#the only thing i miss about the harry potter fandom was new information about books/movies

[wonwoosthetic]

The Start Of A Comic Con Love Story || Jake Gyllenhaal

MASTERLIST is in my bio :)

This request has been in my ask box for quite a while, sorry it took me a while. I hope you enjoy it! :) <3

Request: Hey. Can you write one with Jake Gyllenhaal? Where the reader is a young novelist in her late twenties and they meet at comic con where she's there to promote her fantasy novel and he's there as part of the spiderman panel. Can you make it like Tom Holland sees her first and tries to flirt but fails to catch her attention and goes to seek Jake's help but when Jake sees her instead of helping out Tom he snags her for himself? If not to cheesy something like love at first sight...

Characters: Jake Gyllenhaal, Reader, Tom Holland, Jacob Batalon

Warnings: none

The Start Of A Comic Con Love Story

"Thank you, bye", you said goodbye kindly, with a big smile on your face, to one of the many fans that had been waiting in line to get a picture with you and an autograph. There you were, sitting behind a table excitedly and nervous as heck as you saw the mass of people that were still waiting patiently. You had been signing books and taking pictures for over an hour and the line didn't seem to get any shorter - this wasn't something you ever thought would happen.

--- Throwback ---

"I'm sorry but no." "No one will read something like this." "This is... no, sorry." "Not with me." "I don't think anyone will give you a contract." "You won't find any publishing company that'll publish this." Those were comments and statements you had heard ever since you started looking for a company to publish your recently finished book. It had taken you almost a year and although you couldn't be any prouder, hope was starting to leave you. No one wanted to publish your book, calling it a foolish story, ridiculous and even unreadable or painful to read. Putting all of that work into it seemed to had been useless and a waste of time.

Sitting in your tiny New York Apartment which you were paying for way too much, tears started forming in your eyes and threatened to leave them. You were going to have to leave your beloved home if you wouldn't be able to find any publishing company willing to help you out. Your tiny TV was showing a documentary about J.K. Rowling, one of your heroes and role models. She was talking about how no one wanted to publish Harry Potter and her entire life seemed to have fallen apart. You wanted to stay positive, you really did, but reality hit you -  you were never going to have the luck this amazingly talented woman had had. You weren't talented, enough people had told you that.

A 'ding' noise from your phone brought you back into the present time. Turning your head to the left, your phone was on the floor next to you, the screen lit up - an email. You took it into your hand and looked at the sender - Joanne Rowling. You choked on your spit. Immediately, you unlocked your phone and pressed the Mail button. The internet letter read as followed:

Dear (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N), I heard about your story. Two days ago a publicist from Penguin got into contact with me and told me about your book, sadly they weren't able to sign you but I read about your book idea and I LOVE IT! I know exactly what you're currently going through and it's daunting, I understand but I don't want you to give up. Back when I was a struggling, but most importantly, an aspiring writer, no one was there to help me. After a lot of ups and downs, I finally got the help I needed - I want to be that person for you. Here I am writing you this email, offering to help you. I'm inviting you to London next weekend, I hope you're free, from the 8th of March till the 11th. The plane ticket is attached as well as your hotel information. I hope you accept my offer! I'm looking forward to an answer and am excited to meet you!

With lots of love, Joanne

-----------------

Person after person. Two hours went by. Three hours. It slowly came to the fourth when the security man behind you leaned down and to tell you, "We're gonna close the penal for twenty minutes, you can go behind the curtain, cool down and then come back again, alright?"

You looked up with a thankful look and a smile on your face, nodded and stood up after seeing the barrier being put up to prevent the fans from going any further. Quickly making your way "backstage", you got hand over a bottle of water which you gulped down faster than you probably should have. After taking a seat on the couch placed on the side, you realized that twenty minutes was a long enough time to walk around and explore the magic that is Comic-Con since you had been a fan of too many fandoms that got represented there. You looked around the room, finally catching the eye of your manager. You stood up and started walking up to her. Before even reaching her, you already started talking, "Melissa, can I walk around for a bit. I won't be gone for too long, I just want to have a quick look around." "No, you can't just walk away-", "But I'll be back on time", you argued back, which won her over. With a grunt, she grabbed your arm and, pretty much, pushed you out of the room which had curtains as walls. "I'm so gonna regret this but you're not going anywhere alone here, you'll get lost or attacked or-", you cut her off, "Woah, woah, woah, calm down", chuckling, "attacked? I'll be alright, don't worry." "No, you wouldn't be, trust me." And you believed her.

