#I think I’m gonna make a reverse one of these with the hobbits as the abbey road cover

[pondencee]

This one is for my lotr/Beatles fans who weep over the Beatles lotr movies that never came to be…

[frodo-with-glasses]

More Reading Thoughts: The Forbidden Pool

Eyyyy we’re gonna see Gollum again!

(Why am I happy to see Gollum?? I guess he’s fun to draw, and I’m looking forward to doing that. But also he brings conflict and mischief with him whenever he goes, and that’s what makes a book Very Interesting. It’s been a bit boring lately.)

Sam has a Frodo-Sense! >:-O It’s like one of those GPS pet-tracker thingies that ping your phone when it passes out of a certain range—

Okay, I’ll admit it, the Window sounds lovely. I’d like to see something like that in real life.

DANG, Faramir can be SAVAGE if he wants.

Sam: “It’s cold out here.” Faramir: “Did I invite you?” Sam: “No 8-|” Faramir: “Then the cold is just punishment.”

Faramir: “Some squirrel, Anborn. Can squirrels swim?”

Faramir: “Should we shoot?” Frodo: “…..No.” Sam, if he’d had his way: “YES”

Faramir: “What has he come here for?” Frodo: “He’s looking for something. Irresistibly drawn to it.” Faramir: “The Ring?” Frodo: “Fish.”

Frodo resorts to talking like Gollum in a desperate attempt to get Gollum to listen to him, like an exasperated mother with her toddler. I’m telling you, this is the funniest thing X’-D

“Where is the other one, the cross rude hobbit?” HA! (See in the book Gollum actually KNOWS Sam’s name—he uses it in the Dead Marshes—but why would he allow him that courtesy when he can insult him instead??)

Frodo: “I feel terrible. I hate having to do this to him.” Sam: “So do I. I hate having anything to do with him.”

Faramir: “The fish of this pool are dearly bought.” Gollum: “*drops fish* Don’t want fish.” Hahaha how else was he supposed to take that, Faramir??

Faramir: “Cut him loose. *hands Frodo a knife*” Gollum: D-8 !!!!!

“There are locked doors and closed windows in your mind, and dark rooms behind them.” Me too.

Something about the fact that Frodo wants to make sure he himself is trustworthy, even as it involves Gollum—who can’t be trustworthy to save his life—kinda strikes me for some reason. “I can assure my own strength of character, even as it involves this treacherous leech. If you can’t trust him, trust me.”

I’m fascinated with the details of this contract. Apparently, Faramir’s word alone has legal holding for “a year and a day”, unless Frodo comes back within that time and presents himself before Denethor, in which case Faramir will ask to make the contact lifelong before what’s basically the Supreme Court of Gondor. So if Frodo shows up in Minas Tirith a year and TWO days after this contract was agreed upon, does that mean it’s void? What would be the ramifications of that? There’s both positive and negative things associated with this contract: “You’re free in all the lands of Gondor and under the protection of me and my people, but also you’re not allowed to come back to Ranger territory unless we ask you to.” So what is reversed on that hypothetical year-and-second-day, and what still holds? It doesn’t matter, of course, because I think by then Aragorn is king and everything, but I like splitting hairs unnecessarily for my own entertainment.

Frodo: “I thank you, and I am at your service, if that’s of any worth to you.” Faramir: “It is of great worth.” Oh ;-;

Faramir, to Gollum: “And may death find you swiftly, within Gondor or without, if you do not well serve [Frodo].” Oh, it will, Faramir. IT WILL.

Faramir, still to Gollum: “Leave us, and take that nasty half-eaten fish on the floor with you!”

“If Cirith Ungol is named, old men and masters of lore will blanch and fall silent.” Old men and masters of lore are afraid of spiders.

“What spell would [the Ring] work in Minas Tirith? Shall there be two cities of Minas Morgul, grinning at each other across a dead land filled with rottenness?” Ohhhhhohoho that is such a visceral mental image. Poetry, Frodo. Poetry of the kind that makes the bottom of my stomach drop out. *applause*

“If ever beyond hope you return to the lands of the living and we re-tell our tales, sitting by a wall in the sun, laughing at old grief, you shall tell me then.” Annnnd more poetry, but now the heart-stabby kind.

But that begs the question: Did Frodo get to tell Faramir the story of Gollum and the Ring while he was recovering after returning from Mordor? Or maybe Gandalf told Faramir himself. I imagine it would be a sore spot for Frodo.

For all of us who are going through a hard time right now, myself included: May we all sit by a wall in the sun, laughing at old grief, and re-tell our tales, someday.

[angstysebfan]

Okay I think I'm gonna hurt my own heart with this but hey, it's angst. Could you please write something where reader and Bucky are married, have a child or children and still work as Avengers. Maybe one day reader is sent to go on a mission and Bucky stays home on dad duty. Reader's mission goes badly and she doesn't make it home, leaving him all alone 😭.

(I may request an alternative ending to this because I'm a soft bean).

Oookay can I change up my second request that I sent, please (I've decided my heart can't handle the horrible ending I suggested 😂. Yes I'm a wuss). So mission still goes awry and they think reader is dead because they don't find her body. So Bucky is still told horrible news that she is dead. Maybe a month later he gets a call from a hospital that says they have her and have finally identified who she is and she's okay. (2/2)

--

Lol!! I understand not wanting the angsty ending. I might write angst, but I hate writing angsty endings... lmao! Hope you like this. WARNING: MENTIONS OF BLOOD AND INJURIES.

--

Be Careful

Bucky kissed you passionately, not wanting to let you go. You pull back and give him a smile, “I’ll be home before you know it. Take care of our little bean while his mommy kicks some ass,” you say as you walk backwards away.

“I will. Be careful. I love you, Doll,” Buck says with a smile.

You blow him a kiss before you climb the ramp to the quinjet before going on a solo mission. You turn back and look at your husband, “I love you more!” you shout before entering the quinjet.

Bucky watches as the quinjet lifts off and flies you away, until you are finally out of sight. He turns and goes back into the compound and into your shared apartment, where your 8 month old son is blissfully asleep in his crib. Bucky quickly checks on him before going back out into the common room, knowing FRIDAY will let him know if the baby wakes up.

--

It’s been several hours and there has been no word from you, and Bucky was starting to get nervous. You were supposed to check in an hour ago, but Steve told him to not panic. Bucky tried to distract himself with caring for your son. He fed him, played with him a little bit, gave him a bath and put him to bed. He hoped you would have been home before he went to bed, but there was still no word. 

Bucky sat in bed, thinking about what could have happened. He tried to think about how something had gone wrong, and you had to find a safehouse, and it was taking a little longer. He knew something was wrong, but when Steve knocked on the door, and Bucky saw his face, he knew it was worse than he could imagine. 

Wanda came to watch the baby, while Bucky went with Steve, Sam, and Nat to the location where they lost signal from you. When they landed outside of the abandoned HYDRA base, they search and eventually find your empty quinjet about a half mile away. 

Bucky ran over to it, calling for you in desperation. It was dark, but with the lights on the quinjet, the team was horrified to not only not find you, but see a lot of blood around the inside quinjet. Bucky thought he was either going to throw up or pass out. Nat seeing his reaction, pulled Bucky out of the quinjet so he can breath some fresh air. 

Sam looked at Steve sadly, “This is a lot of blood, Steve. If this is hers, there is no way Y/N is...” Sam couldn’t bare to finish his sentence. Steve took a sample with a piece equipment Tony and Bruce created, which showed that the blood did indeed belong to you. He sighs defeatedly and looks out of the quinjet where Nat was holding a sobbing Bucky.

He walks out and looks at Nat, “Take him back to the compound and have Tony and yourself come back when the sun is up. Sam and I are going to continue to search the area,” he says. 

Bucky pulls away from Nat, “I’m not leaving. I am finding my wife,” he says.

“Buck, you have to go back to the compound and take care of your son. You aren’t emotionally able to handle this mission. If the roles were reversed you would say the same to me,” Steve said, putting a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. 

Bucky choked on a sob, but nodded, knowing Steve was right. Nat pulled Bucky to the other quinjet and set off toward the compound. Bucky was silent the whole ride, praying to whatever god there was that you were still alive. He knew he was going to make whoever hurt you pay no matter what, but he needed you to be alive.

--

The next day Wanda stayed with Bucky to help with his son, as she knew Bucky was distracted waiting to hear back from the team. When he saw the quinjet land he ran out, hoping that they found you. Steve walked out and looked devastated and like he was crying. Bucky took a deep breath as Steve walked up to him, “Buck...”

Bucky nodded, knowing you were dead. “I’m sorry. We couldn’t even recover her body,” Steve said, fighting back tears.

Bucky took a deep breath, wiping the tears that threatened to fall. He looked behind Steve and saw the rest of the team crying, all feeling the devastation of losing their friend. Bucky took a deep breath as Wanda brought his son out to him, knowing Bucky needed him. 

Bucky looked at his hansom son, who looks just like you, with Bucky’s eyes. How was ever going to be able to explain to him how he failed to keep his mother safe? How would he explain how amazing his mother was and how much she loved him, and Bucky let her go out alone and get herself killed? 

He forced himself to swallow the sob that threatened to come out when looking at his son and grabbed him from Wanda and held him close. After a few moments and walked away from team, not able to handle seeing them distraught. He went to his apartment and sat on the couch with his son in his arms. He looked at the big smile on his sons face and let the sob out. 

“I’m so sorry,” he cried.

--

After a funeral a few days later, Bucky was benched from missions, though he was pretty sure he was going to retire now anyway. He didn’t want to make his son an orphan, plus he was in no mood to go out and save the world. He tried to act normal for his son, but every night he cried himself to sleep while he held your pillow, which still smelled like you. 

He constantly apologized to you for letting you get hurt and killed. He had made a vow to protect you and he failed. He would never forgive himself for that. He knew his son would never forgive him either once he was old enough to understand. The team tried to be there, especially Steve, but Bucky was pushing everyone away. They all understood, but was worried about him. 

It’s been a month and Bucky was not doing well. Nat stepped in and started taking care of the baby. Bucky fell into a deeper depression then he thought possible, and finally asked for help to take care of his son. He felt he didn’t deserve to have his son. Steve had never been so worried for his friend and didn’t know what to do.

Tony and Sam took lead in looking for the people who did this, and went on a mission to another HYDRA base. Once they entered the facility they went to find files to see if they could get information, but what they found surprised them even more.

--

Bucky was lying in bed, looking at the ceiling. This was life for him recently, and he was ok with it, since he obviously deserved it. Your death, he concluded, was punishment for his transgressions as the Winter Soldier. He did start to take better care of his son, but still required a lot of help. 

While lying there, Steve came in, not bothering to knock. He rushed over to Bucky. “Buck, there is news,” Steve said urgently.

Bucky let out a sigh, “I thought revenge was what I wanted, but I don’t have the energy to find them and kill them. It won’t bring her back,” Bucky said sadly.

“No, Buck... Tony and Sam... they... they found her,” Steve said.

Bucky sat up and looked at his friend, “You mean they found her body?” he asked, hoping that’s not what he meant.

