HP vs Twilight: The Final Battle July 27, 2009

EW.

When I was camping this weekend it started raining.  (Because I live in Washington and apparently it rains here.)  I spent the evening holed up in my tent with my dog, ignoring the laughter of my friends and family, instead choosing to pout about the weather.  While I was pouting, I also started reading Twilight for the first time in probably at least six months.  I realized that I had forgotten how much I loved Edward Cullen.  He really is great, isn’t he?  Anyways, last night when I got home and went to bed, I was hoping for an Edward dream, so I was trying to think about him as much as possible as I was drifting off to sleep.  When I woke up, however, I realized that I did NOT, in fact have an Edward dream.  Who was in my dream instead, you ask?  One of the freaking Jonas brothers! And not even one of the cute ones.  It was the ugly one.  You know which one, don’t make me say his name.  Let’s move on.

Today I’m wrapping up this Harry Potter vs. Twilight debate.  I believe at this point our score is Harry Potter 3, Twilight 1.  This last round is just an overall, which is better, which do I like better, etc. sort of category.  When I used to play soccer as a teenager, we would always end our practices with a scrimmage game.  When there was just a few minutes left of practice, my coach would declare, “Next goal wins!” no matter what the score was.  I know she was trying to motivate us to push ourselves just a little harder, but usually it just infuriated me.  I was always frustrated with the unfairness of it, even if my team won.  But apparently I’ve grown into a hypocrite, because that’s what I’m doing today.  Winner takes all in this one.  Next goal wins!

This is the hardest one to do (that’s what she said) because, like I said, I love them both dearly.  I’ve loved HP for a long, long, time and it hasn’t even been a year yet since I was first introduced to Twilight.  I have favorite characters in both series, favorite books in both series, favorite scenes that make me smile even right now as I think about them.  I think it’s pretty obvious which one I think is the more respectable of the two, (just look at the current score.)  The one that I’m proud to say I’m a fan of, the one that I don’t care who knows that I love with all my heart.  The other one…well, I will just say that sometimes I get a little embarrassed about loving it so much.

But here’s the thing: Not once, not ever, have I EVER had the tiniest inkling to start a blog about Harry Potter.  I don’t have a single HP website or blog that I follow.  I could probably only name one for sure that I know of.  And yet I have 7 different Twilight sites saved in my favorites at this very moment on my computer.  And 3 saved onto my computer at work!  Not to mention this little blog of my own that I still can’t believe I’m doing.

I’ve never seen any of the Harry Potter movies in the theater more than a few times, not even my favorite ones.  I think the most was maybe 4?  My theater viewings for Twilight reached into the teens this winter.  That’s right.  Wait, have I not mentioned this yet?  If I remember correctly, (which I do, I’m just stalling now because it’s so embarrassing) the final count was…13 times.  And I didn’t even think the movie was that good!  Sigh.  Not one of my proudest accomplishments, but it happened, and I’m learning to live with it.  Just don’t tell anyone.  Please.  Seriously.

There are also some…emotions that I experience while reading Twilight that I never felt in any of the HP books.  I definitely went through a lot with Harry Potter and all his little friends, for sure.  I’ve felt joy, pain, hatred, sorrow, triumph.  (I cried through the entire seventh book alone!)    But there was that other feeling, the one of being in love, that you just can’t get out of HP.  Rowling just doesn’t dive deep enough into those relationships to get to experience it.  Which is fine, I’m not criticizing.  It’s just something that Twilight has that HP doesn’t.  The giddiness that comes from reading the first book in the Twilight series, when Edward and Bella first find each other, you just can’t beat it.

So in the end, I think have to declare Twilight the final winner.  I have some friends (friends who know absolutely nothing of my site, I might add) that would kill me if they heard me say this.  But I think maybe it’s true, at least for now.  And even if it’s not, this is a Twilight blog, after all.  What kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t support the very series that I created this blog for?  A pretty lame one, I think.  TWILIGHT WINS!!!