You saw what happened to the Marvel stars that entered the building only seconds after you, obviously, they were a lot more famous than you but to your surprise, the reaction of the people waiting wasn't a lot different than the reaction you received. The two of you were walking at a very quick pace to god knows where, so you stopped in your tracks, taking her surprise, "Alright, stop for a second. I want to go to the Spiderman panel, where's that?" "No", Melissa shook her head. "Yes", you talked back. "No", "Yes", "I said, no", "Why not?", you whined like a little kid would to their mother. "BECAUSE I know what those panels are like. Their fans are crazy and we don't have enough time." You rolled your eyes at her comment and started dragging her into a different direction where you knew the panel would be since you... well... yes, you looked it up. Your heart felt like it was starting to beat in your throat, you completely ignored the comments coming from the woman who you had been linking arms with. The nervousness raised rapidly as you thought of the fact that you were about to see the actors of one of your favourite movies of all time. Together, with a lot of nagging, you reached the doors of the hall, which, to your surprise, were open and people were leaving the room. "Wait, what? Nooo", you whined once more that day, realizing you had just missed the one panel you were most excited about. Melissa noticed your frustration, rolled her eyes, and dragged you to a side door which got protected by a rather large man in a security outfit. She showed him her badge that was hanging from the key chain around her neck and he let you in immediately.

All of a sudden, you were in a big, way bigger than yours, backstage area where people were running around in a rush, trying to get through as quickly as possible. Melissa placed the two of you on the side of the room, "Stay here, I'm gonna go and ask something real quick, alright? Be right back!", she shouted as he already made her way to whoever she wanted to talk to. You rolled your eyes at her motherly behaviour since you were old enough to take care of yourself. After standing and looking around for a bit, you noticed a presence next to you. Turning to your right, you came to sight with the one and only Spiderman himself, Tom Holland. "Hey, you're (Y/N) (Y/L/N), right?", he asked with his hands in his jeans pockets. "Yeah, oh my god, you actually know who I am", you were shocked. "Of course, I love your book series!" "Oh wow, thank you. Thank you so much." He quickly got his right hand out of his pocket and went to shake yours, "I'm Tom", to which you chuckled, "I know, I'm a big fan", you shook his hand. You could tell he was nervous which you found incredibly cute. He, in general, was extremely cute, not your type, but very cute. You started having a chat but he quickly came to the realization that you seemed to always drift away.

"Alright, well, it was great to meet you, I just... I have to get going, I'm sorry", he excused himself from the chat, to which you answered, "Oh no, that's totally fine, don't worry", you shook hands once more, "it was great to meet you too and good luck with the new Spiderman!", you knew he didn't need the luck, still, it was a nice thing to say.

--- 3rd Person ---

Well, that chat didn't go as planned, Tom thought as he made his way back to his co-star Jacob who got then accompanied by Jake Gyllenhaal. As soon as he reached the two men, the Philippian turned towards his friend excitedly, "AND? How did it go?" Tom shrugged, "She's just a lovely as I thought she'd be but the conversation didn't go where I wanted it to." "Aw, sorry man", he patted the Spiderman actor on the shoulder - Jake right next to the two had absolutely no clue what was going on whatsoever. "What happened?", he wondered. "There's that authour Tom really likes and he wanted to talk to her and...", Jacob started gesturing around with his hands, "you know... maybe ask her out... or something. Hey, maybe you could help him." The older actor raised his eyebrows "Oooh, and who is that author?" Trying to be as subtle as possible, Tom pointed to her direction. Jake's eyes immediately found the silhouette leaning on the wall, looking like she was waiting for something or probably someone. All he could see was her hair just sitting perfectly, how she somewhat looked slightly nervous making her appear even more adorable. Even from that distance, he could see her eyes shimmering and shining as she was looking around the room, taking in everything that came to her sight - and suddenly the two of them locked eyes. It was quick... but powerful.

"Oh, I think someone has found her", Jacob joked, trying the cheer Tom up which didn't really help but still made him crack a grin. "Sorry boys, but I gotta go", and with that, he left, and started making his way towards the woman by the wall, earing a, "Hey! I thought you'd help me!", from Tom, which got slightly overheard by his co-star due to all of the other people talking rather loudly.

