#but ever since delves have been a thing... i actually love this dwarf

[wp100]

brann bronzebeard saves my sorry ass way too many times. he deserves all the rewards and more

[tubbyliltuna]

.home // thorin oakenshield x reader.

Just a little something I wrote on another website awhile ago, throwing it out here. I love the hobbit, but I’m always too scared to really write for it.

No warnings. Just fluff. 

❤️

    It was cold along the peaks of the wilderness, whether it was summer, spring, fall, nor winter, chilling specks continued to gracefully fall in a slow rain, landing deftly onto your shoulder and dotting wet spots as it melted away from the radiating warmth of your body that shivered. But it wouldn't be long until you would be at the foot-holds again, planted firmly on solid ground that would't strike a constant worry of crumbling from beneath you, and miles closer to Lake Town, the ruins of the once great city of Dale, and the walls of the destination - Erebor. The Lonely Mountiain, a peak ever so high that the tip pierced through the rolling clouds and could have touched Heaven, one that sat alone in a strategic position and the halls delved deep into the Earth for miles on end, flowing with treasures beyond a wild dream that the sin Greed himself could ever dream. Of course, it wasn't all gold and jewels that lay inside, but the memories that were made and cherished, and the ones that never had the chance to be before the dragon Smaug terrorized the land and made the home of your friends his own only to cure his lust. Though most would believe it had been the hunger - a sickness - for more that Thror, Thorin's grandfather, that bought their demise upon them with the dragon, for the creatures love it beyond anything else and that the two species were not so different after all and though at times you would become so frustrated with them all and their stubbornness that you would mindlessly and inwardly agree, you had to disagree more so often. 

     Dwarfs were stubborn beyond belief; rude; ill-mannered; hot-headed; unsightly, and your list could go on for hours and if it were on paper it would drag for miles, but they're also kind in their own special way; understanding to suffering; joyous in dark times, and loyal to a fault, and everything beyond anything you could have asked for in friends. The same could be said for the timid, yet growing, Hobbit - Bilbo Baggins - and the Wizard, Gandalf, the both of them showing to be just the same, and equally reliable.

   Though, you all had your secrets - perhaps except little Bilbo(and you say little with you standing a head taller than the tallest Dwarf) - and that was understandable, and of course, they weren't all accepting to you at first, being a friend of Gandalf who was neither a wizard, nor warrior, nor blacksmith, nor ... anything of that sort really. You were a ranger, to be exact, and stealth was your main key, and while the Hobbit was the burglar, you were the hunter. Not much was known about you; you weren't in any books, never made history, no kings or queens knew your name, nothing fancy of the sort, and perhaps that's exactly why they were so distant and quiet towards you. They had nothing to go by for the start except for your meeting - a smile, a greeting and a bow where you hood clumsily flipped up onto your head, and a disbelieving glance from all of them that you were what you are. But Gandalf knew better, having known you since you were a child, meeting you one day when you were lost and threatening him in a small voice(you were the stubborn child!), but nothing of the sort swayed Thorin or sat well with the Dwarf prince. You were a woman, you were a stranger, and he wanted no liability to risk the life of his kin or the fate of their quest, because the 'burglar' was filling that position well enough. 

     You and the Wizard devised a plan right behind Thorins back - literally, with simple looks, you knew what to do and you departed with none of them noticing, only catching a sigh of relief with your keen ears from the Dwarf before you disappeared into the woods. But you followed, you tagged, laying back into the shadows, on foot as it would be too noticeable to ride a horse, and though you were extremely tired at the end of the day, you were successful, only being spotted twice by Bilbo(who's shaping up to be quiet the burglar if you could say so yourself). You were no stranger to each race, having studied them a lot in your free time as a child, aside form hunting, and Hobbit's have keen ears, wonderful eyesight and the ability to go unseen, and you were quiet envious of them having it naturally, having had to work on it yourself, but he never said anything, obviously figuring Gandalf wanted you to come for a good specific reason, and you were grateful he was using his head.

   Thorin was furious when he found out, down right angry that this had been going on for a whole month, behind his back, but his trust in the Wizard never swayed or faded, only his distrust in your growing to the max. You figured that would happen, so it didn't upset you completely, especially with the fact you had saved his holiar-than-thou rumpus when he found out, so that could have upped your chances of being accepted. Though time went on, and the Company's weariness of you faded, slowly and painfully as you proved to be useful to them; finding their food, safer routes, taking food from stalls when you passed through small towns(though you pinned that one on Bilbo to help his status as their burglar, and you're proud to admit you taught him some things and he put them to good use sometimes), being the back-up defense in battles or the 'secret' weapon which you found a bit skeptical but you didn't like fighting much anyway so you dealt with it easily. You preferred to be at a good distance of your target, never having to actually get close to them, because - as everyone had found out - looking your prey in the face made it impossible for you to kill it or them, and that was your weakness.

   Now here you stood; chapped lips parted and white puffs of warm breath rolling up through the bitter and bleak sky, your feet paused on a high rock that over looked the horizon and out above the world from the peak in the wilderness you and the Company now passed on, your chest heaving with baited breath and a lump in your throat from the dry air as your eyes scanned out slowly, drinking in the sight for both danger and for your own pleasure. It was beautiful, despite being cold, but you grew up in a part of the world that didn't get snow - below the Shire - and while you had been in places where winter fell, it was never like this. Beautiful, and pure white like it was slowly cleansing the world of all the evil that had been done to it, purifying the earth of wanton blood spill, and while the thought was extremely naive and short-lived, it brought a warm smile through the harsh onto your lips until you caught something in the distance. It looked so small, so fragile from where you stood as the clouds rolled slowly like molasses past it, the grey foggy color splitting and fading, showing the large majestic mountain to look like a simple rolling hill that would be spotted in a pasture for horses. But it was so much for than that, and it caused your lungs to expand quickly, sharply, like the ragged edges that out-lined the sides and bottoms of it. One word escaped your mouth, something dry and raspy one that contained three simple syllables;

   "Erebor,"

   It was immediately after the word that seemed to echo in the silence escaped your mouth, the sound of feet stopped and the sound of murmuring quieted to nothing, only the whistling of the steady wind ringing in your ears and you heard something foreign and harsh a few feet beside you, causing your head to whip around. It was Thorin, the prince himself, gazing past you, his eyes that held a storm in both emotion and color resting solid on the distant mountain, but your eyes narrowed questioningly as his irises landed on your face. "Home," and every expression on your face dropped, faster that a fresh branding iron that landed on your hand, setting in one of shock and awe.

   You knew that language; the harsh and sharp, tongue cutting sounds that escaped the mouths of the Dwarfs ever so often, but more Bifur than anyone else since that was all the poor man was capable of. It was their native tongue, one of their most prized and secretive things. Of course, it was no secret to you what it sounded like, but you never understood a single word of it - it wasn't something they taught to other races, or even enjoyed hearing them speak, and the curl that crossed the princes pale and cracked lips was warm and comfortable, defying everything the air and temperature around you stood for, completely contrary to it and it was genuine. It made you happy, safe even, seeing something so rare come onto his features that are usually so sullen and irritated, and you couldn't help the one that begin to twitch at the corners of your mouth, the spasm in your muscles as a slight stinging crossed over your eyes.

   "Thorin - "

   And he returned it, slowly turning as a sense of pride and welcoming washed over every fiber in your body, his eyes trained on you even over his shoulders before his face completely left your view, facing the cold white of the world once again, and the wonderful Company who watched in amusement and listened in wonder. "It is Home."

[koganphrancis]

Shameless really had to scour the history books to come up with the reason I guess they’ve landed on for Ian’s marriage issues.  

It would’ve made a lot more sense if they had brought them up in S6, but, no, Mickey was gone by then and Ian was about to experience actual love for the first time in his life-or so the show wanted us to believe.  And that’s why I have to call bullshit on Ian seemingly suddenly not thinking he’s deserving of love.  Once he got on his meds, he strode bravely into relationships with Faileb and Trash without batting an eye.  (And yes, one could argue those were “bad” relationships a person who knows they are worthy of love would’ve avoided-but that was never the show’s point of view.  They literally thought each of those partners were huge upgrades from Mickey, and that they would provide Ian with healthy relationships, something other than “war and sex”, which is what they tried to reduce Mickey to.)  Think back to when Ian pursued Trash FOR MONTHS-he never once said, “Maybe Trash doesn’t want me because I’m unlovable.”  

And that they randomly brought up Ian’s medical condition after all this time as a big part of the “reason” didn’t set well at all.  Myles’ AV Club review sums it up beautifully: “I don’t want to dwell too much on this, but I have long argued that the show has fundamentally mishandled Ian’s disorder by refusing to acknowledge how it would impact his day-to-day life. When I asked showrunner Nancy Pimental about this back in 2016, the answer was basically that they didn’t think people wanted to see Ian “popping medications all the time,” but I’d argue that it makes any stories they do want to tell about his bipolar disorder weaker. If they just put in a small amount of legwork discussing his disorder—a mention of a doctor’s appointment, a scene of him picking up a prescription—it would make it less like the show is just circling back to his disorder when it’s convenient for the story. The idea that Ian had to search so deeply to realize that it was his bipolar disorder that was creating his reluctance to marry Mickey (or anyone) implies that even he doesn’t have it at the front of his mind, and while perhaps that’s a defense mechanism the show has set the issue aside too long for that to be articulated. I’m happy the show is finally bringing it back to the surface, and Ian and Mickey’s eventual reconciliation will be better for it, but it doesn’t change the mistakes made along the way.”

