#tauriel deserved better

[samwises-potsandpans]

This, this is the reason I do not watch BotFA anymore. Just this scene.

THE FIRSTBORN MEME:

2/4 quotes: If this is love, I do not want it.

[plainlo-inthemorning]

Thranduil’s secret

Pairing: Tauriel x Kili Rating: 16+ Warnings: Mentions of violence, emotional hurt (but fear not …!) Words: 1.800 k.

Disclaimer: Canon what canon? This is for all the lovers out there.

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“They want to bury him”.

Snowflakes fall silently around them.

Nature attempting to softly smooth over the carnage.

“Yes”.

Her king remains standing a few feet from where she reclines on the frozen rock, hunched over the still-warm body of a future that has been so cruelly taken from her.

From both of them.

She could rage against Thranduil.

Blame his indecisiveness, his selfishness, for the death of the dwarf.

Had the king only dispatched his soldiers to the mountain, as both she and the wizard so implored him to do, trying to appeal to the heart he has forgotten how to use, much could have been different.

But grief has pushed the fight out of her. In its place is only hopelessness and a pain the like of which Tauriel has never felt before.

Legolas, her old friend, has left.

She did not notice when, or if he said something to her before turning away. At this moment, she has no space for him, either.

“If this is love, I do not want it”, she cries, hearing how desperate she sounds, as she looks to her king. “Please, take it from me”.

Thranduil does not move, but the icy unkindness from earlier has melted from his features. If Tauriel’s own eyes had not been filled with tears, she might have recognized her sadness mirrored in the king’s.

“Why does it hurt so much?” She cannot seem to stop herself, clutching Kili’s gloved hand in hers.

“Because it was real”.

Thranduil’s unwavering answer takes her aback.

She looks down upon the dwarf’s bloodstained face again. A single tear streak has painted a faint silver trail from the corner of one eye and down the side of his face.

She saw it fall when he died. When the orc’s blade pierced his chest.

Flecks of snow cling to his thick brown lashes. He is so beautiful to her, she thinks sorrow will tear her apart if she has to let go of him.

They just found each other. He gave his life defending hers.

Slowly, she bends her head and does what she has ached to do for days, what she should have done on the lakeshore when he pressed the rune stone into her hand.

She touches her lips to his.

They are still soft.

His are the first she has ever kissed.

If this were a children’s bedtime story, she would breathe life into him with her longing.

Only when Thranduil kneels on the other side of the body, does Tauriel remember the king is still there.

She thinks he will ask her to stand and come away, and is ready to protest, to cling to Kili. She will stay right here until his kin returns to claim him.

But Thranduil does not speak.

Instead, he does something very unexpected, his face suddenly a mask of concentration.

His strong brows have come together in a frown: He raises a hand and lets it hover over Kili’s head.

“What … what are you doing?” Tauriel has to swallow her sobs for the words to come out right.

The moment drags out.

The king lowers his palm to place it lightly on Kili’s chest.

Tauriel, wholly confused, idly wonders through her grief if this is the first time in all his many, many millennia that king Thranduil has touched a dwarf with anything but the pointy end of a sword.

“He is a fighter”, the king says quietly. There is wonder is his voice. “And he fights, still. So stubborn …”.

“W-what?!”

Thranduil looks up, meets her shocked eyes.

“His heart has stopped, yes. But his soul is still here. It is holding on …”.

Now it is Tauriel’s heart that nearly stops.

“How do you…how can you-”.

Her king’s attention has returned to Kili.

He answers Tauriel without looking at her.

“I have certain … gifts”.

In typical Thranduil fashion, the king does not elaborate, and his matter-of-fact tone does not invite questioning.

Yet for once, Tauriel is too gripped with emotion to be deterred.

“Can you bring him back?”, she blurts out. “Please, my king, please? If there is any chance … I … I would do anything. Please!”.

Bringing someone back from the dead is reserved for the most nightmarish, ancient evil magic.

Until recently, Tauriel had only heard nonsensical tales of the practise whispered, and even in those, the someones that were brought back, were dangerous, mindless shadow apparitions of their former selves.

But if what her king is saying about Kili’s soul is true …

Thranduil appears to hesitate before speaking but when he does, Tauriel feels as if he is reading her mind. She has sometimes suspected that that is indeed a secret gift of his. Another one.

“The kind of magic required to awaken the dead is not only forbidden, it is destructive to the natural order of the world. However, if the soul has not yet left the body-”

He pauses. Decides.

“It can be done, if done quickly. No matter the strength of the warrior, the soul will be forced to leave this plane soon after death has occurred. I do not know how this one is still here”.

Love, thinks Tauriel. She does not know if it is actually true, or if it is her hope speaking. He is still here because of love.

Then the other elf gasps. Thranduil regards Kili’s face with disbelief.

“Of course …”, he whispers. His palm flattens on Kili’s pierced armour, fingers spread out. “Elvish blood runs in his line. Many years back …”

Tauriel stares at her love. Her mouth opens and closes.

His finely defined face, the shape of his cheekbones, so different from most of his kin.

Except for his brother’s, and the dwarf king’s …

Impossible. Yet suddenly it makes sense.

Did Kili know?

No, Tauriel does not think so.

As for Thorin …?

“Tauriel”, the elfking says. His voice is even but insistent. It commands her full attention. “If I succeed in bringing him back to you, you must never speak to anyone of what happened here. Not a word, do you understand? Not to his kin. Not to him. Certainly not to the wizard … And not to Legolas”.

Something flutters beneath the deep timbre of Thranduil’s voice. A bottomless despair struggling to surface, to be recognized.

And Tauriel remembers what Legolas told her at Mount Gundabad. About his mother’s death there.

She draws in a breath as she looks into Thranduil’s blue, blue eyes, but the king holds up a hand, reading her like a book.

“No”, he says simply but firmly, and it is a no that silences her. A warning.

No.

The king then touches Kili’s forehead and closes his eyes.

Tauriel is squeezing the dwarf’s hand so hard her knuckles are turning as white as the ground.

Stillness.

And then the air seems to shimmer and fizz around them, thick with swirling magic.

The snowfall has stopped. Or it can no longer touch them.

Thranduil is muttering words under his breath that Tauriel cannot make out. He leans forward, long blond hair falling around his set face. The tips pool on Kili’s shoulders like a veil of fine silk engulfing him.

Time stands still, and Tauriel forgets to breathe.

She has no idea how many moments go by.

And then Kili’s chest rises, and his lips part.

And the dwarf gasps for air!