--- 2nd Person ---

You were still waiting for your manager to come back and maybe show you around - although you had earned yourself quite a status, the anxiety of walking around somewhere on your own in a space that you don't know, hadn't gone away yet. Somebody clearing their throat next to you made you turn your head to the spot where Tom stood not even three minutes ago. Looking up, you found out that it actually was Jake Gyllenhaal, whom you had actually locked eyes with before but quickly turned away, trying to avoid the awkwardness. But there you suddenly were, next to each other.

"Hey, sorry for just jumping at you... I'm Jake", he, too, reached out his right hand, seemed a lot more confident though. You chuckled, "Oh, hi, I'm (Y/N). Not to sound creepy... but I know who you are." The two of you shook hands and yours went right back behind your back. "Right", he laughed, "you don't sound creepy, don't worry." "Good, good", you joined in with laughing. "Right, ehm... I just", he took a deep breath, "I just saw you from across the room and... this is going to sound very cheesy", his expression made you raise your eyebrows, "but I saw you and I just have to take you out to dinner, I thought", a loud laughter escaped your mouth, making him smile as well, "I know, I know, but honestly, I don't think I could have forgiven myself if I hadn't even tried asking you."

You could start your cheeks starting to turn a reddish colour and suddenly you were feeling a lot hotter than before, "Well... I-I feel very honoured to be asked that, thank you." A boyish grin started spreading on his lips, "No need to thank me, I'll be the one to say that if your answer happens to be yes." You noticed his cheekiness and decided to play along, not knowing where the confidence came from, "To what question?", you asked with a wide grin. "(Y/N), would you be so lovely and go out for dinner with me?" "Absolutely, yes." Two wide smiling people were now looking at each other, neither knowing how not even talking to the other person for five minutes could already make them feel like this.

"Alright", he swiped off the imaginary sweat from his forehead with a sigh, "now that that's covered, would it be rude to ask for your number?" "No, it wouldn't", with a smile you took the extended phone in front of you and started tipping in your number when you felt another presence on the other side of you. As soon as you looked up, Melissa was standing there waiting for you to be done with a knowing look a cheeky grin. You handed the phone back, "Well, it was very nice to meet you, Jake. I have to go but thank you and... text me", with a smile you left him. Your manager immediately linked arms with you, "Tell me, EVERYTHING", making you giggle. As she started rambling about you and the male actor, the two of you walked through the open door, she first then you, you turned around once more and found the blue eyes man looking at you leaving. He turned around to his fellow actors with his arms wide open, "Guess who's got a date?"

-----------------------------------------

I’m not too sure if this turned out as great as I would have wanted it, but I hope you like it! :)

I could definitely imagine a second part for this, please let me know what you think!

Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day/night :) <3

[i-wish-we-were-jedi]

I don’t usually post personal updates on this blog, but this one has a fandom theme too. And it’s too amazing not to share.

This is not a sob-story. In fact, I would “Choose no other life than the one I’ve lived,” to fittingly quote C.S. Lewis, because it has made me who I am, and without the death of my sister, the things that have been going on lately would never have happened.

A lot of people claim Harry Potter as their “gateway drug” into the fandom life. That was not the case for me. Mine was Narnia. When I was little, my younger sister died and in response to the grief I didn’t know how to handle, I buried myself in books. My dad had an old copy of the series from when he was a boy (he was missing Prince Caspian, though, so I bought my own copy later), and I flew through them in days. This was only a few months before the first of the Narnia movies came out, and I was in love. I listened to the soundtracks, I acted out the scenes, I drew fan art (which I still have), and wrote fan-fiction. I was so obsessed with it that my mom actually considered therapy. I was nine years old.

I grew up, and Narnia grew with me. I collected miniature replicas from the movies, and I learned more about C.S. Lewis and his other works. When I hit middle school, I started branching out. I read Lord of the Rings, Little House on the Prairie, I watched Star Wars. I was a hard-core fangirl. But Narnia was always my first love. Everything I did, it all went back to Narnia somehow.

As I was nearing the end of eighth grade, the year before high school, a friend of mine informed me that her theatre group, called CYT (Christian Youth Theatre), was putting on a production of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. If only I’d known then how much that one conversation would change my life forever.

I immediately called them and asked when and where and how to audition. Unfortunately, they didn’t have exact dates for the auditions yet, and the next we heard of the play was through a flier that told us the dates and locations of the performances. Undeterred, I bought my ticket and my dad and I went to go see this production.

