Sunday 15 April 2012

Blogspiration (7): The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn




Blogspiration is a Brand Spankin' New weekly meme hosted by both GrowingUp YA and Saz101. The meme was created to help spark inspiration among bloggers, readers and writers alike. An inspirational quote/picture/video is posted weekly, on the day of the author's choosing, so that it may inspire creativity, conversation and just a little SOMETHING.

Check out these gal's awesomeness:
http://saz101.blogspot.com.au/
http://growingupya.blogspot.com/


You’d think planning a wedding; I’d be all romanced out. So not the case. For some reason, I’ve been going through a stage where I can’t get enough of a good love story.

To clarify, I’m not talking about the kind of insta-love that has plagued my beloved young adult genre lately, or the 'love' in a smutty novel. I’m talking about the kind of love where two people fight and bicker and have nothing in common but just can’t stay away from each other. The type of love where they get to know each other so deeply and know all of the other person’s flaws but love them for it regardless.

 The type of love where you’re holding your breath, just waiting for the moment they both WAKE UP and realize what’s going on here. The teasing, and playfulness, and full on breathlessness of how much the love, that they don’t even realise they have, hurts.

I’ve been devouring books and TV shows and movies just like this lately. I can’t get enough of them and unfortunately, whenever I sense the insta-love forming, I’m so completely turned off by whatever it is that I can’t even finish. I’m sure I’m missing out on some good stories but I honestly just can’t be bothered.

So below, I have some of my old favourites. The ones I go back to when I just can’t find something new. They’re the ones I turn to when I need inspiration for my own writing.


Taken from VA graphic novel

Rose and Dimitri - Vampire Academy


The first is Vampire Academy. Rose and Dimitri just break my heart over and over. Richelle Mead had me holding my breath right until the last book and every time they talked about different parts of their lives, every time Dimitri gave Rose advice, every time Dimitri was surprised that Rose understood, every time they touched, kissed, joked around. Amazing.




My heart melts at this exact moment

Belle and the Beast - Beauty and the Beast

Next is Belle and the Beast. In the city of love, their hate turns to so much more. Belle doesn’t just lay down and let the Beast be a bastard, she sticks up for herself, she shows compassion to him when no one else does. She softens the monster and stands up for him against a mob. He gives her the world.


Love this episode
Brennan and Booth - Bones

Another favourite is Booth and Bones. These two make me lol on so many different levels. She’s so awkward. He’s such a tough guy. And these personas they’ve created for themselves are the first things to shatter when the other is around. Because they see each other for who they really are, not who they pretend to be.



Drool. Double drool.
Lois Lane and Clark Kent - The New Adventures of Superman

The old school episodes of Lois and Clarke: The New Adventures of Superman is one I’m currently rediscovering. It is so bloody cliché and contrived and SUPER DOOPER corny but the chemistry between Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher is amazing. I swoon over and over and over again. And his super-hunk body is only part of it.



Most amazing couple out
Eliza Bennet and Mr Darcy - Pride and Prejudice (BBC version)

And last, you can’t go past these two. I love Pride and Prejudice as a book, but the BBC adaptions is simply amazing. Mr Darcy and Eliza Bennet. Probably the greatest literary love ever written. You guys can keep Romeo and Juliet and I’ll take Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam. And Pemberley; I will most DEFINITELY take Pemberley.



The thing all of these couples have in common is they all have flaws that their partners bring out and help them overcome. They don’t judge, they don’t make the other person feel bad, and they're not afraid to call each other on their bullshit. There is no power struggle because they both bring out the strengths within each other. And until they’re comfortable as an individual, their relationship can’t start. But the moment it does, clichés abound! The stars align, corny soundtracks start, fireworks explode in the heavens, and your heart skips a beat! 


There are plenty more couples out there but these are the main ones that stick with me from day to day. 

One day I hope to write characters so deep. To have people fall in love with them as much as me.


And with that, I'll leave you with an amazing quote from Baz Luhrmann's heartbreaking Moulin Rouge.


"The greatest thing, you'll ever learn,
is just to love,
and be loved in return."
<3<3<3

So tell me, which literary loves have you lost yourself over?

17 comments:

  1. Awww, I love these couples. They really were great examples of how love should be. Not instant love, not all about sex, but about accepting each other, both the good and bad parts. Their love builds and becomes stronger because of their friendship. Great post.

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    1. I know! I love seeing a relationship bloom from nothing. It's the best feeling.