Steve shook his head, “She is alive, Pal. She is down in med bay, and she is alive, awake, and asking for you.”

Bucky was never up and out of bed faster, running out of the room and toward the elevator to get down there. He had to see it for himself. Once he got down to med bay he ran down the hall to where Tony was standing.

“Woah Barnes, you have to stop and take a deep breath before you go in. She needs to remain calm, you got it?” Tony said quietly.

Bucky nodded and slowly walked in and saw you lying in the bed, bruised, bloody, but alive. He thought his heart was going to burst out of his chest. “Y/N?” he asked, still not believing his eyes. 

You looked at him and immediately relaxed, “Bucky,” you said in a raspy voice. 

Bucky walked over to your bed and grabbed your outstretched hand. “Baby? Is... is it really you?” he asked.

You let a watery laugh escape, “It’s me baby. I’m sorry I’m late,” you said. 

You pull Bucky into a hug and you both cried into each others shoulder. Wanda brought your son into the room, and you both held him and each other tightly. Bucky swore nothing and no one would ever take you away from him again. You were home, safe, and alive. He was going to make sure you always were.

--

Oh i loved this one! Thank you for requesting it! Hope you liked it!

Permanent Taglist:  @hailmary-yramliah @tuiccim @comedictragedy @cap-n-stuff @thefridgeismybestie @aleaisntcreative @lookiamtrying @pinknerdpanda @morganclaire4 @iamvalentinaconstanza @verygraphicink @im-squished @joannie95 @peace-love-hobbitness @connie326 @arundhati1609 @amandamdiehl​ @harrysthiccthighss​ @its-izzys​ @roserose26​ @rebekahdawkins @elegantobservationstudentsblog @broco8​ @bestofbucky @white-wolf1940 @loser-alert @jassy2101

[anironsidh]

AnironSidh 2020 fic and moodboard masterpost

I didn’t write very much this year between the general mess of 2020 and senior year, but here’s what I did manage to write this year (sorted by fandom). If there’s no chapter count for a fic, it’s a oneshot

Queen/BoRhap

Just Keep Losing My Beat || jimercury Hogwarts au. Freddie Mercury/Jim Hutton (jimercury), Brian May/Roger Taylor (maylor). Hogwarts au, found family, maylor, jimercury, i will post more soon. Chapters: 7/?

Summary: Hogwarts is not ready for Freddie Mercury. Not even close.In which Brian May is trying to be successful, Roger Taylor is just confused, John Deacon doesn't want the spotlight, and Freddie Mercury just wants to find somebody to love and make his place in the world.

(Love Of My Life) Don't Leave Me || hardzello (for borhap summer cast event) for the @queenandborhapevents and written for @johndeaconshands. Hardzello, fluff, happy ending, love confessions, first kiss

Summary: Joe's worried about what kind of future he and Ben may have once the movie is no longer keeping them in the same place, and he may find something more waiting for him to ask. - Written for johndeaconshands on tumblr for the BoRhap Summer Event 2020

Love Was Such An Easy Game To Play || tyob 2020 gift fic for xofunghoul / @heybuddy-drabbles. This fic was for the @queenandborhapevents two years of borhap event. hardzello, flashbacks, fluff, picnic, proposal.

Summary: A look back at how Ben and Joe figured things out, got together, made a home with each other, and in which Joe has just one question in mind. - A gift fic for xofunghoul and the two years of borhap exchange on tumblr (modded by @maz-zello and myself). Prompt was for hardzello, fluff, domestic moments. I think I did pretty well, let me know what y'all think in the comments!

Phandom/Dan and Phil

For The Dreams of Youth || phandom reverse bang 2020 parent!phan au for the @phandomreversebang 2020. art by @akikaji and beta @rainbowchristy. Dan/Phil, fluff, parent!phan Chapters 2/3

Summary: Dan isn't quite sure about a kid of his own. It hadn't felt like a possibility, not until recently. He may find that he's more ready than he expected. Dan and Phil's journey towards parenthood told through a series of videos to one day hand over to their child.

I Wonder When We're Gonna Make It || phandom reverse bang 2020 (1980s au), for the phandomreversebang 2020. Dan/Phil, queen references, 1980s au, period typical homophobia, happy ending, angst with fluff. Chapters 1/2. art by @luisaloveshoney and betaed by @i-might-leave-soon / @eilidh 

Summary: When a new neighbor moves into the town that Daniel Howell has lived in his entire life and finds his safe spot in the town's vineyard, he will challenge Dan's view of himself and his town. Soon enough, they find themselves in an attraction nothing like Dan's ever known and one that those around them cannot understand. This may be Dan's only chance to escape and truly be himself. - A fic for a phandom reverse bang 2020 prompt in which Dan and Phil live near a vineyard, sneak grapes, drink stolen wine, and fall in love despite the times (1980s). Also, in which I project my love for queen onto Dan, because Muse doesn't exist yet and because I can.

I Ain't Gonna Face No Defeat a good omens au for the @phandomreversebang 2019, masterpost and art by @hiwatari-art here. Dan/Phil, good omens au, post bookshop scene, Crowley!Dan x Aziraphale!Phil. betaed by phanandpenguins/ @ringsandbutterflies

Summary: Daniel Howell has been stationed on earth for six thousand years, his only constant companion Phil Lester, an angel of Heaven. When his angel is nearly taken away from him he begins to realize just how important Phil is to him. -the bar scene in ep6 of good omens where Aziraphale is discorperated and Crowley is in the bar mourning him- Please be sure to check the art by hiwatari! Thanks to phanandpenguins for their beta work!

Good Omens

Songs Full Of Sad Things || Ineffable Husbands Raphael!Crowley for the good omens big bang. Crowley was Raphael, eventual happy ending, angst and fluff, wip. Chapters 8/15

Summary: -Crowley and Aziraphale are quite happy in their new Tadfield cottage five years after Armageddon, or rather, the armageddon-that-wasn't. They've settled into a routine with each other and the Them. Everything seems fine. Anathema and Newton are even getting married soon. -And then everything Crowley has built up for the last 6,000 years comes tumbling down with a visit from Gabriel and the revelation of his past, of how high he Fell. He hadn't wanted to remember his past as an archangel. Not now. His past is told bit by bit while those brought together by the almost-end of the world must pick up the pieces. - aka Crowley was the archangel Raphael, Gabriel's a dick, and Aziraphale just wants to help. Also, Warlock WILL fight anyone who hurts his Nanny, even God.

As You Wish || Good Omens/Princess Bride au, inspired by @anotherwellkeptsecret. Princess bride au, another one I promise i will get back to, eventual happy ending. Chapters 2/?

Summary: Warlock is sick and Nanny Ashtoreth reads him a story of romance and swordfights, perhaps inspired by a certain angel she knows. In which Aziraphale is Buttercup and in love with the handsome Crowley, a farm boy. When he is reported dead, killed by the Dread Pirate Nutter, Aziraphale falls into despair and eventually agrees to marry the devious Prince Gabriel. He is kidnapped by a con artist, Beelzebub, and their two henchmen in order to start a war. Crowley, who survived his rumored attack, rescues him from the trio. They must now free Aziraphale from Gabriel's clutches if they wish to have a new life with each other. Inspired by anotherwellkeptsecret on tumblr (penumbra on ao3)

Before I Lose You || gomens holiday swap gift for @gregayy and the Good Omens Holiday Exchange. post-canon, fluff with a sprinkling of angst but there’s barely any tbh, ineffable husbands, (technically for the gomens 2019 holiday swap, but it was posted on the third of january so I’m including it)

Summary: Armageddon has been averted, and yet their troubles are far from over. Heaven and Hell want their revenge for a Plan foiled. Crowley knows this far too well, knows he has far too little time for what he's wanted for so many centuries... Aziraphale. Believing they may not live to see another sunset, they take a step usually taken by humans. They've only got this one chance, don't they?aka they get married, believing they may not have another chance to, as requested by gregayy/scmnz

Can't You See || good omens ficlet for @wheeloffortune-design. Ineffable husbands, ficlet, happy ending, first kiss

Summary: Crowley being brave - wheeloffortune-design on tumblr. Based on this art, I think I wrote this instead of studying for a midterm lmao

Hobbit/LOTR

By His Side || Happy Hobbit Holiday 2020 Bagginshield fic for KeyWolf25888 for the @haveahappyhobbitholiday 2020 exchange. Gen, M/M, Bilbo/Thorin, happy ending, fluff, bilbo stays in erebor fic

Summary: Bilbo Baggins is just staying in Erebor for now, just until he knows every member of the Company will be alright after the Battles, but his feelings for a certain dwarven king may change his plans just slightly.Or, a Bilbo Stays In Erebor fic as requested by KeyWolf25888 for the Have A Happy Hobbit Holiday 2020 exchange! I haven't done much Hobbit fic in a while, but it was nice to get back to these characters. 

Reylo

you're nothing, but not to me || reylo fix-it. Rey/Ben Solo, poe/finn, tros fix it fic bc i was mad after watching that movie, I promise I’ll get back to it soon I just need to work out the plot (and it could also use a beta, if anyone’s interested) Chapters 3/?

Summary: The aftermath of the victory. They may have won, but what comes next? What happens when the battle is won, when the fight is over, but a former enemy is brought into their midst? What happens when Rey brings a near-death Ben Solo back with her? The remaining Resistance is not willing to forgive him easily for what he has done as Kylo Ren. It will not be easy, but it must be done.

Moodboards

Phandom/Dan and Phil

Phandom Reverse Bang 2020 Pride Au Moodboard, fics by @judearaya and @counting2fifteen Summary: Dan goes to pride for the first time, traveling to London on his own. He hasn't come out to his family yet, just a random person online called amazingphil. At pride, he sees a man (Phil) on a float and decides he has to talk to him. Eventually (maybe after a few times hanging out/dates) he finds out that Phil is amazingphil. The moodboard for my prb 2020 pride au, with fics by counting2fifteen and judearaya!

Queen

Royal Maylor au honeymoon in Japan

Queen Iliad au with hardzello, maylor, and deacury

Brian’s Birthday moodboard

Maylor Hamilton au

Jimercury Sad moodboard (hurts like hell)

Reylo

Titanic au

Moodboard for You’re Nothing, but not to me

Reylo good omens au

Moodboard for the Heartbreak Prince, fic by the wonderful @kylorenvevo (Thea)

Reylo Frankenstein au, idea partially by @indefinitelyindia

[elletromil]

Get To Know Me!