His whole body shivers as his eyes fly open to the sky, wild, wide, alive.

He is alive!

“Kili!” Tauriel cries out and takes his face in her hands.

Their eyes meet.

He blinks rapidly, like he has been pulled out of deep water. “Tauriel…” Shakily, he raises his hands to her face as if seeing her for the first time.

“Are you okay?”, he asks. His voice is hoarse but urgent. “The orc, is … is he-”.

“He’s dead. It’s over. We’re safe, we’re both safe”. Tears are streaming down her face. “I thought I’d lost you!”.

“I thought so too …” Kili looks at her with utter wonder and bafflement. Then he grimaces and reaches for the wound in his chest. “Ugh, this one hurts, though …”.

“He needs tending to and fast”. Thranduil stands. A tiny droplet of sweat glistens on his brow. Or perhaps it is a snowflake. Are they falling again?

“Tauriel, I would advise you to take him far away from here, and never look back, but …”

He speaks as if Kili was not there.

“What is-”. Kili tries to focus on the tall figure towering over him, but is too stunned, and in too much pain, to fully register what is being said.

Tauriel shakes her head at the elf king.

“He will want to stay with his kin. They have suffered enough loss”.

She thinks of Thorin. The dwarf king is dead.

Thranduil sighs.

“Yes, I anticipate he will want to do that …”

“Tauriel…”. The dwarf winces. She looks back at him. She will never lose him from her sight again.

She brushes locks of soft hair from his forehead.

Does not notice her elf lord leaving. She will never see him again.

“I had a dream that you kissed me”, Kili whispers, his eyes searching hers. “A kiss of love …”.

She smiles through her tears.

“It wasn’t a dream … my love”.

Despite his agony, a smile spreads on his face. A bright, wonderful, boyish smile amidst the hurt and loss. He will face them later.

“…Love”. He grins, actually grins, and tries to sit up, but Tauriel gently puts a hand on his arm to stop him.

“Do not move too much. You are badly wounded. We have to call on the others to come help, and patch you up…”

“Then come down here to me”.

He shakes off a glove. Weaves his fingers through her hair.

She dips her face to his.

He gasps when she recaptures his mouth.

His lips are still soft, but now they move, as well. Melting into hers.

He pulls her closer, his other, gloved hand finding the curve of her waist, and she has to remind herself not to crush his wounded chest.

She wants to drown in his arms.

When their mouths part, they stay nose to nose.

“Never leave”, Kili whispers. His warm breath tickles her skin.

All of him is warmth.

Home.

“I won’t. Never”.

High in the sky above them, eagles cry triumphantly.

She takes his hand. Presses the smooth, oval shape back into his palm.

“It worked, Kili”, she whispers against his lips, before kissing him again.

Deeply, hungrily.

For the third time out of a million more kisses to come over their many, many years together.

“It worked”.

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Thank you for reading!

[horsewithaface]

So I rewrote the Battle of the Five Armies for my Everyone Lives AU because yes I’m still in denial and no you can’t stop me

• Everything up to Fíli getting captured is the same

• Fíli is caught by Azog and held out over the cliff. Kíli is below in the nook. While Azog is giving his speech, Kíli shoots him from below in the wrist, causing him to let go of Fíli. Fíli falls to the ground, onto Kíli, breaking his fall, who drags him into the nook and hides him as he tends to his brother’s wounds. Fíli regains his strength after a short moment and, despite Kíli’s better judgement, Fíli gets up, and races back to the top, calling for Kíli to follow.

• The two brothers fight countless orcs as they climb the stairs of Ravenhill, searching for Thorin. Once they come upon the plateau of ice, they find Bilbo weeping over Thorin as they speak.

• Kíli shuts down, thinking it is too late, but Fíli remembers something crucial. Back in Lake-town, he had pocketed a pouch of Kingsfoil in case his brother’s wounds hadn’t truly healed. With it was a messily-written note of Tauriel’s incantation written out phonetically.

• “I will not let you go, uncle. Not today. It is not your time. We will have a great feast tonight and will walk within the halls of Erebor among our kin. I cannot walk there without you.” - Fíli to Thorin as he kneels down opposite Bilbo, preparing the Kingsfoil. He rips open Thorin’s shirt, revealing the weeping wound before pressing the mixture into it. Thorin lets out a roar of pain but Kíli snaps to attention and runs to hold him down to stop his thrashing. Bilbo grabs Thorin’s hand with both of his, pressing his forehead against the bloodied knuckles, whispering pleas for him to hold on.

• The Kingsfoil incantation only partially works due to Fíli being a novice in elven spells, however it buys them time for Gandalf to get there and finish the spell properly.

• Thorin is taken to the medical hut where he regains his strength for the next week despite his refusal and insistence that he is fine. Bilbo eventually gets through to him and Thorin gives in, allowing the healers to aide him.

• Thorin does not remember what happened when he had succumbed to the dragon sickness, it is only when Bilbo flinches at a sudden movement of his when he is getting frustrated that Bilbo realises Thorin does not remember. Bilbo reluctantly tells him the truth when Thorin demands to know what he did wrong.

• Thorin never forgives himself for his actions, even going so far as to denying his birthright and banishing himself from Erebor. He gives the crown to Fíli who does not accept it, choosing to go with him for Thorin is more important to Fíli than ruling. Kíli never wanted the crown and so the brothers appoint Dain as the rightful king for they would not have prevailed without him.

• Thorin and Bilbo part ways, Bilbo returning to Bag End unsure if he will ever see Thorin again because despite what happened, he never blamed Thorin for it was the fault of the dragon sickness and not his own mind.

• After about a year, Bilbo hears a knock at his door. He is greeted with a very nervous Thorin, quite a juxtaposition from his usual stoic nature. Bilbo doesn’t believe his eyes, convinced that he is dreaming. Thorin cannot help but whisper, “Bilbo…” before engulfing the hobbit in a hug.

• Thorin rambles on a whole poetic speech about how he does not deserve redemption for his actions and he simply came to apologise. Bilbo takes Thorin’s face in his hands, pulling him down to eye level.

• “Stop it. Just stop it, you giant oaf. I forgive you. You never let me speak my mind after the battle. I never blamed you, Thorin. I never have and I never will. It was that bloody dragon, not you. I stand by my word when I say that I am glad that I have shared in your perils. You are more than any Baggins deserves.”

[samwises-potsandpans]

Kili looks so happy when he gives her the stone. Legolas on the other hand is thinking of how many ways he can kill him without causing a disturbance in the middle of the night.