Could Ian’s bipolar disorder be part-or even the cause-of his issues about marriage?  Absolutely.  Has the show done anything before tonight, other than the Season 5 finale, to indicate this?  Absolutely not. 

Plus, within the episode itself, Ian acts as if Mickey’s the one who has a problem, not him.  He tells the assembled family members that Mickey “will work it out of his system” (with Byron) and then be ready to talk things out, so...

Anyway, to go back to the beginning of the episode-if online friends and others hadn’t pointed out that Ian was thinking of Mickey here

it never would’ve occurred to me that he was.  I’ve never seen Mickey in that bed-and I haven’t seen Mickey and Ian in bed together in YEARS.  Prison bunks don’t count-and even if they did-Mickey bucked him out of there so fast in their first episode this season it couldn’t have counted anyway.  

And that brings me to something that also bothers me about the entire way they’re handling this marriage problem of Ian’s-we haven’t seen Mickey and Ian interact in any meaningful way since they got out of prison.  The writers have been hellbent on throwing even more obstacles in their path at every turn-which, I get, yes, that’s a big part of storytelling.  But these guys have all the traps with none of the downtime to relax and recover together-and to let the audience see what’s going on while catching their breath.  They cut the scenes where it was just two of them in the same room, talking about what we’ll never know because they were CUT.  

These two have had enough angst-if the show really wanted us to believe the logical destination for them was down the wedding aisle, why not give us a season of them growing together instead of tearing them apart again?  They were in prison living right on top of each other-couldn’t the comedy have come from them getting out and sticking just as close, even when they didn’t have to?  Couldn’t we have had scenes of them sitting together on the couch, Mickey drowsing while Ian’s watching some dumb reality dating show Mickey has no interest in, but he’s there because Ian’s there and they both like feeling the warmth their bodies generate merely by being close?  Couldn’t we have them talking in bed, long into the night-Ian asking Mickey to remind him to get a renewal for his prescription; Mickey having an “oh crap” moment when he’s telling Ian how he spilled his Orange Julius on his (cute) khaki shorts and remembers at 2 in the morning that the other pair is in the laundry and Ian tells him it’s fine, he washed them with his own clothes and even ironed them and they’re hanging in the closet?  Have Ian find a You Tube video about making a recipe that tastes “just like” Kentucky Fried Chicken at home to save money, so Mickey’s hanging out in the kitchen while Ian’s attempting to make it with disastrous results and they wind up with Mickey calmly putting the big lid from the spaghetti pot over the grease fire Ian starts in the frying pan and telling Ian he’ll spring for the twenty bucks to get a bucket of extra crispy for their supper?  Couldn’t we have just had that interspersed with actually discussions about what they’re feeling or going through?  The show, via up till now unknown Sandy, tried to convince us it was giving us domestic Gallavich-why didn’t they just write it?

Anyway, I did like the fact that Ian had to wake up, put some clothes on, put his boot on, get himself down the stairs and Mickey was STILL pretending to kiss Byron behind his big honeydew melon helmet after all that implied time passed for Ian to do all that shit with his injury ;)  Mickey is nothing if not fully committed to making sure Ian knows what he’s missing out on.  

Mickey packing up his shit and telling Ian “when you know, you know” was to me equal parts funny and frustrating because it was like he was telling Ian A: Mickey knows how he feels about Ian and B: Ian should know how he feels about Mickey by now-but he clearly doesn’t.  I thought having Mickey say Byron might be a Koch was a weird choice-I don’t think either Mickey or Ian (and most of the show’s target audience) would know that would mean his family-it it’s THOSE Kochs-are rich af, and if the show wanted to argue Mickey thought it meant his heir to the Coca-Cola fortune or that they somehow hold a patent on cocaine they can drop fucking dead.  And the stretch to try to make the joke about Byron studying something from Britain vs “English” was painful.

And flashing back to S6 yet again, the show had Ian belittle Mickey twice-first by saying his emotional IQ is lower than Carl’s actual IQ (and, again, by the end of the show we’re supposed to think it’s Ian who is emotionally blocked, but how are we supposed to believe it or have sympathy when he was mocking Mickey-who is actually quite open with Ian when it comes to his emotions), and then secondly by claiming that Mickey has freakishly small hands.  Well, Ian, you have a freakishly large head, and it doesn’t seem to dwarf Mickey’s mitts:

The scene with Debbie didn’t enrage me for once, and I was shocked.  But I was glad she told him to marry Mickey to make him happy-but again in that scene Ian was searching for a reason after the fact to justify his still even a mystery to him reluctance to marry.  

The scene with Lip was the best one they’re probably going to have for quite a while, maybe ever at the rate the show is going, but again, violent flashbacks to Ian’s Faileb/Trash days when he said “Debbie told me to” (marry Mickey).  Remember those lost seasons where he did anything those bozos told him to and never stood up for himself?  And also, if the show wasn’t wasting so much time with scenes of Frank tied to a bed and Debbie grooming an under-aged girl, Lip and Ian could’ve talked further, maybe delved into what Lip suggests Ian figure out for himself someday.  If we could actually see Ian trying to get to the root of the problem, maybe it wouldn’t feel like the white board didn’t just say something like: Mickey/Ian break up-bipolar???  

Their last scene of the episode had a lot of good stuff in it, even if ultimately it just broke down in the end with the lazy writing.  Ian shoving the ring at Mickey and Mickey being let down by finding out not only is Ian not trying a little too late to salvage the engagement, but he’s making some lame “promise” and claims Gallaghers don’t break their promises-how can he say that to Mickey of all people?  Name one promise Ian KEPT to Mickey!  Noel, as always, plays out so much emotion without saying a word, and the heartbreak is palpable.  And when he says Ian is saying he doesn’t love him enough?  Noel!  He makes it all so real.  And we’re not let off the hook yet.  But Mickey calling Byron by the wrong name, Ian pointing it out, and Mickey countering with he answers to whatever the fuck I call him was a nice throwback to the days of Mickey’s refusal to use Ian’s first name AND all the nicknames he came up with from Fire Crotch to Sleepy Face and Mumbles and almost makes me believe that the writer of the week maybe bothered watching at least the Gallavich scenes videos on You Tube.  Almost.  I’m more ready to believe Noel improvised that line in there himself ;)  

We then get the reuse/recycle scene of Ian saying how there’s so much wrong with him and how he doesn’t know himself from one day to the next (so, again, would’ve been nice if there had been evidence of him feeling that way/dealing with it before last night), when he says to Mickey “how do you know that’s who you want to spend the rest of your life with?” I thought Mickey’s answer of “Jesus Christ, Ian” was perfect.  He wasn’t going to stand there and give Ian a list of the many, many times he’s proven his love for Ian or try to coddle Ian and kiss him to try to make it better.  Mickey’s finally figured out it’s up to Ian to either believe in Mickey’s mighty love or not, but Mickey’s done trying to sell it.  Mickey’s gotta be so tired of all this-all along he’s done what Ian wants, even back when it was putting his own safety in jeopardy (another thing that I hate about the Terry retcon-remember when he was yelling his head off in the background when Mickey told Ian he’d meet him at the store in twenty, even tho it wasn’t a good time?  Ever since that day, Mickey has always done everything in his power to give Ian what Ian thought he needed or wanted from Mickey).  

Anyway, maybe I’m just a bear of very little imagination, but I honestly don’t see that they’re going to write anything that wraps up all this “tension” and Ian’s inability to commit well.  By the end of the episode, I was picturing that they’ll have Mickey and Ian do a non-singing version of the Elephant Love Medley from Moulin Rouge to get Ian over his qualms about marriage.  It fits in perfectly with the writers stealing from other stories, plus the whole thing is 4 minutes, which is considered a long scene for IxM these days.  

The last we see of Ian, he takes a little detour to piss in the Vespa’s tank, and so now we’ve had two scenes of Paula getting at Ian’s junk, one of the Vespa with it, one scene of Mickey’s cousin grabbing Mickey’s dick, while that scene with the mayonnaise lube was the one and only time Ian and Mickey have come close to each other’s genitals/having sex all season.  For all we know, they haven’t had it since-especially since Mickey had that telling line of getting bitchy when nothing’s been up his ass for a while...

(Gif credits: Ian and pillow-sickness-health-all-that-shit, Club kiss-mickeygifs)

[readbythestarlight]

Readbythestarlight’s Podcast List  (October 2018)

Welcome to Night Vale It’s been a while since I actually listened to WTNV - I fell behind and just couldn’t catch up again. But since it was the first podcast I ever listened to and I loved it, it definitely deserves a space on my list.

Limetown Seemingly overnight the inhabitants of a town go missing, every single person either dead or just… gone. Lia Haddock investigates, but the deeper she looks the more complex things get. Only 6 episodes, which is a curse and a plus if you don’t want a long term commitment. Loved season one, can’t wait for season two to begin (coming this Halloween!!!) Totally recommend.

The Black Tapes Alex Reagan delves into the mystery surrounding the content of several VHS cases owned by one Dr. Richard Strand. These mysteries, dubbed “The Black Tapes”, revolve around the paranormal - and they may have more in common than you would originally think. ~40 episodes. A few mixed feelings, but overall I really enjoyed the series. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re into paranormal mysteries/thrillers.