@s1utspeare​ tagged me (about a week ago, but, you know, life), thanks dearling :D

Part I

name: I’m known as Elle. I personally pronounce it as the letter ‘L’, but ‘Ellie’ is fine too, I’ll answer to both and neither are my real name. (i’m old, so i don’t share my real name anymore sorry)

pronouns: she/her but I seriously don’t mind

star sign: Pisces

height: 5'6″

time: 8:11am because before work is one of my most productive time XD

birthday: March 4

nationality: canadian

fave bands/groups/solo artists: My go-to answer is Dir en grey, but sometimes I’ll be obsessed with one artist/band which is not currently the case

song stuck in your head: A french kid song from early 2000 that is freaking annoying and basically is someone with a “baby”‘s voice singing about the animal of the jungle. I’ve gone to bed with that song in mind and woken up with it still there. I can’t wait for it to go

last movie you watched: Midnight Diner 2! A friend recommended the series to me on netflix and I realised there was movies too so yeah, of course I watched the movies too

last show you binged: Unsurprisingly considering my last answer Midnight Diner! I’m on the last season now, but I would have finished it already if I hadn’t taken breaks to play some games XD

when you created your blog: 2009 if i remember well

the last thing you googled: “how to remove some outlook option” (it was a term in french, i’m not gonna bother translate it more than that XD) for work

other blogs: I have a dreamwidth journal and a pillowfort under the same name... My dreamwidth is more or less abandoned as is my pillowfort... I ain’t good at keeping up with stuff if they don’t have an app

why i chose my url: back when I was in like... early high school? I had an idea for an original story and for some reason I decided that one of the character’s name would be “l’immortelle” (french for “the (female) immortal”) but in reverse. I removed the extra ‘M’ for the aesthetic. So yeah, that stuck.

how many people are you following: 338

how many followers do you have: 1,593

average hours of sleep: about 7-8 hours a night

lucky numbers: 4 because its my birthday

instruments: i can play piano and the flute

what i’m currently wearing: a pair of black jeans and a purple and black stripped long-sleeved shirt. Cuz it’s cold this week.

dream job: I actually have it. I’m a creature of habit, so office work is very nice in the sense that I know exactly what my day is gonna be like (even when it’s a shit day, you know what could make it a shit day) and the work I do doesn’t actually feel like work to me (emphasis on ‘to me’).

dream trip: Going to Sweden to visit @solrosan​ with our other friend Red and possibly other countries with them too. Or Rosa coming to us and just taking off a week or two to stay at a cabin. And going to Australia to visit @honey-bee-britt​ :D

fave food: so manyyy. what comes to mind right now is ham tho, so i’ll go with ham

top three fictional universe you’d like to live in: I’d like to be a hobbit living in the Shire, i feel like i’d make a great one XD I’d also like Moominvalley I think. And uhhhh, Hyrule from Breath of the Wild, but only pre-calamity or post whatever is gonna happen in Breath of the Wild 2 XD

Part II

last song: Mama’s Gun by Glass Animals

last stream: A playthrough of Hollow Knight

currently reading: At least 10 books and just as many fics. This week is more of a ‘imma watch some random playthrough’ than a reading week tho, so I don’t remember what I am in the middle of

currently watching: Midnight Diner

what is antipoetry to you: ? I have no clue and quite honestly, i don’t care XD

currently craving: chocolate, because I always have a chocolate craving, but also craving time/motivation to finish all these prompts waiting for me in my ask box

I’m not tagging anyone, but if you wanna do it, consider yourself tagged :D

[bvrnedtm]

( danielle campbell, she/her ) — here ye, here ye, behold the lady of winterfell, ryella stark née frey. the twenty-four year old is known for being gentle but has the tendency to be timid too, which should be expected of the grey lady. ( you disappear in a room full of people, just as you’ve learned to do to survive. scars litter your skin to tell a tale of a more than troubled childhood. you have suffered and feared for the worst in an initially loveless marriage. yet time has passed and you have finally found comfort in one you never expected to love you or love in return. )

TRIGGERS: miscarriage, depression, postpartum

about me:

I’m not the best with talking about myself, so bear with me. I go by Liv, I’m 24 years old, and I live in the EST timezone. Pronouns are she/her. Um…I like to think I’m a fairly chill person, generally speaking. I’m not in school right now, but I do work the morning shift five days a week at a bagel shop. That means I’m usually up early, so I tend to head to bed early-ish as well. Exceptions being Friday and Saturday, as I don’t work weekends.

Oh! I also have a dog named Lucy, though we also call her Lucille cuz she’s an old lady. Yes, it’s a reverse nickname. Anyways, she’s a yellow lab, nine years old, and fully blind. But before you let that last bit get ya down, rest assured that she is still one of the happiest puppers you will ever know. A legit sweet baby angel.

discord is thrift store hobbit#5805

basics:

Name: Lady Ryella Alys Stark, née Frey, of Winterfell House: Frey (by blood) & Stark (by marriage) Age: 24

personality:

Ryella has never been someone that one would describe as brave. Fact of the matter is, not many people would know just how to describe her. Not because she is any sort of enigma, but merely due to the fact that she’s never been able to stand out in a crowd. But then, perhaps that’s been by choice. She’s always been fairly shy, after all. It takes time to get to know her, to learn how to move aside the curtain to find the truly kind and gentle girl hiding just behind it. Effort most don’t seem to deem worthy of their time.

quick facts:

This bit is gonna be a mess cuz it’s just a quick jumble of facts

married to Henrik Stark

they have a beautiful 3 month old daughter named Arya

he truly is the love of her life, despite how rocky they may have started off

dubbed the Grey Lady due to her ability to disappear like a ghost

honestly one of the gentlest people out there

like, she is hella soft once you get past her initial shyness

a few weeks before her wedding to Henrik, he was meant to visit House Frey in order to finalize everything

he sent his twin in his place as a sort of test

 only after the short visit had concluded did Ryella send a letter to to the real Henrik asking if he was alright 

as she assumed his brother had been in his place due to illness

she simply hadn’t said anything at the time, as she didn’t wish to embarrass him or his family so close to the wedding

suffice to say she passed their little test

background:

Eldest of two, Ryella is the only daughter born to the ruling lord of House Frey. Even from a young age, she knew her main purpose in this life was to be married off in order to buy some sort of alliance with another house. This knowledge, however early it came, never made the socialization aspect of her life any easier. Ever the timid spirit, she was far more content to keep herself hidden in the shadows of a room. Happier to hold her tongue than risk speaking up only to say the wrong thing, or worse, to make no sound at all. It seemed that for all she made up in looks, her skittish nature made her undesirable as a wife. Were it not for a needed bond between the house of Frey and Stark, who knows if she ever would have wed. 

Ryella was fourteen when a betrothal between herself and Lord Henrik of House Stark was put into motion. However, it wouldn’t be until four years later that the wedding would actually occur, due to complications caused by the death of Henrik’s father. After nearly three years of discussions and hammering out the details of the agreement, the betrothal was finally set back into motion. In order to help the future couple get to know one another a bit better, Ryella was sent to stay in Winterfell for about a month. The first few days together were spent in near complete silence, neither one speaking in an otherwise empty room. Then the weather took a turn for the worst, the cold seeping into the young lady’s bones even with a roaring fire. 

The chill was a blessing in disguise. One moment Ryella was trembling in her chair, and in the next she was covered in more blankets than she could count. It seemed that Henrik had noticed the girl’s trembling even as she’d kept herself quiet. Finally their silence was broken as she uttered a soft ‘thank you.’ The first of many words that would follow, as the two seemed to grow close after that initial ice breaker. It was an unlikely match, but one that the Frey was more than grateful to have been blessed with, as she knew she was amongst the lucky.

Luck, however, has a strange way of shifting when needed most. After her wedding to Henrik at eighteen (he was twenty-two), the couple had difficulty in conceiving a child. A misfortune that followed them for the first three years of their marriage. Sadly, even when they did manage a pregnancy, fate was still against them. Ryella suffered an early miscarriage, and with that came a depression that sometimes haunts her even now. Henrik was supportive, of course, mourning the loss with her while doing everything he could to assure her that there was no blame to be had in what happened. 

The years that followed were difficult. Yes, Ryella wanted to give her beloved husband a child, but fear of another loss seemed to stand in her way. It took months before she could get into the mood to make love. Even then, she couldn’t stop the sense of guilt that followed. Guilt worsened by the return of their inability to conceive. The fact was, even if Henrik refused to lay blame for all that had happened, Ryella believed it was somehow her fault. That there must have been something wrong with her.

It was a belief proven wrong when she grew pregnant for the second at age twenty-three. The first few months were filled with a terror she’d never known. Ryella prayed daily for the baby, and rarely ever left Henrik’s side for fear she’d simply crumble without his presence. The relief she felt the day Arya was born couldn’t be expressed in mere words. She would deem it a miracle, her sweet baby girl a gift she never thought she’d receive. Until then Ryella had listed her wedding as her happiest moment. She’d never been so glad to be proven wrong. Even now, three months later, one could easily catch her staring at the infant in disbelief. 

tags:

☙🕯❧ better keep my eyes wide open // visage ☙🕯❧  they keep screaming louder and louder // musings ☙🕯❧  your heart beats like a marching drum // playlist ☙🕯❧  we all got nightmares in our dreams // aesthetic ☙🕯❧  i have cold blood even in a sweater // wardrobe ☙🕯❧  i can hear your heart beating on the bars // physique ☙🕯❧  started saying if you can’t hide run // moodboard ☙🕯❧  i tell them my story it’s never enough // about ☙🕯❧  everybody’s been talking believe it or not // mention ☙🕯❧  and words got shorter quiet got longer // conversations ☙🕯❧  i don’t wanna fight // meme ☙🕯❧  gonna leave it behind // answered ☙🕯❧  wild heart // ooc

if you have any questions or would like to plot, feel free to hmu to chat !!

[kingofthereunitedkingdom]

All right my dudes, let’s talk about this Amazon LOTR series. (Aka, the two cents that no one asked for ever. Seriously, all opinions are valid, I’m not here to fight, this is just what I think. Anyways.) Please read til the end.

I for one was initially very very upset. Because I don’t trust Amazon, okay? Peter Jackson’s LOTR trilogy was a once in a lifetime miracle. Him and Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens poured their heart and souls into making the best possible adaptation of Tolkien’s masterpiece that they could. Everyone on that production, from Weta to the stunt people to the cast to Howard Shore were committed to bringing Tolkien’s vision to life. Was it perfect? No. Was it as close to perfect as we’re gonna get? Yes! There’s a reason it got all the Oscars. People who think that Peter Jackson’s LOTR wasn’t faithful enough are so deluded that it boggles my mind. It’s like people think he could just snap his fingers and turn the book page by page into exactly what you envisioned in your head when you read it. Modern day filmmaking has so many constrictions it’s not even funny. Producers, lawyers, marketers, auditors, people giving the project money who in return are in it for the money. And these are the people that Jackson had to work with in order to get the film made on the scale it was, rather than a home movie shot on a camcorder in his backyard. With this in mind, it’s a miracle that the films were as amazing as they were. You should actually all go watch the behind the scenes appendices footage on the extended edition DVDs. If you can’t get your hands on the DVDs, a lot of it is actually up on YouTube. The part where they talk about the process of converting book to script is very fascinating and explains a lot. Tolkien did not write these books with a movie in mind. The pacing is a screenwriter’s nightmare, he spends a lot of time on details we don’t necessarily need, and the time frame is positively loopy. You say Frodo was thirty three when he received the ring and fifty when he left the Shire, I say did we need to see Frodo moping around in the Shire for seventeen years? You say that the Fellowship’s travels were rushed, I ask if anyone ever wished they could spend a month in Lothlorien while absolutely nothing happens except resting and crying about Gandalf? I love the books, I truly do. But even I admit that a shot-for-shot adaptation would be awkward and at times difficult to watch.