#notjealous

[tamurilofrivendell]

Beauty and the Beast | Chapter 14

Previous Chapters [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]

Read on AO3 [x]

Pairing: Thranduil/Fem. Reader Summary: A Beauty and the Beast inspired tale with Thranduil the Elvenking and a human reader from a nearby village Taglist: @captainchrisstan, @rebleforkicks, @yjrevolution, @majahu, @honey-wine, @accio-boys, @achromaticerebus, @solomonssimp, @tired-ass-show-girl​, @dreamlessnight

The next few days passed slowly but not uncomfortably as you began to get used to your new normal. A guard was no longer posted outside your room but you’d heard that there were a few extra stationed at the entrance... which you supposed was expected considering how easily you had been able to slip out into the forest that night after Thranduil scared you. You hoped nobody had gotten into trouble for you escaping like that.

You spent your time in the library that Thranduil had taken you to. You had been cautious at first, worried that it was all part of some elaborate ruse, however you had relaxed as the time passed. You spent a lot of your time curled up in the corners of the library itself, lost in whatever book you had picked up that day, finding in between those pages a sense of solace and freedom for the first time since you found yourself stuck here.

The time when you were not in the library, you were usually with Myleth or walking around exploring... tentatively of course. However, you had not actually seen the King since the night he allowed you access to the library and you thought that, with some more luck, you wouldn’t see him again. Maybe he would forget all about you and you could blend into the background of his kingdom, living out the rest of your days in exactly the way you were now. Though, you couldn't fully shake how... nice it had been of him to allow you access to this lifeline of a room.

Legolas had been in the forest for the last few days with Tauriel and the rest of their group, destroying a spider nest that had reappeared almost overnight. He felt better about leaving you there now that his father seemed to have relaxed just a little since his recovery. He felt secure enough in the knowledge that his father wouldn’t throw you in the prison again at least. Legolas was also pleased that his father had recovered from the poison, though the speed with which it had affected him worried him - was this something new from Mordor? Still, things were better for now so Legolas could focus fully on destroying the spiders and scouting the woods, keeping the border of the Realm safe.

The group were travelling back to the palace and would hopefully be back in another day and a half. Tauriel turned to him during their final camp set up, the two of them being on watch while the others rested. “Do you think he is really going to keep her here forever?” She asked, having been working up the courage to get the words out. Sometimes Tauriel didn’t know quite how to take the King. She knew that he favoured her, yet he did not seem accepting of Legolas’ obvious feelings for her. She respected him as a King but she did not always agree with him... in fact, Tauriel often found she disagreed with him but she was not in a position to disobey like Legolas could sometimes get away with.

He sighed, shrugging as he fiddled with a stick between his fingers, thoughtful. “I have honestly given up trying to understand the inner workings of my father’s mind.” Though he did think that he was actually pretty good at understanding his father and his... complications. “I do not see him keeping her prisoner forever.” He said after a pause. “It is not his way.”

“He seemed to be pretty set on it.” She couldn’t help but mutter, gaining a look from Legolas but he always appreciated whatever Tauriel had to say to him. He liked that she didn’t hold back because of who he was and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. "She does not deserve to be a prisoner at all."

“Trust me, Tauriel. She will not be here forever.” He assured her, though he found himself feeling ever so slightly sad about it. He had come to see you as something close to a friend already. Legolas liked you and thought that you were a person of true kindness and strength. You had given your freedom for your father’s and again for his own. You had shown his father kindness where nobody would have blamed you for not doing so. Something about your actions had even seemed to get through to his father in some way, though he knew the King was loath to show it, but after being graced with yours he had shown his own kindness in return.

“Did you hear that?” Tauriel’s voice pulled him back from his thoughts. Legolas became alert again at once, various voices reaching his ears from a distance away. He glanced at Tauriel, who was already up on her feet, and nodded as the two of them crept away from the camp to find the source.

The library was quiet, peaceful, as the night descended. The curtains at the large window that stood in between some bookcases were open but you couldn’t see much of the sky from here unfortunately. You wished you could see the stars again, even just once. Sighing, you turned back to the book in your hands, getting lost once more in the words. You had stayed quite late here tonight, not feeling able or ready to sleep. You had even missed dinner, choosing instead to stay in here and hide away in your beloved words.

When the door opened, you jumped, startled by the sudden noise. Looking up, you expected to see Myleth having sought you out with a tray of food much like she had done the first night you’d come here. Instead, you met the King’s steely gaze once more. Surprise instantly flooded you as you stared at him. He kind of stared back at you for a long moment before he walked towards you, setting a tray down on the floor. “A servant was on her way with this. Apparently you have not yet eaten despite it being so late.”

He probably meant Myleth so you just nodded, though wondered why he would now be here instead of her, but you didn’t question him. It almost felt like he was telling you off for skipping meals but you decided you were being ridiculous to even entertain the notion that he would care. You tentatively reached out and popped a berry in your mouth, wanting to look like you were grateful and not just completely confused and intimidated by his presence.

You were both quiet for another long few moments before Thranduil started moving again, his long legs carrying him across the room. Your shoulders relaxed as you let out a tiny breath of relief. However, he did not move to the door as you had expected and hoped. Instead he made his way towards a bookcase where you knew from your exploration that all the books were in Elvish, plucked one from the shelf, and moved to sprawl out in a large armchair on the other side of the room. All you could do was stare at him, wide eyed, as he studied the page of the book in his lap as though you no longer existed. It seemed that he was intending to stay here... with you.

Swallowing down your uneasiness, you forced your gaze away from him and back down to the book, though you now found that you were completely unable to focus on anything at all, the words on the page as jumbled as your thoughts had become.

[imjustexistingtbh]

thoughts after watching the hobbit movies:

1. i feel like everyone puts them down. like yeah, they’re not lotr, but they’re still good, like. better than most movies i’ve seen good.

2. i need to reread the hobbit again. it’s been a few years.

3. no one mourned fili on the battlefield. that’s so sad :( he deserved better :( tauriel mourned kili, bilbo and the dwarves on the tower mourned thorin, no one mourned fili

4. on the topic of tauriel. i liked her character. but i hated the love triangle she was squashed into with legolas and kili. why was that necessary??

5. poor bilbo :(

6. poor bilbo- all the hobbits in lotr say bilbos adventure was fun and games. while it may not have been as bad as the fellowships journeys, it was absolutely traumatizing. so many times he could’ve died. so many people he cared about dead. horrors of war, prison, and more. he really was telling the bedtime version of it to the hobbits :(

7. bilbos actor was PERFECT- the facial expressions? the little half smile things?? i do that :) the eyebrow raises, everything. i loved it.

