Once Upon a Time - Going Home

by Molly

It's been nearly two weeks now since the mid-season finale of Once Upon a Time, and all of us loyal fans have been left reeling from all of the action and all of the cliffhangers in the most recent episode. In the first few episodes, we got answers to a select few of our questions, only to have them replaced by even bigger ones. No doubt these will be answered in the second half of season three and the beginning of season four. Just to recap, here are the things we learned as of the latest episode, appropriately entitled Going Home.

 

 

Back in season two, a prophecy was found, stating that a boy would be Rumpelstiltskin's undoing. The “boy” was, in fact, Rumpelstiltskin's undoing. However, it wasn't Henry (Jared Gilmore), as we'd all come to expect. Actually, it was Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) that this prophecy was referring to. Consequently, we learn in the same episode that Peter Pan is Rumpelstiltskin's father, lending yet another facet to the monumentally confusing family tree that makes Once so endearing.

 

By the end of Going Home, all of the villains who are actually villains (i.e. Felix and Peter Pan) are definitively dead, along with Rumpelstiltskin, whose death was not-so-definitive. Yeah, I know. We all watched Rumpelstiltskin kill himself along with his father. But here's a bit of news to brighten every fan's day: Robert Carlyle's contract doesn't expire for another two years, so we will undoubtedly be seeing more of Rumpelstiltskin in season four, if not sooner!

 

During the most recent episode, Regina (Lana Parrilla) realizes that the only way to stop the curse Peter Pan has set into motion is to send everybody back to the lands from which they came. This means that Henry will have to remain in Storybrooke whilst everybody is dispersed amongst the other realms. It is quickly discovered that Emma (Jennifer Morrison), being the Savior, can stay behind with Henry, in order to continue raising him. But as we've come to learn with Once, all magic comes with a price. Yes, she can stay behind to raise Henry, but her family, friends, and anything else related to Storybrooke, will be eliminated from her memory. Not wanting Henry to go back into the foster system, she agrees to stay behind.

While Emma says her heartfelt goodbyes, Captain Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) admits that he will think of her every day. This bit of information could not have come at a worse time for us fans, though. I mean, we've been waiting all season for an admittance such as this, and then it is cut short by the smoke monster (LOST reference), of all things! With only moments to spare, Emma and Henry cross the town line, losing any and all recollection of the life they once lived, and Storybrooke ceases to exist.

*The Purple Smoke Monster

Flash forward one year, and Henry and Emma are leading completely normal lives in New York City. One morning, as the two of them are sitting down to breakfast, there is a knock at the door. To the viewers' astonishment, it is Captain Hook, coming to warn Emma of the grave danger her family is in. To this, Emma responds that the only family she has ever known is Henry.

   

At this point, the viewers are questioning how Hook is going to remind Emma of her family and friends, who are now trapped in the Enchanted Forest. Of course, what better way to remind someone of their past than a kiss, right? No? Well...oops.

 

This encounter, however, did spark hope for those of us holding out for Captain Swan. I mean, why else would he try the whole true-love's-kiss-can-break-any-curse thing? He must love her, right? If he can just get her to remember, perhaps the feeling would be mutual.

 

So, in short, we've gotten far more questions than answers. No doubt they will all be answered in due time. For now, here are some unanswered questions for you to think about and analyze! Leave some theories in the comment section below!

 

1. Where is Baelfire?

We know that Baelfire was transported somewhere. He was born in the Enchanted Forest, spent most of his childhood in Neverland, and then somehow ended up in New York. Where do you reckon he ended up when Regina's spell was cast?

 

2. How the heck did Hook get to New York?

Hook was sent back to Neverland or Victorian England or wherever the heck he's from when Regina cast the spell. With no magic beans or Pegasus feathers to help him on his way, how do you think he got back to our realm?

Fun fact: Literally everybody on this show is related. I would love to go into detail about this, but that would take an entire article in and of itself. For now, here's a photo of the Once Upon a Time family tree. In the words of Prince Charming, “It’s a good thing we don’t have Thanksgiving in our land, because that dinner would suck.”