THE WINNER!!!

Round Four: Villains! July 23, 2009

Big happenings going on in the Twilight world, folks.  Big. time. stuff.  With all the Comic-Con hoopla today AND New Moon releasing its fancy new official website full of goodies, it’s hard to tear myself away.  I’m still in the midst of an internal struggle:  Do I want to soak up any clip, picture, interview for New Moon I can, or do I want to wait until I see the movie so that I will be surprised?  It’s a tough choice, one I still haven’t made and one that I’m pretty sure I need to decide soon.  But before I do, I think I’ve still got a few rounds of this battle royale in me, so we’re on to Round 4:Villains Edition!

This round gives us a chance to consider quite a few characters.  In the Twilight series, we’ve got James, Victoria, Laurent, the Volturi…and Jacob.  (I’m kidding about that last one, don’t freak out and send me hate mail.  We’ll discuss it later.)  The Harry Potter series has Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, (I’m not including Draco because I love him too much, did I mention I think he’s sexy?), Severus Snape (I guess we could argue about this one too, yeah?), Fenrir Greyback (eep!), just to name a few.

In my humble opinion, the best villain in the Twilight series is Victoria.     She is super-scary.  Vengeful, with long, flaming-red hair, a creepy, high-pitched voice, piercing red eyes, those are some good ingredients for a first-class villain.  Part of her creepiness to me is that she kind of sneaks up on us.  You don’t pay too much attention to her in the first book, and then all of the sudden she shows up in New Moon, ready to take somebody OUT.  (As if Bella needed something else to freak out about.  Poor Bella!)  I think it’s cool how she’s always creeping around, testing the boundaries, seeing how close she can get to Bella, seeing how strong the wolf pack is.  THEN when the Cullens come back and suddenly her revenge gets ten times more difficult, what does she do?  Does she give up and run away?  NO!  Does she go cry to the Voturi about it?  NO!  She builds herself an army of newborn vampires. That’s pretty bad ass, I must say.

Now my favorite Harry Potter villain is by far Bellatrix Lestrange.  Voldemort’s right-hand girl, his most-faithful Death Eater…not to mention crazy like a fox.  She’s creepy too, but in the way like, “She’s so creepy I want to be just like her.”  I love her crazy black hair and her ragged witch-clothes.  She’s got a very confident way about her, even when she’s locked up in Azkaban she knows that her Dark Lord will rise again.  She’s a super-powerful wizard, those little Hogwarts kids are no match for her.  And then she goes and kills Harry’s godfather!  Poor Harry.  Then she has to rub it in his face!  “I killed Sirius Black!  I killed Sirius Black!”  That’s just cruel, Bellatrix.  That name too, it’s just so cool, Bellatrix Lestrange.  Awesome.

Since we’re talking about all the villians though, I guess I need consider them all when making my decision.  I think both authors give us some great ones, both series have characters who truly did scare me as I was reading these books.  But looking over the lists above, I think I’m going to have to give it to Rowling again.  My reason being that a lot of her characters cannot necessarily be defined as villains or heroes for sure.  Snape did some evil things, and was questionable throughout the entire series, but does Chapter 33 of Deathly Hallows erase all that?  Is Draco to blame if his hatred of mudbloods has been ingrained in him his entire life?  Sirius Black is incredibly scary in the 3rd book, until you learn that he was framed and is the exact opposite of what everyone thinks he is.  This is why I’m giving this round to JoJo, she has the ability to create multi-layered characters that can be argued for years to come, which is exactly what I plan on doing with my HP-nerd friends until I die.  HARRY POTTER VILLAINS WIN!!!

I’m off for the weekend, camping with the family, but I’ll be back on Monday to finish up this little showdown and declare a final winner!  See you then!

