#but it's a testament to just how deeply she loves and cares for Leon

[doortotomorrow]

LEON + ASHLEY - Ashley successfully fighting back against Saddler's will, saving Leon.

[tinylilemrys]

Merlin 3x12 “The Coming of Arthur: Part 1” Highlights

Firstly, that title has to be remarked upon. I’ve definitely read fanfiction that explores that concept in detail ;)

Our story begins in the dead of night. No, wait, sorry – with dead knights.

NOT LEON THOUGH, YOU MONSTERS

(I know he hella survives and is one of the knights living at the end of the series, but stillI)

(hands off)

Good guy druids fixing up a knight who would probably kill them

(More evidence that like Merlin could have fully come out as magic to all of the knights and they probably all would have been 100% chill with it)

Leon x Arthur is a good ship we don’t talk about enough

I really love how creative magic folk are at naming things. “We have this cup that brings people back to life, but what to call it?” – “How about ‘The Cup of Life’?” – “That’s fucking genius. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Weirdly, Uther’s fears in this episode end up being somewhat justified? But, like, in a self-fulfilling prophecy kind of way.

It’s really great that we keep getting invited to Gaius and Merlin’s exposition dinners or I would have no clue what’s going on

Arthur: “I will bring only my most trusted men.” – cut to Merlin helping Arthur pack for the quest that they are going on alone

Arthur: “You will be ready by sunrise won’t you, Merlin?” – Merlin: “If I don’t know where we’re going, how will I know what to pack? Willitbehotwillitbecoldwillitbewetwillitbedry?”

Merlin joking that if Arthur told him where they were going, he’d have to kill him and Arthur’s completely deadpan delivery of “Immediately and without hesitation.”

Morgana’s eyeliner is particularly dark this episode – a clear indication that the evil is strong with her

Sometimes Morgause does her creepy whisper thing, other times she arrives with the tinkling of chimes. How does Morgana ever know when to expect her?

Look, I may not approve of how they’re bonding, but I’m glad Morgana is getting to bond with her sister. They always look so happy after cooking up an evil scheme together

Oh Cenred, your wig was such a disaster, but you’re played by Tom Ellis so I love you anyway

Cenred, quit while you’re ahead, bro. You’re trying to sleep with one whole lesbian.

Oh man, Merthur banter on horseback while on a quest is the best kind of banter

Arthur being like “maybe this time we won’t have any problems” and immediately getting hit in the neck with a blow-dart is at least 90% of what the show is about

Merlin’s absolute delight at seeing Gwaine and how Gwaine immediately starts flirting with Merlin

*makes mental note to find more Arthur/Merlin/Gwaine fanfiction because their dynamic is so great*

The immediate fear on Arthur’s face when Merlin is chosen to fight the champion and how he volunteers to take his place (even though the champion is Gwaine and the chances of Gwaine doing anything to hurt Merlin are nonexistent)

It’s a testament to how powerful Morgause is that Cenred, a medieval king with riches and power at his disposal, as well as a probable lack of regard for the agency of women, looks super sheepish when she yells at him for losing Arthur

Cenred: “Are you threatening me?” – Morgause: “Trust me, Cenred. When I’m threatening you, you’ll know about it.”

The rules of the fight are simple: one man lives and one man dies. You just know 100% Gwaine would have sacrificed himself to save Merlin. Merlin would have never let that happen of course, but the thought would have been there

As usual, it’s Merlin who comes to his own (and everyone else’s) rescue

Arthur tells Gwaine all cagey-like that they’re on a quest and Merlin immediately pipes up cheerfully “we’re looking for the Cup of Life”, because of course he does. It’s Gwaine they’re talking to. He doesn’t keep secrets from Gwaine

EXCEPT FOR THE ONE THAT GWAINE WOULD HAVE BEEN 100% COMPLETELY COOL WITH

YOU KNOW, THE BIG ONE

(Not that I’m still salty or anything)

Listen, the amount of posturing between Gwaine and Arthur whenever they’re together is fucking delightful, particularly in this episode where they’re bickering about who’s better with their sword. And I love how Merlin has no time for it because as per the usual, he was the one that got them out of the situation

I love how the Druids are always framed as the polar opposite to Uther and how every time Arthur encounters them, his mind is changed about magic just a bit

This whole show could have been solved if Arthur had spent a year with the Druids at some point is what I’m saying

Merlin: “I don’t hear anything.” – Arthur: “Exactly.” – Gwaine: “Never satisfied, you city types. ‘It’s too noisy. It’s too quiet.’”

