#apparently said in elvish on a childhood show I watched

[welliguessimin]

Now listen here you little rock devil, Your mom.

[zalrb]

What were your favourite childhood movies? I was rewatching the karate kid movies and the newest version is nowhere as good as the old one.

This list is kind of all over the place, haha, because some movies are movies I grew up with meant for my age group at the time and a lot of them aren’t because I was exposed to a lot of media as a kid, haha. I’m also jumping around in time 

Lion King --- I had Just Can’t Wait To Be King on repeat, I’d rewind it again and again and just sing it until I had to go to my room because my mother had enough

Aladdin --- apparently I just went around going, “I’m not a prize to be won!”

Land Before Time --- this movie is so fucking depressing but I really liked Ducky --- like to the point that the reason why I go “yepyep” is because Ducky goes “yepyepyep” and I remember when I realized that, I was like holy shit is that why all these years I go “yep yep” and my family was like, lol yes. But then as an adult I found out what happened to that child actress and that just made the movie all the more depressing 

The Breakfast Club --- I explained this yesterday I believe 

Grease --- so my mother loved/loves Grease, she knows all the songs, can play most of them on the piano and we used to live across the street from this movie theatre that played old movies and Grease was a regular so we watched it a lot 

Sixteen Candles --- I remember thinking this was so romantic as a kid. Super problematic movie tho

Titanic - ah yes, Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio, my first celebrity love. Oh, I can’t stand this movie now, lmao

Lord of the Rings trilogy --- lmao so when the first movie came out, I was obsessed with the elves and Rivendell and I used to write my homework with swirly letters to look like elvish and my teachers complained so I had to get a talking to about it 

Love and Basketball --- first Black love story I ever saw. 

Back To The Future  1 and 2, lmao as John Mulaney pointed out, the first movie anyway is actually REALLY weird when you think about it 

Bad Boys --- I mean Martin Lawrence and Will Smith were the shit back then so I just liked watching them in a movie together

The Best Man --- THIS is funny so the 90s and early 00s saw a lot of African American movies and my mother was all about getting me to see Black people onscreen as much as I could so she took me to these movies even if it wasn’t exactly kid appropriate, she would just make sure to have a conversation with me about the movie when it ended, anyway, so when I was a kid, I didn’t really get a lot of the nuances of The Best Man but when it came out on VHS and when the soundtrack came out we got it so we watched it a lot and there’s a song by The Roots that I really like and one day I was like, I don’t know why I like this song so much and my mom was like because they play that song when you see Morris Chestnut for the first time and I think you went through puberty in the theatre when you saw him and I just diiiiiiiiiiiiiiied

As an adult, The Best Man is fucked up and I would’ve kicked Harper’s ass as well but only because what he did as a writer was a fucking dick move.

Pretty Woman --- it took me a while to realize that she was a sex worker

You’ve Got Mail --- I remember watching this in the theatre with my mom and being SO FRUSTRATED because I just didn’t understand why Tom Hanks couldn’t tell Meg Ryan the truth. 

Liar Liar --- I related to having an absentee dad who never made good on his promises but I also liked Jim Carey’s exaggerative facial expressions but I remember there’s this joke, so the whole premise is that Jim Carey didn’t show up to his son’s birthday when he said he would (relatable!) and his son was so tired of him breaking promises, he wishes that his father will never lie again but Jim Carey is a lawyer so that causes issues, lmfao, but anyway so Jim Carey can’t lie and he has sex with I think it’s his boss, I forget, but he has sex with someone and she’s like how was it? and he goes “I’ve had better” and every time that joke came on my family would CRACK UP so I kept being like “better what? GUYS WHAT DID HE HAVE BETTER OF? I DON’T GET IT” then my mom and I had a conversation, lmfao.

Goodfellas --- I remember my cousins watching this movie in the living room and I saw the scene of the gif I posted below and was like OH WHAT’S THIS and then they told me to go into the bedroom because it was too grown but it’s like they forgot there was a TV in the bedroom and I just turned it to the channel and watched it there. And the movie came on a lot on TV so I just watched it a lot by myself, lmfao.

Twin Warriors aka Tai Chi Master --- probably my favourite martial arts movie. I know there are better ones but I really resonated with this as a kid. Jet Li was a legend with my cousins. 

Fist of Legend 

Once Upon A Time in China

Romeo Must Die --- omg I played this movie ALL. THE. TIME. 

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 

Boyz N The Hood --- a really important movie in my household to the point that I was excited to be able to write a paper on it in the same Popular Cinema from the 70s to the Present class I did my Breakfast Club paper for

same with Do The Right Thing

Jumanji -- I fucking love how mean-spirited this movie is and I did appreciate it as a child too although it freaked me the fuck out 

Clueless

Home Alone - god, Kevin’s family was terrible 

Home Alone 2 --- ah the movie/scene that changed my life

House Party --- to this day I haven’t been to a house party as live as this one 

Malcolm X --- another extremely important movie in my household

Hook --- ooooh I still love this movie so much!