I was...underwhelmed.

Don’t get me wrong! The show itself was amazing! Sets, costumes, props, acting, singing, dancing, all of it was top-notch! But the story itself I felt was misrepresented, and that was discouraging for me. I have never found anything more saddening as a fan than to see something that I love taken and used by someone who doesn’t understand it.

But here’s something about me you need to know: if I see something that isn’t right, it is in my blood to try and fix it. So I stewed on this horrible play for about two weeks, and you know what I decided to do? I decided to make my own play of Narnia.

Only one problem: I knew nothing about theatre and had no idea where to start.

One night I was lying in bed on a warm June night, trying to fall asleep. My window was open, and it was windy out, so I could hear the trees rustling, and see the flash of leaves in the moonlight, and it was beautiful.

And out of nowhere, the first two lines of a song popped into my head. It was pitch black in my room, but I grabbed a sheet of copy paper off my desk and wrote it in pencil. And that’s when I thought: why not make this about Narnia.

And the song just came, line by line, two verses, then three.

When I woke up the next morning, I had a tune and a name.

By now I had decided that if I was going to write a stage play, I better know what stage plays are actually like, so I auditioned for a production of Aladdin Jr. and got in as a townsperson. So now I knew what a script was supposed to look like, and the things that they are supposed to account for during a production. I got to see how lighting, costuming, dancing, and music all fit together from the inside. I was about 14 years old now.

And then I wrote my script. Slowly, because I was new at this and I didn’t know how much of the book I should put directly into the script and how much I could paraphrase, but slowly it came together. My family moved, and I was in another production - Beauty and the Beast, in which I played one of the Silly Girls. And then another production of Peter Pan as a pirate. This was a time of learning for me, of writing and rewriting as things came and changed and evolved in my head.

Then I did Wizard of Oz. I auditioned and got the part of Dorothy. This was my first lead role and it gave me a better glimpse into the world of character arcs and what is important to an actor when portraying a character. But also, my dad was the Music Director for this production, so I got to see what his role was like, the kinds of things he needed and was able to help him put together music tracks for the kids to sing with during rehearsal, which was my first exposure to any sort of musical editing software.

My mind kinda exploded. I would finish editing the tracks for Oz and then open a new tab and tap out the tune for my songs on the keyboard. I wasn’t the best pianist in the house, but I was competent enough. The computer would record it and let me edit it until it sounded like what I wanted, and then I’d layer it with different sound effects. Eventually, seeing how long it took me to get it how I wanted, my dad offered to help me. The two of us sat and worked through Tumnus’s song on the piano until it was perfect. Then I recorded my own vocals and it was done.

We did a couple of the songs, one of them the opening number for the show, and on this one I went to town singing different harmonies, and my dad loved it. He is trained in music and sent it out to a few people so they could hear it. One of his friends who is a pretty big-time producer (he even has had his music performed at Carnegie hall), wanted to buy the song from me and use it as a sort of high school show choir song . But I said no, because he wanted it separate from the script, and I couldn’t stand that. I was 16.

One thing felt certain to me, though. I was ready to see this thing published. So I looked around and tried to find out where I could go. But it soon became clear that there was only one place I could go. As far as publishing material, there’s only one publishing house that has the rights to Narnia. I sent it, and was rejected.

I was upset, understandably. But I wasn’t ready to give up. This didn’t mean I couldn’t find a way to have the show performed, it just meant I couldn’t publish or make any money off of it. I was willing to put in the work, I just needed to figure out how to do it.

I did have a homeschool group do a recording of a few of the songs and play it during the intermission of their own Narnia play, which was fun, but no one had yet seen my script. And I didn’t have a theatre group that was able to do anything for free.

At this point, I decided that the only way this was going to be put to stage was through a miracle. I don’t know what all my followers believe, but I’m a Christian, and I believe in the power of praying. So I put my script on a flash drive, along with all the mp3s of the songs I’d recorded, and I prayed over it. I asked God to do what he wanted with it, and if He wanted it to sit in the bottom of a file cabinet until it rotted away, that I would trust Him.

And then I left the flash drive sitting on my desk. For years.

