MinervaFan

So. We called it--right down to the time frame. If I wasn't having such a lousy day, I'd be dancing the Sacred Squee Dance right now. As it is, I just want to get through this last 45 minutes of the day without bursting into tears--or hysterics--and go home. And The Redneck will be home tonight. Great. Just...frackin'...great... Please tell me they were at least good scenes....

*Waves to ILoveTracyQ and LaineyBev714* I have nothing interesting to say, except that it's morning break and I wish I was at home watching today's episode. Thank you, and good day.

*in the break room, if anybody's out there.* I watched the show tonight. I'm soooooo fracking sick of Edward and that "Tracy can't do anything right" attitude of his. I'm sick of it. I want him to .... oof. I just remembered my next story. Okay, never mind. Poor Edward. Poor, poor Edward. I'm glad they seem to be covering both sides of this abortion issue. I also think the "injunction" scene (short and unsatisfying as it was) was handled much better than it could have been. It did have a tiny odor of Ebil!Twacy, but mostly it seemed like she had been working hard to provide her son with options. And that last comment--something to the effect of "she'll have time to fall in love with her baby"--seemed to be moving us right along in the right direction. Oh, ILTQ (I think it was ILTQ), you know I would love to do the whole Luke/Tracy/Laura thing. I really would. I may just go there. But I kind of want to see what they do when Luke returns home first. And Edward needs to be spanked, metaphorically speaking.....

4xcrazy, come to The Break Room. We're trashing TIIC....big news, huh?

hanging out in The Break Room for a little while. I need to be spoiled for today's episode. SERIOUSLY.

TQ FANS SHOOT, THEY SCORREEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Omg, I can't wait to go home and see this. I can't wait, I can't wait! Omg, we called it, dudes. We called it. (And if we're wrong, don't tell me. Wowsa. We called it.) SPOILER LETDOWN...PAIN...SADNESS...HORROR...SHAME... > > O.M.G. If it becomes canon TQ terminated a pregnancy, with the current attitude of the screenwriters.... She will be able to add "BabyKiller" to her long list of epithets. (Didn't Lucky use that exact phrase?) With the anti-Q sentiments and the obvious pro-life bent of the story, this is another chance to villainize Tracy. Although I know JE will work her magic on it, wow. They could go really bad with this. Holding breath and hoping for a miracle. Hoping even more that Edward doesn't overhear her confession....and banish her for "killling a Quartermaine heir."

ILTQ, I agree with you on the part about Tony Geary not showing the same expressions of love in Luke's non-dramatic scenes with Tracy, but I think that's actually in character. I think Tracy can't avoid love once she's in it--remember that little monologue Dillon had during the Monkey Fever storyline--about Tracy advising him to love without holding back. I think that's what she does, and when she's in love, she can't stop being in love, no matter what the situation. You see that even when she is furious with him, when she's yelling at him or setting him up for a fall. Now, Luke is a total bird of a different feather. Boyfriend believes in running full-throttle from love. His default setting is casual, not emotional, and it's only during dramatic scenes that he really releases and admits emotional connection. It may have been different with Laura, but then he put Laura on a pedastal. I doubt even after they admit their feelings for each other and move to the next level, Luke will never be as open about his feelings as Tracy is. She's the water and fire, he's air and fire. They will both feel it profoundly, but he will rationalize his way out of ever expressing it unless he has to. Oh, MsQ--that vid was amazing. You have single-handedly reinvigorated my LuNacy tendancies. Thank you. Just beautiful, beautiful work and an incredible song. Looking forward to more TQ on today.