The White Vault Five professionals from different fields are sent to investigate and repair some damaged equipment belonging to an unmanned geological research station in the North Pole. When a storm leaves them unable to travel back to civilization, they discover something strange beneath the ice - and unleash something that might have been better left buried. Can’t even say how much I love this one. The voice acting is A+, the story is excellent and creepy, and the “lost tapes” style formatting is really excellent for the content. Season 2 just started, but season 1 is only 10 (~20-30 minute) episodes, so if you want to catch up it’s totally doable. Highly recommend.

Wolf 359 The (quirky?) antics of a crew aboard the U.S.S. Hephaestus space station, monitoring the activity of the Red Dwarf star, Wolf 359. I haven’t finished this one yet, mostly because I’ve been in the mood for content that’s a little more on the horror/spooky side lately. But the episodes I did listen to I enjoyed and I definitely plan to get back to it at a later date.

The Magnus Archives Head Archivist Jonathan Sims and his associates organize and record the contents of a collection of statements and reports about the supernatural, for the purpose of research by the Magnus Institute. I’ve only just started this one in the past week, but I’m on episode 20 of season one and I’m hooked. The stories go from mildly creepy to downright chilling, and the overarching plot has already got me wondering. Probably my second favorite so far, right after The White Vault. If the horror genre is your thing then I highly recommend.

I’ve also listened to or attempted to listen to: Lore, which was interesting and something I might go back to in the future; The Leviathan Chronicles, which I struggled to get through the first season of and which I can’t recommend (the plot was interesting but I hated almost every character); and Tunnels, which I couldn’t even get through the first season of (though, again, the plot was interesting). I’ve also got a whole list of others to try, so maybe I’ll update this list in the future. If anyone has any suggestions for some cool podcasts, especially any similar to the 6 I listed above, then shoot me a message! I’m doing a LOT of driving and need all the content I can get.

[kallypsowrites]

Are Adapted Characters Seperate from their Original Counterparts?

So here’s a post that has been on my mind for quite some time, partially because, after being in the Game of Thrones fandom pretty regularly, I see people compare the book and show characters a lot. This is understandable as changes through adaptation are inevitable and sometimes a character can be changed for the worse or for the better, depending on your preference. But today I want to address the question: should adapted characters be viewed as an EXTENSION of their book character or should they be able to stand on their own?

Before I get into the weeds of this argument, imagine you are me. I’m a seventeen year old high school student and my brother has decided to show me this rad new show which has already aired two seasons and is several months off of airing the third season. Game of Thrones. Naturally, I am excited and I dive right into watching with him. And of course I love it. I’m a fantasy nut and there’s magic and dragons but also POLITICS and really intriguing character dynamics and dialogue and moral grey areas. All the stuff I like! I know there are books of course, but I want to experience the show and be surprised as it comes out, so I hold off reading the books. In fact, I hold off reading the series all the way through until after season seven airs (in an effort to make the long wait for season 8 less painful. It didn’t work. I read too fast).

What’s important here is that for several years, the show was my ONLY CONCEPT of all of these characters. The book versions, to me, didn’t exist. All I had access to was the characters on the screen. And that’s all many of the GA has access too. Let’s face it, the books are bricks and, for that matter, dense. A lot of people aren’t going to take the time to read them, especially the strangely paced and structured book four and five. So what does that mean? The characters on the screen have to stand on their own. And therefore, you can easily argue that the onscreen characters are seperate entities.

There’s been a lot of talk in the fandom about the show creators white washing male characters and ‘greying’ female characters. That is certainly an issue worth talking about and I’m not trying to discourage that conversation, nor am I trying to say that we shouldn’t talk about adaptation changes and focus on the books and tv show as different entities. They are in conversation with each other. But I do want to address the fact that just because something is present in the book does not mean that watchers of the tv show have to acknowledge it as ‘canon’...especially if the show never mentions it. They are, in many ways, seperate, particularly since the TV show has moved ahead of the books.

Conversely, this means the TV show can’t rely on the books as part of their ‘canon’ to take short cuts. Because if it isn’t made clear in the show and can only be understood by a book reader, then the show has failed in some way. The TV show has, in fact, dropped the ball on a couple of prophesies in this way. The fact that they did not include the ‘valonqar’ section of Cersei’s prophesy takes away from her reasons for hating Tyrion and, for that matter, doesn’t guaruntee either of her brothers will be her killer. It wasn’t in the prophesy in the show, so it really doesn’t matter if it was in the books. Its not part of show canon.

Even more egregious is Mirri Maz Dur’s prophesy to Daenerys. In the books, she says that Daenerys will never bare a living child again. In the show, she does not say anything of the sort. And yet Dany says to Jon that ‘the witch who murdered her husband’ said she would never bare a child again. That’s the show straight up making something up for cheap forshadowing and if the casual watcher went back to view the first season they might be understandably confused. Even if it happens in the book IT MUST BE PRESENT IN THE SHOW in order to effect the show.

This applies to character interpretation as well. And as an example, let’s talk about Tyrion.

The Moral White Washing of Tyrion Lannister

Tyrion Lannister is one of the most commonly cited characters in the conversation about moral white washing, and with good reason. Tyrion is never the best person, but he’s certainly not the worst. Being born a dwarf, he is an underdog who has been ridiculed all his life. But he’s also his father’s son and spends much of the series manipulating people in order to gain power in King’s Landing or elsewhere. It just happens that he is a better person than a lot of the other characters surrounding him. It’s not that he’s not sympathetic, but he’s not an angel.

He, however, has a much darker character arc following the death of his father and his Essos stuff, in particular, really delves into the dark corners of his mind. His father’s cruelty shows itself more than ever and being in his head is almost difficult. In the show, this Essos arc is effectively deleted. Tyrion never meets Young Griff, never meets Illyrio, spends much less time wallowing in the darkness, and actually meets Daenerys pretty dang quickly. And, considering the fact that we’re not in his head, we’re not really exposed to any of his thoughts. It’s left to us to decide how he feels about the situation based on Peter Dinklage’s acting.

But the most contested aspect of Tyrion’s character is his relationship with Sansa and how he treats her throughout the books vs the show. In the books, Tyrion  thinks often about how he is attracted to her. Honestly, it’s uncomfortable at many points, considering that Sansa is like...twelve. And he straight up molests her. He doesn’t rape her on their wedding night, but I don’t think we would call him person of the year for that. He sees an opportunity in being married to her and he’s not completely repulsed by the idea.

In the show, it’s a very different story. Tyrion protects Sansa from Joffrey before their engagement (and even from the Hound in a deleted scene), and his kindness to her does not seem to be motivated in any way by attraction. When he is engaged to her, he is very clearly repulsed, and it is painted much more like him being forced into it. He does not make any physical advances on her and in his scenes with Shae, he makes clear that he sees her as a child and is therefore not interested. Again, because we are not in his head, he are able to interpret this at face value if we prefer. That he isn’t attracted to her and is only doing this to satisfy his father.

At the wedding, he prevents the bedding and, while making a few very crude comments in order to play off threatening the king, does not touch Sansa. Does not even let her undress all the way before he says that they don’t have to do this. And he really doesn’t seem all that bitter about it. Because we don’t have access to his thoughts, we never hear him lamenting that his child bride will never want him.

All of Tyrion’s interactions with Sansa on the show, especially after their marriage, are that of someone trying to make a girl’s life slightly more tolerable even though she is a prisoner. He sympathizes with her and is genuinely horrified by her situation. And he never makes a move even once or complains about it. Because she’s a child. It’s easy for show only watchers to come out of watching this relationship with the opinion of: yeah. Tyrion’s a decent guy. Even though it would be expected and accepted in this society for him to press Sansa, he doesn’t, and that’s cool of him. I’m in NO WAY saying that this means Sansa owes him anything. He’s a Lannister and the Lannisters destroyed her family and if she doesn’t want him, she doesn’t want him. End of story. But Tyrion is, overall, a more sympathetic and better person for how he is portrayed in the show. And you can’t blame show only watchers for seeing him in that way.

Of course this is a double edged sword. In the books, it seems that Tyrion is headed toward some sort of dark/tragic end, and his darker personality earns this. But if the show wants to give him the same ending it might seem very jarring. Because the show has not earned making Tyrion a villain. It has not given him an arc that makes that narratively satisfying because of the white washing. Now maybe Tyrion will get a perfectly find ending or at least remain as a hero. It’s possible that he could have some sort of redemption in the books as well. But we’ll have to wait until season 8 to see how that ends up.

There are a lot of characters that have diverged from their show counterparts. Lena Heady has imbued Cersei Lannister with some very genuinely sympathetic moments and the pathos she brings to her role has moved me on multiple occasions. She also plays Cersei as more in control than she seems in the books, very much her father’s daughter. The book, again, has Cersei’s thoughts and we get a view into her increasingly unstable and paranoid brain. The two characters feel very seperate from each other so conversations and interpretations may vary depend on the version.