Scream --- I remember when this movie was THE. SHIT. Scared the fuck out of me.

Hero --- this movie was so gorgeous

Rush Hour --- I would probably hate Rush Hour now tbh but whenever I hear “Fantasy” by Mariah Carey I think of the opening scene because I was Soo Young belting to Mariah Carey in the car, it was the best part of the movie for me as a kid because I was like I DO THAT TOO but then she gets kidnapped, so....

The Mummy --- CLASSIC

Gremlins 

Hercules - DUH

The Godfather --- I rarely talk about my dad but he was very much into mob movies because he liked the way they dressed and carriedt themselves in these movies, especially in The Godfather so whenever I was with him, The Godfather was on a lot 

He was also very much into comics, particularly Batman, so even though I don’t really care for DCU/MCU or comics, I’m more likely to go to a theatre (well pre-Covid) and pay to watch a Batman movie over any other comic movie - except Black Panther which is a huge exception because these Batman movies were a pat of my childhood

yes, even Batman and Robin, I even had the soundtrack, listening to Bone Thugs N Harmony on my bunk bed and shit.

Space Jam --- I recently watched the Movie Pitch for this and it had me hollering

Lean On Me --- I have complicated feelings about this movie now but I grew up watching it and I really liked it and the older I got the more I understood what the movie was actually about

Practical Magic --- I wanted to live in that house

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone --- because it was real finally!

Armageddon -- I still love this horrible, nonsensical, illogical, terrible movie because it’s utterly fantastic and hilarious. As a child I didn’t understand this moment and why it was such a huge ask, as an adult I’m like YES. IF I SURVIVE SAVING THE WORLD I’M NOT DOING THIS, THE FUCK I LOOK LIKE?

[clouds-of-wings]

I wrote this like 3 weeks ago and actually got over it since but @tardigradedeathposture wanted to read it, so here’s the lightly edited rant.

---

I was going to not write about how crap I thought the Witcher TV show was but it keeps bugging me and whatever here’s my rant.

So as my followers might know, I played the games (yes even the first) and mostly liked them, especially the second, which I think is a great game and actually better than the third, which I still enjoyed. The first, well, had its moments. I’ve read the first book about 5 years ago after playing the second game for the second time but couldn’t really get into it, I watched the old Polish TV adaptation and found it sort of quaint but nothing special. So of course I was skeptical of the prospect of a TV show but also sort of interested.

Well good things first. I thought Henry Cavill played Geralt pretty well actually. People hated him when he was first introduced but I think most were won over by his performance. He isn’t quite like the Geralt I know, but that might be due to the script. Second good thing, Jaskier isn’t quite as incredibly annoying as he is in the games, though still annoying. But at least he isn’t a pimp here. Third good thing, Chireadan, because Elves <3

But apart from these aspects, I think I haven’t watched such a stupid show since Once upon a time (which was so terrible that it caused my gallbladder to ache non-stop, so I had to stop after the first half of season 1. Witcher didn’t do that, so I guess it wasn’t quite as bad as OUAT). I know the series follows the story laid out in the books, and actually my problem isn’t even what happens, but how it’s presented, in that story and characterization manage to be tepid and tropey and also illogical and self-contradictory.

Take Yennefer for example, because her character annoyed me the most.

Now I’m not a fan of her in the third game either but at least she has a consistent (terrible) personality and a will of her own there. I read that she’s a better character in the books, so okay. Maybe they butchered her on the show. I honestly don’t remember the book I read very well anymore, as I said, I couldn’t get into it.

She is explicitly said and shown to do very badly during her mage training and to be bad at court politics, she’s barely even shown doing magic before the last episode, but she gets to “ascend”, whatever that means, while the other (far more deserving?) students get turned into eels. Later her teacher says she was the best student she’d ever had (?? when? where?) and gives her trust and responsibility for zero reason and Yennefer goes on to save the day, sort of.

She gets, in one of the most unrealistic scenes on the show, cosmetic surgery that involves an extensive spinal operation and the removal of her uterus WITHOUT NARCOTICS and half an hour later she wows everyone at the prom ball. IIRC, in the books and the games the sorceresses and sorcerers alter their appearance using, uh, magic instead of having some guy rip out their spine. And the sorceresses explicitly make themselves beautiful because “that’s what their clients expect”, just like the sorcerers make themselves appear as “venerable” old men - because it’s the pre-conception their clients have. It’s subversive, John-Karen, because the mages somewhat cynically show themselves to be genre-savvy by exploiting the... why am I explaining this. It’s obvious to everyone except the idiots who wrote the show. The point is, it’s not about their personal empowerment, but they could have done something with Yennefer’s “ugly to beautiful” transformation and they didn’t, so that sucks too.

