable).

Years later, as a teenager, I got really creeped out by the baby in Toy Story 3, probably because it reminded me of the doll head from the first movie, and my fear of toy babies was reawakened.

I think one of the reasons people find things like toy babies or the laughter of children to be creepy, is because something seemingly innocent is made to seem not quite right.  People sense something is off about it, and that creeps them out.

2)  The banshee in Darby O'Gill and the Little People

While the doll head may have been disturbing, it didn't make me hide behind my pillow.  In Darby O'Gill and the Little People, one of my favorite childhood movies, a lot of suspense is built up towards the appearance of the banshee.  As a kid, I knew what was coming when I heard the wailing of the banshee, so the tension was extremely high by the time it was revealed.

What's most impressive about the banshee is how frightening it manages to be, even if the special effects weren't as advanced when the movie was made.  There's a scene where Darby is about to open the door of his house, and he knows the banshee is waiting on the other side of it, and so does the person watching from behind their pillow, so the moment Darby opens the door and the banshee rushes forward is very effective.

3)  The blueberry scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the 1971 version)

I love Roald Dahl, but his most famous book happens to be my least favorite.  I prefer Matilda and The Witches to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  I find Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to be very...unpleasant, somehow.  It's just not for me.  So, naturally, I didn't really enjoy the movie when I watched it for the first (and last) time at my grandma's house.

Looking for a screencap of this scene was a very uncomfortable
experience, so I'm pretty sure I still haven't gotten over it...

For some reason, the girl turning blue and blowing up into a blueberry terrified me.  It really messed with my head.  I think gross things tend to scare me the most, and something about it disgusted me (and therefore terrified me).  Overall, it made me extremely uncomfortable, and still does.  It might not be the most frightening thing on this list, but in my opinion, it is definitely traumatizing - at least it was for me.

4)  The pig scene in Spirited Away

I think something about food disturbs me, because this also has to do with food.  Spirited Away is one of my favorite animated films, and definitely my favorite Studio Ghibli film, but there were quite a lot of frightening scenes that strongly affected me as a child.

The scene I remember being most frightened by, is the scene Chihiro's parents are turned into pigs.  Or rather, they turn themselves into pigs by consuming too much food.

This also plays into the gross factor, so it disturbed me quite a lot.  In fact, it disturbed me so much the first time I watched it, that I turned the TV off and couldn't watch it again until years later.  I was convinced my mom and grandma were going to turn into pigs every time I saw them eating.  I didn't eat anything for the rest of the day.

5)  The plagues in The Prince of Egypt

Oooooooh boy.  Alright, first of all, words cannot express how much I love this movie.  In my opinion, The Prince of Egypt is one of the best animated movies of all time.  Actually, that's not even an opinion, that's just a fact.

There's a lot of heavy material in this movie, but the part that genuinely disturbed me was the plagues.  Everything about it - how the music starts out faint and builds up, getting louder and louder, how more and more frogs come out of the water, the disease, the insects.  Especially the insects.  I still get chills.

6)  Pinocchio (just, the whole movie)

My parents agree with me that the donkey scenes in Pinocchio are incredibly disturbing and upsetting.  

It isn't the only part of Pinocchio that I find disturbing, but for me, it is definitely the heaviest.  I think the worst part is that once the children become donkeys, they're told they can never see their mothers again.  That is a very upsetting thought to a child.  Overall, Pinocchio is a very heavy movie for its target audience (if you're sensing some bitterness right now, you're right, because this movie was very unpleasant to me as a child).

I think heavy moments are good to have sometimes, and kids deserve to have intelligent, insightful, and meaningful films.  But sometimes, it can get a little too disturbing.

Brave (2012)

I found out about the Pixar movie Brave when I saw the first teaser trailer, which was released in 2011.  From the first few seconds of the trailer, I guessed it was something Celtic.  I was so excited when I discovered that Pixar was going to do a Scottish story, with a Scottish heroine.  Not only a Scottish heroine, but one with a bow and arrow and brilliant red hair.  I was even more excited about Brave, because the trailer gave the impression of it being a fantasy and adventure story of epic proportions.