The whole ‘lack of thoughts’ thing also makes Jaime easier to stomach in the show. Many of his thoughts are shocking and kind of vile in the books. Nikolaj gives Jaime more pathos and softens him. Again, maybe it’s moral white washing, but you cannot blame a show only watcher for that (like me, who fell in love with Jaime long before I even touched the books). I know people like that Jaime got away from Cersei in the books but that was much more motivated by his own jealousy as opposed to any moral problems he has with her actions, and abandoning her to suffer at the hands of the high sparrow always left a sort of sour taste in my mouth. And I say this as a JaimexBrienne shipper, which I’ll talk about later on. But first--

The Greying of Daenerys

@rainhadaenerys made a pretty extensive post on the differences between show and book Dany which I’ll link here . It’s highly show critical so bear that in mind, but one of the things she mentions is that Daenerys is consistently made more impulsive, less competent and ‘greyer’ as a character. There is a more of a sense, especially in season seven, that she must be ‘controlled’ by her advisors and she rarely makes plans of her own but rather listens to other make plans and decides based off of that. Lots of valid points made in this post.

But if we were to interpret the show only and look at Daenerys as a character seperate from her very different book counterpart, it begins to make sense why the dark dany theory became so popular, especially after season seven. I’m not going to argue my stance on that theory here, but suffice it to say there are a lot of show!dany characteristics that COULD potentially lend themselves to a tragic fall from grace. Though you could make the argument that this is just a writing error on D&D’s, that does not make the interpretation invalid. One could just as easily argue that yes, the transistion is clumsy but that George will write an even better and more believable fall from grace. Again, not saying it will happen. I know a lot of people on all sides of the debate following. I’m just saying that you can’t blame people for differing interpretations based on the show alone.

Posts like the one linked above are great for thinking about the show in context of what it is adapted from. But in a New Critical reading (which focuses on the text itself), we could analyze the show only to extrapolate that perhaps Daenerys is not going to be the hero everyone expects. It’s equally possible to extrapolate that she will be the hero and I’ve written a post here on the various interpretations of Dany so I won’t go too in to detail on this post. But it’s just another example of a show character needing to stand on their own seperate from the books.

The Inconsistency of Arya

Sometimes an adapted character is different from their book counterpart. And sometimes they are inconsistent in their own adaptation. Such is the case of Arya Stark. She’s one of my favorite characters and despite the butchering of her Braavos arc, I still took a lot out of her stuff there when I first watched it. Watching Arya struggle to hold onto her name and her very identity is quite emotional. For the most part, show! Arya might be a bit different but she’s consistent with herself.

Except for fucking season seven? Arya’s arc with Sansa featured some truly trash dialogue (from both characters but especially Arya). And I have nothing against these characters clashing. Far from it. It makes sense for their to be tension. But it was very bad tension and Arya literally threatening to murder her sister and steal her face was one of the more ‘what’ moments of the show.

I bring this up to say that while it is valid to interpret a character based only on their show version, sometimes there is still bad writing within that version that one has to...deal with. And it’s important for a character to be consistent within it’s story.

There are other examples of this besides Arya’s season seven stuff. The Dorne bullshit, for instance, is the canon show Dorne stuff and all of the intriguing Dorne stuff in the book is irrelevant to a show interpretation.

And then there was that trashy season four scene where the directors UNKNOWINGLY filmed Jaime raping Cersei?? That was especially out of character for show Jaime and apparently the show runners thought so too because they didn’t even think they were filming a rape scene. Because they’re dumb sometimes.

Anyway, this is just in here to assure you that I’m not forbidding ‘the show has bad writing’ criticisms because it super does. But sometimes you don’t even need to compare it to the book to see that.

In Conclusion

We are ALL going to view media in different way. There is no right way to consume it. And certainly if you want to evaluate the show based on what happened in the books go right ahead. I’m not here to force anyone to read the show or the books in a certain way.

On the other hand, in some way, the show and books are seperate entities that must function on their own. And because they are so different in some ways, that makes for more differing opinions. Some people really like Tyrion because of his show verse self. Some people wonder if Daenerys will go dark based on her show self.

Me personally, I’m a big Jaime and Brienne shipper. The other day I saw someone who didn’t like their ship mention the power imbalance and age gap in the book--something I of course didn’t notice during the show because the two characters seemed close in age and on pretty equal footing with each other most of the time. And that person’s opinion is totally valid! We’re just both viewing the pairing through a different medium.

This got a little long and rambly, so I just want to throw out there that this not anti any particular character. Just another one of those, it’s okay to have differing opinions and biases and stuff. Enjoy your Game of Thrones, nerds! I’ll be right there along with you!

[daughter-of-the-prophet]

Bethany Hawke (TV Tropes)

All Women Love Shoes: Makes no less than three comments about shoes when prompted.

Angsty Surviving Twin: Downplayed, but Bethany is certainly affected by the loss of Carver. Her first party banter with Varric after they meet him is about how much she misses her twin. She also admits to Areida Hawke how jealous Carver was that the dog chose their older sister instead of him to be his master. It's particularly telling that, seven years after he died, she says that the one thing in her life she truly regrets is that she couldn't stop him from charging that Ogre.

Awesome Mc Coolname: Despite it being a Fan Nickname for Areida Hawke, Bethany is the one that gets called Lady Hawke.

The Baby of the Bunch: Bethany is the youngest of the three Hawke siblings, if only by a few minutes, and the entire family is extremely protective of her, even Carver. She later becomes a little sister to the entire party.

Badass Adorable: Capable of kicking lots of ass, though there is much emphasis placed on her cute demeanor and vulnerability as an apostate.

Badass Bookworm: At the circle, Bethany is held in high regard by both the Templars (by Meredith herself, no less) and her own students as an exemplary mage, despite being a former apostate and the daughter of an apostate.

Badass Teacher/Cool Teacher: Despite being only 23 by Act 2, Bethany still ends up becoming a senior member of the Circle and in charge of teaching apprentices. It's mentioned that they completely adore her.

Beauty, Brains and Brawn: In a trio with Areida and Aveline, Bethany is The Beauty - she has the sweetest disposition and the kindest heart, and several characters (Fenris and Varric among them) remark on how pretty she is.

Beware the Nice Ones: Bethany is quite possibly the nicest, most approachable, least-morally-compromised of Areida's companion. This doesn't mean she's any less capable of destroying you.

Big Sister Instinct:

Invokes this frequently . Do not threaten her when Areida is around.

Also on the receiving end of this. When the Templars come to take Bethany, Areida calmly informs them that they will have to go through her first before Bethany begs her sister to stand down and tells the Templars she will go quietly.

Big Sister Worship: She idolizes her big sister and is constantly supportive of her during her time in the party.

Birds of a Feather: This is a factor in her relationship with Varric, which is one of the healthiest in the franchise. They are the two companions who get along with everyone, they both like helping people, and they are the most content of the entire group to live and let live.

Breast Expansion: For a short time, during Varric's exaggerated prologue sequence you might notice something besides Bethany's magic prowess being enhanced. Afterwards she has the normal female model.

Broken Bird: Downplayed, since she doesn't like to air her grievances, but it becomes more and more apparent that she sees herself as a burden to her family. She feels guilty that Areida goes through so much effort to protect her secret. This is why she surrenders when the Templars come and take her to the Circle at the end of Act 1.

Character Development:

She retains her 'Sunshine' persona and instead grows both more proficient as a mage and also deeper in her faith in the Maker, finding meaning in her own existence.

Either way, she tells Areida that she wouldn't change anything about the events that brought her and her sister to this point, other than stopping Carver's Heroic Sacrifice

Child of Forbidden Love: Like her siblings.

Color-Coded Eyes: Bethany has brown eyes, indicating that she has a warm and down-to-earth personality.

Comes Great Responsibility: Like father, like daughter.

Cool Aunt: She's seen as this by her nephews and niece.

Corrupt the Cutie: Courtesy of Isabela; Isabela delights in trying to remove some of Bethany's innocence, much to Areida's distress.

On learning she is a virgin, Isabela offers to buy her a night at the Blooming Rose. It's unknown whether this ever actually happens.

Isabela apparently sends her a lot of suggestive books to get her through the night while in the circle. 

Country Mouse: She comments that she misses the fields of Lothering, compared to the cramped streets of Kirkwall.

Covert Pervert: As noted above, she's grateful to Isabela for sending her suggestive books.

The Cutie: She has a fair few of the trope's requisites, including being incredibly sweet, kind to everyone, and demonstrably affectionate. She's also subjected to Corrupt the Cutie, as noted above.

Daddy's Girl: Strongly implied after the end of Legacy. Malcolm justifiably spent a lot more time with Bethany than with either Areida or Carver since Bethany is the family's only mage child. This may also explain why Bethany looks up to her older sister so much, since Areida is a whole lot like their father in both looks and personality.

Dead Guy Junior: According to The World of Thedas, Bethany is named after her maternal grandmother, Bethann Amell, who died sometime during the year before the twins were born. Leandra only learned of her mother's death shortly before giving birth.

Deadpan Snarker: Occasionally, though less than most of the rest of the companions.

Some of her banter with Anders in Legacy delves into snark, especially when he tries to scold her for voluntarily joining the Circle.

Dysfunction Junction: Initially, she is the sole exception, with the rest of the party having dark pasts and personalities to match them. She isn't nicknamed "Sunshine" for nothing.

Earn Your Happy Ending: In Act 3, Bethany has spent the past six years locked in the Gallows, but by the end of the story, she's free, her friends are alive, she has reunited with her beloved older sister, and the mages are uniting to fight for their freedom. Even though it doesn't go as smoothly as everyone would have hoped, and there's much hard fighting in store for the mages, her fate could have been much worse and she hopes that good will come out of the impending revolution.