From the whole way she’s presented, it becomes clear that she would be a terrible mother (”happy childhoods make for boring conversation”), yet we’re supposed to feel sympathy for her quest for fertility. And she’s constantly bitter about her lack of it - when the surgeon told her very clearly that she’d be losing her fertility as a side-effect of the operation and she explicitly agreed to it. This wasn’t something that was forced upon her yet she acts like it was.

Just like in the game, she has zero concern for other people’s wishes or boundaries. I mean she cast magic upon a bunch of people and made them sexually assault each other, and the show just frames it as “sexy lady hosts an orgy”. Then she accuses Geralt of not paying attention to other people’s boundaries because he made a wish she doesn’t even know the specifics of (lol).

Yennefer is a pretty terrible person, which would be fine in terms of character, if she were actually presented as terrible. Yennefer actually has pretty exactly the personality of Cersei Lannister, but Cersei was intentionally portrayed as vicious, power-hungry, dishonest and irrational. We weren’t supposed to see her as a good person and that made her a great character. Watching Cersei was fun and interesting. Watching Yennefer is grating because in any sane universe, a woman like that would not be the hero. That’s also why I think it’s absolutely false to call TW “the new GoT”. TW is worse than even late seasons GoT.

However, the show loves her so much that it randomly gives her super-powers whenever it suits. In the fight in front of the dragon cave, she’s as good with a sword as Geralt, even though she has no training and no muscles and he’s literally been mutated to become a better fighter. In the last episode, she easily deters the attack by Nilfgaard and then destroys their camp (??) with magic when up until then she was only ever shown to be very bad at magic. (Unleash *~the chaos inside you~* god who wrote that script?)

But in the end, almost her whole story is determined by the effect she has on men. Despite all her qualities that we’re supposed to blindly believe she has, it’s her looks and the fact that some men like her constant pointless insults that determines what happens to her. The archeologist guy in the beginning is the only one who stops her from totally failing at mage training. The king she wows with her good looks and her early 21st century dress becomes her employer. Geralt and the Elf guy falling for her. The knight guy she manipulates into going to dragon mountain with her. Her only skill that she is somewhat consistently proven to actually possess is the ability to charm and seduce men with her beauty and her sparkling personality.

Unfortunately, this characterization is somewhat common among “strong female characters”. All the important female characters on American Gods are that way as well. Wonder Woman is (in the film, I haven’t read the comics) close to it as well. Random pointless superpowers, but her story is actually determines by everyone being head over heels for her because she’s pretty. I don’t really know why this counts as “feminist”, but for the media industry apparently it does. I think it’s rather the opposite.

But, god, Yennefer wasn’t the only terrible character. I also hated the way they portrayed what were apparently supposed to be Scoia’tael adjacent Elves in the first episode. Can you imagine Iorveth or Yaevinn make common cause with those planless caricatures? I absolutely love the clearheadedness and ruthlessness of the Scoia’tael in the games. They rebel against human oppression with the decisiveness of people with nothing left to lose. The Elves are portrayed as a mentally somewhat superior race who see themselves as the rightful owners of the land and are absolutely furious at humans using brute force to disinherit them. I love the absolute lack of moral high ground and of “virtuous victimhood”. I love the elitism turned to bitterness. I love the way they frame things like telling Elvish legends as acts of resistance (which is something that has plenty of real-life parallels). I love (since it’s fictional and all) the vicious treatment of human civilians, since, you know, from the Elves’ perspectives there are no civilians among the humans. In the games, you’re clearly made to understand that both the Scoia’tael and their opponents have committed terrible acts, and then, because this is war, you’re expected to pick a side anyway. Which was both easy and fun for me as a huge Elf stan in general, but I love that it’s not supposed to be an easy choice.

So I’m just talking about a short scene in the first or second episode, because that was the only time we see Elves who have Elf-specific problems, but I just hated that scene, because it steps into exactly the tropes that the games avoided. They complain, act irrationally and are portrayed as helpless, morally pure victims who won’t actually do anything that will do more than just slightly inconvenience humans. Toothless! Exactly as Hollywood would like oppressed peoples to be, righteous in their suffering, maybe stealing some bread but that’s all they will do.

Another thing that really bothered me was how unpolished it was. Hahaha! Terrible pun alert. They took everything Polish out of the story, see what I did there? I would have loved to see those houses with the flowers painted on them for example that are based on a real Polish village. What we got was just a bland Medieval(TM) world that could be anywhere and had no discernible features. It also obliterated the charm of the costume design. I found myself longing even for King Henselt’s unbelievably stupid belt because at least it had some character. And the weird and awesome creature design as well. None of it was on the show. Can you imagine that in a million years creatures like the three Crones from TW3 would show up on the show? Of course not, because a female character who won’t give the viewer a boner is obviously not worth showing.

And I don’t even understand how they managed to include Geralt being aware of his outsider status and thinking about it and to somehow make it boring anyway. But I’m really tired of writing and thinking about this now, so this is the end of my rant about like... half the things that annoyed me about the show.