[whiteladyofithilien]

I would not mind the insertion of Tauriel so much if she wasn't such an obvious Mary Sue perfect at everything personality of flour paste fanfiction insert.

Give her a personality that's not just the embodiment of twenty different tropes and I wouldn't mind her non-canon existence at all.

And it's a shame too because Evangeline is a really good actress and she deserved better. And we the audience deserved better than a hastily glue-sticked together creation of a female character. It's like Tauriel was the beginning of the "let's invent the most lazily written female character ever and then call people sexist when they say they don't like her" trend that culminated with the third Star Wars trilogy

[scary-grace]

hiiii! for the fruit emoji asks...

🍉 Do you prefer to write short fics or long fics? Multichaptered works or single ones? Why?

🍎 Is there anything you straight-up won’t write?

🍊 Who’s a character you don’t write for that often, but keep meaning to write for more?

:D :D :D

🍉 Do you prefer to write short fics or long fics? Multichaptered works or single ones? Why?

I have bemoaned my inability to write oneshots and short fics many a time, and I finally have to just admit it -- I love a longfic and will probably continue writing those for the foreseeable future. I am trying to get better at writing shorter fics or oneshots, though!

🍎 Is there anything you straight-up won’t write?

I think -- no? I think writing-wise I'll try almost everything, but whether I'd post it is something else entirely.

🍊 Who’s a character you don’t write for that often, but keep meaning to write for more?

I think I said Dis when I answered this question in another ask, but I also think Tauriel deserves more airtime than I've given her! I don't think she's been a POV character yet, but it's time. I just need the right idea.

Thank you for the ask!

fruit emoji fic writer asks

[tossacointoyourhotmess]

What's the best book to film adaptation you've ever seen?

This is a tough one cause that depends on if you’re asking in terms of direct book accuracy or in terms of a brilliant book has inspired a brilliant movie even though there are differences.

Let’s look at some examples.

Jurassic Park

I’m a Jurassic Park fanatic. I love the movie so much. Its a comfort movie for me, and I’ve seen it so much I can recite the whole damn thing to you. It’s a book adaptation I’m obsessed with.

Is it a phenomenal movie based on a book? Yes.

Is it book accurate? It’s not even close. Characters die in the movie that live in the book and vice versa. Character relationships are completely changed. Characters themselves are completely changed. Would you believe me if I told you that Gennero the snivelling lawyer is actually really macho and brave in the book? There are entire sections that don’t make it into the movie but end up somewhere else the movie franchise in a somewhat different but still recognisable form. And the entire book was switched from a genuinely scary survival horror into a family friendly action adventure.

So in terms of brilliant book to brilliant movie, it’s one of the best. In terms of book accuracy, it’s one of the worst because it bears very little resemblance.

The Middle Earth Saga

I’m going to start with The Hobbit trilogy here because people love to shit on that as not book accurate. And it’s not. But is actually brilliant on lore accuracy, and I will explain that.

There are things that happen in that trilogy that do not happen in the book. If you read The Hobbit, and only The Hobbit, you will not find half of the movie trilogy. However, if you read the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, you will find the movie events in there. And these events were happening at the same time as the events in The Hobbit.

You don’t find out in The Hobbit what Gandalf was doing when he wasn’t with the company, but you do find out exactly where he went and what he was doing in the appendices. And it’s the same as the movies. You don’t see how Gandalf and Thorin meet in The Hobbit, but you can read about it in The Unfinished Tales by JRR Tolkien. And it’s the same as the movies.

Peter Jackson went beyond the confines of one book to build The Hobbit trilogy because he wanted to show what was happening with all the characters, so he went deep into Tolkien lore so that he could tell the whole story. Because The Hobbit is a children’s book. Yes, it’s the official prequel to The Lord of the Rings but it is not meant to be as intense. Jackson wasn’t making a children’s movie. He was making a prequel to his masterpiece trilogy so he pulled all the intense adult drama from the wider lore while keeping the children’s story of the quest for Erebor, with trolls and dragons and gold, intact. And yeah, throwing Legolas in there and creating Tauriel was a decision, but such is the way with adaptations. Sometimes they change things. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But on the whole, I think The Hobbit Trilogy is a pretty good adaption of Tolkiens lore even though it’s quite wide of The Hobbit itself.

The Lord of the Rings. What can I say? It’s another one I’m obsessed with. Everything about it is phenomenal. The scenery, the acting, the music, the atmosphere, the sheer scale of it. But even the extended editions are slim lined compared to the books.

I wish we had Tom Bombadil. I wish we had the Barrow-wrights on the Barrow downs. Glorfindel deserves better. So does Beregond. And if you don’t know those names, that’s exactly why I say they deserve better. The Scouring of the Shire would honestly have been amazing to see. And where were the rest of the Dúnedain?

But some changes made to the adaptations work well. In the books, none of the N��menór descended men have beards. Actually, in Tolkien lore, these Men of Westernesse cannot actually grow facial hair. But can you imagine Aragorn, Boromir, and Faramir without their beards? It’s such an iconic look now that it’s hard not to. But they are absolutely clean shaven in the books. Even the very brief glimpse we see of Elendil at the Last Alliance shows him with a beard. What we see of Isildur shows him with a beard. But these two are not even descendants of Númenór. They are Númenór, or rather what’s left of it. They don’t have beards.

Arwen is a blink-and-you-miss-her character in the books. You see her at a Rivendell party in the corner of the room, and then at her wedding to Aragorn. That’s it. And these references maybe take up a total of 4 lines, if that. But she’s a significant aspect of the movie trilogy. Is that book accurate? Absolutely not. Is it a good change? Definitely. Side note; I bet you didn’t know she had brothers if you’ve only seen the movie. Elrohir and Elladan also deserve better.

As Gandalf and Pippin speed across Middle Earth on their way to Minas Tirith, they see the beacons already lit. Denethor had the good sense to call to Rohan for aid before Gandalf even turned up to tell him there was a problem. But Pippin lighting them against Denethor’s wishes is such a good moment in the movie that no one’s really arguing about that change. Denethor’s madness and cruelty is given more explanation in the book and it makes more complex, more interesting, and you can begin to understand how he ended up like that. But they just don’t tell you any of it in the movies. I’m not saying Denethor deserved better cause he doesn’t and I hate him, but it would’ve been more interesting if the movies allowed him to stay a complex prick rather than be a 2D one.