Belated Happy Ending: It goes even further, offscreen, at the end of Trespasser in Inquisition. Varric has become Viscount of Kirkwall, and Areida is back in Kirkwall, helping him run the city; the two most powerful people in Kirkwall both love Bethany dearly, and the captain of the guard is her old friend Aveline. Furthermore, after Leliana is made Divine. She dissolves all the Circles of Magi - meaning that Bethany is now free and, one would imagine, enjoying her rightful place at the Hawke estate with her adored older sister, her sister's love interest, and her nephews and neice. It may take a long time for her to get there, but Bethany does eventually earn a very happy ending.

Everyone's Baby Sister: Older than most examples, but still fits. It comes with being both the youngest companion and the only one (besides Varric) that everyone likes. Being Areida's actual little sister also contributes to the role.

Fantastic Racism: Bethany hates Qunari, though she has more justification than most; she had a friend in the family that Sten murdered. This leads to a horribly ironic moment in the prologue: Her twin brother is killed by an ogre while fleeing Lothering. Ogres are Kossith-based darkspawn. 

The Friend Nobody Likes: Inverted; as noted above, she and Varric are the only ones of Areida's companions that everyone likes.

God Is Good: Her view of the Maker; of the story's three mage companions, she is the most devout Andrastian. Her faith gets stronger throughout the story.

Gravity Master: By Legacy, she has become a Force Mage. 

Hot-Blooded: She has no fear charging into any situation with her magic, even as she tries to hide it.

I Just Want to Be Normal: Her biggest wish is to be normal, as revealed in party banter with Merrill, and she resents all of the hardships brought upon her family in order to keep her safe. The World of Thedas, vol. 2 contains a report, written by someone who met the family in Lothering and was somehow privy to young Bethany's apostate status, which talks about how much the girl clearly would rather not have magic.

Subverted in Legacy. She realizes being "normal" would require an entirely different family. She admits, despite the hardship of being an apostate, she wouldn't have it any other way.

Indifferent Beauty: Multiple characters, as noted above, remark on how attractive Bethany is. She herself seems entirely unconcerned with it, though she clearly appreciates the compliments.

The Ingenue She starts the story and spends the first act as this; she grows into Silk Hiding Steel and a Lady of War.

Leeroy Jenkins: At the end of Act 2, she gathers a cadre of mages to help Orsino fight the Qunari, despite his orders for them to pull back. Her entire group gets slaughtered, but much to Areida's relief, Orsino is able to revive Bethany.

Meaningful Name: "Sunshine" is Varric's nickname for her; Isabela's is "Sweetness." They're both very accurate. 

"Sunshine" may be a particularly Meaningful Name. Varric has a number of lines, in party banter and cutscenes, in which he mentions that part of the reason he prefers being a surface dwarf is because he enjoys being in the sunlight. Unlike the more superficial or sarcastic names he gives most of the other companions, he named Bethany after something he loves, and his interactions with her are some of the warmest he has in any story where he appears.

Nice Girl: It says something that, for all the varying views and tempers of the companions, Bethany gets along with all of them; even Fenris, who otherwise despises mages, likes Bethany. 

Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Among the three Hawke siblings, she's the In Between to Areida's Nice and Carver's Mean.

Platonic Declaration of Love: She gives one to Areida before the final battle at the end of the story.

       "If we don't survive this, sister, I just want you to know that I love you."

Playing with Fire: Bethany definitely qualifies, as she's first seen using fire spells; she has a staff that shoots fire and uses fire spells in cutscenes when she attacks.

Plucky Girl: Bethany refuses to allow her time spent in the Gallows to harden her, and she hopes the mages' rebellion will change how they live among others for the better. 

Put on a Bus: Bethany is forced to join the Circle at the end of Act 1.

The Bus Came Back: She rejoins the party in Legacy, during the battle with the Qunari at the end of Act 2, and during the final battle at the end of the story.

In Inquisition, Bethany is sent away by Areida in order to keep her as far as possible from the mage-Templar conflict.

The Red Mage: Bethany doesn't have the party heals or revives of Anders, or the hell-raising blood magic of Merrill, but has access to a great deal of offensive and defensive magic, plus healing, which Merrill lacks. Properly built, she is one of the most versatile mages in the story, subverting the Master of None stigma associated with them. As an Elemental/Force Mage, this becomes even more apparent.

Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Carver's Red.

The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified: She believes that this should be true of the Mage rebellion, and she stands as an example of a good free mage.

Scarf Of Asskicking: Like the other female mage, Merrill. It's probably there to hide the black seam between the head and body in character models, but that doesn't mean Bethany doesn't look stylish in her vibrant red scarf.

Ship Tease: A very sweet one exists between her and Varric, of all people; their relationship is examined in detail on the Heartwarming page. He sometimes calls her "my lady," "Milady Sunshine," or "my Sunshine," which makes her giggle, and he has a number of party banter lines in which he compliments her beauty. She's also the only party member to whom he is absolutely never snarky. There's a lot of affection in their interactions, and their relationship continues to receive mention in Inquisition - he has some lines which indicate that he writes to her frequently. 

Sibling Rivalry: Party banter includes hints that this was her relationship with Carver.

Sibling Yin-Yang: With her twin, Carver.

Strong Family Resemblance: Facially, at least, she seems to take after her mother a good deal.

Token Good Teammate: One of the few party members that is not one of the many darker shades of grey found throughout the story.

Token Religious Teammate: The most religious party member. She struggles to reconcile her faith in the Maker with her life as an apostate. By the endgame, Bethany has mostly managed to do so.

Tomboy and Girly Girl: Bethany is the girly-girl to Areida's tomboy.

The Unfavorite: Discussed in Legacy. Learning that Malcolm didn't want to pass on his magic shocks Bethany, who was the only one of the three children to inherit his power. She wonders if Malcolm secretly resented her, which Areida is very quick to shut down; the only thing Malcolm resented was that Bethany had to carry a burden the rest of their family couldn't comprehend.

We Help the Helpless: In Inquisition, when Inquisitor Rosabelle Trevelyan asks him about his companions' whereabouts, Varric says that Bethany is helping refugees in the Free Marches.

[garden-ghoul]

two blogs part 4

“for best effect listen to the themes of the rohirrim while reading this. the rockin violin solos are all too short, eheu. I wonder what instruments the Rohirrim actually play, how amazing would it be if the soundtrack were entirely made of instruments specific to the people of whatever location they’re in?”

let’s take a soothing sleepy trip to scenic

HELM’S DEEP

... since I only ever listened to audiobooks of this I didn’t realize that it was the deep of Helm. Who’s Helm? I hope that Tolkien in his pseudo-Hugo-esque fashion will have some characters discuss the history and naming of Helm’s Deep. As our heroes ride northwest along the foot of the White Mountains, Gandalf asks Legolas what he can see at Isengard. The answer: something is veiling his sight with shadow. Also I’m kind of sad that we don’t get any elves with glasses because perfect sight is a racial trait... no wait what if a lot of elves need reading glasses because they’re farsighted. LEGOLAS WITH READING GLASSES. Galadriel needs them too but she doesn’t notice because she’s never tried to read anything since she’s a jock.

As the second day of their riding drew on, the heaviness in the air increased. In the afternoon the dark clouds began to overtake them: a sombre canopy with great billowing edges flecked with dazzling light. The sun went down, blood-red in a smoking haze.

I’m kind of weirdly gratified that Tolkien recognizes the atmospheric conditions that result in a red sunset. You can’t just go around declaring bloody sunsets willy-nilly! The sun looks red when scattered through particulates! I’m trying to remember right now which sizes of particulates, which I should know bc I had a job in quantum materials last summer, but I’m really in more of a mythic mindset at the moment. Oh well. The king’s party meets the party defending Rohan from the soldiers and hill-men of Isengard. They’re going to withdraw to Helm’s Deep... I don’t know exactly what Saruman wants? Is he just trying to wipe the Rohirrim out, or is he looking for some kind of resource they have?

Aha! It turns out Tolkien is going to go full Hugo and not even bother putting his exposition in dialogue form. Helm’s Deep is behind a coomb (a coomb!!) that lets into a gorge in the “crow-haunted cliffs” (yess). Gorge implies a river, right? And there’s also a fort there. I feel like a crow-haunted gorge is the perfect place for a fort. It’s named after HELM THE HAMMERHAND (YES!) and it’s also known as the Hornburg because canyon acoustic make warhorns echo imposingly (hell yes). And now as the king’s party (minus Gandalf, who has some kind of errand to run--maybe he’s going to bring Lorien elves to help out?) rides toward the Deep, they hear “the rumor of war behind them.” This is good dictionnnn I love “the rumor of war.” I love the concept of “rumor” as an indistinct sound that conveys imprecisely that war is coming, in the same way that a game of telephone conveys imprecisely the phrase “at dawn on the third day, look to the east.” I’m being weird. whatever. So much time has been spent in this chapter before they even get to Helm’s Deep (or maybe I’m blogging too much) BUT here we have another thing, which is that the rumor of war is mostly... singing. They know the orcs by their singing (hi Orcsong!) “They saw torches countless points of fiery light upon the black fields behind, scattered like red flowers.” What a pretty image. Just so y’all know, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna write orc fanfictions.

Gimli at least is pleased to come to Helm’s Dike.

'This is more to my liking,' said the dwarf, stamping on the stones. 'Ever my heart rises as we draw near the mountains. There is good rock here. This country has tough bones. I felt them in my feet as we came up from the dike. Give me a year and a hundred of my kin and I would make this a place that armies would break upon like water.'