However, as trailers frequently are, it was very misleading.  The movie was not how the trailer made it seem at all.  Although a fairly simple, personal, and heart-felt story about the relationship of a daughter and her mother is not at all a bad thing, it's difficult not to be disappointed when something is very different from what you expected.  Although Brave is a perfectly nice film the way it is, the misleading trailer did far more harm than good.  If the trailer had been more accurate in its portrayal of the movie, I think fewer people would have felt so let down by it.

Despite the issues I have with Brave, I feel that overall it is a gorgeous film, on multiple levels.  One of the most stunning and impressive aspects of the film is the completely amazing animation.  The scenery of Scotland is shown in lush detail with vivid splashes of color.  I mean, just look at the waterfall in this scene.  It's almost as if you could touch it and feel the spray of water on your face.  I love the way the sunlight makes the water gleam.  It kind of looks like liquid sunlight.

Then there's Merida's epic strands of bright red hair.

And of course, there is the mother and daughter relationship, which I find so incredibly refreshing.  I appreciate that it isn't black and white - neither the mother or daughter are completely wrong.  They need to listen to each other and learn from each other, because both are right about some things and wrong about some things.  It seems so rare for a Disney/Pixar film to have the focus of the story be on the mother and daughter.  In fact, many Disney films don't have a mother present at all.  There is also no romantic interest, which brings me to one of the messages in Brave.  Merida is a heroine that feels she isn't ready for marriage, she doesn't want it, and she is not interested in it at all.  And that's perfectly okay.  She's happy the way she is, and she is pursuing a dream that does not include a male romantic interest.  That is very important.

What I love about the characters in Brave is how lively they all are.  Their voice actors bring so much life to them.  They all have colorful personalities that are well developed.  I think my favorite part of the film may be the family aspect.  I love Merida's family and how close they are, and how well they know each other.  The way they interact feels so real.  Although the relationship between Merida and her mother (Queen Elinor) is the focus of the film, I completely adore Fergus and Merida's interactions.  They seem to understand each other so well, not to mention they have the same sense of humor.

"I bet he wishes he was tossing cabers."  "Or holding up bridges."

I love Fergus and Elinor's relationship as well.  Their understanding of each other is demonstrated so well throughout the film.  In more than one scene Elinor merely has to look at Fergus for him to understand how she feels or what she thinks.  At times Merida's family is a completely disjointed, wild, and crazy mess, but they all love each other deeply, and I absolutely love that about them.

Another part of Brave that I find to be refreshing is the humor.  I guess some people found it to be immature, or disapproved of the instances of nudity, but for me, the humor was one of the best parts of the movie.  Brave had my mom laughing a lot, and my cousins enjoyed it as well.  If you don't like the humor in Brave, chances are you aren't accustomed to Scottish (or Irish) humor.  I was impressed Pixar had the guts to include some of the humorous scenes that were in the movie.

Although I found the plot to be slightly lacking, the atmosphere in Brave is excellently done.  There is a strong sense of mystery and enchantment.  The story easily could have been a Celtic fairy tale instead of being about bears.  There was a story behind the evil bear Mor'du, but the film hardly went into it at all.  I wish it could have delved into the element of magic far more.  The will o' the wisps should have had more involvement with the story, and the witch should not have been reduced to comic relief when she could have been a more intriguing, dark, mysterious, and magical character.  There are times when comic relief works well (for example Olaf in Frozen) but the witch was not a good character to assign that role to.

Even though Brave did not go into the fairy tale aspect as much as I had wished, the atmosphere was there and it was done well.  The soundtrack helped accomplish this.  One of my favorite songs from the soundtrack is Noble Maiden Fair (or A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal).  This song is sung beautifully in Scottish Gaelic.  It makes me so happy that the soundtrack featured a song in the Scottish language.

Another song I love from the soundtrack is Touch the Sky.  The scene that plays this song in the background is one of my favorite scenes.

I'll put another one of my favorite scenes here as well.  This is when Merida rips her dress, symbolizing that she is breaking away from her constrictions, and she shoots the arrows in defiance of her mother.  I always get chills when she shoots the last arrow.