 

Nancy Drew PC Games

by Jessica

Video games are for kids. Video games are too violent. Video games don’t teach you anything. Have you ever been told or heard someone say one of these things about video games? I bet you have. Well, as always there are exceptions to the rules, and today I’m going to tell you about a video game series that is an exception to all of these.

Most of us have probably heard of Nancy Drew, right? She’s appeared in many forms over the years, in books, movies, and now, video games. Maybe your mom read the Nancy Drew book series written by Carolyn Keene (who isn’t a real person; it’s a pseudonym for the “ghost” authors who wrote them). Or maybe you’ve seen the Nancy Drew movie Emma Roberts starred in from 2007. But something you may not know about Nancy is that she has her own line of mystery video games, which are for many gaming platforms. The most commonly used one for this series is the PC (this is the one I use to play them too).

Nancy Drew, if you don’t know, is an eighteen-year-old detective/sleuth that grew up in River Heights, USA. She’s always described as having “titian” hair (meaning it’s golden brown with a tint of red in it), which I always thought was an interesting way to describe it. The book series was written from 1930 to 2003, and Nancy grew up in the early 1900’s. She is the daughter of a lawyer, Carson Drew, and her mother died when she was very young. She and her father have a housekeeper/cook, Hannah Gruen, and a dog named Togo. Nancy is also known for her boyfriend, Ned, and her two best friends, Bess and George (both girls). Most of these are characters in the games, whether you see them or just talk to them on the phone.

 

The actual PC games were first made in 1998 by the company, Her Interactive, and are still made today. They tell the stories of Nancy’s best detective cases. Because her father is a lawyer and therefore busy all the time, and because Nancy is an only child, and a responsible one at that, she has a lot of free reign and can therefore go to places all across the United States (Hawaii in The Creature of Kapu Cave or Georgia in The Ghost of Thornton Hall) and even the world (Italy in The Phantom of Venice or Germany in The Captive Curse) to solve cases. She has a knack for it, which may originate from her mother, who may or may not have been a spy (find out in Her Interactive’s latest, The Silent Spy).

 

Through the games, you, as the player, are Nancy; therefore, you never actually see her because you play from her first-person perspective. As Nancy, you meet characters, some of whom are the suspects, who usually remain suspects until the end (Nancy never rules anyone out). She/you talk to them and befriend them along the way. Some friendships turn out to not be so genuine, I might add. If Nancy/you gets stuck mid-game, you can usually call Bess and George (who are always together), Carson, or Ned for helpful hints. In some games, you can even call the Hardy Boys, with whom Nancy has worked before, like in Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon, one of my favorite games. Other times, Nancy will have someone she needs to report to, like in The Secret of Shadow Ranch, who will help her out as well. And trust me, you’ll need hints for some tricky puzzles Nancy has to solve.

At the beginning of the game, you can choose to play as either a junior (amateur) sleuth or a senior (pro) sleuth, and even though I’ve been playing these for at least five years I still always choose junior sleuth. Senior sleuth has harder puzzles with less time to do them (if they’re timed) or more to the puzzle and fewer clues throughout the game. I figure more adults play senior level. There’s one of my first points; every age group can play these games. Maybe little little kids can’t, but everyone 10+ I think would enjoy them. I know when I was about eleven and started playing them, my dad would play them with me and help me out on puzzles or clues I couldn’t figure out on my own, and sometimes even he would get stuck! So these games take some serious skill. When I need more help than the game will give me (and I’ve only completed I think two games without hints) I go to uhs-hints.com (Universal Hint System), which I think is a lifesaver because it’s not a straight walk-through in that you can find exactly the part of the puzzle you need help with without giving away the final answer to it or spoilers in the game. Be careful not to click on the wrong thing, though, or you might read a spoiler on accident!