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  2. I adore Rose and Dimitri - you're so right on the heart breaking over and over comment!
    Shatter Me's Juliette and Adam stand out for me - I love the book full stop, but I think Mafi did an especially amazing job at describing what it's like for Juliette to touch and be touched for the first time. I'm not even a very 'huggy' person, but it made me think about how much I'd miss all those little touches that we use to connect with others.

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    1. Yes! I loved that book! I think I've reviewed it on here somewhere... Adam and Juliette were amazing but they fell just short on my list.

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  3. Oh my GOD! Heather this is so beautifully written! OMG my God. My heart skiped a bit. I feel you. I do. I also search for THIS kind of love, and I am so greatful to you, that you've put it into these amazingly written words. YES, this is what I want. And I agree with Rose and Dimitri <3 <3 And the couple I want a love story like? Daemon and Katy from Obsidian. THIS, in my opinion, is perfection for me.

    Thank you again for sharing this. <3 <3 And I can say, YOU'll be an amazing writer ;) ;)

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    1. That's so nice of you to say! I really get worried sometimes that I'll never be good enough.

      I haven't read Obsidian yet, who is the author?

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  4. I love Bones! Great example, I'm so glad it's back on TV now :)

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  5. When I was reading your blurb before your examples the first couple that came to mind were Rose and Dimka! And then BOOM! There they are. YEEESSSSSS!!!! :D They had the PERFECT chemistry. It was ELECTRIC.

    And then Beauty and the Beast? Come on! HE GAVE HER A LIBRARY!!!! Enough. Said. *dies*

    And The BBC version of Pride and Prejudice? You can't post that and expect us not to swoon. Colin Firth is THE PERFECT Mr. Darcy. I highly doubt anyone can beat him.

    Lovely post, Heather! Just...perfect :)

    Thank you for sharing cause it totally just made my day :D

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    1. Why won't someone give me a library? I'd super appreciate it...

      And Colin Firth? Argh! What a dream boat!

      I was hoping whoever read it would remember their perfect couples and make them smile just a little bit. :)

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  6. HEATHER! Oh my word, I ADORE this post. So many of my favorite couples.

    Darcy and Lizzie--ESPECIALLY in the BBC mini series (I've watched it so many times I don't even want to THINK about the number of hours I've spent. I NEVER get sick of it).

    But I HAVE to add: Jane and Rochester. From the book. Oh, my heart. I love them like I can't even say.

    Also: Etienne and Anna (form Anna and the French Kiss), Mac and Barrons (from the Fever series), and my absolute FAVORITE: Cat and Bones, from the Night Huntress series.

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    1. Oh my goodness! You're going to laugh at me, but I've never read Jane Eyre. I've seen the most recent movie and it just didn't do it for me, unfortunately.

      But I've heard only good things about Anna and the French Kiss so I'll definitely have to pick that up next!

      And Sarah, it sounds like if we combined the hours we'd spent watching P&P, we'd probably have enough time between us to... Umm... Watch it again?

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    2. Mahaha, we'd probably have enough time to watch it again for a week solid :P

      Oooh, honestly, I can't recommend Jane Eyre the book highly enough. I read it for the first time last year and fell head over heels in love... for me, it had the same kind of... compulsively readable quality of any of the romances or YA I read now.

      I know no-one likes to call Twilight a quality work of literature, and I'm not, but what it DOES have is this addictiveness to it. Something that makes it really readable, really immersive. Even if you didn't like Twilight, you get the feeling I mean? I got that about Jane Eyre. The romance between Jane and Rochester is heartbreaking and funny and overwhelming. I love it. Err... I'ma stop raving now, promise... but it's AMAZING, and... you know how P&P--to read--can be kind of tricky? The language is, at times, difficult to follow, and a little dense/strange/peculiar to a modern ear? JE was never like that to me. It's definitely harder to read than what we read now, but it's... it's SO good :D

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    3. I definitely know what you mean about Twilight because I got that exact feeling too. And I may have to pick up JE then, I do have about four copies after all...

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  7. Aw, these images are so cute! Thanks for sharing them with us. Love your blog and am a new follower! Would love if you could maybe stop by my blog sometime. :)

    Jessica from Booked Up! xxx
    www.bookedupbloggers.blogspot.com

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  8. Awww, this made me want to cry... it was so beautiful and so true. damn pms. I need some chocolate! :)

    Andrea

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