I like that Merida is a strong and confident female character, but I don't understand why the suitors lined up for her have to all be shown as complete dorks.  It would have been cooler if they were on the same level as Merida, but Merida still had no interest in marrying any of them.

I have recently noticed, though, that the suitors seem to be trying to match the image their fathers are projecting of them, but not all of them are completely comfortable with this.  I think Brave may be showing how gender roles are constricting and hold you back from being your true self, not just through Merida's character, but through the suitors also. 

I really appreciate that Brave delved into Scottish culture as much as it did, but there is a historical inaccuracy that has bothered me a lot ever since I noticed it.  In the scene showing the Highland Games, there is a very brief cut to some girls doing highland dancing on a stage, with their hair up in buns.  I am very disappointed that Pixar made this mistake.  You don't have to research about Highland dancing that much to learn that Highland dancing was always performed by males, and not performed on a stage.  The origin of Highland dancing are sword dances, performed by men in ritualized war dances.

So, as I stated earlier, Brave is a lovely movie when looked at as a whole, despite its shortcomings.  It's personal, emotional, and real.  The animation, atmosphere, and soundtrack are all brilliant.  The comedic scenes make me laugh, and the ending brings me close to tears every time I watch it.  However, I feel that story-wise, Brave is severely lacking.  There just could have been a lot...well, more.  The movie was bursting with potential, but not a lot of it was realized.  Nonetheless, I did enjoy this movie.  Although it's not Pixar's best, and not quite an outstanding film, it is still a very good film, and I will watch it many times in my life.

My Favorite Fictional Couples

I am really sorry for not posting in such a long time.  The last time I posted anything was in December, and now it's February.  It bothers me that this blog has been left abandoned for so long.  From now on, I will try to post more frequently.

Anyway, since it was Valentine's Day yesterday, I made a list of my favorite fictional couples (they are not listed in any particular order).  Since there are so many, I tried to narrow it down.  Even so, it's still really long.  I have left out any couples from Period Dramas, to help shorten the list.  I am going to make a separate list on my Period Drama blog for all of my favorite Period couples.

Feel free to agree or disagree with any of my choices and express why in the comments.  I am very interested in other people's opinions, so you're more than welcome to share your thoughts.  I listed every couple by their ship name, or the pairing if there isn't a ship name for them (or I was just not aware of one).

- Everlark (Katniss and Peeta)

I read The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins a few years ago.  I remember from the very first instance Katniss and Peeta interacted, I shipped them.  I thought the romance between them was done pretty well in the books, but not quite as well in the movies (however I think it improved in Catching Fire).  I still like the movies a lot too, though.  I thought the first movie was pretty good, but Catching Fire was a major improvement in many areas.

I really love the relationship that develops between these two.  They balance each other out - Katniss is strong in some ways, and Peeta is strong in others.  They build a strong emotional bond and trust each other.  They help each other heal from the damage they experience.  I think Katniss needs Peeta.  One of my favorite quotes from Mockingjay expresses this perfectly:  "That what I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred.  I have plenty of fire myself.  What I need is the dandelion in the spring.  The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction.  The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses.  That it can be good again.  And only Peeta can give me that."

- Captain Swan (Hook and Emma)

I didn't ship Captain Swan right away, in fact I don't remember when I started shipping them.  It was a gradual process.  I don't recall exactly which episode, but early on in season three, I realized I had shipped them all along and it was too late to turn back.  Whether I liked it or not I had become a hardcore CS shipper.  I never thought Captain Swan would actually happen, but so far, in season three, things are definitely looking up.  The fact this ship is developing so well makes me so happy.  It's like a dream come true, especially considering I never thought this ship would have a chance.

I could write a whole essay on why this pairing is so great, but I'll leave all that for another day.  Instead, have this video showing all the awesome parallels between Captain Swan and Snowing (Snow and Charming):

Knowing two of my OTPs parallel each other this well makes me very very very happy. :D

- Eleven and River Song

I don't know why, but there's just something about River Song and the eleventh Doctor's relationship that I absolutely love.  River seems to love the Doctor so much, it breaks my heart to think about it sometimes.  I don't even know what to say about Eleven and River, I just really love them together.