One little tidbit I want to include is how fun/funny it is to watch the technology in the game change, especially the kind Nancy uses to get in contact with her friends and hint-givers. Back in the very first few, Nancy would only be able to use an old pay phone and put in a nickel she has in her change purse that she carries (Secret of the Old Clock) or a rotary dial phone in her hotel room (Curse of Blackmoor Manor). Later on, Nancy gets her own mobile phone that only allows calls, and now in the games Nancy has a smartphone that has Internet and texting on it to make it easier for her/you to look up information and talk to people on the go. It also makes it easier for the bad guy to contact Nancy, even anonymously, like in The Silent Spy.

Besides being a game for (almost) all ages, Nancy Drew is not graphically violent at all. There isn’t blood or gore or fighting. Sometimes a ghost will jump out at you and practically scare your pants off (Curse you, Shadow at the Water’s Edge), or creepy noises/sounds will make it difficult to play at nighttime (*cough* *cough* The corridor in Curse of Blackmoor Manor), but besides that, it’s a really good series without being too violent, which is especially good if you’re as jumpy as I am.

And my third point from the beginning is that Nancy Drew teaches you so much. If you didn’t know how to play Sudoku, Shadow at the Water’s Edge will teach you how. If you don’t know your Roman numerals very well, Danger on Deception Island will change that. If you don’t know about different types of farm vegetables (which I sure didn’t) or cliff dwellings, The Secret of Shadow Ranch will enlighten you. So as you can see, as you’re playing these games, secret little tidbits of information will stick with you, and you’ll develop puzzle skills you’ll use in later games. One of the most common ones I’ve seen is the slider puzzle, which goes all the way back to the first game, The Secret of the Old Clock (which is also the name of the first book), and is used in the newest game, The Silent Spy.

 

Now I have mention graphics for a second because I am super picky about whether game graphics are good enough for me to play it or not. The older games, like Secrets Can Kill (first released in 1999 and remastered in 2010), are obviously not going to have as good of graphics as say, the newest game coming out in spring 2014, The Shattered Medallion (so if you’re extremely picky about that, I wouldn’t start playing until about maybe the tenth one, The Secret of Shadow Ranch).

 

The Shattered Medallion is the 30th Nancy Drew PC game, and I’ve completely played through 17 of them. I started The Legend of the Crystal Skull but didn’t finish it because it scared me (it was a while ago, alright?), as well as The Haunting of Castle Malloy (it glitched, and I had no choice but to not finish it). I also have The White Wolf of Icicle Creek for the Wii, but the final puzzle was so hard (and so randomized!) that I could never complete it. That still haunts me to this day.

After I started really getting into these games, I started a list of all the ones I’d played and ratings for a few different categories that I decided were important in a Nancy Drew game that’d help me remember how much I did or didn’t like it the next time I wanted to replay a game. So here are my top ranked games for each category, from a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest in the category:

 

Most fun - this one definitely goes to Tomb of the Lost Queen. From its incredible graphics to cool characters to awesome puzzles, this one from Her Interactive (May 8, 2012) is my favorite. I loved translating the hieroglyphics with Nancy in Egypt! Warnings at Waverly Academy is a close second for me though.

Scariest - though this may be tainted by my age of when I played it, Shadow at the Water’s Edge got a 9 because I saw the creepy dripping ghost that’s on the cover of the game in the game...oh man.

Hardest - out of the ones I’ve finished, I didn’t give any a 9 or an 8, but I gave quite a few 7’s. I think the highest 7 would be either The Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon or Tomb of the Lost Queen.

Most played - this one is a three-way tie because I’ve played The Secret of Shadow Ranch, Curse of Blackmoor Manor, and Secret of the Old Clock three times each.

So there are my “winners” and my knowledge that I had to share for you about the Nancy Drew PC games. I hope you found it interesting and now want to go pick up a game for yourself! They are great fun and take up to three days if you make them last (meaning only playing for about 2 hours a day). I tend to love playing and only take a day or two. Some are longer, some are shorter, but they’re all great fun. I can’t wait to see what The Shattered Medallion will be about, so maybe pick that up in the spring if you so desire. Always remember: *whispers* It’s up to you as Nancy Drew!