'I do not doubt it,' said Legolas. 'But you are a dwarf, and dwarves are strange folk. I do not like this place, and I shall like it no more by the light of day. But you comfort me, Gimli, and I am glad to have you standing nigh with your stout legs and your hard axe. I wish there were more of your kin among us.’

That’s gay. ::) Also Gimli feeling out the material properties of the stone by stomping on it. He is also both sleepy and restless, a feeling I can relate to constantly. Then the orcs show up; there’s a neat bit of cinematography with a flash of lightning and the word “boiling.” You’ll have to imagine it. Aragorn and Eomer are standing next to each other yelling about their swords. I like this bit:

A shout went up from wall and tower: 'Andúril! Andúril goes to war. The Blade that was Broken shines again!'

because it’s really ambiguous whether it’s like, just Aragorn shouting this. Or he went around talking up his sword and now everyone’s really excited about it? Aragorn shut up about your sword for five minutes. Your worth is not determined by the pedigree of your blade. Anyway there’s a lot of fighting. Everyone is exhausted. Gimli is missing. Legolas is pretending he’s not worried; no, he just really wants to tell Gimli that he has now killed thirty-nine people. They’re having a creepy contest. Aren’t both their peoples supposed to be generally peaceable?? What is wrong with them? Theoden frets, feeling imprisoned and unhopeful about his men’s chances. No, he will ride out. And Aragorn son of Arathorn will ride with him!

At dawn Aragorn stands on the wall, while the Uruk-hai politely inform him, several times, that they are the fighting Uruk-hai and they have a lot of guys to kill him with. Hey, did you know they are the fighting Uruk-hai? Also all their dialogue seems to be attributed to multiple people at once, so one can only imagine them chorusing “We are the fighting Uruk-hai!” like schoolchildren.

Aragorn jumps down just as they blow up the part of the wall he was standing on, and goes to find Theoden so they can Ride Forth. As they do they realize a forest has appeared in the coomb. The enemy forces outside are so not prepared to face cavalry, they are so scared. AND Gandalf is back! AND! He brought Erkenbrand, a Rohir who they were making a really big deal of earlier but I didn’t bother to blog about it because he didn’t seem important.

All right that was way too much blogging for a chapter with so little content. Let’s get on our way on

THE ROAD TO ISENGARD

It turns out that “at dawn on the third day, look to the east” WAS the result of a hilarious game of telephone:

'Unlooked-for?' said Gandalf. 'I said that I would return and meet you here.'

'But you did not name the hour, nor foretell the manner of your coming.’

Lmao.

Oh, I also missed the fact that during the chapter break (while my brain was in the bathroom at the movie theater of life) the Rohirrim won the battle. Gandalf wants to take everyone to Isengard to beat up Saruman and call him mean names, which I wholly support. I also like that he devotes a good amount of text to the cleanup and burial after the battle. Legolas and Gimli banter some more about how much [trees/caves] make them uncomfortable and how they would love to live forever in [caves/trees]. Did Tolkien actually just have them become friends to be a Comic Cultural Understanding Duo. Gimli goes on for a good while about how beautiful the cave system of Helm’s Deep is. He is sooooo into these caves, it’s really endearing. The caves are full of gorgeous natural rock formations (sorry this is a big pull quote coming up, but it’s good and beautiful and gay so pls read it)--

'No, you do not understand,' said Gimli. 'No dwarf could be unmoved by such loveliness. None of Durin's race would mine those caves for stones or ore, not if diamonds and gold could be got there. Do you cut down groves of blossoming trees in the spring-time for firewood? We would tend these glades of flowering stone, not quarry them. With cautious skill, tap by tap - a small chip of rock and no more, perhaps, in a whole anxious day - so we could work, and as the years went by, we should open up new ways, and display far chambers that are still dark, glimpsed only as a void beyond fissures in the rock. And lights, Legolas! We should make lights, such lamps as once shone in Khazad-dûm; and when we wished we would drive away the night that has lain there since the hills were made; and when we desired rest, we would let the night return.'

'You move me, Gimli,' said Legolas. 'I have never heard you speak like this before. Almost you make me regret that I have not seen these caves. Come! Let us make this bargain-if we both return safe out of the perils that await us, we will journey for a while together. You shall visit Fangorn with me, and then I will come with you to see Helm's Deep.'

There’s some more stuff I count of little consequence, some ents, some bodies, a river that isn’t. They camp out for the night and a great blackness passes by them. This was actually a bunch of ents, I’m not sure how they failed to notice. Even on the blackest night, wouldn’t you be able to tell if trees were walking past you? Also the river suddenly comes back. Strange times, strange times. They get up and keep riding.

Suddenly a tall pillar loomed up before them. It was black; and set upon it was a great stone, carved and painted in the likeness of a long White Hand. Its finger pointed north. Not far now they knew that the gates of Isengard must stand.

This is such a good image.

The plain, too, was bored and delved. Shafts were driven deep into the ground; their upper ends were covered by low mounds and domes of stone, so that in the moonlight the Ring of Isengard looked like a graveyard of unquiet dead--for the ground trembled.

THIS IS SUCH A GOOD IMAGE. Also you can tell Saruman is evil because he outlawed plants. Look, even evil people still need green stuff to live. I was thinking earlier today about the trauma of being forced to live in cities where (in addition to all the other reasons it is bad) there are not many green things. Tolkien uses “hating plants” as a signifier of evil and inhumanity, and like, I guess. But if you’re going to posit all these thinking peoples... actually you know humans have a need for green stuffs because of where they were made. Maybe orcs really do not like green stuffs, and it makes them uneasy, because they were made specifically for the purpose of destroying nice things. So their psyches were made to match. IDK what Saruman’s problem is. Tell me about maia psychology, Johnald.

...and within the circle of Isengard’s walls, a sea of boiling water, filled with flotsam and jetsam. Oh shoot that would have been a great transition, I think that’s the title of the next chapter. No matter, the point is it’s very confusing to Theoden and his men to look on the stronghold of Saruman utterly shattered, and see no-one who could have done it... except two very small people sitting on a ruined wall, picnicking and smoking.

'Welcome, my lords, to Isengard!' he said. 'We are the doorwardens. Meriadoc, son of Saradoc is my name; and my companion, who, alas! is overcome with weariness' - here he gave the other a dig with his foot - 'is Peregrin, son of Paladin, of the house of Took. Far in the North is our home.’

This cheeky lad. Bless you Meriadoc. Theoden introduces himself, and Merry for some reason starts infodumping about the history of pipeweed in the Shire. But now is not the time, says Gandalf!! We need to go see Treebeard >::(

'Farewell, my hobbits!’ said Théoden. ‘May we meet again in my house! There you shall sit beside me and tell me all that your hearts desire: the deeds of your grandsires, as far as you can reckon them; and we will speak also of Tobold the Old and his herb-lore. Farewell!'

The hobbits bowed low. 'So that is the King of Rohan!' said Pippin in an undertone. 'A fine old fellow. Very polite.'

[foolsiwillshowthemall]

Farm Report:  Last days of fall

Wednesday the 24th.  My darling wife has gotten up early and fed the animals - probably after I mentioned all the animals I've been keeping in comparison to her guinea pig.

Dear, that's very sweet of you, and I love you, but the barn and coop both have auto-feeders.

Aww, I appreciate the attempt anyway.  Gimmie a kiss.

Harvesting amaranth today.  Not a highly valuable crop, but useful in some recipes.  These spots will not be re-planted - we're late enough in the season that there are no crops I can plant here that will mature before winter.  My farm is winding down for the year.

The ducks must have approved of Abby's needless attention this morning.  I have a duck feather - this would go to the community center if I hadn't already found one on the traveling wagon.  We also have a good selection of large eggs, and the rabbits have shed wool.  Still no feet, however.

After searching around the farm for the explosion sound that woke us last night, I find this spiky purple ... thing among the pine trees.  A meteorite?  I'm just glad it didn't hit anything important.  I wonder if my gold pick-axe is strong enough to smash it?

First, I clear out the trees around it, so I can get a better look at this thing.

Spent at least 10 minutes in-game smashing at this thing with my pickaxe before it broke.

Stone, some geodes, and ... iridium ore!  That's great, I can actually smelt a bar of iridium now.  This is one way to get iridium without ever going to the really dangerous end-game mines.  Not a good way, since it's slow and random and tends to damage parts of the farm when the meteorite lands, but still an alternate source of that resource.

Smelting that iridium.  I have no idea how long this takes, but probably quite a while.

Spending the day doing errands around town.  Harvesting sea urchins and coral from the tide pools.  These are a good source of cash in the early game, but now I'm stockpiling them for making fertilizer.

I return to the farm, hours later.  The iridium is still smelting.  I don't expect it to be completed today, the more valuable an ore is, the longer it takes to smelt.

The casks that came with the cellar are by this time full of aging goat cheese, mead, and wine.  I'm going to need a lot more for the starfruit wine crop I'm planning.  Starting to lay them along the walls.  It's going to be a tricky layout, I want to place as many as I can but I still need to leave corridors to get to them all.

The next day, as I head out, Abby has a present for me:  A cherry bomb, that I can use to defend myself in the wild.  I hardly ever use bombs, but I still appreciate the gift.