I need to find or write more stories where Gwaine is from a farm in the middle of nowhere. I forget sometimes that he’s a country mouse

As Merlin watches the Cup tumble away down the hill, he realises that it would be fucking great to have a spell that summons things back to you. He spends the next several decades developing the spell “Accio”

Merlin covering an injured and poisoned Arthur with his jacket, even though he’s basically skin and bones and will probably freeze to death without it

I mean, think about it. How often do you see Merlin not wearing his jacket – even when Arthur isn’t wearing a jacket and has his sleeves rolled up? Merlin’s always cold, change my mind

Oh man, Morgana is so twisted playing with Uther’s emotions. I love her so much

The way Gwaine teases Merlin before acquiescing his request to go get firewood (so that Merlin can use magic to heal Arthur while he’s gone) is so cute, but should never have happened because Merlin could have just FUCKING HEALED ARTHUR IN FRONT OF GWAINE. LIKE GWAINE WOULD HAVE GIVEN TWO SHITS. HE’S NOT EVEN FROM CAMELOT GODDAMMIT

And then Morgause straight up kills Cenred because if her sister’s going to have a kingdom, she may as well have one too

Gaius talks about them having a traitor in their midst and even as he says it, Morgana doesn’t hide her self-satisfied smirk. Power move

Morgana has no reason to hide her true intentions from Gwen anymore and so offers her the chance to survive and be a part of her new Camelot, and Gwen, being the wise, resourceful woman she is, pledges loyalty to Morgana because it’s the only smart move at that point

Listen, Morgana still deeply cares about Gwen. She looks so happy when it looks like Gwen will be on her side. She just cares about power more

Okay so it seems that Elyan has been in Camelot the whole time. So where the hell was he a few episodes ago when Gwen was about to be executed??

Merlin ordering Arthur around because he needs treatment is both hilarious and the sweetest

Gaius’ relief at seeing Merlin again is so lovely. He’s always happy to see his boy safe and sound

This motherfucking vial of Avalon water is going to be squandered in the next episode and I’m still mad

Arthur sends Gaius, Gwaine and Elyan to the woods outside of Camelot and tells Merlin he should go with them instead of going to look for Uther with him and Merlin’s response is “Nah, I’ve seen the woods already”. HOW CUTE??

Also, Arthur’s look of relief that Merlin will be with him is so pure

Also also, how Merlin keeps checking on the still injured Arthur every five seconds because he’s so worried about him

I just… love them so much

OH SHIT THE MORGANA REVEAL AND CORONATION

I FORGOT HOW DRAMATIC IT IS

(like it was ever going to be anything less though)

and now for my favourite episode of the entire show

< 3x11 | 3x13 >

[lee-yan-druh]