 

The Phantom of the Opera

by Daisy

 

There are quite a few things that I have a deep passion about: zombies, Spiderman/superheroes, Queen, sleeping in, but nothing is as deep as my love for The Phantom of the Opera. I could watch the musical over and over and over again and never get bored of it! You would hate watching it with me because I’d deliver every line, vocalize every song, and get so into it, you’d be fed up and done with me.

 

The Phantom of the Opera was written by French novelist, Gaston Leroux, whose work on Phantom was first published in 1909. Yeah! It’s that old! Many adaptations have been made since then, including my favorite, the musical written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Its dark beauty and musical genius will resonate within your soul, and soon enough you’ll find you’ve developed an attachment to the Phantom as I did. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry; every emotion will play across your face.

I don’t want to give out any spoilers, so I’ll try and be as vague as I possibly can without giving away too many details. Our story begins with young dancer, Christine Daaé, a beautiful vocalist who was raised in an opera house, orphaned as a little girl due to her late father's illness. Growing up she was tutored by an “angel of music” that her father said would come to guide her. Her goal was to further her music career with her outstanding singing ability.

Throughout our little story you meet many colorful characters like Carlotta, Meg, Madame Giry, Raoul, and my favorite, the comedic duo, André and Firmin. The most important character in my opinion would be The Phantom, Erik. He is our “angel of music” and Christine’s teacher. You can immediately tell that our opera ghost is madly in love with her, but so is Raoul, Christine's childhood friend. And that’s your main story plot right there, a scandalous love triangle centered around our little songbird.

 

SPOILER ALERT! IF YOU DON’T WANT THE ENDING RUINED, SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH.

Personally, I think Christine should have been with The Phantom. He did nothing but give and give his heart and soul to her, which is evident when he sings his “All I Ask Of You” reprise, and she does nothing but runs around with Raoul. I feel so heartbroken for Erik. If someone was all about music, sang to me, and was that devoted I would pick him in a heartbeat, but alas, The Phantom is merely a character in Webber's musical design. Granted, he may be a murderer, but you could work through that! Couples therapy maybe? All I’m saying is, The Phantom deserves love too, and I really wish Christine would have chosen him instead of Raoul who was arrogant and pretentious.

SPOILER OVER.

The Sims

by Jessica

I bet old-school gaming to most people dates back to maybe Atari or the Nintendo 64, but for me, since I didn’t have any of the “classic” gaming systems, the oldest thing I ever played video games on was my PC. Back in the day, say, oh, 2005 or so, my older sister and I loved to play the very first Sims game. I could never take care of more than two Sims, so I thought my sister was a genius since she could watch over even a baby! The skill! She was also very good at typing “rosebud” really quickly…

We had the first Sims, as well as The Sims: Unleashed, where you could own cats and dogs. The only problem I had with that one was that you couldn’t control what your pets did; they were free to roam and do whatever. They never slept until the meter was so low that you thought they were going to die. This worried me. But what I did love about the second game was being able to go into town! It always had a jazzy vibe, and you could buy cool masks, candles, and pets, as well as food for your Sims.

So that was fun. I played those games for a good while but never really played Sims 2. I think I just got too paranoid that I couldn’t handle more than Bella and Mortimer at once. Therefore I was hesitant to play Sims 3 when my friend showed it to me. Could I do it? Would I kill them? The answer is yes...and yes. I mean, who hasn’t killed some of their Sims, am I right?

But the fact of the matter here is that I did borrow her game and upload The Sims 3, and I have spent way too much of my life playing it. I know I’ve gone too many days in a row playing it when I start dreaming in Sims. Does anyone else do that?

I realized that some of you might not know what The Sims is, so I’ll tell you. “Sims” stands for “simulations,” and in this case, the simulations are people. You, as the gamer, get to control what your Sims do, when and how, with whom they interact, etc. The main game (not the expansion packs) starts you off in a town called Sunset Valley, which is indeed sunny, that has a beach, central park, diner, library, two pools, gym, school, and more. So it’s mostly regular life in a city, and your Sims can have whatever kind of lifestyle you want them to.