Now, as for the show in question, do I think that Amazon read the Silmarillion and said ‘wow, let’s spend billions of dollars to make a faithful and heartfelt adaptation!’? Um, no. Somebody in a highrise read that Game of Thrones was ending and realized that now there’s gonna be an open market for that genre of show. Now, who else can think of a series that checks the boxes of fantasy, long and complicated af, pre-existing fan base, and minimal barriers when it comes to obtaining rights? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Tolkien is the million dollar answer (or billion, in Amazon’s case). What gives me hope is (now this might be hearsay, don’t take my word for it because I cannot confirm) that apparently they only have the rights to events that take place before The Hobbit and LOTR. Which is essentially just the Silmarillion and/or the appendices. Now, this could be interesting. The Silmarillion doesn’t have a screen adaptation, so whatever they did would be groundbreaking. There would be nothing to compare it to. But what I’m afraid of is that Amazon would be afraid of it. The Silmarillion is a lot to chew. It’s wordy, the characters would be hard to adapt on screen, and it would be really hard to market it because the concept of the Silmarillion has (unfortunately, but truthfully) long been associated with ultimate geekdom.

This is why Amazon is probably going to pick the lower-hanging fruit and reinvent popular characters we already love. I’ve been hearing a lot about how they’re doing it as a young Aragorn prequel. Which, for surface level selfish reasons depresses the heck out of me because Viggo Mortensen is and always will be my Aragorn. If this was happening years ago and they got Viggo to be the character again in a TV show, I’d be all for it. But unfortunately Viggo cannot age in reverse and if they were gonna use him they’d have to use a shit-ton of CGI a la Carrie Fisher in Rogue One which… *shudders* *war flashbacks*. But then again, Viggo has aged remarkably well. Did you see Captain Fantastic? Maybe with some heavy makeup and nice camera angles- Ah, it’s all just a pipe dream anyways. As long as they don’t bring back Stuart Townsend. Cue more shuddering. But I wish Amazon would understand that they’re investing their money in the wrong horse! We don’t want to see Aragorn reinvented! We’re happy with what we have!

Think about it realistically for a minute, in the hypothetical event that this is a young Aragorn TV show. Amazon is a studio giant, trying to establish themselves among other streaming services known for their original TV shows such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc. We, as Tolkien fans, understand that Aragorn’s history prior to the events of LOTR is pretty straightforward. He grows up in Rivendell, is informed that he’s Isildur’s heir, goes into the wild to become a Ranger, fights for Rohan, fights for Gondor, falls in love with Arwen, etc. There’s a sixty year block of time between his childhood in Rivendell and the War of the Ring. That can’t possibly all be covered in one show, as hard as they try. They won’t be able to resolve his storyline, because his storyline and character arc get resolved during the War of the Ring. They would have to establish the fact that he’s the heir to the throne of Gondor, establish the fact that he’s conflicted about his destiny, establish the fact that he goes into self-inflicted exile as a Ranger, and then end the show without ever showing the resolution that he eventually does reclaim his throne and his destiny. Unless they were to just bite the bullet and remake the original trilogy. And then there’s the matter of a love interest. Arwen is his first and only love. Their courtship is fast-paced and they go long blocks of time without seeing each other. Noooot very marketable for a mainstream audience. So how are they gonna spice it up? Give Aragorn another love interest? That would literally completely ruin his character. How about no. Make it seem like a lot more happened between Arwen and Aragorn before the War of the Ring? I mean maybe, but how!? They still wouldn’t be able to complete a story arc, because the meat of the changes in their relationship take place during the original trilogy: Him lowkey wanting her to go to Valar and not die for him, her refusing because she believes in their love, their ultimately getting married and her being crowned Queen of Gondor. Again, you can’t give us any of that without remaking the original trilogy! Cue all the annoyed Aragorn faces.

So, that was a lot of negativity. Maybe this is too little too late, but: I remain hopeful. All is not lost. There is still some good in this world, Mr. Frodo! And maybe Amazon will prove me wrong. There may yet be light at the end of this tunnel. We may yet prevail, and get a thoughtful, heartfelt adaptation. Because done right, we could all use with some fresh LOTR content so we can stop rewatching the original trilogy. Tolkien wrote a lot, and the current screen adaptations have barely scratched the surface. As a fandom (and I most definitely include myself in this), we get very protective over our material. I think this is because we are one of the rare few whose material has remained untarnished and stayed behind the line of corporate greed and terrible adaptations (The Hobbit trilogy walked that line like a tight rope but even it managed to escape the true jaws of the beast.) Maybe, just maybe, this Amazon series can be a chance for us all to take a risk. Because if it pays off, you can all call me a fool of a Took and we can grab popcorn and watch a kickass LOTR TV show. And what would be more awesome than that?

So, in conclusion, I have a lot of feelings about this Amazon show. If you made it this far, thanks for bearing with me. We’ve got a wild ride ahead.

[absolute-lithops-emotion]

vote on what fanfic i’ll write

hello it’s your local superhero horrible-at-making-decisions-person

anyway i want to start writing a longer dghda fanfic but i have to many so i will just list them and let you decide

do you want:

Punk Wizard of Oz AU with Amanda as Dorothy (Witch Duels, Witch Duels!) (Also I Can’t Decide If She Meets the Rowdy 3 (I Just Think They’re All Platonic Soulmates) Or If She Meets Dirk as the Scarecrow, Todd as the Tin Man, and Farah as the Cowardly Lion (They Fit So Well!)) (Also Oz Is Real)

The Reverse AU I was Gonna Write for the Big Bang But Then Didn’t, With Todd as the Unwilling Psychic “Fake” Paranormal Investigator Whose Bullshit Conman Theories Always Turn Out to be True and Dirk as the Normal Human Sunny-Side-Up Private Eye (Also There’s Ghosts)

A Hobbit AU Except it Doesn’t Take Place in Tolkien’s Fantasy World, It’s Just the Plot of The Hobbit But in the DGHDA World With Those Characters Cause I Suck at Plots (Amanda is Gandalf, Todd’s Bilbo, the Holistics are the Dwarves and They Want Todd to be Their Man on the Inside When They Take Over Blackwing)

The Same General “Plot AU” Thing, But With Tangled (Dirk is Rapunzel)

Some Vaguely Defined Night Vale AU (Where They All Live In Night Vale and Maybe Deep Thought is Involved But He’s Shitty?) Which May or May Not Be Narrated By “The Voice on the Radio” Who May or May Not Be Douglas Adams, With Occasional Flashes Sideways to Alternate Universes Where Each of the Characters are the Voice of Night Vale

Harry Potter AU Where Farah Gets a Letter Completely Out of the Blue Asking for the List of Teachers who are Teaching at Her Magic School (The School is at the Spring Mansion and Used to be Zachariah Webb’s) so Farah has to Get Some Teachers Quick and Ends Up With a Bunch of Idiots (Dirk Teaches Divination, But the Way He Teaches It is Basically That Joke About How Ron is Accidentally a Divination Genius) (Also Estevez and Zimmerfield Might Be School Inspectors? There Are Definitely Inspectors) (Also Tina Teaches Potions)

An AU Mostly Based on Priest Talking About Sacrificing People to Project Incubus, In This One The Holistics are All Gods and Blackwing is Like the Main Temple Where the Priests Have Captured the Gods to Try and Make Them Be More Reliable, Todd and Amanda are On Parole Maybe and They Go Undercover at the Temple to Find Out What’s Going On, Might Reference That Ancient Rome AU There Was a Few Years Ago? Also I Feel Like the Mood of This Story Would Be Kinda Like That Night Vale Tweet That’s Like “Believe in yourself. You are an ancient, absent god, discussed only rarely by literary scholars. So if you don’t believe, no one will.” But My Brain Might Be Trying to Make Another Story That’s More Specifically Based on That Quote? Idk Guys, I’m Tired and Gay

[impracticaldemon]

30 Questions Meme

30 questions and tag 10 -- here goes!

# of followers: ... a lot more than I realized...  Over 1k now.  I should do an appreciation post, or giveaway -- I’ve got to think about this (and get my writing done first).  Thank you very much to the people who have followed this blog!

average hours of sleep: If I could get back to 4-5 hours (of which at least half was during the night) I’d be very happy!

lucky number: 7 (me too, @nollatooru !)

instruments: piano (once upon a time, still a bit); I tried learning electric guitar -- it was fun, but I wanted bigger hands (and pre-made callouses -- damn that hurts); I can sing competently but not when I’ve been coughing up a freaking lung for three freaking weeks omg

what are you wearing: dark royal blue night-shirt from the Cows store with “Hit the Hay” (need to either get up or go to sleep) 

[Canadian ice cream store famous for cow puns (and general silliness about the “Common Cow”): ”MooTube”, “Cow Wars” (who can forget Ham Solo and MooBacca?) , “MooCraft”, “BatCow”...]

dream job: Who am I kidding?  I long to be independently wealthy, and write a book or ten.  I’d say “editor”, but my vision of the job has changed since learning from @shell-senji that there is a lot of poorly-written porn involved.

dream trip: Used to be Japan (may be again some day).  Probably to go back to England, Scotland, Wales, and finally visit Ireland.  Greece/mediterranean if it weren’t so darn hot.

birthday: The Ides of November

height: 157 cm or roughly 5′2″

gender/pronouns: she/her

other blogs: Not so far.

nicknames: Imp, Oni-chan, Chibi Oni (I refuse to list any of my dad’s nicknames for me as they’re uniformly embarrassing)

star sign: Scorpio

time: 10 am (well it WAS)

favourite bands: No particular favourites these days (I find what I like through random youtube videos, amvs for anime/games I like, soundtracks I happen to hear, and sometimes reccs -- I am horrible at knowing or remembering artist/band names)

favourite artist: ... I’m kind of drawing a blank here... Van Gogh? Dali? (certain pieces, at least) Various fantasy and game artists (but my memory isn’t working). On Twitter, there are two artists I’m especially fond of sherry and tatuhina.

favourite tumblr artist: There are quite a few artists I really like, and how do you pick between genres and fandoms anyway?  The first artist I got to know on tumblr was @miss-zei (who is amazing); I also have to mention @kawaii-ash who has drawn several chibi commissions for me (for Teachings of Demons) ♥; I adore @nollatooru ‘s work because it makes me smile and the characters always just seem so right; and then there are @eliz1369 @nalufever @kurokiorya who all write as well as draw... And I just KNOW I’m missing all sorts of great artists I follow. :(  (Bows apologetically, especially to artists in the FT fandom, because my memory is not functioning this morning.)

song stuck in your head:  No One’s Gonna Love You (More Than I Do)

last movie you watched: I don’t watch movies much.  Probably Hakuouki Movie 2.  Otherwise, maybe the second-to-last Star Wars movie?