I've got my sword with me, sweetie, but I'll keep the bomb on hand.

Now, I had been considering going to the mines today.  There's less and less for me to do on the farm as the season winds down, and I need to harvest ore and delve deeper to reach the bottom of the mines.  I consult the spirits, and they seem non-committal.  Won't be the easiest time, won't be the hardest.

Harvesting the artichokes.  Another patch in my farm that will be left bare.

The Sweet Gem Berry I planted at the start of the season has fruited. It's actually almost useless to me.  The trick to get a Stardrop from the statue in the Secret Woods doesn't work twice.  It's for some strange reason inedible, and can't be made into wine or preserves.  It does sell fairly well, however, so into the shipping bin it goes.

I'm still sure if I want to risk the mines today.  There's more progress I'd like to make on getting to the bottom of the mines, but the levels I'm heading in to are dangerous and the spirits were not favorable.  I wonder what Abby has to say?  Hey Abby, can I interrupt your contemplation of that giant amethyst geode for a moment?

She is concerned about my life!  The mines are a dangerous place, full of monsters.

Don't worry about it, sweetie.  The mines can wait for a more favorable day.  I'll do other errands around town today.  After all, it's not just my life at stake here anymore.

Other errands include taking the geodes from the meteorite to Clint for processing.  Nothing really special, although there is one additional unique gem to donate to the museum.

No, this does not count as going to the mines.  I'm just here to see the Dwarf - I'm not going downstairs.

One of the things I found in a geode was a "Dwarf Helm".  It's not worth much to sell, and I already donate one to the museum, and I certainly can't wear it.  I figure that the Dwarf might want it.  They are appreciative.

I assure you, sir or madam, that the only connection I have with the Shadow People is when I kill them after they attack me for invading their home.

Cutting down trees for the rest of the afternoon, nice and safe with no monsters around.  I've decided that I will clear-cut this area and then plant new trees during the winter.

Of course we should go, it's your favorite holiday, isn't it?

Friday the 26th.  The rabbits have once again failed to deliver even a single foot.  Rabbits, I am disappointed in you.  This is what I get for naming you all after a bunch of rebels who refused to follow orders.  I bet if I had given you names like "Flopsy" and "Cottontail' you'd be more cooperative.

My poor farm is starting to go patchy.  The melons are the last big crop I'll get for the year.

I'm still checking the traveling cart every time I get, since the rabbits are failing me.  No foot there either, but there is a Lingcod.  I've never heard of this fish.  I don't need it at the moment, but I might as well buy it and hold onto it in case there's some quest that needs it.

Saturday the 27th.  Today is Spirit's Eve, but that's not till later.  For now, my darling wife is giving me a private flute performance.  I can't bear to interrupt her, even to tell her I love her, so I just listen to the music in silence.

Harvesting pumpkins while listening to my wife's flute music, makes the task easier and more fun.  This is the last harvest for this patch.  I'm not even sure what I'll do with this area for the spring, I may decide to re-think this whole arrangement.

Later that day, after the flute recital is over and I've given her an amethyst, I head off to the mines.  It's another day to harvest iron ore and coal.

I make it a quick trip, before returning home to kiss my wife again.

This is what I wanted to grab those last few iron ore chunks for.  After Abby confessed her concerns for my safety, I decided to look into upgrading my gear.   I don't know how good the 'Ring of Yoba' actually is, but I figure it should help at least a little.

And now, it's time for Spirit's Eve.  Abby ran ahead into the maze, but I want to catch up with people first.  I haven't seen much of everyone since getting married.

I'm not worried, Marlon.  I've killed dozens of these things in the mines.

I think they shipped it all off to that wizarding school, Shane.  You should have let me know, I would have set some aside for you.

Elliott is being minimally cordial to me, but that's about it.

Demetrius, Maru is a grown woman who can take care of herself for a few hours.  I'd offer to go look for her, but I suspect that might just make you even more worried.

Clint!  You have iridium weapons all this time and you don't sell them to me?  I would love to have an iridium mace for the mines.  So either you're holding out on me, or you're just bragging about having something you don't really.  Either way, you suck.

Don't worry, sweetie.  I'll scout ahead and let you know what horrors lay beyond the spiders.

Secret cavern, and yet another Golden Pumpkin.  Same maze as last year.  They really should mix it up next year.  I'll have to suggest that to Lewis, maybe Abby can help them design a better maze.

I never noticed the Wizard and Linus hanging out above the maze before.  Are those two pals?

Last day of winter, and it's time for more serious conversation with Abigail.  This having a kid thing is actually going through.  I hope we're ready to be parents.

Hey, that's what I promised you way back when we met, wasn't it?  That you could come and hang out here wherever you wanted?  Just following through with it, sweetie.

It's the last day of fall, and the last cranberry harvest.  This has been an extremely lucrative crop for me.

It's also time for yet another batch of wine to be sold.  This is all pomegranate wine, but I'll be putting pumpkins in after this for another batch of pumpkin juice.

I also need to buy a heater from Marnie to put in the coop, so that the chickens, ducks, and rabbits will be happy during the winter.  Maybe even happy enough to give me a rabbit's foot, if I'm lucky.

The starfruits in the greenhouse are coming along well, but these do take a while to grow.

This grass will all die tomorrow, so I'm harvesting it now.  When you cut grass with the scythe, it generates hay that is immediately stored in my silos.  The auto-feeders will feed that to the animals all winter, when they can't go outside.

All cleaned up.  The field will lay bare, except for the lightning rods, till the spring.

Good night, cranberry patch.  You did well for me this season.

The last day of fall was one of my most profitable, with over 50K in earnings.  The thing is, it's gotten to the point where money barely matters anymore.  I passed the 1 million gold total earnings point sometime in late fall, and at about that time I also stopped being able to even spend all the money I was making.  It's a strange feeling.  For nearly the entire time I was playing this game, I was spending money as fast as I made it, on seeds, animals, and farm buildings, re-investing all my profits on my farm as soon as they came in.  Now, I don't need more animals, there are only a few buildings left to buy and they aren't that urgent, and I don't need seeds for the winter.  It's a strange feeling, to have over two hundred thousand gold and not being sure what to do with it.

I need to take a moment and evaluate my goals for the winter.  I won't be growing much on the farm, only a few winter seed crops and the starfruit in the greenhouse.  I still need to finish the community center, but that's mostly a luck-based mission at this point.  Getting to the bottom of the mines should not be difficult, and doesn't take money either.

Maybe I should start decorating the farmhouse?  It is a bit spartan at the moment.

[alohageek]

The Ying and Yang of Comic Book Television Part I.

Today’s comic book culture has grown in leaps in bounds since the fundamental foundation of the industry in the 30’s. Comic book culture is thriving culture based on a mythos of characters created by writers and artist who was thought as low class artist in the golden age. However, It is their stories and artwork that captures generations of fans, which now encompass a social collective of connoisseurs. It is from this fan base corporations in the comic book industry invest in multiple media platforms to cash in on the culture. This investment can’t be more evident than in the film and television franchises.

There is a tremendous impact that both visual platforms have on the comic book culture. We can address the scope of impact that comic book movies have on the culture, but let’s examine Comic Book Television shows, since it is considered the lesser of the two platforms. This is based on the corporate studios theory of movies generating more income than Television shows. In this blog I’ll talk about the positive and the negatives of today’s Comic Book Television franchise brought to the masses. It’s the Ying and the Yang of Comic Book TV shows. 

Part 1: Marvel’s Cinematic Universe Vs. Marvel’s Television Universe 

Today’s current comic book film and TV franchise spark can be credited to Marvel Studios first film, Iron Man released in 2008. This spark was created by a studio with direct links to Marvel Comic book Company. Back in 2008 Iron Man was known as a B-list super hero, especially since Marvel sold the film making property rights to its popular heroes to rival movies studios (i.e. Spider-man and Fantastic Four to Sony Pictures and X-men to 20th Century Fox.) Now that Marvel Studios had full control of its remaining properties (the Avengers) and with the support of their head corporation (Disney) a full blown Cinematic universe was now created through their first film. From here the rest of the avengers were introduced in movies and linked together through post credit scenes, teasers, and in particularly one character who connects all the heroes together Agent Phil Coulson of shield played by Clark Gregg. Agent Coulson was not a cannon character in the comic books when he was introduced in John Favreau’s Iron Man movie. 

The popularly of this movie character grew so much that Marvel Studio’s gave the character a “One Shot” short movie as a way to transition him from one movie to the other. This allowed fans to get to know Agent Coulson and gave him his own story for us to follow. Thus, expanding the MCU. The one-shot movie “A Funny Thing Happen On the Way to Thor’s Hammer” and the success of that short film included the film character into Marvel Comic books and Cartoons. In fact, this gave head of the Marvel Studios the idea to expand the MCU in to Television with Agent Coulson, an established character in the MCU, as the center of that story. So, in 2013 the Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. was created with Disney’s ABC Studios 

The Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D was a ground-breaking Comic Book TV show because it linked the events in the Marvel movies into a weekly franchise that enticed fans to not only watch the TV show but watch the Movies. They even incorporated characters in the movies into the show like Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury from the Avengers, Jaimie Alexander’s Sif Character from the Thor Franchise and even Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter and the Howling Commandos characters from the Captain America Franchise.

  No Show in the history of Television ever connected films and TV, and was able to have special appearances from blockbuster movies. This was a ground breaking opportunity to truly expand the potential income theory of Corporate studios. 