- Rogue and Gambit

Gambit (left) and Rogue (right) from X-Men (1992 - 1997).

Rogue (left) and Gambit (right) from X-Men:  Evolution.

Rogue and Gambit are my favorite couple from The X-Men.  My favorite version of these characters are from the T.V. series X-Men (1992 - 1997).  Although I also love Gambit and Rogue in X-Men:  Evolution, one of my favorite animated T.V. shows, they never got a chance to develop their relationship very much, since the show never continued after season four.  X-Men:  Evolution had so much potential for a fifth season.  I am very disappointed they didn't continue.

- Sherlolly  (Sherlock and Molly)

Molly and Sherlock talking in The Empty Hearse.

Although I also ship Adlock (Sherlock and Irene Adler), I ship Sherlolly the most.  It is my favorite pairing in Sherlock.  I can't really explain why, they just feel right together.  Molly humanizes Sherlock and keeps him in check.  I don't think she will ever get over him, no matter how hard she tries.  Both characters have grown so much in series three.  After watching His Last Vow, I ship them even more than before.

- Iris and Gilbert

Iris and Gilbert are from my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Lady Vanishes.  They had great chemistry and their bantering back and forth was hilarious.  I watched The Lady Vanishes (it was one of my first Alfred Hitchcock movies, along with The 39 Steps) when I was little, and I'm pretty sure I shipped them without even knowing it.

- Belle and the Beast

I love a lot of Disney characters, but I've realized that when I was little, the only Disney characters I loved together, that made me care whether they ended up together or not, were Belle and Adam/the Beast.  For example, I love Aladdin, but I never really cared if he and Jasmine got together (although A Whole New World was a great song).  Belle and Adam are definitely my favorite Disney couple, and were the only ones I truly shipped, at least before Tangled and Frozen came along...

- Amy Pond and Rory Williams

The boy and girl who waited...they waited a lot.

Amy and Rory are my favorite companions in Doctor Who.  I loved their relationship, and shipped them from the very start.  There seemed to be some sort of attraction on Amy's part towards the Doctor , but I never bought it.  Rory was always the one for her.  Honestly I hated the idea of Amy and Eleven being romantically involved, and found it rather strange and unnecessary.  Thankfully that whole thing didn't last for too long.  Rory loved Amy no matter what.  I mean, he waited two thousand years for her.  They loved each other no matter how long they had to wait.

- Snowing (Snow and Charming)

Snowing was my OTP when I first started watching Once Upon a Time, and it still is.  No matter what happens, they will always find each other.  I don't have much else to say.  This couple is simply perfection.

- Goliath and Elisa

Gargoyles (1994 - 1996) is one of my favorite animated shows.  One thing about it that makes it so great is the relationship between Goliath and Elisa.  Both characters have a deep respect for the other and seem to have an understanding of one another.  Their relationship grows beautifully throughout the show.

- Rumbelle (Rumplestiltskin and Belle)

Rumbelle, like Snowing, is another one of my OTPs from Once Upon a Time.  I loved their relationship from the start, and loved watching them grow together and learn from each other.  Belle brings out the best in Rumpel, and loves him despite his dark side, something Rumpel has not found in anyone before.

- Chihiro and Haku

Spirited Away was my second Studio Ghibli film (Kiki's Delivery Service was my first).  The first time I watched it I was pretty young.  My grandma had bought it for me, unaware of the frightening scenes in it and not knowing it would scare me.  I made it up to the scene that the parents turned into pigs.  When I saw that, I turned the T.V. off.  For that whole day I was too afraid to eat anything, because I thought it would turn me into a pig.  When I was older, I tried watching it again, this time making it to the end.  I loved it.  Spirited Away has been one of my favorite movies ever since.  I have always loved Chihiro and Haku, and the bond they have.  They definitely deserve a spot on this list.