I want to see that, too, ILTQ. I want to see them both grow up a bit (but mostly Luke). I want to see him grow up, and her regain her courage. I think Tracy's been burned so many times now that she's terrified of letting anyone in. I think she could love Luke with all her heart, but has no good reason (other than loving him) to let herself do so. He's proven irresponsible, he's cruel, he's immature. Any sensible person would tell her to run in the other direction. He's exactly the man she needs, and exactly the man who will never be able to be what she needs--unless he grows up. Problem is, fans don't want a mature Luke. They're thrilled with the caricature he's become, thrilled with the half-wit antics that have replaced the three-dimensional character he used to be. Luke coasts on reputation and TG's considerable charm, and TIIC have no motivation or need to try to breathe life back into him. Why should they? They can put him in any silly old storyline, and fans will flock in to see it. Why go to the trouble of expanding him, maturing him, making him REAL, when people are clamoring for cartoons and nostalgia? Unfortunately, because our girl seems to be inexorably tied to Luke, she's also tied to his two-dimensional quagmire. She's fared better, character-wise, with these writers--they let her have more depth, more compassion, more maturity than they give Luke (all of which JE grabs like a bandit and runs with for all her worth). But she's still stuck in the trap of "Qs are villains, Tracy is the second-chief villain (after Edward), and women are nothing without a love interest." It's sad, and makes me glad I have books to read that are written by real writers. It makes me glad that there are fanfic writers out there who are brave enough to go somewhere with a character, and who are loving enough to develop those characters honestly and with respect. And I'm STILL glad we get three TQ days this week, even if it's just a pittance to make Lulu look like the victim. (Oh, they are NOT going to turn this spunky kid into MiniLaura, are they?) OT: Speaking of great books, I just finished "Remnant Population" by Elizabeth Moon. Best fiction novel I've read in years. I strongly recommend it.

Hey. I spent most of the night sleeping and running errands (not at the same time). Sorry I missed you in the breakroom, MsQ. Saw today's ep. Have to admit, I'm totally influenced by my own fanon. When Tracy told Lulu she'd regret having an abortion, I saw it. I saw that knowlege in her eyes, that understanding that comes from experience. I also saw, dare I say it, disgust on her face when Edward was going on and on.... Like she was wishing he'd simmer down and let her handle the situation. I did notice the vulgar blocking--obviously done by a director who thinks Old West Melodrama is a viable form of entertainment. Tracy even had the Wicked Saloon Owner hair..... But we have TQ for THREE days this week. *dances around* And even GUZA can't totally demolish our girl, with JE in the role. Oh, MsQ, I'm downloading your vid. Regency, you shame me with your praise. And this comment from TWoP: Tracy, you look pretty. Smack your father. Why? Just cuz. had me LOL even before I realized it was you. I was stunned at the pro-Q sentiment on that board. I really should read it more often, huh? ETA: hahahhahahahahahaaaa!!!! Page 136, Page 136, I got Page 136! (Damn, it's been too long since I was the first post on a new page. I think I need a virtual melon baller or virtual egg timer, just to commemorate.)

No way! Was TQ on today???????? Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease.....

You're right, of course, ILoveTracyQ. This just reminds me why I swore off soaps for twenty years. They make me crazy, they have no sense of continuity of characterization, they're ageist, sexist, and downright annoying on a consistent basis. Honestly, ten seconds after JE leaves General Hospital, I will never watch another episode again. And if she comes back, I will watch for her. But otherwise--um, no.

SPOILERS > > I don't like the sound of it, either, although I could see TIIC rushing a divorce storyline or coming up with oh, it wasn't a legitimate marriage, blahblahblah. As if TQ didn't send that marriage certificate to the FBI crime lab (or equivalent) to test its validity ten seconds after her head cleared from the hangover. I can see Luke coming up with something like, we were never married, I got a fake license, it was all a fake, and TQ saying, nuh-uh, clown. I know it's legit, or your ass would have been on the streets last June. That is, if TIIC let TQ have a brain this week. Rolls eyes. Thanks, ILTQ. Now I'm depressed.

Well, it's official! The LurveFest Chat Room has officially been re-christened "The Break Room." Keith has donated the breadmaker, MsQ brought the ice cream maker, and martinis flow like olives...erm, I mean, water.... If you've already visited the site, please hit refresh next time you view the site to see the new graphic and text. If you haven't already visited the Break Room, why not? Now, I'm going to watch 101 Dalmations (animated) since SOMEBODY with the initials JE was not on the show today. Night, night!

ILoveTracyQ, I picked one of your lists and did a story. It's posted to my LJ and to the Ficathon. It's called Five Mornings. Thanks for the prompt.