I could keep going but I’ve already written an essay 😅

TLDR: Jurassic Park and The Middle Earth saga come to mind but not in terms of book accuracy. But then, in the end, it’s very hard to find a completely book accurate adaptation.

[unendingwanderlust]

AO3 Wrapped 2024 (where the only number you'll see is my word count) let's gooooo! Questions from here. Answers and director's commentary below the cut.

Last year's AO3 wrapped here.

Words published this year: 190,435

Most written rating: Explicit

Most written category: a whooping 27 F/M fics, followed by M/M (14), and F/F and Gen (12 each)

Most written fandom: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth

Most written relationships:

Rupert Giles/Buffy Summers (10)

Thranduil/Thranduil's Wife (5) and Thranduil/Original Female Character(s) (4) (Listing them together because they're the same relationship)

Gimli/Legolas, Sigrid/Tauriel, Fingon/Maedhros, Maglor (Tolkien)/Original Female Character(s) (3)

I've technically written 11 Buffy/Giles fics this year, if you count this one that was only posted on tumblr.

Top 5 characters written:

Buffy Summers, Original Female Character(s) (12)

Thranduil (11)

Rupert Giles (10)

Maglor, Maedhros, Legolas (9)

Thranduil's Wife (6)

Someone participated in Tolkien OC week and it shows...

Favourite additional tags (eg. hurt/comfort):

Romance (19)

Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot (16)

Humor, Fluff (15)

Cunnilingus, Anal Sex (12)

Established Relationship, Vaginal Sex (11)

Greatest Hits (AKA top 5 by Hits):

To Lose Oneself In Elven Song (Gimli/Legolas, E, 42,566 words). Gimli recognizes that Legolas is his One in Rivendell. Cue every stage of grief known to dwarf, man, and elf.

The Red Book (Bilbo/Thorin, E, 4,907 words). Thorin reads Bilbo's account of the quest of Erebor. It's... inaccurate, to say the least. And very spicy.

Above The Clouds (Fingon/Maedhros, E, 1,042 words). Fingon has an oral fixation and a huge crush on Maedhros. It goes exactly the way you'd expect.

These Cravings In The Night (Fingon/Maedhros, E, 1,338 words). Maedhros returns from Angband as a werewolf. Fingon digs that.

4 Expert Tips To Help You Survive Your Boring Family Vacation! (Maedhros/Indis, E, 7,841 words). Maedhros has the hots for his step-grandma. Indis can tell. Features Huan being the best boy, dramatic Maglor, and hungover Celegorm swearing off alcohol forever (or at least for the rest of the century).

Favourite fic you wrote (+why if u want): AKA me crying in the club while I try to choose my 5 favorite children. The rest of my fics look at me judgmentally for not picking them. In no particular order:

Rise To Set The World Aflame (Buffy/Dragon!Giles, E, 434 words). A Medieval Fantasy AU that I really hope to expand in the coming year. Giles is the dragon Buffy was ordered to slay by the Council... but she ended up laying falling in love with him instead.

Fragile (Vampire!Gimli/Legolas, E, 708 words). A hot secret affair develops between Gimli and Legolas during the Quest. However, the cherry on top of all the typical gigolas conflicts is that Gimli is a newly turned vampire and Legolas is the Slayer's son. This is another oneshot I'm hoping to expand on.

Where The Heart Is (Too many relationships to list here, M, WIP). What started as a quick character study for my OC Elvenqueen snowballed way beyond my control. This fic has it all: Fëanorion drama, dark magic used with good intentions, questionable medical practices, exploration of the different cultures of Middle-earth, and quite a bit of criticism of LaCE for a LaCE-compliant fic.

Make me happy (and I again shall be virtuous) (Thranduil/Thranduil's Wife, E, 5,324 words). I just love how my OC for Thranduil's Wife has developed so much that I get to put her in an AU and her characterization makes perfect sense. Also, this fic features Thranduil in skimpy lingerie of his own making.

Gilesbot’s New Feature (Not A Bug!) (Buffybot/Gilesbot, E, 975 words). Buffybot deserved so much better, so she gets a cute bot boyfriend. Their relationship is really fluffy and sweet and I love this for them. Features really corny sexy vampire/Slayer roleplay!

Favourite paragraph(s) you wrote: Legolas and Gimli's first meeting in To Lose Oneself In Elven Song. The entire scene feels kind of fairytale-like to me, but specifically this part:

In the clearing, an elf sat on lush grass with his back propped up against a tree. The entire world around him awakened with the beauty and might in his voice; it filled with color and life. Little birds, squirrels, and rabbits formed a circle around him, a captivated audience to his concert.

And, oh, such beauty! How could one face hold such divinity, as if it were ivory lovingly carved by the hands of Eru Ilúvatar Himself? The elf's hair flowed down his shoulders like mithril and gold, and the radiance of his smile could overpower the sun!

(Gimli doesn't just pine, he's the entire damn forest)

Favourite dialogue snippet you wrote: A tough choice to make because I have many candidates in mind, but whenever I read this from Celegorm's perspective, it makes me giggle (x):

Laergliriel turned towards the cabin’s interior and called, “Míri! Russo peed on the carpet again!”

Celegorm opened and closed his mouth, contemplating his words. After what felt like an eternity of awkward staring at each other in silence, he asked, “I take it that this is a… common behavior for him?”

Just then, Maedhros bolted to her side. “They are not talking about��me! Míri just named her new cat Russo because she hates me.”

WIP ideas for next year: Continuing last year's tradition, let's just do a top 5:

Buffy/Giles AU in which they're two regular people living in Sunnydale and all hell breaks loose around them. (The Slayer is Kendra.)

My beloved Gimli/Legolas Silent Hill AU! A preview lives in this tag, and I plan to share more.

Arranged and Rearranged should get a new installment because it's fun. (Any guesses on which Fëanorion Elwing and Eärendil get to bang?)

An in-universe research paper on elven cannibalism in the context of Melkor worship. Yes, you heard that right. Lindaeareth is on nerd duty and Elrond is about to have a terrible time.

A multi-chapter sequel to Glory Days, Long Passed and All The Way From The Start. It's got much more plot than its predecessors, including shy background post-reembodiment Russingon, Gimli charming every elf in sight, Maglor's daughter being the literal devil's advocate... and Thranduil's wife being newly released from prison after serving a 15-year sentence. No one knows what her crime was, and every time someone asks, she gives them something ridiculous ("Break-in at the art museum. No, I didn't want to steal a painting- I just wanted to put a specific one in the storage. It's an eyesore, trust me". "I was a political prisoner because I supported the Gingerbread King during the coup! Oh, the price a lady must pay for sticking to her ideals!". "I stole the cheese factory's entire supply. I'm telling you, my midnight cravings get intense!". "I stabbed the tooth fairy. Stingy bitch only gave me one coin for my tooth when it was clearly worth at least five!"). Thranduil doesn't want to pry. Maglor figures it out in 0.2 seconds.