[fanfic-shiz]

I Choose You (Aragorn)

Pairing: Aragorn (LOTR) x OC

Prompt: None-- just a request! :)

Warnings: All. The. Fluff.

Requests are open! Send me some! I’d love more LOTR of course! But I’m also sort of dying for an Eric Coulter from Divergent request tbh! lmao xD Thanks for reading everyone! Hope you enjoy!

I pulled an arrow out of the quiver leaning up against the tree. On the other side of the stream trickling past was a wide, moss-covered tree. My target. Although I honestly could have cared less if I hit anything at all. Blades had always been my strength. There was nothing that could match the feeling of a sword in my hands, the arc of a blade and the satisfying sound it made as it cut through the air. There was no stress reliever quite like it. 

There were no enemies to fight here, though. Fortunately for us, of course. But I also wasn’t going to bother one of the others with a little combat training. It was not the time or place, I knew that. The mood was too somber, Gandalf’s death still too near.

The Hobbits had been silent ever since we’d entered Lothlorien and been given sanctuary by Galadriel. The thought of her cold eyes still made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The sound of her voice echoed in my head, warning me of a danger I’d already known.

You love him.

The most powerful, dangerous magic there is. Especially in times such as these.

You love him, and it will be your undoing.

I’d already known that. Love was always everyone’s undoing, wasn’t it? I’d watched it destroy my mother and father when I’d been only a child, I’d watched it wreck my brother after his wife was taken from him during the cold winter months. Love had dulled my senses, distracted me. Made me more aware of another than I was of myself, or my surroundings. It was a sickness I couldn’t cure. I didn’t know how. Worst of all, I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Not when it made me feel so…alive.

I clumsily nocked another arrow, pulling the bowstring tight before letting it go. The arrow wobbled through the air, making it across the creek only to nosedive right into the muddy bank. I cursed under my breath, lowering the bow. This was embarrassing. Thank god no one was around to—

“Your elbow’s too high, and you’re not pulling the string back far enough.”

My heart stuttered in my chest. Even just the sound of his voice had that effect on me, soft and gentle. As if he were carefully choosing each and every word before it left his lips. Lips…there was a topic I didn’t need to think about. I spent enough time lying under the stars, imagining what it’d be like to be that close to him.

“Am I doing anything right?” I asked, finally turning to look at him.

He smiled at me, blue eyes crinkling at the corners in that way I adored. Like me, he was dressed in clean clothes and looked as if he’d had a bath. Although nothing could scrub away that ruggedness that just seemed to be a natural part of his appearance at this point. I secretly loved the rough stubble that covered his jaw and chin, the way he always was impatiently pushing that dark hair out of his eyes.

His gaze flickered over me, making me feel unnaturally warm despite the coolness of the forest. “You look lovely.”

I ducked my head as my cheeks flushed and turned away from him to grab another arrow. The handmaidens Galadriel had sent insisted on dressing me in the clothing of their people— which meant a gown for once, instead of my traveling clothes. It was silk, the color of lilac. Floor length with tight bodice and thin straps instead of sleeves. 

“I feel ridiculous. I doubt I could swing a sword in this without tearing a seem.”

“Well, I don’t think it was made with sword swinging in mind,” Aragorn said, traces of laughter in his words. “You look far from ridiculous.”

His voice had lowered, making my stomach fumble. Perhaps I was just imagining it, but I could’ve sworn there was something more behind his words. Something that sounded very much like the way I felt whenever we held eyes across a room for too long.

“Is there a reason you’re practicing your archery skills instead of resting? You know we have a long day of traveling tomorrow. You’re safe here. You should rest.”

I sighed before rolling my shoulder back, preparing to try and shoot again. “I can’t. My mind is too busy. Too preoccupied.”

“With what? Gandalf?”

“Amongst other things,” I admitted. Like you, and your eyes, your smile, your everything. “So I figured I might as well do something productive.” I released the bowstring and the arrow went no farther than the previous one. I let out a groan of defeat. “Although apparently I’m wasting my time.”

“You could always ask Legolas to teach you. There’s no better bowman than him,” Aragorn reminded me, and I heard his footsteps until he was at my side, snatching up one of the arrows and examining it with mild interest. His eyes lifted and their vivd blueness held me there.

“Legolas knows a hopeless case when he sees one. Besides, I don’t want to give him something else to poke fun at me for. Who knew an elf could find himself so humorous?” I said, rolling my eyes.

“If I recall correctly, you seem to enjoy relentlessly teasing him right back,” Aragorn said pointedly and I gave him a look that made him laugh. He held out the arrow to me. “Here, I might not be as skilled as our elvish friend but I know a thing or two about shooting a bow.”

I nocked the arrow the way I’d seen Legolas do countless times, my fingers not quite as steady and sure as his were. Instead, it felt clumsy in my hands.

“You’re holding the grip too firmly. Squeeze it like you're shaking a hand— not too hard, not too light,” Aragorn instructed.