- Rapunzel and Eugene

Words cannot express the extent to which I love Tangled.  This film is perfect in every way, and so is the romance between Rapunzel and Eugene.  In my opinion, it is the most romantic romance Disney has ever done.  Well, along with a certain other Disney couple from a movie that starts with F...

- Kristanna (Kristoff and Anna)

AAAAAHHHHH.  I.  Love.  Frozen.  So.  So.  So.  Soooo much.  Everything about it is refreshing, including the romance.  I love that they crushed the idea of falling in love at first sight with the perfect prince, and took a more realistic and refreshing route.

- Sean Thornton and Mary Kate

This couple is from one of my favorite Irish movies, The Quiet Man.  John Wayne had great chemistry with Maureen O'Hara, and they made an unforgettable pair as Thornton and Mary Kate.  What I love most about their relationship is how they are completely equal with one another (which is why they remind me of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice).  Equality between romantic partners is a quality I especially appreciate, since this movie was made in the 1950's, a time that was not very equal in all sorts of socio-economic areas. 

- Kataang (Katara and Aang)

Kataang is my favorite ship from Avatar:  The Last Airbender.  Both Katara and Aang understand each other deeply and share an unbreakable connection.  From the very beginning, it was meant to be.  Katara brought Aang back to life when she found him in the iceberg, and from then on, Aang grew to love her more and more.  I think it took Katara longer to become fully aware of her love for Aang in return, but it was always there.

- Irohsami (Iroh II and Asami Sato)

Yeah, I know Irohsami isn't canon.  I shall cry internally for all time because of this.  The potential the Legend of Korra writers are missing by not making this ship canon just hurts me to think about.  However, I still hold onto hope that some day, perhaps in book three or four, Irohsami's ship will sail.  And it will sail beautifully.

I know I sound really over-dramatic right now but it honestly hurts that this ship is not canon.  They would be the most classy couple to ever walk the earth.  Trust me.

- Tonraq and Senna

I have always liked the relationship between Korra's parents in The Legend of Korra.  They seem to love each other a lot.  It makes me so happy that they were featured more in book two. 


- Fiolee  (Fionna and Marshall Lee)

I was very wary of watching Adventure Time, since it seemed like such a weird and crazy show.  But over time, it has definitely grown on me.  My favorite pairing from this show is Fionna and Marshall Lee.  They feel very natural together and I can't help but love them to bits. 

- Jelsa (Jack Frost and Elsa)

I rarely ship crossover couples, but Jelsa is definitely one of my OTPs.  The reason I ship Elsa (from Frozen by Disney) and Jack Frost (from Rise of the Guardians by Dreamworks) is not because they share similar powers, although that is a bonus.  I can easily see them getting along and their personalities just really seem to compliment each other.  I can easily imagine them interacting in my head.  My headcanon is that Jack would encourage Elsa's powers.  Even if she wasn't romantically interested in him, she would definitely find a friend in him.

- Linzin (Tenzin and Lin Beifong)

I've always shipped Tenzin with Lin, from The Legend of Korra.  Despite their claims of having moved on, I think they still have feelings for one another.  They seem to fit each other perfectly.

- Armin and Annie

"Do I look like such a good person to you?" 

The only thing I don't like about Attack on Titan, something which frustrates me a lot, is how some pairings are hinted at or start being established, then are completely ignored afterwards, for example Mikasa and Jean.  In my opinion, the only relationship that gets some thorough development is the one between Eren and Mikasa, and their friend, Armin.  Eren and Mikasa have a really well developed brother and sister relationship, although some fans ship them romantically.  Out of the romantic pairings I like (Mikasa and Jean, Levi and Hanji, and Armin and Annie), Armin and Annie seem to have the most development.  Annie seems concerned with how Armin thinks of her, and in one scene asks what being a good person meant to him.  Their relationship interests me a lot, and I hope it continues to develop in the future, although the ending of season one left a lot of questions and I am unsure of what will happen next. 