last show you watched: Chuck.  Binge watching is so much fun, though I have to be in a “tv” mood, which doesn’t happen often.

why did you make your blog: I was looking for Otogisoushi translations by Cyan Delirium, and wanted a tumblr account.  Then I thought, “hey, I can link to my writing here.”  Then I discovered the Hakuouki fandom (I was such a geek newb).  Then I got interested in Fairy Tail (drawn in by the friends, the fun anime, cool art, and writing opportunities). ...Honestly, this blog just kind of happened.

what do you post: Mostly Hakuouki and Fairy Tail writing, edits (esp. chibis), occasional gifs. Otome game stuff (a bit of indie, mostly Otomate, but now also Cybird’s mobile game Ikemen Sengoku -- which is now available on Vita). Japanese scenery somehow crept in there (but I really like it).  A bit of humour. Writing tips. Languages -- thoughts, tips, and humour.  Also, plushies.

last thing you googled: Rodney Matthews (fantasy/sci-fi artist)

ao3: Yes? But I started on FFN so tend to post there first.

do you ever get asks: Sometimes. Right now I’m embarrassed that I’m so far behind on everything (including a small handful of asks).

how did you get the idea for your url: I used to use ImpracticalMagic as an internet-name (I liked the concept of “Practical Magic” and reversed it for all the weird and wonderful stuff/fluff online). Turned out that Impracticalmagic was already taken on tumblr.  Since I was writing a story about demons (Oni), I changed it to Impracticaldemon, blog title ImpracticalOni.  It really works for me; I like it.

favourite food: Probably chocolate.  But... pizza?  Tough call. 

last book you read: The past two years I’ve done more writing and editing than reading. So, probably whatever comfort reading I did most recently (not sure which series that was, since I do a fair bit of re-reading of favourites).

top 3 fictional universes: Can’t do “top 3″, but here are three that would always be high up:  Middle Earth (Hobbit & LOTR timeline) will always have a special place in my list of reading worlds. Pern (Anne McCaffery -- a woman I babysat for said “read this” -- so I did, and I loved it). Zelazny’s world(s) of Amber/Chaos (but without his sexist take on so many things -- granted a lot of it was written before I was born).  

~ Imp

[garden-ghoul]

bloggbblog, part 10

“you know, the hobbit just is not as good in any way as lotr or silm. it’s cute but It’s Not That Deep. give me some themes c’mon I’m starving.”

NOT AT HOME

The dwerrows sit for days just inside the sealed entrance, hardly moving or speaking because it’s too echoey. Finally Thorin says, "I must feel the wind on my face soon or die. I think I would rather be smashed by Smaug in the open than suffocate in here!"

Which is not an especially dwerrish sentiment. Really what he means is that he wants to do something. Being stuck in a cave, presumably, is not all that bad, although maybe the CO2 buildup is also getting to him.

Bilbo is like, well we might as well go down then. We die either way! And this way should be more interesting! I’m paraphrasing. But it turns out Smaug isn’t in (he’s probably completely destroying Laketown, still). There’s only a faint white light, presumably the Arkenstone. Bilbo starts yelling for Smaug to come back, because he’s a little stir crazy, and then starts yelling at the dwerrows to make a light. He finds them by tracing their frantic shushing back to their location. This bit’s cute, because he just... screams and stomps his foot until they light matches. What the hell, Bilbo?

We get some great imagery of Bilbo’s tiny silhouette with his tiny light in the vast dark hall, jingling occasionally as he trips over treasure. He goes up and pockets the Arkenstone, which is honestly just a Silmaril 2.0 because it does Greed magic to him. He half-assedly promises himself that he’ll tell the dwerrows eventually. They reunite, and everyone suddenly gets loud and excited. Fili and Kili find some harps (they are magical, Johnald explains, so they are still in tune! oh fuck if I never had to tune MY harp I’d play it so much more often, that’s an extremely realistic use of magic because tuning a harp is a PAIN IN THE ASS) and start making sweet music. Everyone starts finding cool weapons and putting on mail; Bilbo gets a mithril coat that is too small for any of the dwerrows. But soon he gets bored and decides he’d rather have beer than treasure. Eventually he says, “hey you know we can’t actually take this with us right now, right? since Smaug is gonna come back and murder us?”

I want to take a moment here to appreciate the phrase “cut out of the living rock.” It refers to architectural and sculptural structures that have not been broken off of bedrock but are still part of it. I’m over the moon that this phrase exists in English, because doesn’t it sound like something dwerrows would come up with before anyone else? The idea that rock is alive as long as it is connected to the earth. I like it very much.

They make it out, and Bilbo is very glad to be out of “that nasty hole,” despite how cold it is.

"Come, come!" said Thorin laughing - his spirits had begun to rise again, and he rattled the precious stones in his pockets. "Don't call my place a nasty hole! You wait till it has been cleaned and redecorated!"

Cute! This modern diction! Thorin is not at the moment inclined to make overblown speeches. He, too, is relieved, and hopeful.

Balin suggests they take shelter at an old watchtower, which unfortunately is a five hour walk away. Hey I want more unique characterization for the dwerrows, Balin seems like he could be a wise mentor figure. But he doesn’t have a personality so we don’t know. C’mon, at least give them each one exaggerated personality trait each??

Looking out from the guard post, nobody can see any sign of Smaug. Only, in the south, a great number of birds.

...holy fuck that’s ominous. maybe they are carrion birds.

FIRE AND WATER

“I hold with those who favor fire.” nah I’m kidding dump Smaug in a lake and let him fizzle. Damp squib that he is.

Two Days Ago, people in Laketown are chilling outside (probably literally since it’s almost winter) looking at the stars, when there’s a brief flicker of fire up on the mountain. Nobody looks much at it any more, it’s dreary. urgghh I am SO READY for the mountain to be a symbol of prosperity again!! I am so ready for a king under the mountain who helps and loves other people. Whenever I hear about dwerrows being friendly and helpful rather than isolationist I get a Feeling in my heart place.

Seeing the golden glow across the lake, half the town starts shouting that the true king under the mountain has returned and is showing off his treasure; and the other half starts shouting that the dragon is coming and everyone needs to destroy the bridges and get arms. Guys, I hate to break it to you, but he can fly. Destroying the bridges is only going to cut off your escape routes.

Everyone starts shooting at the dragon, thanks to Bard, who is first mentioned only in a parenthetical. If I had to guess I’d say he’s the son or grandson of the old human king of Dale and needs rethroning sooner or later.  ::\ OH YEP a couple paragraphs later it turns out that he totally is. Oh but this is cool, he has spent all his arrows against Smaug until--! A thrush flutters down to perch on his shoulder! Naturally, a True King In Hiding understands the language of birds. He finds out about Smaug’s voonerables, and he has a special lucky arrow. Look, due to my upbringing I can only conceptualize this as a reverse parody of that bit from Guards! Guards! It’s his lucky arrow. In fact it belonged to his father and his father’s father, but basically it’s just a lucky arrow. He brings down Smaug, destroying the entire town, but Smaug is Hella Quenched.

Everyone has much to be grateful for! Only 25% of everyone in the town died! Sure all their stuff was destroyed but the dragon’s dead! At least! Everyone is in the middle of loudly declaring that Bard would make a great king if only he hadn’t had a dragon fall on him, tragically killing him, Bard steps out. He’s soaking wet and this would make a great cartoon scene, the way I’m imagining the look on his face. But he doesn’t have that look, he has the look of a guy who is taking advantage of how pissed everyone is at the major, to declare himself king.

The mayor points out that it’s actually the dwerrows everyone should be mad at, since they are the ones who made Smaug mad. Everyone forgets about kings and goes “hey yeah I want compensation for my house being smushed!” This isn’t going to go over well with Thorin and co, probably. They’ll say “ingratitude!” even though they did exactly nothing to help (except, I guess, Bilbo scoped out Smaug’s voonerables) and then everyone will be mad at everyone else and there will be fighting. FOR THE MOMENT most of the Laketowners are thinking about the now-unguarded treasure in the mountain. Guys, shouldn’t you come up with houses first?

But everyone else who has heard of Smaug’s demise is gearing up to loot Erebor too. Thranduil, the goblins in the mountains, everyone. Beorn heard too but he doesn’t care. Thranduil’s guys come to help build a new Laketown, and just eleven days later it’s done enough that they can go LOOTING. Woop!

[caranfindel]

Episode recap/review 12.22: "Who We Are"

THEN: Once again, we enter the Wayback Machine, and watch Roy and Walt murder our boys (does that mean one or both Winchesters are going to be murdered in this episode?) And some other things, culminating in the bunker being an excellent fortress and/or tomb. Come along, Mary.

NOW: Mary’s killing hunters and I don’t particularly care, except that she gets a text listing her next victims, which includes Jody Mills and suddenly I do care; I care quite a lot.

Title card!

The guys where we left them last week, locked in the bunker. Dean’s throwing switches, Sam’s talking about the garage and air vents, and Toni’s pointing out why every option he suggests won’t work. But she doesn’t know who she’s dealing with, does she? Dean says what we’re all thinking - let’s kill her to save on oxygen. But she says since she’s the one who programmed Mary, so she’s the only one who can deprogram her. Neither brother really believes it, but Sam seems to think they have nothing left to lose by keeping her alive. (Oxygen, Sam. That’s what you have to lose.)

Actually, she’s fairly useful, because knows an awful lot about the bunker. Like the fact that there’s a manual override that would undo everything Ketch did. And it’s outside the bunker. You know, if these guys happened to know anyone who wasn’t actually in the bunker with them, maybe that person could activate the manual override. Huh. Too bad they don’t have phones, and even if they did, they don’t know a single person on the outside. (Seriously. Did Ketch say something about blocking cell phone signals? Is praying to Cas really no longer an option?)

Sam suddenly realizes they have access to all sorts of spells and stuff, and maybe they should try that. And, being Sam, he finds a spell that might work - except it requires the blood of virgins. You’d think the MoL might have some of that in a vault somewhere, but instead, Sam suggests they “fake it” with a purification spell. Won’t be the first time they’ve re-virginized themselves, right? Toni refers to purfiying the blood and then using it in the spell as “two-step magic,” which I guess it is, and she seems maybe a tiny bit impressed. Maybe you’re finally realizing how awesome the Winchesters are, huh? Unfortunately, Ketch installed some kind of magic blocking, so the spell starts to work but then fails.

Day two. Dean says it’s time for brawn, not brains. He points out the one wall in the bunker that’s made of nothing but concrete, and behind it is an old sewer pipe (ew, how old, and does that mean unused?) that leads to the surface. They’re going to “straight up Shawshank this bitch.” In one of my favorite scenes in this entire episode, Dean heaves a sledgehammer at the wall and gets a faceful of concrete chips in return. “Goggles?” says Sam. “Goggles,” agrees Dean. It’s my second favorite scene ever that features Dean and a hammer.

My caps aren’t very good, because it was so dark, but this scene demands to be capped.

There’s hammering and then there’s removal of outer shirts and more lucious hammering and I could watch this for a really long time. Then they stop for a break, with the wall barely scarred, and I could watch this even longer. I’m going to transcribe most of this conversation because it’s just that good.