Book Review: Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

Read on: April 5, 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

I asked, "Why are you here?" "You." It was the perfect answer said in an imperfect way. He'd answered so fast. Just like that: You. It was easy to say just one word. I wanted him to say it again, so that the second time around, I'd have a chance to feel something. Sometimes I want to project that beautifully icy and emotionless demeanor that Isabel Culpeper perfectly executes. But then I read books like Sinner, and I realize that the whole emotionless thing is just unachievable for me, since books like Sinnerbasically exist to throw every single strong emotion in your face and laugh maniacally at the obvious mix of joy and torture you're going through. So really what I'm trying to say is that this book was just beautiful and I'm intensely happy that I finally got around to reading it. I love the first three books of The Wolves of Mercy Falls with their slightly isolated Minnesota setting and the serious quality of Grace and Sam's relationship, but Sinner was just so addicting, with its sunny LA setting and of course the intense yet complex nature of Cole and Isabel's relationship. From start to finish, I simply could not put it down. I've mentioned that I will possibly ship Cole and Isabel to the ends of the earth, so really it's no wonder that I completely devoured this book in a short amount of time. Sinner retained the same beautiful, descriptive writing Maggie Stiefvater used in the first three books. Even sentences that would've been just standard internal dialogue or setting descriptions were made unique with Maggie's magical ability to use just the right words in just the right arrangement to create such perfect sensory imagery. As I've mentioned before, The Wolves of Mercy Falls books aren't exactly action-packed books, but the writing style is really more than enough to keep readers engaged. What I love most about this book is how Maggie further explored the characters of Isabel and Cole. I was interested to see how the final events of Forever would change Cole, and I was happy to see that even though he could not completely escape his dark past, he didn't seem to be as self-destructive as he used to be. I feel like his wit and sense of humor was more prominent in this book, and he seemed to be more hopeful, obviously because he felt that he had a future to look forward to with Isabel. I also loved that in Sinner, we actually get to see Cole as a musician. It felt sort of freeing to see how much Cole actually cared about the music and the performance, and I had a lot of fun reading about the gimmicks he came up with for each episode of the show. I must say I've always thought it's difficult to integrate music in books, obviously because you can't actually hear the music, but again with Maggie's writing I felt like I could hear the music anyway. And even those snippets of lyrics were very striking. Like Cole, Isabel's a very complicated character, one who had a certain dangerous charm but also had a lot of issues that don't always make sense. Her desire to never show any emotion was constantly at war with the fact that she actually felt deeply about a lot of things. She went through a lot, what with the thing with the wolves and Jack and her constantly warring parents, and if you add Cole to that equation, it's no wonder she just opts for that Ice Queen image. It was actually nice to see that it was Cole, messed up and a little wild though he was, who got her to feel and react in ways she normally kept herself from doing so. I knew that her efforts to keep herself from falling in love with Cole were probably futile, but they were valiant efforts all the same. She and Cole really had that genuine connection, even though they alternated between passion-filled encounters and vaguely-worded arguing. Some of the minor characters also made things a bit more interesting for this book. I love the sort of "friendship" Cole struck up with Leon. I feel like Leon could give Cole the sort of father or maybe responsible-uncle image he never thought he needed but really did, and consequently, Cole could incite change in Leon's life. I was so touched by that scene where Leon showed Cole the photos he'd taken of LA! Jeremy and Sophia were also very likeable characters. I couldn't completely understand Sophia's compulsive desire to do everything perfectly and beyond, but she just seemed like such a sweet character, the total opposite of Isabel, and she clearly cared about her cousin. Jeremy also seemed like such a chill guy, and a pretty cool friend. I also thought that moment he had with Sophia was so cute and funny! I thought Isabel's reaction in that scene was just so hilarious! Speaking of that, The Wolves of Mercy Falls books always had a hint of humor in them, but Sinner is surely the funniest of them all. There were so many lines and dialogues that cracked me up so hard! I particularly love Cole's slightly poignant but generally funny conversations with Leon, and of course Cole and Isabel had that snarky flirting thing they always did which is 50% adorable and 50% hilarious. Just prepare to find yourself giggling throughout this book. Of course there had to be some sort of drama in this book; it is after all about two people who've got some serious issues going on in their lives. There were moments that I really felt sorry for Cole and how his past always seemed to catch up to him. I really hated it when he got into those "set ups" and he just didn't know how to deal with them, especially when Isabel was involved. I also pitied Isabel when it came to her having to deal with all that parental drama, and the complications of her relationship with Cole as well. I felt like I should have been irritated at her whenever she chose to walk away from him again, but I understood how she felt that she sometimes couldn't handle the Cole St. Clair Show anymore. If I had been the one walking into that scene with the three fangirls I probably would've freaked out! And that disaster at .blush. would be enough to make any girl hate any guy really. Still, despite the many problems Cole and Isabel faced, I'm pretty happy with how things ended! I wasn't expecting a "happy ending" for these two, even though they're my OTP, because hell they're not Same and Grace! BUT. *freakish fangirl squeal* I'm so so happy with how things turned out! TA-DA's are AWESOME OKAY!!! And so is this book!!! Also to wrap up this unexpectedly long-ish review (sorry got carried away there!) here are some of those lines/dialogues that'll serve as a testament to that beautiful/brilliant/funny writing I kept blabbering about earlier. ❤️ “Why do you think they get slow, Leon?” I asked. My phone was very hot against my ear. “Dogs, I mean?” Leon didn’t hesitate with this answer. “Life wears them down.” “The others slithered and crawled to get her the tanks and the belt, unaware that in order to really get my look, you had to accessorize with death in the family and generalized heartbreak.” “It sure is ugly.” “Ugly never hurt a thing.” I scoffed. “Oh, ugly has hurt some things. It’s just that pretty hurts more.” “My thoughts were a movie screen with nothing projected on it.” “Leyla sat in the middle of the floor performing yoga or meditation. I couldn’t remember if they were actually different things. I thought meditation was the one that didn’t require special pants.” “Imaginary creatures are always happy with other imaginary creatures." “I couldn’t understand Isabel’s resistance to my irresistibility. I could only stand being this furious with wanting her if I thought that she was somewhere wanting me, too.” “It pissed me off when people called common sense a magical power. Because if it counted, I was the most magical creature I knew.” “You could come,” Cole said. “And be my — what is it called? Naked person. No. Muse. You could be my muse.” “I kept him waiting again, while I looked at the lines of his cheeks and his jaw and his eyebrows, all of them so purposeful and dazzling and at home here in this place of purposeful and dazzling things.” “My heart felt so full I thought it would explode. It was unfamiliar with pumping blood instead of ice.” “I don’t like puzzles,” I told him. “That’s because you are a puzzle,” Cole replied, “and you don’t like your own kind. It’s okay. I don’t like other me’s, either.” “You and I both know that love is for children,” he said. “We’re adults. Compatibility is for adults.” “Compatibility is for my Bluetooth and my car,” Teresa replied. “Only they get along just fine, and my car never makes my Bluetooth feel like shit.” “We were so little, when you took away all our sins.” “He sighed, noisy and melodramatic. Then he dropped his head onto my shoulder, breathing into my collarbone. For once not moving, not needing, not asking, not doing. Just holding me, and letting me hold him up. It was the most shocking thing. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. And here was what I was most afraid of: that Cole St. Clair would fall in love with me, and I’d fall in love with him, both of us human weapons, and we’d both end up with broken hearts.”

This review can also be seen on my GoodReads.