- Amorra (Amon and Korra)

Amorra is one of my top OTPs.  Although it never had a chance of becoming canon, I will ship it till the end of time (and then keep on shipping it after that).  Other than being enemies, Korra and Amon have a very intriguing relationship, that leads to a lot of potential.  Both have different political views, but underneath their differences, they are actually similar in many ways.  Although Korra at first fears Amon, she later grows stronger and finds her bravery.  Both have their strengths and meet each other on an equal playing field.  They test each other to see what the other will do.  In addition to all of this, Amon and Korra seem to have a subtle attraction towards each other and a chemistry that can't be denied, whether you interpret it romantically or not.  There were more Amorra shippers during book 1 of The Legend of Korra, but some have hung on and continued to ship it, including me. 

Some Annoyances I Must Address

"I wonder what's up today?" is a phrase my three-year-old cousin likes to remark to himself.  Well, I have a similar question to ask, except it has to do with books.  What's up with book titles these days?

I feel like every single modern teen book out there has a one-word (and sometimes two-word) title.  Whatever happened to putting "The" in front of something?  Does it really have to be one word?  What's so cool-sounding or edgy about a title being one word?  I wouldn't have a problem with it, but it seems like every single author is doing this now, and I'm getting tired of it.  Let's vary our titles a bit more, please?

Something else has been grating on my nerves lately.  It's been going on for a while.  And that is the use of "I" vs. the use of "me".  Look, I'm used to people not knowing when to use "I".  I'm used to hearing "It was Bob and me at the park" or "You and me are going to the mall" when it should be "you and I".  It's incorrect grammar, but I actually prefer it to when someone does the other thing.  The other thing drives me crazy.  I can't stand when someone incorrectly uses "I" when they should use "me".  For example, "Would you like to go to the park with Bob and I?".  This is incorrect.  Would you say "Would you like to go to the park with I?".  No, you wouldn't.  You would say "Would you like to go to the park with me?".  "Me" does not change to "I" when you group yourself with another person in your question.  But the worst part is that people who say things like "Would you like to go to the park with Bob and I?" think they're being grammatically correct.  And other people think they're being grammatically correct, too.  However, they are not being grammatically correct.  They are wrong.  Let's clear that up here and now.  "I" is used for the subject of the sentence, and "me" is used for the object of the sentence.  That is all there is to it!

Another thing that bothers me are incredibly fake and over-the-top Scottish accents.  You have no idea how many times I internally wince while listening to a terrible Scottish accent.  Even Emma Thompson, who voiced Merida's mum in Brave, irritated me to no end with her fake Scottish accent.  Her Scottish accent is certainly not the worst I've heard, but it still annoyed me quite a lot.  Perhaps the very fact the accent is fake irritates me.  I love Emma Thompson very much, but why is an English woman voicing a Scottish queen?  By the way, despite Emma Thompson's fake Scottish accent, I loved Brave and I will be reviewing it on this blog some time soon.

And lastly, I am annoyed with some people's ignorance of Irish and Scottish skin.  Stop telling us to tan, and stop telling us that we "should go in the sun more".  Irish skin, like mine, can easily burn.  I can't tan; if I were to go out in the sun unprotected I would get freckles, which is my body's way of saying it's getting too much sunlight and can't cope.  I can get sunburn within just a few minutes, and eventually even skin cancer.  Our skin is sensitive to intense sunlight.  Ireland is a temperate land where it rains often, and even on relatively sunny days the sky there offers natural protection to the skin.  The quality of the sunlight is not so intense or as bright as it is in other places like North America.  Our bodies are not made for hot, sunny, and/or dry weather.  Light eyes and light skin are sensitive to that amount of light.  My grandmother, for instance, is Scottish through her father, and she has very light-colored eyes.  She moved to a very sunny place, and she now has damaged eyes because of it.  And my mom, for instance, has very Scottish curly hair that needs moisture.  Therefore, a dry climate is not healthy for it.  There are other effects too, from living in a climate one is not adapted to, such as headaches and sunstroke.  My mother and brother have clear blue eyes and their eyes get "burned" by bright light.

So stop expecting us to tan.  And stop saying we are too pale.  It is our natural skin color, and it is beautiful the way it is.

Whew, glad I got all of those things off my chest.