We’ll get there.

No. No we won’t. We’re not gonna hit dirt for three days. Two if we’re lucky. I know you feel it. The air, it’s thin. And it’s getting thinner… How did this happen?

What part?

All of it.

Yeah. You know, it wasn’t long ago, I thought we had it made. We saved the world, we got Cas back, we had Mom back. I mean, it wasn’t perfect, but still, we had ‘em. And now.

Now they’re all gone. And Mom, what they did to her… I just fell for their company line, man. I saw what they were doing and I thought, hunters on that scale, working together, how much good we can do. And once I was in, I just followed. Cause it was easy. Easier.

Easier than what?

Easier than leading… Is this how you pictured it? The end?

You know it’s not. I always thought we’d go out, like, Butch and Sundance style.

Yeah, blaze of glory.

Blaze of glory… Son of a bitch.

Marvelous things about this scene:

- Huffing and puffing and sweaty single-layer Winchesters. - Sam’s soft voice and expressive face. - Goggles? Goggles. - Dean’s palpable despair, especially when he talks about losing Cas and Mary. - Sam thinking about what they did to Mary and knowing more about it than Dean could ever know, because he knows what they did to him, he knows what they’re capable of, he knows how that feels. - The Winchesters calmly facing their inevitable death together. - Dean’s smirk when he realizes what his blaze of glory is going to be. - That flash of Sam’s arm when he puts his hand up behind his head.

Basically, all of this is gold.

What part? All of it.

And more good stuff is coming, because yes, my dearest friends, it’s finally time to break out the grenade launcher. (Is it ridiculous that they had access to it? Are we supposed to believe that this one time, they parked the Impala in the garage, even though we saw them coming down the stairs from the front door? Does any of that even matter? I’ve decided not!) Toni calls it a “collossally stupid idea,” and Dean agrees. “Yep! Big, beautiful, and dumb.” She points out that he could bring the whole place down and kill them all, and Dean and Sam are all, “yeah,” because they literally do not care any more. They exchange a look that I will never get over, and then Sam drags Toni off, and I’m pleased to notice she’s in handcuffs now. She continues to complain, calling them lunatics, and I’d like to point out to her that being dragged off by a sweaty Sam Winchester in a v-neck grey t-shirt while wearing handcuffs might be some people’s biggest fantasy, okay? Then Dean points the grenade launcher and says “Okay beautiful. Yippee kay-ay, mother-” and BOOM.

Okay, beautiful.

After the explosion, Sam leaves Toni behind and fights his way through the dust. He finds a big hole in the wall, and a set of rungs on what is apparently the old sewer pipe, but no sign of Dean. Then the hole collapses in a shower of rubble, and whatever way out there may have been is now filled with debris. And no Dean. Sam wanders the bunker, coughing and calling for Dean, and I’m confused about exactly where he’s going, and how he ends up in the hallway. I must not know the layout of the bunker very well, because I really don’t know why he’s suddenly in the hall. He finally collapses in the war room, and I’m going to handwave any architectural anomalies because this is pretty awesome. Then the lights come on and the fans reverse back to their normal operation and start sucking dust out of the air and a door opens and Dean limps in with a huge freaking injury to his leg. “Hey, lunatic,” he says, and my heart explodes.

Kaboom.

But my happiness is instantly erased because we cut to Jody’s house and Mary knocking on her door and I am not okay with this, I am not even remotely okay with any of this.

Somewhere in the Impala, Dean cuffs Toni to the door while he and Sam go through a pile of cell phones, looking for one with a charge. Too bad they don’t use the same phone Mary does, or the one Bobby did, because those hold a charge for years. Also too bad that they don’t have a phone charger in the Impala. Seems like that’s at least as useful as a grenade launcher. Dean finds one that works, and calls Garth to warn him to take his wife and hide. Although he calls her Bess and I thought her name was Amelia, because I remember a whole LJ conversation about yet another Amelia. Maybe Amelia was just a different member of that pack. But I digress. Sam finds another phone that works, but isn’t able to get hold of Jody. And my heart stops.

Other things that make my heart stop. That hair. That face.

They drive into the night and burst into Jody’s house and oh god there’s blood on the carpet I don’t want to watch this I don’t want them to find her body and… oh. She’s sitting in her living room, with Alex, nursing a bruise on her face. And Mary’s tied to a chair. Well, okay then!

Alex works on Dean’s leg, and I remember she’s a nursing student, so this is a nice touch. He sits looking sadly at his mom and Jody comes over and pats his arm and he reaches up to grab her hand and they do a little hand-hug thing, and it’s so natural and so affectionate and dammit, there goes my heart again.

I don’t think I’m going to survive this episode.

Mary makes a snarky remark and asks if she’s too different from the Mary he knew. Then she says “too much the same,” and my interpretation on first watch was that she was saying she and Dean are too much the same, because if you missed all the reminders this season, Dean is a killer. But now I’m not sure what she meant.

Then Sam enters with Toni, which means she’s been cuffed in the car the entire time Dean’s been getting his leg patched up and drinking his first pain reliever. He tells her to “do your thing,” and she admits she can’t actually deprogram Mary after all. “The Mary that you know, the good Mary? She’s hiding. Behind impenetrable psychic walls.” Basically, Mary can’t be saved.

Such pretty, pretty despair

Dean’s all, okay, I only kept you alive for one reason and that reason is gone. He’s prepared to take her out to the back yard and shoot her, which would be awkward, considering it’s the Sheriff’s back yard. But Mary’s phone rings (apparently Mick was the only hobbit, because Ketch is labeled with his own name) and Toni points out that the BMoL are going to find out the Winchesters are alive, and they can either run or die. “Or we fight,” says Sam.

Cut to a small group of hunters gathering in Jody’s living room. There’s a knock on the door and Sam pleasantly greets… Walt and Roy. Okay, I guess that’s why we got that part of the “then.” Dean’s a lot less pleasant. When they say “we haven’t seen you guys since…” he says “since you killed us.” I love it. One of them (I can’t remember who is who and I don’t care enough about them separately to find out) asks if Sam’s going to tell them what they’re doing there, which means they were summoned to a meeting at Jody’s house, and just came. And either (1) they knew the Winchesters would be there, and came anyway, or (b) they didn’t know, and weren’t particularly surprised to see them. Let’s all handwave this together, shall we?

Sam starts to explain to the room. “My brother and I, we, um… No. You know what. I called you here, because people, our people, are being slaughtered. And we’re next.” Sam has decided to lead, guys. He explains what the BMoL are up to, with their recruitment tactics and their flashy gear and whatnot. “Most of you had the good sense to turn them down,” he says. “I didn’t.” And his little nod, at that point, is exactly like the little nod he gives in 5.01 when Demon!Bobby tells him to lose his number. That same I’m a bad person and I’ve done something awful and I accept the consequences nod and it breaks my freaking heart. I want to hug him and remind him that he turned Mick Davies and he would have turned all of them; given enough time and patience he would have turned every one of those Brits into a Sam!Girl. I know this. I have mixed feelings about Sam’s actual speech. He says the BMoL want to decide who gets to live and die, which is… exactly what the Winchesters do, isn’t it? I mean, their criteria is different, but they’re still making that decision. I wish he had stuck to the point that the BMoL are indiscriminate in who they kill, seeing everything in black and white and not recognizing shades of grey. On the other hand, he’s giving this speech to people who literally murdered him as punishment for something he did, so. That’s awesome. And Dean looks so proud of him.

When they get ready to go storm the castle, Dean says he’s not going because of his leg injuries. Sam says he’ll take a “jacked up Dean Winchester” over any ten hunters, gesturing toward the hunters he’s actually taking, and they’re probably saying “dammit, we’re right here, we heard that.” But they know it’s true. I mean, two of them are Roy and Walt, for god’s sake.

“I saw you,” Dean says. “You’re ready for this. You show those sons of bitches who’s boss.” Dean’s gonna stay and save Mom. “Look, if she’s in there, if our real Mom is in there somewhere, then I’m gonna try and find her, bring her back.” Sam swallows, because he knows I love that, and Dean looks around to make sure no one’s watching them and says “c'mere” and gives him a hug, because he knows I love that, and tells him “you come back” and oh, god. “Promise,” says Sam, and then they do “bitch”/“jerk” and I know this is blatant fan pandering. I know bitch/jerk wasn’t even a thing, wasn’t ever intended to be a thing, until we made it a thing. But I love it, and I love the way Sam has a hard time looking at Dean, just like at the end of S11 when they hugged goodbye at Mary’s grave, and I love the way Sam looks down and quickly walks away and Dean looks sad and anxious and alone and okay, it just works on me, all right? They know where my buttons are and they’re pushing them hard tonight. There’s also a nice little Kim Manners shout-out when Alex tells Jody to “kick it in the ass.”

They are well and truly kicking me in the ass.

Dean then visibly shoves all his emotions down, because he knows I love that (they both know me so well, don’t they?) and instructs Toni to get him into Mary’s head. But she can’t do it without her gear, which is at the BMoL bunker. But perhaps she could cobble something together.

Speaking of the BMoL bunker! Dr. Hess is giving instructions to her crew, telling them to not leave any witnesses when they go after their hunter targets. Bystanders, family members, everyone is fair game. Ketch looks anxious, and grabs a techy person to locate Mary, and keep it between us. Oh, look, Mary’s in Lebanon. I know there was some discussion earlier about whether Ketch really has feelings for Mary, but let’s not forget, he stole Dean’s picture of her. I don’t think he’s simply trying to prevent a valuable asset from being re-stolen. I think he really does care for her, as much as he can care for anything that isn’t a prohibitively expensive Scotch.

In the bunker, Mary is tied to a chair and Toni says she’s going to go round up the stuff she needs. Dean doesn’t want to let her out of his sight, but she doesn’t see the point.

Need I remind you that my organization left me to die? At this point I’m not on anyone’s side but my own. So I’ll help you try to save your mother, and when the dust clears…

Will I let you go?

I’d like to see my son again. I’m not asking for a pass. I’m asking for a head start.

Aw. She seems almost human. Dean agrees, and uncuffs her. But let’s talk about this. Did her organization leave her to die? I don’t think so. I think it was only Ketch, going rogue. I think it’s entirely possible that Dr. Hess was told she’d been killed in action, and would have welcomed her back if she’d known the truth. But (spoiler alert) we’ll never know.

Do we care? Nah.

At the BMoL bunker, we see the minions suiting up and weaponizing themselves. I’m going to stick with Sam’s side of the split storyline for now, rather than going back and forth.

When Sam’s raiders arrive at the bunker, we see a few minions outside with guns, but the ones Hess sent would already be on the road, wouldn’t they? Oh, apparently they’re all still in that meeting room. She sends them on the attack and there’s a gun battle outside. The raiders break into the bunker and there’s more shooting, apparently resulting in the deaths of everyone except Sam, Jody, and half of Walt&Roy.