I got my copy of the soundtrack to The Hunchback of Notre Dame today. Vastly underrated Disney animated flick--not for children at all, and strays from the source material, but still magnificently done. Anyway, Bette Midler covers the "Power Ballad" all Disney animated flicks are required to have today, and I got chills when I heard it. It's SO TracyQ. I'd love to see a video done to this song, hint hint, if anyone is interested in doing it. (I can just see her with the cast of The City, with their little potluck Thanksgiving--or was it Christmas? All so broke, all so frightened....) God Help the Outcasts Sung by Bette Midler Music by Alan Menkin Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz From Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame I don't know if You can hear me, or if You're even there. I don't know if You will listen to a humble prayer. They tell me I am just an outcast, I shouldn't speak to You... Still I see Your face, and wonder, were You once an outcast too? God help the outcasts, hungry from birth. Show them the mercy they don't find on Earth. The lost and forgotten, they look to You still. God help the outcasts, or nobody will. I ask for nothing, I can get by. But I know so many less lucky than I. God help the outcasts, the poor and downtrod. I thought we all were the children of God. I don't know if there's a reason; why some are blessed, some not. Why the few You seem to favor -- they fear us, flee us, try not to see us. God help the outcasts, the tattered, the torn. Seeking an answer to why they were born. Winds of misfortune have blown them about. You made the outcasts, don't cast them out. The poor and unlucky, the weak and the odd. I thought we all were the children of God.

Girl, are you trying to kill me? LOL. I'm going to pick *one* of your lists and do it, greedy. Speaking of gredy...let me guess, no TQ today? ETA: ***I will be in the Break Room tonight between 7 and 8 pm EST, if anybody wants to join me there.***

THis is floating around LJ. I will have time tonight on the computer at school, so if you want to give me a list, I'll do the ficlets tonight and post them to the Ficathon. Give me a 5 Things topic list(examples: "5 Things Tracy Is Pretending She Doesn't Know About", or"5 People Tracy Never Actually Slept With, No Matter What Anyone Thinks"). And I will write you five ficlets in response.

A wild time was had by all in The Break Room last night. We learned some interesting things: Keith has very clean laundry. MsQ willl involve a bed in Oh, Baby. Now, it may just be there to stack coats, but it's a step in the right direction. Regency...well, Regency REALLY REALLY likes TracyQ..... MinervaFan will grab story ideas whereever she can get them. Poor Edward.... BraveNet's chat feature will randomly disconnect you for no reason at all. But hey, it's free, right? Chatting real-time is just as much fun as posting to the LurveFest, only much much more confusing. If you guys go to the Chat Room, please post here so people will know you're going to be hanging out. Anybody want to schedule a chat, just post the time here.

NEW NEW NEW! Thanks to incompatible versions of AIM keeping MsQ and Keith and I from having a mini-chat, I decided to take matters into my own hands and build a chat room for the LoveFest. (Thank you, FEY, for holding my hand while I navigated Bravenet.) Mainly, it's a place where we can have a live chat anytime several of us happen to be online simultaneously. We can also have scheduled chats if we'd like, to cover various topics, discuss the episodes, or just goof off real-time. The link to the chatroom is http://pub13.bravenet.com/chat/show.php/1049349012. I've got a permanent link to it on the Ficathon (click my sig banner and look at the list of links on your right to find it), so if you lose it, you can always find it again. Hope this leads to some fun and lively conversations, in addition to the LoveFest!!!! ETA: I will be in the chat room for most of the rest of this evening, if RL permits. You may need to download a Java program to run it. I'm on dial-up (56K), and it took me all of ten minutes. ETA: Party in The Break Room. MsQ, Keith, Regency and I are all there. Join us, if you'd like!