What you learned from writing this year: Everyone should write something completely self-indulgent and insane. Just for the fun of it. It's so liberating!

BONUS: Updates on last year's WIP list: Find it here.

[litcityblues]

Let's Talk About The Hobbit Trilogy

I must be feeling more generous in my old age, because I watched Star Trek Into Darkness again and that was a lot better than I remember it being and then, for reasons unknown to me I got it into my head to sit down and watch The Hobbit Trilogy again and my heart, which had been hardened against these films for years now, unthawed... a little bit.

I mean, we first have to give flowers where they're due: is there anybody on the internet that can take these films apart better than Lindsay Ellis has already done? If you're reading this, you've probably seen her videos at some point, but if you haven't here's part one and part two.

But back to me and my hardened heart: I have always hated the fact that they took The Hobbit (a relatively short book) and tried to milk it to death into three separate films. I felt it was a money grab by the studio and had a vague inkling of some sort of rights dispute being involved between studios somehow, but it felt silly. The Lord of the Rings was three separate books. Making that into a trilogy made sense. This did not. I felt it should have been one, really excellent movie- maybe, maaaaaaybe two, and honestly, I watched the first one (An Unexpected Journey) in the theaters and didn't bother to go back and watch the other two.

So, I sat down and I watched them again. Not all in a row, mind you because I'm not that much of a Tolkien superfan, but I made my way through them again, and here's what I think:

An Unexpected Journey might be the best film of the three. It's a genuinely good film and I feel like it hews the closest to the source material. The film opens with a little bit of backstory: the Dwarf King Thror brought prosperity for the dwarves of the Lonely Mountain and the men who lived in the nearby town of Dale. But too much gold attracted the attention of the dragon, Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) who swooped down with fire and fury and drove the dwarves from the mountain to claim the treasure for himself. The Dwarves flee and Thorin (Richard Armitage) sees King Thranduil (Lee Pace) and the Wood Elves standing by and doing nothing to help- somewhat understandably, Thorn develops a hatred of elves as a result.

That backstory aside, we flash forward to where 50-year-old Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is recruited by Gandalf (Ian McKellan) to first host a dinner for Thorin and his company of dwarves and then be their burglar.

At this point, I am so far, so good with everything. The backstory works, recruiting Bilbo works. The Dwarven Dirge at the end of the dinner works. 'Chip the glasses, crack the plates, that's what Bilbo Baggins hates' is *chef's kiss* straight from the book. Love it.

Even the rest of this movie works pretty well. Yes, they have a detour to Rivendell (have to work Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, and Cate Blanchett into the story somehow, after all) and I'm not huge into the Dol Guldur subplot, but it is a legitimate subplot so I can't argue about it too much. The Goblins in the Misty Mountains, finding the ring, it all is great! I love it. Even the way this one ends, with them catching sight of the Lonely Mountain for the first time is just about perfect.

The next movie, The Desolation of Smaug isn't all that bad either. We get Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt), the spiders, and the Sylvan Kingdom. Legolas is back! (Orlando Bloom) and he's got a super cool Lady Friend, Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly). I think this is where it starts to go off the rails a bit for me-- not because I object to Tauriel as a character it's just that she deserves better. I get that these films are largely a sausage-fest. Honestly, apart from Galadriel and a few women from Lake-Town who have speaking parts that's about the size of the female presence in the movie. That is accurate to the source material, but we've got to be honest here: these movies aren't passing the Bechdel Test.

I think that's the crux of it for me. Tauriel feels like a character somebody in the studio thought should be shoe-horned in there. There's no Arwen/Aragorn romance in these books, so shoe-horn her in there and give her a love interest- in this case Kili (Aidan Turner.) Going to the character's Wikipedia page, we find: "The character does not appear in the original novel, but was created by Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh as an expansion of material adapted from the novel."

I have no idea what that means and I'm not sure they did either. And I know that all of this makes me sound vaguely like a neckbeard incel type, but seriously, watch these movies and tell me you don't agree: Tauriel deserved better.

Laketown/Esgaroth works well. No problems there. We meander about the Dol Guldur subplot a bit and The Necromancer is revealed as Sauron eventually Bilbo and the Dwarves break into the mountain, wake up Smaug, piss him off, and try and use his flames into melting a large gold statue to bury him alive in molten gold but that doesn't work and he flies off to Laketown very angry and ready to destroy the place.

This brings us to the third and final film, The Battle of Five Armies.

This is probably the weakest of the films because it feels like a third act masquerading as a movie. I mean, in one sense it is a third act, but it just simultaneously manages to feel overstuffed and underdone which is a neat trick, I'll grant you.

The biggest disappointment here is the Black Arrow. It wasn't a freakin' artillery bolt in the book! Seriously it's one of the best moments in fantasy literature. Bard is down to his last arrow, draws the Black Arrow and says, 'I hope to heck this works' (only better and more epic and Tokein-esque) and fires it and then the dragon crashes down with fire and destruction and Tolkein drops one of his best lines:

"And that was the end of Smaug and Esgaroth. But not of Bard."

They didn't get this moment right and it remains probably my biggest disappointment with this film trilogy. (Don't get me wrong: I understand why they sized up the arrow, I get all of that, but if there was one moment to go with the book as hard as you possibly can it was here and they didn't do it.)

Armies start gathering. The Elves find out the dragon is gone and head to the mountain, wanting their cut. Bard rallies the survivors of Laketown and heads to the Mountain wanting his cut. Azog and the Orcs are lurking nearby oh and, did I mention that Gandalf escapes from Dol Guldur and Galadriel drives Sauron out?

Then, all semblance of geography and time is cast aside and Gandalf crosses leagues in veritable blinks of the eye to arrive at the Lonely Mountain in time for the battle. (Gandalf also tries his hand at geopolitics by saying a Lonely Mountain dominated by orcs would open the way to the restoration of Angmar? Which if my Middle Earth Geography is correct is on the Shire-side of the Misty Mountain, right? I don't know. It didn't make sense to me.)

Inside The Lonely Mountain, Thorin spends far too much time being gold-sick but eventually recovers his sanity to join the battle.

Dain (Billy Connoly) arrives and he's riding not a warhorse but a War Pig. (Legit amazing casting here and it's delightful.)