Hess manages to lock herself into the conference room/war room/whatever, and she’s speaking to someone on the computer. She tells them to “open a portal” and get her out of there, and that’s interesting. The BMoL can travel through portals? Why did Toni take a plane? But the person on the other end says they don’t have the resources for an “extraction.” And it wouldn’t matter anyway, because the door bursts open and Sam comes in and when she reaches for a gun, he uses his big voice and says don’t because he knows I love it.

Hess tries to talk her way out of it. “Listen, Dean.” I guffawed at that, and then I wondered if it was supposed to highlight that Sam isn’t normally in the leadership position, since they decided to make that a thing in this episode. She tells him that cutting his ties with the BMoL right now would be a big mistake, and shows him a file with surveillance photos. Of Lucifer. She tells him Crowley let him out, and now he’s dead. Sam’s clearly thrown by both pieces of information. Lucifer’s tracking down his baby, Hess tells him, and he can’t face that alone. He needs the BMoL.

The man on the other end of the computer, presumably one of the Old Men of the BMoL, says “listen to her, boy,” and maybe being called boy is too much. Sam looks scared and indecisive but then, as Jody and half of Walt&Roy eye him closely, he takes a deep breath and says “pass.” Sam shoots the computer, Hess reaches for her gun, and Jody’s all oh no you ain’t shooting Sam Winchester you British piece of trash and plugs her right in the forehead. As Sam’s surviving raiders drive away, the BMoL compound is destroyed by an explosion. I’d hoped a grenade launcher would be involved in the eventual downfall of the compound, but this is good too.

Yes, this is all very good.

Meanwhile, at the bunker, Toni has hooked Mary and Dean up to some kind of machine. Lucky thing she found a compatible piece of electronic equipment in a bunker that had been locked down since the 50s. (Let’s do the handwave again!) She tells Dean that, since he hasn’t had the training he’d need to find his way into Mary’s psyche, she’s going to drug him instead. And she was lucky enough to find a compatible hypnotic drug, too (handwave). She injects the hypnotic/sedative into both of their necks, with a slight pause for Dean to sneakily handcuff her to the table, and then he’s out.

He wakes up in the living room of a house that’s unfamiliar to me. There’s an empty kitchen, and when he turns back to the living room, there’s a crib. With an adorable baby inside. “Sam,” he says, with a tiny sad almost-smile that shatters whatever remains of my heart. Mary comes in, wearing her perfect-mom sundress, and tells adorable baby Sam to take his nap. Dean follows her into the kitchen, where she’s feeding Young!Dean a sandwich with the crusts cut off. Adult!Dean tells her they have to leave, she needs to come with him, but she can’t hear him. Or won’t? He grabs her arm and she pulls away, and he realizes she’s choosing to be where she is. She tells Young!Dean that she only wants good things for him, and will never let anything bad happen to him. Adult!Dean stares at her in disbelief and finally says “I hate you.”

“You lied to me,” he says. “I was a kid! You promised you’d keep me safe, and then you make a deal with Azazel.” Which is unfair, since she made that deal six years before he was born, but I see his point. As they stand at baby Sam’s crib, Dean tells her how she ruined his life, because Dad was a shell and Dean had to be a father, and a mother, to keep Sammy safe. “And that wasn’t fair, and I couldn’t do it. And you want to know what that was like? They killed the girl that he loved. He got possessed by Lucifer. They tortured him in Hell. And he lost his soul. His soul. All because of you. All of it was because of you.”

So let’s think about this. Let’s think about Dean, pouring out his fractured heart, telling his once-sainted mother how broken he was as a child, but it all comes down to Sam. What they did to Sam. Because Dean still doesn’t think he deserves Mary’s love. He thinks of this in terms of “I had to be Sam’s mother and father and I wasn’t good enough so bad things happened to him.” Oh, Dean. Let’s not think about this any more, because it’s breaking my heart.

But we can still look at it, because it’s gorgeous.

In the real world, Toni observes the two unconscious Winchesters. Back in Mary’s head, Dean tearfully tells her he hates her, but he loves her, because he can’t help it. And he understands, “because I have made deals to save the ones I love.” Dammit, we just heard Dean (1) use the word “love” twice in one speech, and (b) indirectly use the word “love” in relation to Sam. He forgives her, and tells her they can all start over, if she’ll fight, if she’ll look at him.

Just as she looks at him, Dean is ripped out of the dream state. In the real world, we see the leads from the not-from-the-50s machine being ripped off his head. By Ketch. Dean slowly comes around and sees Toni dead on the floor with her throat slit. I wonder if she would have been able to defend herself if she hadn’t been cuffed? We’ll never know. Ketch and Dean fight, but Dean’s still coming off a sedative and is also pretty seriously wounded from earlier, so he’s having a hard time. Ketch enjoys pounding on him, so he keeps it up for a while, taunting him with the news that Mary never talked about him at all (because Ketch knows where people’s buttons are too). Dean does manage to put up a defense and they have a fairly brutal fight (I hope that table wasn’t the one they carved their initials into, because they’ll need to redo those on a different one).

But when he calls him stupid, Ketch has had enough. “I may be many things, but I’m not stupid,” he says, and pulls a gun on him. A teeny tiny gun, I must say. Dean stands there, facing his death, but there’s a shot and Ketch grabs at his arm. I first thought Toni must have survived, but it’s actually Mary, standing behind him with a gun, just like when she killed Toni’s minion at the beginning of the season. “I knew you were a killer,” Ketch says to her. “You both are.”

“You’re right,” Dean answers, and Mary blows him away.

Aftermath! The bodies have been covered but not removed. Dean limps into the room with a bottle of expired pain meds and sees Mary cleaning up. He tells her she doesn’t have to do that, and she says that all of this is because of her. Which is true. She apologizes for being distant, and says she was trying to make things right, but from a distance, because being there with her boys, seeing what she’d done to them, was too much for her to deal with. Dean tells her that everything that happened to them made them who they are. “And who we are? We kick ass. We save the world.” Yes, my sweet baby. Yes you do. She’s afraid Sam won’t forgive her, though. Sam conveniently enters and tells her she doesn’t have to be scared of him, even though I don’t think he even knows about her demon deal so how does he know what she’s scared of, and wraps her in a big hug, planting his chin on top of her head because, let’s all say it together, he knows I love that. Dean holds Sam’s shoulder and says “glad you’re back, man,” which is code for I love you, and decides he needs to get in on this hug too.

And who can blame him?

So. Wow. I liked this one so much more than I expected. There were certain things that happened to push all of my buttons: single layers, hugs, heartfelt talks, calm bravery in the face of certain death, Sam struggling to breathe, Dean gleefully causing mayhem, revenge, intelligence, and badassery. And hammers. But my favorite thing was probably that there was so much love. Between Jody and the Winchesters, between Mary and her sons, but mostly between Dean and Sam. These two, they can put so much in just a look, let alone a hug or a heartfelt talk. There was just so much heart in this episode.

What does all of this mean for the future? Well, the outreach chapter of the BMoL is apparently destroyed, and apparently we’ll never learn Ketch’s tragic backstory. It also looks like Sam and Dean will never learn about Magda. But the Old Men are still there across the pond. And The Code still demands that anyone who kills a BMoL gets a death sentence, so maybe they’ll be back in S13. But most importantly, it means 12.23 is going to be reserved for the Lucifetus. Yay.

Please help me stay unspoiled for anything you might happen to know about S13. Thanks!

[zagenta]

Ooooh it’s a tag

@jamieanovels lmao of Course I’m gonna do this of all tags b/c i love lists and i like being self-important by treating my favorite things as objectively good. Also a bunch of ur favs are mine too. But the rule is name 6 movies i can watch anytime, not my 6 favorites, i’m splitting hairs here but i’ll see if that makes any difference. 

The rules are simple: List 6 films you can watch anytime. Tag 5 people afterwards.

In reverse order:

(honorable mentions b/c i’m a cheat: Love Actually, When Harry Met Sally, Pride and Prejudice (2005), Zombieland, Finding Nemo, Kung Fu Panda, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Knight’s Tale, The Outsiders, Rogue One, Any of the Lord of the Rings excluding the Hobbits, Harry Potter 3, Moana, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, Lilo and Stitch, Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, A Bug’s Life, Crazy Stupid Love, Steel Magnolias, The Breakfast Club, Hercules)

6. Inception - it’s my favorite not-as-deep-as-it-could-have-been-nor-as-complicated-as-people-pretend-it-is-and-is-way-too-overhyped-but-still-really-solid film. Also, I’m a sucker for Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy. Chris Nolan is pretty legit despite his movies being boringly overwhelming This Is a White. (also I’ll be forever disappointed in Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar). And it’s got the dream thing i like, i think part of the reason this is on the list is that its one of the first stories that inspired me to try and create a shallow rip off of my own hereby inspiring my own creativity

5. About a Boy - its literally just a british comedy featuring everyone’s favorite jerkass Hugh Grant and a young adorable Nicholas Hoult. There’s literally no depth to my answer for this one it’s just really funny and i watch it a lot with my family. Although I think it’s a got a rly good theme that i really feel like has influenced me as a person, so i guess there is Some depth: no man is an island. Spoiler alert (b/c y’all should totally watch it): And what’s so interesting to me is that the main character has no job or hobbies, and he doesn’t have to work. The other characters judge him for not having a family, but i dont see this as a problem, the real tragedy is that he has no passions. Even if i didn’t have to work, i’d still spend my days drawing or writing or SOMETHing. 

4. Pacific Rim - listen,,,, it’s like,,, a fun visually stunning movie w/ a kickass female lead (sorta?) and i want Newt’s kaiju tattoo sleeves, and if people want to call it overhyped then my rebuttal is.... u right. But Mako Mori kicks ass and if either Newt or Hermann get love interests in the sequel i will flip every single table

3. Road to El Dorado - I had a hard time choosing between this and a Bug’s Life b/c i felt that a kids/animated movie deserved to be on this list, and while I really do love a Bug’s Life and for some reason I seem to be the only person in the world who still gives a crap abt that rly underrated pixar movie, it really isn’t anything beyond just being funny (and a comedic riff of that 7 of thebes/magnificent 7/7 samurai story w/ bugs), and Road to el dorado has a modicum of depth beyond that, so it goes here. Also, it never fails to make me laugh and I rewatched it recently and was surprised by the relatively nuanced portrayal of the citizens of el dorado, and how it doesnt shy away from portraying Cortez as the Demon he was.

2. Mad Max: Fury Road - literally this movie will never stop being badass?????? Ever???? it’s so good??????? It’s visually stunning and has like.... multiple nuanced female characters and oh look my favs Tom Hardy and Nicholas Hoult are back?