I loosened my fingers and glanced down to check my stance. “Shoulder-width apart,” I murmured to myself.

Aragorn hummed his agreement. “Right, but you’re still standing with your feet too close together. Here.”

Before I had a chance to even look over at him, prepared to see him showing me the correct stance, I felt him behind me. His chest was pressed close to my back and I could feel the warm, solidness of him against me. I nearly dropped the bow right then and there, but Aragorn’s hands were on mine. Steadying me.

“A little bit more,” he said softly, and I felt one of his boots nudge my foot and I widened my stance. “Perfect. Now, angle your body.”

His breath tickled my neck and my stomach dropped as his hands found my hips. I felt like I could hardly breathe as he kept them there for a moment longer, palms heavy against my waist. I fought the urge to lean back into him and rest against his chest. “Now what?” I heard myself ask.

“Now, you draw back the string.” His hand still covering mine, I pulled back the bowstring and his grip tightened. “That’s far enough. This is your anchor point, so every time you draw back, this is how far you need to go.”

“Mhm,” I said, nodding. My head was spinning though, pleasant shivers coursing down my spine every single time he spoke. “And lift my elbow.”

“Right,” he agreed. His hand slid up my wrist, ghosting across my forearm before he was gently raising my elbow just a little. “You want to use your back muscles, not your arm muscles when you draw back. Imagine pushing your shoulder blades together.” My breath left me in a little gasp as his hand spread across my stomach. “Stand a little straighter.”

“How’s this?” I asked, staring down the spine of the arrow and trying to ignore the quiver in my voice. His hand covered my own again, the stubble of his jaw brushing against my cheek. If I turned my head, he’d be less than a breath away. Close enough for me to press my lips to his and find out if he tasted the way I always imagined. A part of me felt utterly ridiculous, but my body was reacting without my permission, his closeness bringing down the barriers I carefully kept around myself to keep myself safe. To keep him safe, whether he knew it or not.

Yet all I could think about it was how good he felt. His hands on mine, steadying my aim. His words, soft and encouraging, whispered against my skin. How many times had we stayed awake at night, while the other slept, sharing stories of our childhoods, of everything we’d been through? Of becoming more than what our pasts had made us?

“Now you aim. Don’t overthink it. The harder you try, the more elusive your target becomes. Just take a deep breath, exhale, and let go.”

I suddenly felt his lips brush against my cheek and I let out a sigh, my arms slackening. “Aragorn,”

“I’ve always wondered what would happen if I let myself get this close to you,” he said, catching me offguard. “Now I know…I don’t want to let you go.”

At that, my hand slipped from the arrow and it shot from the bow but I didn’t even care where it was going. The bow dropped to the ground as I turned and faced the ranger, his hands finding their way back to my waist. I cupped his face in my hands, eyes searching his face and words faltering on my tongue as I saw the longing in his expression.

“This is dangerous,” I told him, raising up onto my tippy toes and hands sliding to his shoulders as I kissed his chin. “We should stop.”

“We should,” he answered, the words barely a whisper. “So tell me to stop..tell me we can’t.”

“I don’t want to,” I confessed, and his gaze grew warm and molten. Making my stomach clench.

His hand lifted to cup the back of my neck and my eyes fluttered shut as I felt the first brush of his mouth against mine. It was soft and sweet, making my knees feel like I’d had one too many pints of ale. His other arm circled my waist, securing my against him as my fingers gripped the front of his shirt tightly and tried to pull him closer against me. In that kiss, I felt everything I didn’t want to. Stirrings of feelings I’d tried so hard to fight off and keep at bay. But nothing could have pried me away from him in that moment. Weakness, maybe. Yet I felt safe there. I felt sure. For once, the world didn’t like such a dark place.

I hadn’t realized we were moving until my back met the rough bark of the nearest tree, Aragorn pinning me against it with his body. He tasted sweet, like wine, and I could smell the sharp scent of soap on his skin. I let myself become lost in him, forgetting where we were, or what the next day would bring. The only thing I thought about was the feeling of my fingers tangled in his hair, or the subtle way his hips pressed against mine, coaxing a soft whimper from my lips.

“Such sweet sounds,” he murmured against my skin as his lips slid across my jaw. “Such sweet lips.” He nipped gently at my lower lip and I arched against him. “I don’t think I’ll ever get my fill.”

I wanted him to keep going, to keep touching me, kissing me, and saying those things to me. But I remembered another voice. 

“Galadriel spoke to me. She told me you’d be my undoing,” I confessed, my chest heaving as I forced myself back enough to meet his eyes. I cupped his face in one hand and he nuzzled into my touch before kissing the inside of my palm.

His gaze, still dark and smoldering, grew more serious and his fingers laced through mine. “The lady of light says many things. I make my own choices, though. I choose my own fate. Do you?”