tracyluvr, Happy Big Old Belated Birthday to You! I hope you had a splendid day--it must have been contagious, because I had a really good Saturday. I have new fic. Will take a few minutes to proofread, then I'll upload it to the Ficathon and edit with the URL. I've decided to go for short and fast on these things, being as I've been getting so bogged down with multi-chaptered fics lately. Ooooooh, I was stuck in line at the Wal-Mart checkout today (Don't ask me why I was in Wal-Mart. I hate Wal-Mart. I prefer to avoid Wal-Mart.) Anyhoo, I was stuck in line at the Wal-Mart checkout today long enough to flip through the entire ABC Soaps Digest Magazine and GUESS WHAT? The date of Luke's return is Friday, Sept. 8. And guess what? I HAVE SEPTEMBER 8TH OFF AS A VACATION DAY!!!!!!! Wheee! I'm going to be home that day and will be able to watch it real-time. *hops up and down cuz I get to watch the LuNacy Showdown that MUST happen, dammit!* Now, I'm off to proofread. Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Tracyluvr! ETA: Prompt 26: Pickpocket has been added to the Ficathon. It's called "The Pickpocket and the Witch," and it's about Lulu and Tracy discussing her options. I feel I need to say this, because people can be very touchy on the topic of abortion. I'm pro-choice, but I tried to keep my personal feelings out of it. I just tried to be honest with the characters. The fact is, it's a complicated issue and made for a complicated little scene. Nothing is resolved at the end of it. Just two people who understand each other more than they expected. I seriously doubt I have to worry about being flamed by anybody on this list, but I wanted to make it crystal clear that all flames will be summarily deleted and the flamer banned from my LJ.

Um, wasn't Scotty killed in the PC Hotel fire? I know death on soap operas is never permanent, but dude, scarred much? And if they bring Scotty back, they have to pair him with Lucy Coe (oh, bring her back, bring her back, bring her baaaaaacccckkkk!!) and not Tracy. I hate to disagree, but I really didn't like the de-Q'd Ned storyline much. Frankly, I like the idea of her having a Love of Her Life--everybody needs at least one of those. But I didn't like the adopted!Ned idea. Ned is her son. Ned screwed with her hormones, messed up her figure, and left stretch marks. Ned developed colic and spit up on her shoulders at inappropriate times. They can't de-Q my Neddie. They can't, damnit. And just FYI, Keith's posts are so short cuz he's sooooooo mysterious, like James Dean, ya know? Yeah, it's slow on Ye Olde LurveFest this weekend.... BTW, I got a couple of pages written on the next prompt--Pickpocket--for the 100 Situations ficathon. It's Lulu and Tracy....

ACTUAL SPOILERS (from GH CABLE GUIDE) AND TALK > > > Wednesday~August 30th Lulu tells Dillon how she feels about her pregnancy; Dillon opposes the idea of terminating the pregnancy; Tracy tells Dillon they could force Lulu to have the baby; Thursday~August 31th Tracy is worried about Lulu Friday~September 01st Edward plans to take legal action Dudes, looks like we have the potential for a three-day Tracy week! That would be incredible, wouldn't it? SPOILER DISCUSSION Dillon/Tracy plot to force Lulu to have her baby. Oy. Okay, that's just sad, and very contradictory to what they set. Sure, they could play it that "this is what Dillon wants" and Tracy wants to help Dillon do what he feels is right. But forcing someone to have a baby against their will is wrong..... As for the pro-life/pro-choice issue, ILTQ, I'm completely on the opposite side. But that's okay--this is a LurveFest, and we can all have differing opinions and still co-exist peacefully. As it applies to the Dillon-Lulu thing, I can see both sides. I think Dillon has a right to want the child he fathered to live, just as much as Lulu has the right to decide what to do with her body. I think it's unfair to say this is about "getting fat." Everything we've seen of Lulu has shown that her fears are not superficial--they're about being too young, about seeing her future dissolve, about not wanting to bring another unwanted child into the world. And I think Lulu is smart enough to realize that, since the baby's father is a Quartermaine, adoption is out of the question. Edward will not let his "heir" be adopted out of his clutches. (And wtf with that, anyway? Hello? Ned has a daughter---oh, wait, daughters aren't worth sh*t in Edward's eyes. A.J. had a son, but he's in the clutches of Carly and Sonny....) Either way, Lulu knows that if she has the baby, she's either going to be forced to raise it, or it's going to become a Quartermaine with all that entails. Translation--her life is over. If she has an abortion, a tough decision yes, but a legal and viable one, she will lose Dillon forever. She will have to live her decision. But she'll at least have a chance at a life of her own making, whatever that is. So, yeah, I can see why abortion would look like a plan to her. It would make the whole situation "go away," as she put it. And face it, Lulu is more like her father than she wants to admit. She would rather make things "go away" than deal with them in the long-run. The writers have painted themselves into a pretty neat corner with this. In more skilled and capable hands, I could envision a very dramatic and complex storyline that examines both sides of a very controversial issue without villainizing either party. Personally, I don't think either side--pro-life or pro-choice--is populated by evil people. I think people have their own opinions and are very passionate about what they feel. But we're not talking highly skilled writers here. The Qs are going to be the villains, taking the feudal approach and trying to force the poor peasant girl to bear the child the Second Son sired upon her. Her life will be forfeit for the sake of an heir, and Julie Marie Berman will walk home with a Daytime Emmy Award. *sighing for lost potential*