1. The Princess Bride - i know its a cult classic but i feel like people don’t appreciate how great this movie is?? I read the book and while it’s fine, i don’t actually think it’s nearly as interesting or exciting as it could be despite Goldman jokingly referring to his edit as “only the good parts”. But the movie doesn’t feel the need to pat itself on the back for being so clever, there’s no “if you start singing i’m gonna throw up” (no shade to Moana it’s quickly become one of my fav disney movies). It’s such a great family film because it caters so well to both adults and children, i heard somewhere before that kids have their own strange logic to the world, and I think the Princess Bride encapsulates that so well because as a child i watched it and took it completely seriously, it doesn’t seem any more outlandish than say, Cinderella or The Little Mermaid, or any other fairy tale. But as an adult I can watch it and get all the humor and satire because the story is ridiculous, yes, but it’s also fun and entertaining and the stakes feel real and you feel clever because Miracle Max is now funny instead of just a weirdo. Also, as far as a framing device goes an old grandpa reading a story to a child is a lot more endearing than hearing abt Goldman’s tangents abt the seriousness of the publishing industry. Also Inigo Montoya’s subplot is probably the best and most satisfying revenge story ever (and tangentially related but i still maintain that Jyn wouldve been more interesting as a sidecharacter in this father-revenge vein than as the protag of Rogue One)

this is way too long. Anyways I tag.... @paint-music-with-me-larry @grafitisonny @victhechick @antijynerso @lavanderbrwn @spaceensignglow @louisthesixteenth @frogyell and anyone else?? u totally don’t have to if you don’t want b/c i literally never do tags also if i forgot u my bad u can totally still do it consider this a tag esp if you’re a mutual

[corellianangel]

A sort-of plea about the Han Solo movie

Okay. Okay.  I know nobody wants to hear it. (but,this is my blog, so….)

Now I know I am in a ridiculously small (tiny, microscopic, quark-sized) minority, especially amongst Han/Leia fans, especially amongst people my own age group, especially amongst OT SW fans. One scroll through this blog and you’ll see Harrison all over the place, so there’s that too.  And the following admission may be one I come to regret, but…

I fucking want the Han Solo movie to be good.  I want to give a movie about my favorite fictional character a chance.

Yeah, the guy looks nothing like Harrison Ford.  Gotchya.  Even my husband calls him “The Guy That Looks Nothing Like Harrison Ford.”   Totally agree.  Alden’s a very pretty lad to be sure though, about 5 inches too short, looks like he walked off the set of the Hobbits’ Shire of LOTR, so on and so forth.  Alden’s got grey eyes flecked with copper, not Harry’s smoldering hazel green-gold.  Hair color is too dark, voice too high, yadda yadda.

And we all know that the world deserves to have Harrison Ford reverse-aged 50 years.  I’m sure ol’ Harry would be totally cool with that too. BUT!! Let’s face it…Sadly—TRAGICALLY— It ain’t gonna happen kids.

Nor will they give us each a clone of him to enjoy.

I know...I grieve with you over this too.

Every night.

But seriously, looking at recent stuff, let’s give the new kid a chance.  I mean no-one—no one— will ever be as cool or sexy as Harrison.  BUT, The kid has acting creds, with the name Coppola attached—sound familiar? Like a young Harry at one point? How about being championed by Spielberg?  He can be funny. He’s played a cowboy. And therein lies the essence of Han… He’s a cowboy…ahem…Nerfherder.

Looking at the recent cast photo provided by Star Wars Tumblr. Alden Ehrenreich’s hair has been lightened to a medium brown. (Good there)  They could give him contacts if eye color is an issue.(doubt it, but I’m all for it) And the scar? Well in the old canon, Han got that in a knife fight shortly before A New Hope. The height?  Errrm Wellll…Can’t do fuck-all there…Maybe…  Um heels? (I prefer not to think about that. LOL!)  Shorter stormtroopers?  LOTR-style forced perspective camera angles? All the above?

And…Despite Harrison saying he wasn’t involved with the new flick, he bothered to have lunch with Ehrenreich recently. Unless they were discussing Harrison’s obsession with (crashing) aircraft, that’s pretty much considered that an official passing of the blaster belt, thank you.

Just wanted to make a few points… I never, NEVER thought we’d get a gift like this.  TFA, for all it’s heartbreak to our OT three, was an impossibility twenty years ago.  Rogue One was a decent war flick, and the best prequel yet. And yeah…In all those the racial diversity is certainly better than the OT, but it’s still a bit…thin.

But C’mon! We have a HAN SOLO movie.  A fucking Han Solo movie!!!  Holy fucking shit happy dance.

YES!  It will NOT BE PERFECT. Nothing is.

But...It better be good. (sends a warning-sign hairy-eyeball-glare in Disney’s direction) ......

Aaaayways, can we talk about the talented (BABE! OMG!!!) Donald Glover that is portraying Lando?  How about Woody Harrelson’s involvement (that drawl, that humor, just oozes scoundrel…)?  And seeing the red tinge in Emilia Clarke’s hair, makes me think of a certain EU/Legends character called Bria?(I admit I am NOT thrilled about that)  Though I am not a fan of the character, seeing Harrelson as Shrike and knowing how much the directors, especially Chris Miller are old canon geeks…And FFS they even made a GOOD movie out of LEGO, and LEGO batman… I mean…C’mon…  

It’s gotta be good?

Right? (I still say we de-age Harrison.)

[millionsofbooks]

Thoughts on GoT 0701

Guess who's too lazy to get her laptop so can't put this under a read more and who's gonna make a long-ass post that nobody asked for anyway? This girl. (Also warning for spoilers for the new got episode) K so this time I thought I'd split my thoughts up by storyline that works I think ok here we go Arya: - yessssss my sweet child kill them all God that was so satisfying - ED SHEERAN - um excuse me arya why are you going south your family is north - also don't kill Ed Sheeran he's a good guy - ok I now ship arya and ed sheeran I wasn't expecting that and yet here we are - I mean let's face it gendry's never coming back Winterfell: - guess who's STILL PISSED THAT JON IS RULING INSTEAD OF SANSA - um all offence but littlefinger can fuck off and die - I would just like to say that Jon is a True Feminist™ - hhhhhh Jon, babe, darling, sweetie, I agree with your decision but NOT HOUW YOURE GOING ABOUT IT WHY ARE YOU SUCH A FOOL - like, look, this definitely seems like more of a 'Jon is here as king of the north and giving out orders' type meeting rather than a 'let's have a discussion about what to do next' type meeting - and I don't know how many of these decisions he discussed beforehand with which people but he clearly didn't discuss the forgiveness one with Sansa beforehand WHICH IS REALLY FUCKING STUPID - 1. Sansa has more right to rule than Jon (I'm still so mad that this was never even brought up at any point) so even if Jon is ruling Sansa should still have a great deal of influence. 2. Are we forgetting that Sansa was raped and tortured by Ramsay not even that long ago and so just might be disinclined to offer forgiveness to the people who helped him do so (yes I know it wasn't them it was their families and like I said I agree with Jon's decision but I can definitely understand Sansa view on this and Jon should definitely have been able to foresee her opposition to the idea) - what this means is that now the only way for her to bring up her opposition to this idea is to publicly disagree with him; the only other way would be to bring it up afterwards and if she managed to change his mind he'd then have to reverse his decision, making him look weak - and like??? Obviously it's not good for them to publicly disagree and Sansa has got to know this with the amount of time she's spent around people like Cersei, Margaery, Littlefinger, Olenna, etc. but it's the only way for her to bring up her quite reasonable disagreement and even apart from political concerns it would be the decent thing to do to at least warn her beforehand that she's going to have to act friendly and forgiving with the family of the people who helped/endorsed Ramsay rape and torture her. - to be fair to Jon I think this is more the show doing the classic 'we'll show the rape and torture of women for shock value and then never mention the effects that would have on them later' than his actual character BUT GODDAMNIT IM PISSED JUSTICEFORSANSA2k17 (that doesn't involve some bullshit manufactured excuse for her to actively oppose and harm Jon which is clearly what they're going for and I will not stand for it) - on that note can we please see Sansa dealing with the mental repercussions of what she's been through? Like, look, if you want to show these horrible things - fine. I don't like it, but fine. But at least show the recovery/the effects of said horrible things. Don't just act like it never happened. Either give Sansa a confidante (probs Brianne) and show them trying to work through these problems together or show the effects of not talking to anyone about what she's gone through just ACKNOWLEDGE THE LONG-TERM IMPACTS OF WHAT RAMSAY (and Joffrey and Cercei and Littlefinger and Lysa and SO MANY PEOPLE) DID TO HER GODDAMNIT - sort of jumping off that but seriously Jon do you not think that Sansa might have a perfectly good reason for being a tad more concerned with the enemies that she has met, that have personally cause her a great deal of harm (not that this piece of garbage show would ever acknowledge that harm), that she knows than some nebulous, uncertain, vague threat that she's only ever heard of in stories. I mean, which do you think is going to seem more pressing and real to her. Not to mention that she's actually right - sure, it would be great if everyone could band together to fight the White Walkers. If there was a chance of Cersei agreeing to this I'd 100% agree that difficult as it may be the right thing to do would be to put revenge behind them and focus on the real threat. Unfortunately, there's no fucking way Cersei would agree to it meaning that you are going to have to fight her whether you like it or not. Not to mention, you're going to have a difficult time defending the North from any enemy with only Northern armies and Northern supply chains - I'd start making allies quick. I mean, yeah, they're going to ally with Dany but they don't know that yet so my point still stands. - much satisfaction with the murder of Littlefinger I mean destroyed King's Landing: - honestly I relate with Jaime so much. Cersei please stop - this alliance is a terrible idea although I appreciate euron's sense of humour he is hilarious and so are Jamie's reactions - I am??? So worried??? About this gift???? What is he going to do someone please stop this man Bran: - REUNION REUNION REUNION REUNION Sandor: - these philosophical discussions should be a Goddamned podcast - OH SHIT it's the family!!! Ahhh look at that character development I am Happy™ - I really need to know what's up with the Lord of Light. I mean, idk if it's just me but I don't accept the idea that there is an actual God directly responsible for events in any kind of fiction (which is weird cause I do in real life but...idk I'm more cynical with fiction) - magical, powerful beings that may as well be gods? Sure. But God? No. So, like, this might sound crazy but my theory is that the Lord of Light has something to do with the Night King. Idk it's just a hunch. Sam: - clearly the maesters are fans of karate kid - also where is the 'they're taking the hobbits to isengard' video of this montage - mr archmaester there are so many things wrong with your argument idek where to start - Sam have you not watched Philosopher's Stone THERE ARE BLOODY TERRIFYING SCREAMING BOOKS IN THE RESTRICTED SECTION - oh thank God he made it out ok I would honestly have been less scared if he was trying to sneak past a den of White Walkers I have a deep-seated fear of authority - yay, there's the excuse for our heroes to meet. Thanks plot I mean Sam Dany: - EXCUSE ME BUT WHERE ARE ASHA (I refuse to call her yara) AND THEON - so the doors are just...unlocked? And...the entire castle is...completely empty. No one's there. At all. ...ok then - well that was an entirely pointless scene that did nothing for the narrative Overall: -well that was an entirely pointless episode that did nothing for the narrative - joking, but also serious. It mainly felt like a really long trailer? I mean other than the first scene with Arya and I guess Jon and Sansa arguing it was all...pointless. This was an entire episode of set-up which I'm really annoyed about because my dad can't watch this episode till Monday and I was really looking forward to holding spoilers over his head