Legolas and Tauriel also cast aside geography and time to travel to Mount Gundabad (the other stronghold of the orcs) to find it empty which means Bolg has another force on the way. They also manage to get back in time for the battle.

Then the battle happens. It's Peter Jackson, he's good at this and it... works more or less. It just goes on and on and on and the orcs arrive on wereworms, which seems like a cool and previously unknown method of transportation. Eventually, Thorin and Azog have it out and Thorin is fatally wounded. Kili is killed because Tauriel can't have nice things and deserves better. The Eagles arrive at the very end as they always do and bring Beorn and Radagast to the party and the orcs are all defeated.

The dwarves get their Kingdom back. Bilbo heads home to find that he's been declared dead and his stuff is being auctioned off. Legolas doesn't want to go back home with his Dad, so Thranduil recommends he seek out a range of the north who goes by the name Strider.

And that's more or less that.

Overall, I think the first one is genuinely good. I think the second one is good and I think the third one could have been condensed down or cut out entirely, but some parts were good, and parts that were not so good. I mean, the animated version of The Hobbit from back in the day managed to be one movie, I don't know why this trilogy couldn't have been two. My Grades: An Unexpected Journey *** out of ****, The Desolation of Smaug *** out of ****, The Battle of Five Armies ** out of ****.

[spookyjarchivist]

it’s so weird bc peter jackson HEAVILY changed all of faramir’s scenes from the books (tbh everything gondor related is kinda… weird choices all around… idk why he makes boromir the only competent gondorian and made denethor into a generic deadbeat dad for no reason)

in the books, once faramir knows about the ring he’s IMMEDIATELY like “oh hell no i dont want this shit, how can i help u master hobbits?”

but pj wanted DRAMA and like, i get it, i dont agree with a good portion of his changes but i understand there things that must be changed to fit a movie format from a book and he was also trying to make certain characters more “relatable”, it’s part of the reason i stick to the claim that the lotr movies are good adaptations despite changing a LOT of things even if quite a few are questionable

the problem with making this change from the books tho? you have a very limited time to wrap it up in order to keep up the pace and not lose room for necessary scenes, it’s a change meant to ADD to the rising tensions in the films, tolkien gives the characters quite a lot of time to sit and think about things and have conversations but you can’t necessarily do that in a film the same way so some relatively not-tension-inducing scenes needed to be given tension

but there in lies the problem, if you’re already cutting SO MUCH in order to fit what’s really 6 movies into 3 and already adding things in other areas to push meaningless love triangles (looking at eowyn’s absolutely BUTCHERED storyline and that tauriel mess in the hobbit movies(she’s not even an actual character in the books but she deserved so much better)) and other stuff, then when trying to add even a mini-arc to a movie you just dont have time to make it make sense and progress naturally

also the law faramir is breaking? it’s not supposed to be bringing denethor the ring, it’s that they have orders to kill all trespassers in case they’re sauron’s spies

TL;DR it makes no sense bc it was made up for the movies and they didn’t have time to make it make sense

Okay but. you guys know this scene right.

i HAVE to talk about this.

because we’re so used to the beautiful way it’s cut. Faramir brings in the hobbits, he says to take them to Denethor, that he’s sending a “mighty gift.” But shit goes down and he thinks better of it and lets them go. This is intercut with Sam’s magnificent speech about Some Good In This World That’s Worth Fighting For and the victory at Helm’s Deep and Isengard being obliterated by Ents. 

but

the thing is

if you cut out the other scenes

and JUST look at what’s happening in Osgiliath

this is what happens word for word:

Faramir: Take them to my father. Tell him Faramir sends a mighty gift. A weapon that will change our fortunes in this war. Sam: Do you know why your brother died? He tried to take the Ring from Frodo! After swearing an oath to protect him, he tried to kill him!* The Ring drove your brother mad. Scout: NAZGÛL! Frodo: [walks slowly up a bridge to stare at a Nazgûl] Sam: [tackles him] Frodo: [draws Sting] Sam: It’s me. It’s your Sam. Don’t you know your Sam? Frodo: I can’t do this, Sam. Sam: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. They kept going because they were holding on to something. Frodo: What are we holding on to, Sam? Sam: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for. Faramir: I think at last we understand each other, Frodo Baggins. Madril: You know the laws of this country, the laws of your father. If you let them go, your life is forfeit. Faramir: Then it is forfeit.

OKAY. SO. Being intercut with the other scenes REALLY gives this one a boost because I didn’t realize how weird this is until this most recent viewing which has to be like my 40th time through. 

Faramir has made his choice and then he sees Sam tackle Frodo and make a nice speech and then he says I think we understand each other Frodo Baggins???? What EXACTLY has this taught him about Frodo that’s worth ALLOWING HIS FATHER TO EXECUTE HIM (according to this nebulous “give me the ring or else” law Denethor supposedly has in place)???? Like he just sees Frodo being wet and pathetic at Sam and is like “hold on I have to rethink my entire life”?????? He genuinely goes from “Take them to my father, I’m sending a mighty gift” to “AH NOW I UNDERSTAND” in 5 minutes and explicitly seems to understand FRODO after hearing Sam make a speech at him??

how did I never notice this before it’s driving me crazy i’ve been thinking about this for 6 weeks

* Asterisk because Sam, one, you don’t actually know how Boromir died so that was a weird power play, and two, if we know that Faramir ALSO doesn’t know how Boromir died it occurs to me that it kind of sounds like Sam is saying, “Yeah, I did it, I stabbed your brother for coming after Frodo and I’ll stab you too, Legs.”

[ao3feed-thehobbit]

Dragon's Fire

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/t5GKBin

by 2358FireWitch

I suck at descriptions, but it came to mind and no one else (that I saw) was doing it so I Thanosed it. You know, the whole, "Fine, I'll do it myself." Yeah, you get it. Anyways...

Daenerys wakes up in a strange world with only Drogon by her side. Except now she thinks she can hear him in her head and there's a very large man who can turn into a massive bear telling her there's such things as elves and purely evil dragons. She doesn't entirely believe it's real but she's going along with anyway because she's tired of...well everything.