His gaze held me, making me unable to look away even if I’d wanted to. The fear I’d felt earlier from Galadriel’s warning paled in comparison to the promise in Aragorn’s voice. That uneasiness kept battering at me, trying to break through the wall of safety and warmth I felt in his arms. 

“I want to.” I finally said, pausing a beat before continuing. “I want to choose you.”

“But you’re afraid.” It wasn’t a question, but an affirmation. I dropped my eyes now, fingers toying with the collar of his shirt. I could feel the rapid beating of his heart beneath the fabric and slid my palm over his chest. I let the steady rhythm anchor me and nodded. 

“I am too.”

I lifted my head, eyebrows furrowed in surprise. “You are?”

“Of course I am. Wouldn’t I be foolish not to be?” he asked, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “I can’t tell you what happens next…where this road leads, if it ever ends. But I can tell you that the way I feel about you is sure and steady. I am not a man who throws caution to the wind, but I’ll take my chances if it means I get you.”

I felt my chest swell, for a moment finding myself totally and completely speechless. I’d faced goblins, orcs, trolls…all of that was nothing to the fear I felt at loving someone and having them love me in return. The way he was looking at me, though…it promised good things. It promised safety and happiness when our days would allow it, night without loneliness and words of comfort when the thought of another day felt like it might ruin me.

And I knew I would’ve been a fool to let fear fence me in for the rest of my life.

“Will you take that chance?” he prompted me, his tone patient and understanding and I knew he would’ve wait a week, a month, a year for my answer. 

I was tired of waiting though. “I will.”

The smile that spread across his face was all the confirmation I need that this was right. The two of us, together. 

He leaned in and kissed me again, this time without hesitation. Flames flickered to life low in my stomach, spreading heat through my entire body. I pushed my hands up the front of his shirt and he shuddered at my touch, making me smile against his mouth. The hard muscles of his stomach rippled under his skin, my fingers trailing a path up to his chest and memorizing every raised scar that marked him.

“You’re doing a lousy job at teaching me to shoot a bow,” I teased him and a laugh rumbled low in his chest.

“Let’s be glad you’re such a lousy shot, or might never have gotten the courage to stand that close to you,” he said back, nudging my nose gently with his. “Besides, there’s plenty of time for that later. For right now, I can think of a dozen other things I’d rather show you.” His voice was low and husky and made my stomach dip.

The bow and quiver of arrows lay forgotten on the forest floor and all I could do was remember how to breathe as Aragon made me forget everything else too at least for a little while.

[kennedydevin-blog]

OOC WEEK: DAY TWO

What country are you from? I’m from the United States of America. 

What is your first language? Do you speak any other languages? I speak English and a little bit of French. Just enough to get me around in a French speaking country, but I can read in French. 

What language would you like to learn? Oh, LORD. This is a really long list. I’d love to learn Norwegian ( teachhhh me Anna! ). I’d also really like to learn Elvish, if that counts. Some other languages on my list, but that aren’t as important: Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, Greek, Russian, & Portuguese. I’ll literally learn any language, but those are on the top of my list. 

What’s one movie from your country that you like (or recommend others see)? Hmmm, I’m kind of one of those people that doesn’t watch a lot of films from my own country. I mean… I’ll watch them, but not because I want to. I watch a lot of Bollywood films & spend more time watching documentaries. If I cheat a little bit, I would say that I’d recommend watching Brooklyn Nine Nine. It’s a TV show, but one of the few that I actually enjoy watching. 

Pick a song from your country (or in your language) and talk about why you like it. Another difficult question as I don’t listen to much music. Since most of my music tastes are Broadway, I’d have to say that the song I’d pick would be My Shot. Like I said, Broadway’s really the only thing I listen to.

Pick a classic song from your country - aka one that everyone knows, one that’s representative of your country, etc. Ugh, honestly, I’d have to say Defying Gravity. I mean come on. What has the US of A done since the beginning? Like it just what we do. Politically, socially, it doesn’t matter. Also, again, Broadway.

What’s a book from your country (or in your language) that you’d recommend? I have a whole list of books that I’d recommend. If you haven’t read All For the Game trilogy, those are pretty good. They’re self published, so they’re pretty cheap if you get them for your phone/ebook reader. I highly recommend most Stephen King books. OH! Another reallllly good series is The Lady Trent Chronicles by Marie Brennan. SO, that book series is set in a time similar to Victorian era England, but it’s a made up country & it’s about this woman named Isabella Trent. All she’s ever wanted to do is study dragons, but she has to deal with her parents wanting to her to get married & societal pressure to be a Perfect Wife™. It’s really good because Lady Trent is amazing & doesn’t take anyone’s bullshit. It’s pretty great. I can recommend so many more books. So here are a few others that are pretty cool:

Blue is for Nightmares - Laurie Faira Stolarz

Aaron Manke ( he does a podcast called Lore which talks about weird/almost supernatural things from different cultures. There’s going to be a TV show too! )

Anything by Ally Carter - she’s a little young for people in this group, but she’s got a really cool series called The Heist Society & her series called Embassy Row that are pretty cool/interesting.

