Story 14

TITLE: Nightmare
FANDOM: Harry Potter
CHARACTERS: Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, mentioned Carrows, Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Dean Thomas, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and others.
RATING: G
WARNINGS: Allusions to child abuse and torture
SUMMARY: It's three in the morning and one nightmare just melts into another.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY: March, 2011. I was listening to the Rent soundtrack (hate that musical, but I do like one song) and reading the seventh book and thinking about how badass Neville is in spite of having to grow up and this came out. To date, it is probably my favorite story of this series.

( Will I Wake Tomorrow? )

Some Thoughts on the Nostalgia Critic Reboot

So, after a solid two months of what I'm referring to as the New Critic Era, I think it's time to check in with my feelings of it, mostly because there are still people upset about it.

Now, before I get too far into how the show's doing, let me address my own personal feelings when I heard the Critic was coming back: I was fucking excited. Yes, I liked Demo Reel and was sad to see it go, but I didn't have the same relationship to it that I do to the Nostalgia Critic. While it wasn't the first Internet review show I ever saw, it was the one that got me fired up to see more, that made me think critically about what I watch, and that referred me to all the other great shows out there, so when the announcement came, I was happy, even though it meant letting the new show go.

And I understood why it happened. Channel Awesome is a business, and Doug Walker is an entertainer who makes a living off that business, so when Demo Reel was poorly received and didn't make him the money he needed, it was only natural to cancel it and go back to something that he knew would make money. That happens in the entertainment industry all the time. That's how it has to go, and the people who are complaining about it... well, I won't say they're dumb or anything like that, since I do understand where they're coming from, but they don't seem to realize that as a man who needs to make money, Mr. Walker has to do what's going to make money. And I respect that. And the people who are acting all butt-hurt, even two and a half months later, need to get over that.

Now that that's out of the way, let's get to what I think of the New Critic.

I love it. I'm not just saying that because I'm a fangirl who blindly accepts everything that Mr. Walker gives me. He's taught me better than that. I am saying that the new series is truly really good. I felt that the old series was starting to burn out a little bit, and I was glad that there was a break, because when the new series started, it was fresh, it was more energized, and it's truly some of the funniest stuff I've seen from Mr. Walker in a very long time. Last week's review of "The King and I" had me laughing more than I had since "Quest for Camelot." "Son of the Mask" the week before was similarly funny.

I love how he has incorporated other people into the videos and started doing more sketch shows instead of just sitting in front of the camera for 20-30 minutes. It helps break the review up more, and Rachel Tietz and Malcolm Ray are both incredibly funny and talented actors. If I'm going to be honest, I'd have to say that the New Critic is better than the final episodes of the old. I like the editorials every other week, which are refreshing and give me a lot more to think about and help me to think critically.

But that's just after the first two months. I'll probably check in again after a few more to see if it keeps improving.