Round 3: Vampires vs. Wizards! July 20, 2009

Apologies all around for the lack of posts during these exciting times, I was too hopped-up on Pottermania to go anywhere near a computer.  (I haven’t even had a chance to look at all the pictures of Rob in New York for this week!  He’s got a hot-pink sleeping bag!  His face is bleeding!  He’s wearing plaid again!  Weeee!!!)  On to Round 3: VAMPIRES vs. WIZARDS!!!

Last week we discussed a very specific vampire (Edward Cullen) and a very

I daresay he may be sexier than Edward...well, sexier than Emmett at the very least.

specific wizard (Harry Potter.)  Today I’d like to talk about vampires and wizards in a more general sense.  Specifically, which would I rather be?  This is a tough one for sure.  Let’s look at some facts, shall we?  Vampires have definitely got something going for them.  Sex appeal is a major plus.  Vampires are sexy.  Wizards are not.  (Unless you’re Draco Malfoy.)  Vampires are super-fast, super-strong, super-beautiful, etc.  The list goes on and on.  They don’t get hurt, they have amazing memories, AND becoming a vampire opens up the possibility of having some sort of super power!  How exciting!  (Of course, there is always the potential that you don’t end up with any special gifts, or you get a lame one like Esme…the ability to love passionately?  LAME.  They all do that, duh.  But you could end up with something cool, which is very enticing, I must admit.)  With these gifts you can live a life of luxury, traveling the world looking beautiful in designer clothes, driving fast cars and feasting on whichever mammal you choose, then having all-night sex with your eternal life partner.  Sounds good, right?  Not so fast…

There are some downsides to being a vampire, for sure.  Becoming a vampire is a BIG commitment.  Once you go through those 3 days of vicious pain, that’s it.  No turning back.  Wizards, on the other hand, always have the option of giving up their wizardly ways and taking up the muggle way of life.  They can do that whenever they want.  For a day, a week, or a lifetime. (Similar to the motto of my hometown.  “Welcome to ______, for a day or a lifetime.”  Maybe that should be the wizards motto too…Welcome to our wizarding world, for a day or a lifetime.)  There’s also the issue of living forever.  Some might see this as a pro for the vampires, but I’m not so sure.  Apart from getting to wear clothes from every era, I just don’t see the appeal.  You also don’t get to eat regular food anymore.  I am not okay with that.  Even worse for the vampires, wizards get to eat amazing food.  Have you ever been to a Hogwarts feast?  Well…me neither, but what I picture in my head is totally worth choosing wizards over vampires.  Roast turkeys, boiled potatoes, pumpkin juice, puddings, pies, ohhhh man, sign me up right now.  Put me on that Hogwarts Express, my owl is in his cage and my trunk is packed!  (Nerd alert!)

Even without the food though, I think I’d still choose to be a wizard.  It just simply sounds like more fun, yeah?  Being a vampire just sounds like too much of a hassle.  You don’t have the freedom to do whatever you want, you can’t even enjoy a sunny day without worrying about someone seeing your sparkly skin.  Plus you’ve got the Volturi breathing down your icy neck 24-7, that’s a hassle.  Bottom line, being a vampire may sound like fun at first, but wizards are where it’s at.  WIZARDS WIN!!!

What about you?  Which would you rather be???

One more shot of Draco, just because I can. He's even sexy when he's crying!

Round 2: Harry vs. Edward!! July 14, 2009

Now this one I’m excited for!  Oh, where do I even start??  Okay here we have two VERY different characters, both very admirable though, don’t you think?  Harry Potter and Edward Cullen.  One is a human boy with magic abilities, one is a 100+ year old vampire trapped in a teenager’s body who can read minds.  One sacrifices all he has to save the entire world, the other spends his days chasing after a very clumsy girl so she doesn’t end up in the hospital AGAIN.