In the beginning of the game, you create your Sim(s) and set their favorite things, outfits, character traits, and lifetime wishes. Throughout the game, you can fulfill your Sims’ wishes to earn them Lifetime Happiness Points, which you can exchange for really cool in-game rewards, like Bookshop Bargainer or Steel Bladder.

Their main lifetime wish, however, that you set at the beginning of the game is basically your end goal. You want to set up your Sim's life in order for him or her to be able to complete that goal. For instance, there are really funny goals, like Gold Digger, where your Sim wants to live to see the ghost of his or her spouse, or Heartbreaker, where your Sim wants to break the hearts of ten other Sims. And trust me, that is not an easy task. Sims develop relationships really quickly and need to mourn over their breakups, so if you choose this wish, your Sim will be sad a lot, and I just didn’t like when my Sim was sad. Therefore, she only broke five hearts.

In order to fulfill the more...normal wishes, such as Superstar Athlete or Perfect Mind, Perfect Body, you have to raise your Sim’s skills and get them a job. There are many professions in Sunset Valley (and other cities in other expansion packs), such as athlete, musician, doctor, criminal, journalist, and politician. For each job, Sims are required to have certain skills. For example, an athlete needs to be athletic...fancy that. A musician can learn the guitar, a doctor needs mechanical and logic skills, the criminal also needs athletic skill, and a journalist and politician need charisma.

One of my favorite skills to increase is the cooking skill because there are so many dishes to fix, from the really easy ones like mac and cheese and autumn salad to really difficult recipes like ambrosia and tri-tip steak. It’s really awesome to see your Sims cook stuff up, from the fridge to the counter to the oven. I think the graphics are incredible, and I am anxiously awaiting The Sims 4, out fall 2014.

Now, don’t think that you’re limited to only Sunset Valley in this first game. The eleven amazing expansion packs that accompany the main bundle include anything from University Life to Island Paradise to Pets to Supernatural. I’ve played Generations, Pets, Supernatural, World Adventures, and Seasons. My personal favorites are definitely Generations and Seasons because they make gameplay more realistic.

Generations provides more toys and costumes and opportunities for children, like driving and imaginary friends who can become real. Seasons allows the weather to not just be sunny all the time. Your Sims experience all four seasons; they can get sunburned in the summer, frozen in the winter, go trick-or-treating with children and teens in the fall, and go to the kissing booth at the spring festival! This one is my favorite, especially because it can rain, snow, hail, and thunderstorm! Your Sims now have to check the weather before they make plans to go out on dates or to the seasonal festivals. There are umbrellas for the rain, and you can make snowmen, snow angels, and igloos in the winter.

These games take you and your Sims on a lifetime of adventure, from a baby to a toddler to a teenager to a young adult to an adult to an elder. Each period of life forms who your Sim is going to be and where they are going as people. I personally get quite attached to my Sims and only want the best for them. I hate when they burn their food, fall on the treadmill, or when I accidentally electrocute someone when I tell him to fix the stereo when his mechanical level is far too low for him to do that. Luckily, the Grim Reaper decided he’d let him live because unlucky was one of his traits...Death would laugh at his misfortunes again and again.

Another cool thing about The Sims is the traits your Sims can have. My very first Sim that I ever made I very unoriginally modeled her after myself, except I made her a young adult so she could have a proper job. So I picked my favorite traits (I don’t remember for sure, but I think these are the ones she had): good sense of humor, bookworm, excitable, genius, and ambitious. Each trait helps a little bit throughout the game and allows you to do different things with your Sims depending on what traits they have.

There are definitely some funny traits too: technophobe, never nude, childish, neurotic (that one’s hilarious, even if it’s not supposed to be), hydrophobic, kleptomaniac, and slob. I generally like for my Sims to have positive traits or ones that help them, like workaholic (they’ll like working and can work more without getting stressed), neat (they’ll make their beds and clean up their dishes), or natural cook (they gain the cooking skill faster and make better dishes).