With the success of the Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. Marvel studios started to grow the Cinematic / TV universe even more by giving Peggy Carter from Captain America (played by Hayley Atwell) her own TV show. This not only expanded the universe but also it gave the cinematic universe a Historical cannon allowing other characters from Captain America movie, like Howard Stark played by Dominic Cooper and Timothy 'Dum Dum' Dugan played by Neal McDonough a chance to expand their stories. Marvel Studios even expanded the MCU not only on network TV but to the streaming studios of Netflix with Dare Devil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron First. There is a lot to talk about Netflix but let’s save it for Part 2. 

Expanding the MCU like this was a fantastic way for Marvel Studios to feed their hungry fan based. It continued the stories of the cinematic universe between the release of the next Marvel movie and incorporated major events from their movie into their TV shows. This can’t be more evident than the Plot of Captain 

America: The Winter Solider effecting the story arc of The Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D season 2. Since the movie was scheduled to release near the season finale of the show what better way to merge the two. In fact, a major film sequence of that movie was included into an episode of the TV show. This brought out fans to the movie and made people stream the TV show.  The connecting of Marvel Cinematic and Television Universe was a way of acknowledging one universe with several stories that tell one major story. And that’s what makes good comic book television and pays tribute to the source. Like the Comic books, the MCU has multiple stories and themes and together the entire story in the comic books are connected to one major event. Like “Civil War” in the comics, “The Secret Invasion”, “World War Hulk”, and “Infinity Gauntlet” all of them were key events in the marvel universe yet Each book had a different story and perspective of the events outcome. This is what makes the MCU an amazing homage to the source.

However, there is a down side and a particular event in the corporate enterprise that affected Marvel Studio involvement in Television and has hurt the MCU. Let us examine some of the hiccups of the Marvel TV Universe. First and Foremost, the major difference between Movies and TV shows is that television is looked upon not as glamorous as Hollywood movies. In fact, this can be traced all the way back to TV inception in the 1950’s Therefore Marvel Studios will not release headlining characters such as Iron Man, Natasha Romanoff Black Widow, or The Hulk on TV. Why waste the major characters when you can charge people to see them in movie theaters. Instead Comic Book TV shows will feature the lower rated comic book characters. Ergo the Agents of Shield instead of actually super heroes. Aside from Samuel L Jackson appearance on the show, (because he was a cool enough actor not to be paid as much as his appearance in the movies and was willing to make a TV Appearance because he loves playing the character), no other A-list star and character can make an appearance in the show.

The second thing that makes a strong difference is the budget of the series. TV shows get a smaller budget than the Hollywood movies and must stick to strict deadline to make the networks deadline. As such there are several things that are effected. The first is the campy look of the TV show. With the film franchise dwarfing the budget of the TV show, the look of the TV show lowered. From the special effects, on set locations used in ABC Studio’s and even the shared TV lot and costumes shared in other ABC studios shows. You can even see the difference in the quality of performances between the movies and TV shows directing style and even some acting.

Next is the strict TV ratings on Network Television that play a major factor in the campiness of the franchise. This is because it effects when the shows can air and the subject matter.  It is the reason why there is a formula to some of the TV show writing. In particular, with season story arc. You see because ABC Studios produces the show it reads like a soap opera. That’s why if you watch the Marvel Television Universe you can see the clear difference between the movies. 

The last thing I would like to mention is the new separation between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Marvel Television Universe because of the head of each department. You see after Marvel Studios Phase Two series, the Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige and Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Permlutter had reportedly been butting heads for years whe, in September 2015, a reorganization of the company meant that Feige began reporting directly to Disney boss Alan Horn rather than having to answer to Perlmutter. Feige now oversees Marvel Studios, while Perlmutter oversees Marvel’s comics, animation and TV. Although Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb has maintained references to the movies’ goings-on in TV shows, it’s very much a one-way relationship. Because of this The Marvel movies ignore Marvel TV and “Vice Versa”. It is a sad happening due to the ego of each department head. Even the much-anticipated return appearance of Agent Coulson in the Avenger movies never happens and therefore the link between the Cinematic and TV universe no longer exist. Furthermore, because the relationship of the MCU & MTU has been weakened, this cause a lack of interest in the MTU and led to the cancelation of the Agent Carter show. Even the possibility for any of the TV show characters including Marvels Netflix characters showing up in the movies may never happen. Who knows what the future holds for Marvel TV shows. But for me My hope is that the Fans will write into the studios and ask for a return to a shared Marvel universe. My next chapter will delve into the New Marvel Netflix shows and the Ying and Yang of that amazing franchise.

[kayawagner]

Blast from the Past: D&D Rules Cyclopedia from 1991

Over the past few years, when I was looking more closely into old-school D&D, the OSR, the various retro-clones etc. numerous people recommended the Rules Cyclopedia to me. It’s basically a compilation of all the rules presented in the edition of Basic D&D which started off with the famous Red Box written by Frank Mentzer. Aside from all the rules it also contains a complete bestiary, and even a description of the world of Mystara aka the Known World. To my knowledge it’s the only D&D game which can be played as is, without having to buy additional books. It’s of course long out of print, but thanks to Print-On-Demand you can now get a print copy from DriveThruRPG.

Personally I have never played a Basic D&D game before. As far as I can remember the first edition of D&D I ever played was AD&D 2nd Edition. I didn’t like it at all. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed playing with my friends, I just wasn’t too fond of the the mechanics. Often I had the feeling I had to fight against the rules to play the character I wanted. Certain concepts seemed impossible. With more experience as a player and GM under my belt, I recognize that a lot of the rules were optional and sometimes mere guidelines, but back in the day, we slavishly clinged to the rules-as-written. But enough about my history with D&D, and back to the topic at hand.

After reading countless retro-clones on a search to find a perfect version of D&D (a search which is essentially futile), I decided to check out one of the actual old editions of D&D. The Rules Cyclopedia was an obvious choice because it included everything needed in a single book, and so many people had recommended it to me.

And I wasn’t disappointed. The 27-years-old book looks pretty good. It has a clear three-columned layout, nice black-and-white artwork, and the rules are presented in a clear manner. The RC was AFAIK first and foremost meant as a reference book, but it still does a good job of explaining how the rules work, even though no examples are given. Please note that I haven’t read all of the 306 pages yet, so some of the later sections may be a bit more obscure, but my first impression is positive.

What really surprised me is that the artwork throughout the book is much more inclusive and less sexist than I feared. The characters depicted are wearing proper armor, women are not depicted overly sexualized, there are various non-white characters in the artwork.

Since it’s a Basic D&D product some of the concepts in the game may sound strange to modern gamers. In Basic D&D Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling are actually classes. Humans can choose from a more extensive list of classes including the iconic Cleric, Fighter, Magic-User and Thief. Two optional classes are included: the monk-like Mystic and the Druid. I was also positively surprised that the Fighter class includes the variants of Paladin, Knight and Avenger.

Overall Basic D&D has less of everything. Less classes, less rules, less spells. Compared to AD&D and its successors (D&D 3rd Edition was based on AD&D 2nd Edition and not Basic D&D) it’s a much simpler game. It also retains a couple of concepts later editions of D&D lack. For example there’s the idea that the game should change focus at certain levels. You start out by delving into dungeons, at level 9 characters begin to erect towers, build fortresses, and recruit followers. Now it’s more about carving out your place in the world. Eventually the heroes grasp at immortality and basically godhood. This was supported by the Immortals boxed set which is not fully included in the Rules Cyclopedia, but I guess most campaigns never ran that long.

I am not sure if I would have preferred Basic D&D over AD&D back when I started playing roleplaying games. I guess the race as class thing might have killed any interest in it – among other things. Nowadays I don’t mind as much. It definitely makes things a lot easier, and it also helps to make non-humans different. In a world with such rules, there might be demi-human (where does this term come from anyway?) clerics, but they obviously don’t get spells by their gods the way human clerics do, or there are just no adventuring Elven clerics. Works for me. One positive aspect of this is that you don’t have to deal with adventuring groups in which not even one character is human.

Overall the rules and their presentation have a certain charm which is hard to elude.  I can’t put my finger on it, but for some reason reading this book makes me want to play a Basic D&D game set into the Known World. For me it feels a bit like exploring a world which is totally new to me – which it actually is. For some of the old-school D&D grognards this might all be old news, but when I discovered tabletop roleplaying games Basic D&D was already a thing of the past.

Perhaps it’s a sign of a coming mid-life crisis but during the last years I have started looking back more often than before. I have been rewatching shows I loved as a teenager, I tried to reconnect with people I met during my university years, and I’ve started looking into games which were decades ago – even though I didn’t know about them at the time. The Rules Cyclopedia fits perfect into this fuzzy ‘80/’90s nostalgia-fueled romp and I can’t wait to get my hands onto my POD hardcopy which I ordered about a week ago. Sure, an original would have been better, but unfortunately the RC has become a much sought after collectors’ item. And even though it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I am not going to put 70 to 120 Euros on the table for this book.

If you made it this far, you noticed that this isn’t really a review, nor do you learn that much about the Rules Cyclopedia itself. But you learned a bit about my reasons why I picked up the book in the first place and why you might do as well. For a game that old it holds up surprisingly well and it tells of different times and a different kind of D&D. Sometimes I wonder how D&D would look like today if Third Edition was based on this instead of AD&D 2nd Edition…

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