Welcome to Night Vale Novel 

What’s your favourite childhood story from your country or culture? P. D. Eastman’s Go, Dog. Go! That’s pretty much the only book I read as a child. I wasn’t a big reader as a child, but this book always been important to me.

Talk about a tradition from your country or culture that you love celebrating. American’s don’t really have any, but I’m going to talk about a family tradition we have. So at the end of the school year, as a family we get together & have a burning ceremony where we write on pieces of paper everything that’s pissed us off/made us annoyed/frustrated us/stressed us out then burn them. It’s fun. 

Fave food from your country/culture: Ummmm. I don’t eat anything too American, since I’m vegan and apparently ‘Muricans only eat meat or animal products. -.- My favorite food  Veggie Style™ would probably be the vegan hotdogs that I get. 

Best season of the year in your country? W I N T E R. It’s just so clean and beautiful. I want to play in 12 feet of snow & make snowmen & snowball fights. I love winter so much, but I was born at the winter solstice, so that gives me an excuse.

What’s one thing that you wish you could change about your country? Why? Honestly, probably nothing. Like every country has their problems & the USA has so many problems, but the things is that if we didn’t have these problems, then we wouldn’t ever change. The world would be the same as it was since the beginning. I think things happen for a reason. And yes, horrible things do happen. But here’s the thing – all life matters, including the lives of animals and bugs. Just because life matters, does NOT mean that you have to agree with the opinions of others, especially ones that are discriminatory in any way. This got odd, but like… I just don’t think anything should die. 

EDIT: TO BE CLEAR... I’m not one of those bullshit All Lives Matter people. That shit’s fucked up. I do respect all people, but likkkke that’s not what the BLM movement is about, sooooooo.

What’s one thing that you’re proud of about your country? Hmm, that’s a tough one. I don’t really know. Humanity has a lot of crappy stuff going on right now. I don’t think anyone’s really done anything I can say I’m proud of.

Name a country you’d like to visit. Norway! There’s probably a bunch of places that I want to visit, but Norway is my top place right now.

Top three cities you’d like to visit: There’s a lot of places that I want to visit, but here are the top three: 

Oslo, Norway

Granada, Spain

Mexico City, Mexico

What’s the best place in your country that you’ve ever visited? I think it’s actually a tie between New York City & San Francisco. NYC is my favorite city in the entire world, I think. San Fran was a lot of fun; California is pretty. 

Have you ever been abroad (out of your country)? If so, where did you go? Yup! I’ve been to London, England and a couple of places in Scotland. I’ve also been to Paris, France. And Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona is a lot of fun, I’d love to go  back.

What are some myths or stereotypes about your country or culture that are either true or are false? 

All Americans are lazy & eat a lot of fatty foods - Not true. 

One that has to do with vegans is that we’re all freaks that go into places that serve meat yelling ‘Meat is Murder.’ No. That’s a specific group of vegans. 

[expressandadmirable]

♙: Sharing a bed, all the ladies, sleepover style

(Title: From the Ground Up)

“Halei. Halei, love, wake up.”

“No.”

Aviva snorted. “Oh, alright then, when you put it like that.”

“Why am I waking up?”

Before the Tiefling could answer, a massive crack of thunder shook the deck beneath them, the flash of lightning making the cloudy night as bright as day. Haluei'en blinked. “Oh.”

“Storm’s almost on us. If we stay on deck, we’ll be stuck here until it passes, and it looks like it’s going to be around for awhile. If we move below decks now, we’ll miss the worst of it. Come on.” Kneeling on her side of the bedroll, Aviva stroked the Drow’s hair. “Can you get up for me?”

With a sickly groan, Halei pushed herself into a sitting position. The nausea that came and went whenever she was aboard the Platinum Dawn had come again and showed no signs of going. She dropped her head into her hands. “Just leave me here to die.”

“Maybe another day.” Aviva pulled the Drow into her arms and kissed the top of her head. “The water’s still calm, even with the storm, so it shouldn’t be too bad down below. I’ll make you some tea and we can go back to bed.” She tugged gently on Halei’s torso. “I promise, you’ll live.”

Halei muttered something in accented Elvish that Aviva was fairly certain translated to “don’t wanna”. But she sighed and reached for her boots and outer tunic, if only to carry them below.

“Um. Lux? Sol?”

They looked up. Morgan stood in the entrance to their tent, her face anxious. “Are you doing down?”

Lux nodded. “The tent will survive, but we’re taking the rest of our things to the cabin. This storm’s going to be here awhile. Are you coming?”