Oh. Okay, I did interpret that wrong. I don't know. I just think TQ's being unfairly maligned. Everything *I* saw in her scenes on Wednesday made me think she wanted Edward to back off and give the kids some space to make their own decision. And she basically told him the Q resources were at his disposal. This doesn't sound to me like a woman who's trying to force her will on anyone. Edward, on the other hand, is being a dog. Sorry I misinterpreted ILTQs post. ETA: Shee-bop-a-loo-bop! WOWZA. MsQ, I don't know why, but I'm madly in love with the image you posted. You're right--she looks very English Lady of the Manor in it. I'm loving it for some unknown reason. Dayum, I am sooo glad my coworker's vacation is over and I can get back to a normal schedule. I'm too tired to write fanfic, and right when TQ is creeping back into the storylines..... ETA2: Because one ETA is never enough--100 Situations has added two more prompt tables to their community. If anyone is interested in REALLY challenging their abilities to write fic, I strongly encourage them to join. Believe me, I'm on Prompt #25, and I'm really glad I joined. It's hard right now with the work/home situation, but I intend to meet this challenge and get my little banner! You don't have to post long stories--they can be very short pieces. Just 100 of them. Anybody gonna join me in the insanity? ETA3: NEW FIC at the ficathon. "The Monster on the Floor."

You crack me up with the KoolAid comment. As for the vibe--she hasn't been on enough for me to get any vibes. I just think that her "uncharacteristically" open-minded behavior suggests that she's been there, done that. I mean, face it, her decision to have Dillon must have been terribly difficult for her. She was older than "normal" child-bearing age, she was in a disintegrating marriage with a man who hated her, and she had at best a tenuous relationship with her family. No matter what you think of Tracy, even she would think twice about bringing a baby into that situation. Personally, I think she's had an abortion...but that's just my own personal fanon. Tracy has enough of the Dark Goddess in her, the One who knows the time for life, and the time for death, that she could have made such a difficult decision for herself. As for the How Could They's? Dudes, let me get this straight? An unwed, teenage mother considers the possibility of terminating a pregnancy, and you fly into a fit of righteous indignation? Where was the righteous indignation when everybody and their dog was cheating on his/her spouse this summer? Where was the righteous indignation when Luke was cheating on his wife? Where is the righteous indignation that the most sympathetically-written characters on the show are MURDERING CRIMINAL GANGSTERS? I mean, come on, get off the hypocrisy. Really.... *kicks toes in the dust, tries to calm down*

MsQ, I have to say it again--I drool for your new banner. Really--it rocks the Casbah. Let me guess--from the complete lack of squeeage on the board, I can safely assume no TQ on today's episode, right? Because, well, she had four or five scenes on Wednesday, which uses up her allotment through 2014. re: the spoiler Luke/Laura somebody posted a page back. GRRR. Don't need spoiler space for that. Do you guys realize that I've watched every single episode of the show this week--all the way through? I'm sorta freaked by that. Of course, with the exception of ff-ing through NEm, I'm sorta enjoying the show right now. It would be 10 gazillion times better with Tracy on it, but it doesn't suck as much as it has been sucking. I still don't care about Nikolas, and Emily still makes me want to puke. But the Alexis storyline is great--NLG rules, ya'll. (I know somebody on the board hates her; sorry....love her, have loved her, will always love NLG! She makes the cutest Minbari EVA -- except for Mira Furlan -- but I digress.) The Lulu pregnancy storyline is also kind of interesting, even when TQ is not there. I like that they're being realistic about it, and the scene this week with Lulu telling Laura she didn't want another baby to be born to parents who didn't want it--like her parents didn't want her--ooh, right to the gut. So. Not enough TQ, but not totally sucking either. I'd say, for GuzaCo, that's a pretty good week.