Overall, The Sims is an extremely fun experience, and every game you start is new and unique. Tragedies and opportunities strike your Sims when you least expect them. Fires catch on stoves, burglars come in the night, teenagers throw raging parties; you never know what’s going to happen...just like in real life. And I think that’s the reason I, like so many other players, love The Sims. It’s a simulation indeed, and every day is exciting and eventful. You get to escape into a world of possibilities and forget about real life for a little while, which is always the best part about video games. The Sims will always welcome you in their Simlish way: sulsul!

Superheroes

by Daisy

Superheroes: who doesn’t love them? They are powerful, smart, clever beings who have powers that we only dream of having. Fair warning though: I am a Marvel girl. I love anything and everything Marvel, and Spider-Man will always be the best superhero ever. No lie. I am obsessed with him; fellow Trendmiller, Jessica, gave me a Spider-Man mask for my birthday a few months ago, and it is hanging on my wall this very second. I have worn it in public, so do not underestimate my love for Spider-Man.

When it comes to DC, what do you think of? I think of The Justice League, Superman, and, of course, the ever so popular Batman. Now, I’m not a huge fan of DC, but out of all the heroes, Batman has rubbed off on me the most; I used to not like him at all! But close friends of mine, Devin and Travon, made me grow fond for the Dark Knight, and I do admit I love the franchise - the accessories, belts, earrings, clothes, all of it. Superman? I think he’s too perfect, to be honest. He has no weaknesses except for a rock, which every other super villain just so happens to have. His main nemesis, Lex Luthor is a joke; whenever I see him I don’t see him as a threat. I do enjoy The Justice League, though. I think they’re an amazing group and team.

Now Marvel is what I’m all about. I love the Avengers, although I do admit I don’t think they are as close and unified as The Justice League is. My favorite Avenger would have to be either Captain America or Thor. The Capt. loves his nation and is full of loyalty, and I really admire that. Thor is a very confident and snarky individual, and that’s why I love him - for his attitude. I’ll admit I’m not crazy about his Hammer, but other than that I think he’s a great hero.

Now for my favorite hero ever. Spider-Man. I love Peter Parker-Spider-Man's secret identity, but don’t tell anyone; he’s a nerd like me, and he’s super smart, clever, and witty. He works for a newspaper company as a photographer, and guess what he photographs? Himself! So he makes his living by selling pictures of himself as Spider-Man for the newspaper. Spider-Man has had multiple love interests. The first would be Gwen Stacy, my favorite would be Black Cat, and the last would be Mary Jane. The first comic I’ve ever bought would be where Spider-Man and Mary Jane get married. Spider-Man can also climb walls, shoot webs from his wrists, and has amazing speed and endurance. He has great knowledge in the field of science, which is also useful when fighting bad guys.

I think the main reason I love Spider-Man so much is because it reminds me of when I was little. I remember sitting down in the basement with my sister and Dad and sitting down and watching Spiderman with my family. My most prized possession would have to be my Spider-Man card that I got signed by Stan Lee himself. My friends, sister, and I went to Fandom Fest one year, and I had the opportunity to meet him. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled so hard in my life. So, in conclusion, whether you like Marvel, DC, or someone specific, we all can agree that superheroes are awesome.

“Aquaman is my favorite superhero.”
-No One Ever

Sherlock BBC

by Sarah

“The name's Sherlock Holmes, and the address is 221B Baker Street. Afternoon.” This is the line that leaves Sherlock’s lips as he captures your heart and leaves the character, John Watson (Martin Freeman), wondering. After John is invited into the lab in which Sherlock is by an old friend, Mike Stamford, Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) impresses John by knowing everything about his recent events (or deducing them from his responses), including having just returned back from war as a doctor.

Sherlock was searching for a flatmate, and John just happened to fit the bill. They live in a place rented out by the very kind and elderly, Mrs. Hudson (Una Stubbs). The flat has two bedrooms, not that she thinks they’ll be needing the second. She assumes that they’ll be sharing the one, but it’s not that she’s judging. Looks like Mrs. Hudson is a shipper of Johnlock as well. Johnlock is the unofficial couple name of John and Sherlock, created by the fans who would leap with joy if they were to have a “moment” other than holding hands while running or if they got together in a future series.