Words: 7432, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English

Fandoms: The Hobbit - All Media Types, Game of Thrones (TV)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Daenerys Targaryen, Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, Beorn (Tolkien), Gandalf | Mithrandir, Legolas Greenleaf, Thorin's Company, Radagast | Aiwendil, Tauriel (Hobbit Movies), Drogon | Daenerys Targaryen's Dragon, Smaug (Tolkien), Elrond Peredhel

Relationships: Legolas Greenleaf/Daenerys Targaryen, Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Daenerys Targaryen/Tauriel

Additional Tags: Game of Thrones Fix-It, During The Hobbit, Crossover, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut, Happy Ending, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Daenerys Targaryen Deserves Better, Daenerys Targaryen Lives, Thorin Is an Idiot, Eventual Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Emotionally Constipated Thorin, Beorn's House, Big Brother Beorn, Gandalf Meddles, POV Daenerys Targaryen, Drogon | Daenerys Targaryen's Dragon is a Good Boy, Bisexual Daenerys Targaryen, Hopefully an original idea, I had a Thanos moment, fine i'll do it myself

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/t5GKBin

[ao3feed-tolkien]

Dragon's Fire

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/QfvwyOl

by 2358FireWitch

I suck at descriptions, but it came to mind and no one else (that I saw) was doing it so I Thanosed it. You know, the whole, "Fine, I'll do it myself." Yeah, you get it. Anyways...

Daenerys wakes up in a strange world with only Drogon by her side. Except now she thinks she can hear him in her head and there's a very large man who can turn into a massive bear telling her there's such things as elves and purely evil dragons. She doesn't entirely believe it's real but she's going along with anyway because she's tired of...well everything.

Words: 7432, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English

Fandoms: The Hobbit - All Media Types, Game of Thrones (TV)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Daenerys Targaryen, Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, Beorn (Tolkien), Gandalf | Mithrandir, Legolas Greenleaf, Thorin's Company, Radagast | Aiwendil, Tauriel (Hobbit Movies), Drogon | Daenerys Targaryen's Dragon, Smaug (Tolkien), Elrond Peredhel

Relationships: Legolas Greenleaf/Daenerys Targaryen, Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Daenerys Targaryen/Tauriel

Additional Tags: Game of Thrones Fix-It, During The Hobbit, Crossover, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut, Happy Ending, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Daenerys Targaryen Deserves Better, Daenerys Targaryen Lives, Thorin Is an Idiot, Eventual Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Emotionally Constipated Thorin, Beorn's House, Big Brother Beorn, Gandalf Meddles, POV Daenerys Targaryen, Drogon | Daenerys Targaryen's Dragon is a Good Boy, Bisexual Daenerys Targaryen, Hopefully an original idea, I had a Thanos moment, fine i'll do it myself

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/QfvwyOl

[samwises-potsandpans]

Welcome!

This is an LOTR/Hobbit blog! I will be posting things about my favorite characters and such.

Everything on this blog will be SFW, except for minor cuss words when necessary.

I am creating a tagging system of sorts. It’ll be for all of the stuff I’ve either reblogged or created. It’s still a work in progress:

#leggy your ada is here: Any Legolas content

#samwise my brave samwise: Any Samwise content

#kili how dare you die (angry/affectionately): Any Kili content

#tauriel deserved better: Any Tauriel content

#my dear frodo: Any Frodo content

#nearamir faramir: Any Faramir content

#aragorn son of arathorn son of….: Any Aragorn content

#arwen got what she deserved which is aragorn: Any Arwen content

#pippin you fool: Any Pippin content

#blibo baggins of bag-end: Any Bilbo content

#thranduil your leggy is here: Any Thranduil content

#eowyn is no man: Any Eowyn content

#merry you not-fool: Any Merry content

#boromir shouldn’t have died: Any Boromir content

Enjoy!

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

I also think Estrid is victim of this trend in 90s-00s sci fi, an almost defensiveness about adding a giiiiiirl to the superhero cast, the way there isn’t if adding a boy.  All her scenes of power demonstration — showing she’s a world-class tail fighter and an estreen and an early college student and a brilliant bioengineer — feel like they’re almost apologizing for her presence in the story, or desperately trying to justify it.

It reminds me of how the 1990s Batman movies handled Batgirl.  Batman and Robin each get one scene of demonstrating why they deserve to be superheroes — Batman doing a fast and total shift from Bat to Bruce Wayne, Robin backflipping off a fourth-story balcony to slide down a chandelier.  Batgirl gets a scene where she shows she’s better at detective work than Batman.  And then a scene where she’s better at fighting than Robin.  And one where she drives up a wall.  And one where she beats up a whole mob.  The plot and characters all grind to a halt for a good 30 minutes of movie for this.  It doesn’t come off as writers pumping up their fave; it comes off as desperately trying to justify why a girl is allowed to be a superhero.

There are other examples — Gamora in Marvel comics, Starfire in the DCAMU, Kyoko in Power Rangers, Kimiko in The Boys — where it feels like the story falls over itself trying to justify the girl’s presence.  Because. Women have to be twice as good as men to be taken half as seriously.  The anticipated backlash to these characters isn’t in the writers’ heads; they also know about (Terra Tara Tauriel Darla Ray-Rose Ruby-Bella-Charlie Mary Morgana-Gwen Gwenpool Suki Stephanie Ginny-Luna Zatanna Carol-Wanda-Hope Max Lexa Lila) all the times adding a woman to a male-dominated cast led to fan revolt.

I’ve never read the Star Trek fics that inspired a man to coin the term Mary Sue, but I wonder if some of them had that same desperate, defensive energy as they tried to sneak in just one more female character.

What was the last Animorphs book you read? (As in, the one which you read for the first time after reading all the others for the first time)

IIRC, it would've been #38: The Arrival. That was the last one I managed to find when building my collection. And I distinctly remember reading that one and going "holy crap, I thought my brother was exaggerating every time he mentioned that one plot where an andalite teen girl gets sent to Earth, introduced as a quadruple child prodigy, paired with Ax for 0.5 seconds, and then put on a bus."

Like, I actually like The Arrival a lot more than my brother does — I love the Suicide Squad plot. It forces Ax to realize an andalite doesn't have to be a traitor to be a monster. It's overtly anti-CIA. It's a huge sign of character growth how quickly Ax swings from awe to contempt. It wraps up the threads introduced in #18, and sets up the endgame. It gets to show off why Ax is on this team: Jake out-leads Gonrod, Marco out-strategizes Aloth, Cassie out-teams the whole team, Rachel out-fights Arbat, and Tobias out-flies their pilots. It is not, no matter what Estrid says, about the cinnamon buns.

I do agree that Estrid is a weird and clumsy character whose backstory doesn't quite hang together, and that her romance with Ax comes off like Ax being so lonely for andalite company he latches onto an objectively terrible person. But that's the last one I remember reading, because I have clear memory of the realization that "Whoa, little bro really wasn't making that shit up."