“Um, yeah…” Morgan paused, chewing her lip. “The thing is, I kind of… turned my bed into a workbench? And my floor is covered in metal stuff. And my hammock is the only place to sleep. And it’s gonna get wet.” She looked at Lux, then at Sol, then back again. “Could I sleep on your floor? I have my own blanket–” she indicated the fabric draped about her shoulders, “and I have my bedroll, so I won’t take up too much space–”

“Morgan,” Lux cut off her rambling with a smile, “you can sleep in the bed with us.” Seeing the Gnome’s surprise, she continued. “We offered you space at our side way back in the Elf-King’s marsh. That offer hasn’t changed. You’re always welcome.”

Sol nodded in agreement, then grimaced as she regretted the movement. “Mm-hmm. What she said.”

Morgan grinned. “Okay! Thanks! Do you need help carrying stuff?”

“No, thank you.” Lux shook her head. “You head down, we’ll be there in a few.” She watched Morgan scamper off, a thin smirk forming on her lips as she felt Sol’s eyes on her. “What?”

“Your caretaker instincts are showing, Hearth-Mother.”

Lux laughed. “Well, follow Morgan down and I can take care of you too. Now, before the rain comes! Go!” Dutifully, Sol rose to her knees, collecting her outer clothing and the few small items they kept in the tent. Lux followed behind as Sol left their little topside home and together they made their way down the wooden stairs to their cabin on the crew deck. Morgan met them in the hall, still wrapped in her blanket, and waited politely as Lux pushed open the door. “You two get settled,” the Tiefling instructed. “I’m going to make some ginger tea for Sol, and then we’ll go back to bed.” Without waiting for a reply, she dumped her armful of clothing on a wooden chair and headed for the galley.

Sol had already crawled beneath the covers by the time Lux returned, her eyes closed as she conversed with Morgan in low tones. Lux coaxed her up to sitting and placed the floral teacup in her hand; the Drow nodded gratefully and began to sip. Their high seas routine. Gently tucking Sol’s hair behind her long ear, Lux looked across the bed at Morgan sitting cross-legged atop the sheets. “This one needs to stay on the edge, so she can escape if necessary. I already run hot, so I’m not bothered by the middle. Are you alright on the other edge?”

Morgan nodded cheerily. “Oh yes. That’s fine with me! Thank you again for letting me stay here. Maybe tomorrow I’ll clean my cabin a bit, make room to sleep if I have to. Or I could get another hammock and put one in there too.” She considered that a moment longer, then shrugged. “Wouldn’t be til we get to land, so maybe the floor is best.” She grinned up at Lux. “But tonight is like a sleepover!”

“What’s a sleepover?”

“Didn’t you have sleepovers when you were little?” Morgan cocked her head. “When your friends come over and spend the night and you stay up late telling stories and eating treats?”

With a soft laugh, Lux shook her head. “No, I didn’t. But they sound nice.” Apparently, many childhood activities necessitated having friends.

“Oh. I didn’t have them either.” Morgan frowned in thought, then brightened just as quickly. “Well, this can be our first, then! Only without the treats. Next time we can get treats.” The end of Morgan’s sentence dissolved into a yawn. “And without the staying up late part. We can do that next time too.”

“Certainly. We’ll plan ahead next time, rather than a storm taking us by surprise.” Lux retrieved the empty teacup from Sol’s feeble fingers and placed it on the table beyond the bed. Then she stretched, considered her options, and clambered over the Drow to reach the middle of the bed. Sol grumbled; Morgan giggled, then followed her under the covers. Resting on her side, Lux ran her palm up and down Sol’s spine, feeling the Drow relax into reverie under her touch. Then she rolled onto her back. “Goodnight, Morgan. Sleep well.”

Already half-asleep, the Gnome nodded against the pillow. “G'night.” Within minutes, her breathing had deepened.

Outside, the rain fell steadily against the glass-smooth sea, the occasional thunderclap muffled by the closed porthole. Lux watched the lightning reflect on the ceiling of the cabin, softened by the rain on the glass. She could not sleep, though she could not place why. She had never had a sleepover as a child, but something about her present placement felt familiar and strange. With a sigh, she shifted onto her side facing Morgan, her hands tucked beneath her pillow, and closed her eyes.

A rustle of fabric, then a weight against her belly. Lux opened her eyes. Without waking, Morgan had also rolled over, tucking herself comfortably into Lux’s curve. For what felt like an eternity, she remained frozen, unsure how to respond to the sleeping figure. Finally, she extended her arm, wrapping it carefully around the Gnome. A moment later, as if sensing the change in energy through her reverie, Sol turned to press herself against Lux’s back, throwing an arm over her waist and brushing her nose against her neck before stilling again.

It felt like family, Lux realised. Though the details were many years gone, she remembered crawling into her parents’ bed, both of them alive and well and more than happy to hold her close. Then it was only her mother’s bed, and she was held so tightly she wondered if her mother thought she would disappear in the night. A familiar but long-forgotten ache blossomed in her heart.

She knew Morgan was no child; in fact the Gnome was nearly three times her age. She knew she was no mother, and Sol no wife. But she couldn’t help but wonder: is this the feeling of home?