 

While John is a doctor, Sherlock is a consulting detective (the only one in the world, considering he created the job). He helps out the hopeless Scotland Yard, the people that would never get all of their cases done if it weren’t for him. This includes the all-around disliked Anderson (Jonathan Aris), who when he speaks, “lowers the IQ of the whole street.” Then there’s the ever-so-lovely (I’m lying, she’s also a bother) Sgt. Sally Donovan (Vinette Robinson), who works mainly with her advisor, DI Lestrade (Rupert Graves). Lestrade is well-known for claiming that many of the cases thrown his way “aren’t his division” and causing Sherlock to send texts that say “Wrong!” whenever Lestrade delivers a press conference.

Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gatiss) is Sherlock’s older brother, the man with whom Sherlock is frequently bickering. He’s high up within the government and is more concerned about Sherlock’s safety than he’d ever care to admit.

Sherlock’s true enemy, though, would have to be Moriarty: your favorite villain. Britney Spears’ song “Criminal” makes more sense now after being introduced to this sneaky and clever man. “Mama, I’m in love with a criminal/And this type of love isn’t rational, it’s physical/ Mama, please don’t cry, I will be alright/All reason aside, I just can’t deny, I love the guy.”

The emotions you feel will be all over the place, from the possible lust toward Sherlock and those beautiful eyes of his, the sentimental, loving feeling toward the maternal Mrs. Hudson, and all types of melancholy & rage throughout scenes that will not be spoiled within this article. There are only two seasons currently released, and the Sherlockians (the popular name for fans of the show) are anxiously awaiting the beginning of the third (not very patiently, might I add). The release date has yet to be announced, especially for us Americans, who have to wait longer since we’re “across the pond.”

The details that could be included and fawned over (i.e. Sherlock’s lack of knowledge on the solar system, Molly’s crush on Sherlock, and how Jim isn’t gay. He isn’t.) are never ending; however it just isn’t the same reading my biased opinion as it is creating your own by watching the show and becoming a fellow Sherlockian.

Should you invest your heart and soul into this show? The answer to that is quite simple; in fact, “It’s elementary, my dear Watson.”

The Hunger Games

by Daisy

 

When you first heard about The Hunger Games, what did you think? If you’re like me you probably just drew a blank, and massive confusion went through your head. The Hunger Games is actually a book series written by Suzanne Collins. The series became quite popular with young adults when it was first published on September 14, 2008. Following suit, Catching Fire, the second of the trilogy, was published just short of a year later on September 1, 2009, and Collins finished strong just eleven months after that with Mockingjay on August 24, 2010.

 

Katniss Everdeen was just your average teenager. She had a little sister, Prim, a loving mother, and a best friend named Gale. What’s not so average about her? She lives in a run-down town fighting to stay alive, not just for herself, but for her family as well. She lives in District 12, which is dirt poor, and everyone is weak and hungry. President Snow runs the districts and the Capitol, which is where the elite live.

 

Every year each district must send out two tributes, one male and one female, for the Hunger Games. These tributes are twelve to eighteen years old, and they must travel to the Capitol to participate in this annual event, where they must brutally kill each other on live broadcast for the rest of the world to watch. The reason why? It all stems back from District 13, those of whom tried to rebel from the Capitol’s harsh rule and their resulting suffering. In the end the rebellion was smashed, and now every year they celebrate The Hunger Games in order to remember the amount of control the Capitol still has over them.

 

Long story short, Effie Trinket, the Capitol representative for District 12, calls out Prim’s name to participate in The Hunger Games. Since participation is certain death, Katniss volunteers to take her sister's place in the Games. She must travel to the Capitol to undergo scrutinization by the posh and oh-so-sophisticated upper class and to train to maybe, just maybe, win the Hunger Games and come home to her mother, sister, and district.