When comparing Edward and Harry, my thoughts go straight to (in my opinion) the best question, who would win in a fight between these two?  This question was asked of Stephenie Meyer awhile back on a Muggle.net podcast, and I couldn’t agree more with her answer.  Harry would not have a chance. Before he could even reach into his pocket to pull out his wand Edward would have torn his head off.  No contest.  Not even JK Rowling could deny this.  Point for Edward!  Even if Harry tried sneak up on Edward while wearing his invisibility cloak (this is where we start to get super-nerdy kids, I hope you’re ready) Edward would be able to not only smell him, but also hear his thoughts a mile away.   (We all know how those Occlumency lessons turned out, Harry.)  The only way Harry would ever have a chance is if he somehow concocted some sort of potion that made him odorless, thoughtless, etc.  But that doesn’t really count, because I’m not talking about some sort of wizard-vampire guerrilla warfare here, I’m talking about hand-to-hand combat.  Although wizard-vampire guerrilla warfare does sound pretty cool…

I know, that was fairly pointless, Harry and Edward would never fight each other!  They’re on the same team!  The good team.  My team.  So what about their personalities?  Who is more likable?  Who would be a better friend?  Better boyfriend?  Well, once again, Edward wins.  Throughout most of the HP books, Harry is moody, whiny and stressed out.  Does he have a lot of outside components in his life causing him to act this way?  Yes.  Does that that mean he can snap at his friends who have been at his side since the beginning?  NO.  Edward can be a little moody too sometimes, but never as bad as Mr. Potter.  Edward has the maturity bonus too.  Harry is boy, Edward is a man.  A man who will never look a day over seventeen.  Someday Harry will grow old, most likely turning out looking very similar to Dumbledore…long beard, wrinkly skin, etc.   Edward’s going to stay gorgeous for all eternity.   Plus I’m pretty positive Edward’s a better kisser.  Even if he is ice-cold.  What’s cooler than being cool??  ICE-COLD!  EDWARD WINS!!!

Author’s note:  I searched through a LOT of pictures of Edward trying to find one of him smiling and failed miserably…

Come on Edward, you just won! At least TRY to look happy!

Let the Showdown Begin!! July 13, 2009

As previously stated yesterday, this week I’m going to explore the worlds of Twilight and Harry Potter and which book/movies are the world champions of all sorts of various things.  I’m doing this in honor of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince coming to theaters TOMORROW because I’m just so, so excited and all I want to do is think and talk about this stuff.  (And I figured everyone else is doing it, I might as well jump on the bandwagon, right?)  Before I start though, I am officially declaring that I love both equally with all my heart and would hate to ever have to choose one over the other.  I just think each have their own individual strengths.  Also, I think it’s kind of silly to even compare the two because they are so different, but silly=fun so enough of playing nice!  LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!

Round 1: Stephenie Meyer vs. JK Rowling!!!

Sigh.  I’m getting this one over with quickly because it kind of makes me sad.

Plus JoJo is way hotter…

I wish that I could say that both authors are amazing in their own way and have each given us respectable, well-written novels, but I just can’t.  Jo Rowling takes it on this one, no contest.  Her books are incredible.  She created a completely new world with exciting plots, lovable characters, and tragedies that broke my heart.  Each book in the series got better and better and unfortunately, Stephenie just falls short compared to JoJo.  Stephenie’s books are enjoyable, but I can’t say they’re incredibly well-written.  She did create really great characters and I think she has a wonderful imagination, but those story lines just don’t make sense sometimes!   The timing of the first book was way off…I won’t even get started on Breaking Dawn!  (That plot was just one hot mess.)  Speaking of Breaking Dawn, Rowling gets another point for being able to kill off some of her characters, as opposed to Mrs. Meyer, who was too chicken to take anybody out.  Come on Stephenie, we could have handled it!  I demand a rewrite!  Take that biotch Rosalie down!  ROWLING WINS!

Next up, Harry vs. Edward!

Coming Soon: Twilight vs. Harry Potter Showdown!!! July 12, 2009

Hey all!  In honor of this week’s big movie event, I will be featuring a showdown between two of my most favorite book/movie series, Twilight and Harry Potter!  There will be quite a few rounds, discussing different areas of these two wonderful worlds, so keep checking back this week to catch each one!  See you soon!