I didn’t do much with the script. A tweak here. A scene change there. I was waiting for something to happen. I tried to orchestrate some of my songs. I failed massively. But I kept praying over it. I wrote my own novel, a space fantasy, and published it online. I kept reading, tried to write more songs and other musicals. Nothing really worked. I graduated high school, took a gap year, tried freshman year at a college a few hours from home with a music composition major, failed massively, survived an abusive relationship, and came back home, physically sick and feeling utterly defeated. I was 19.

I was never diagnosed with depression, but I couldn’t write. I couldn’t read. Couldn’t bring myself to do much besides stare at the wall or binge Netflix. Whatever was the path of least resistance.

I took a few months to recuperate, and then I got a job at a pizzeria as a cashier. Within a year, I was an assistant manager, and was able to start paying back some student loans.

Last fall, I decided to try school again. I enrolled in online classes through a Christian college that my dad had attended a while back. It’s hard work, but doable, and I enjoy it (I actually found out today that I made the Dean’s List).

Through all this, my flash drive sat collecting dust on my desk.

But two weeks ago, my dad was asked to fill in as a pianist for a quartet that his friend is in. They traveled down the East coast, and while on the tour bus, one of the guys started talking about his time playing Tumnus in a Theatre company out of Los Angeles. Apparently, this guy has connections in the film industry, Disney and everything. My dad played Narnia’s Glory for him. And apparently, the whole bus went silent. I wrote this song when I was 14, and a bus full of professional musicians was floored.

By utter chance, they ended up at a little theater, which had just a couple days before opened their new production, The Chronicles of Narnia: the Horse and His Boy. They toured the theatre and apparently one of the guys there is such a huge Narnia fan that he has a massive collection of props from the film: I’m talking, the Pevensie’s Gifts (all of them), the costumes from the film, one of the witch’s Dresses, the Stuffed Aslan that was used on the stone table, and the actual wardrobe (which he is planning to use in a production). All of these things are housed in the theatre.

While on lunch, they met up with a guy who my dad didn’t know was on the board of the theatre. But while they were in the car, Narnia came up, and the guy asked to hear my music. My dad played it.

The guy immediately made arrangements for me and my parents to fly out there next month, watch the Horse and His Boy and meet with the artistic director of the theatre. This man told my dad he would fund the musical.

This is the only theatre in the world that is allowed to produce and perform their own productions of Narnia, permission given by Douglas Gresham himself (Douglas actually attended the first couple performances of The Horse and His Boy). The only theater on the planet.

I am 21. Not even 10 years since this whole idea was conceived, and here I am, my music and script going to be put to stage. 

Do not apologize for your obsessions. They are part of the structure of who you are and they can bring light to the people around you. Do not let people douse your fire. Work hard and do not give up. Be patient. Prayer works. Learn when to rest and when to push forward, but you will get there if you simply do not give up.

[yoyo-inspace]

I’m gonna ramble Harry Potter.

I don’t really talk or blog much Harry Potter on tumblr for many reasons that I don’t want to get into right now, because they’ll just make me sad and right now I’m gonna celebrate this franchise. But I wanted to start with that because some of you who follow me might not be aware how much I love Harry Potter, since I don’t blog about it that much. 

But yes. I love Harry Potter. 

I mean, that’s not really a rare statement to make. I’m of the Potter generation after all. I grew up with it. You almost feel like you hear that sentence so much, that it’s become ordinary. Commonplace. 

I love Harry Potter. 

When I was six years old, my parents read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to me. It was the summer before I started school, and I have some very specific memories from it. I remember some of the places we were when we read. I remember recapping the chapter about the Forbidden Forest and the unicorn to which ever one of my parents who was reading that particular night. But most of all I remember the feeling of it, and that I can’t describe. It’s like a memory, but it’s not a specific memory. As I said, it’s a feeling. A Harry Potter feeling you could say, as cliché as that sounds.

It was very easy to bond over Harry Potter and get friends you started school. Everyone was reading it. We played Harry Potter so much. We made essays. School work for playtime! Essays on dementors and hippogriffs. Potter-themed birthday parties. All of that. 

And, to bring up another cliché, we grew up with the characters. Prisoner of Azkaban was the first HP movie I saw in the cinema. I waited eagerly for book 5. I got book 6 spoiled for me because I only read the Swedish versions. I remember when the 6th movie trailer dropped, I still love that trailer to bits. My dad got book 7 one day early and we all felt very happy about it. Btw, my parents kept reading Harry Potter for us for ages. It was a thing. I lived with Harry, Ron and Hermione and all the rest. 

Harry Potter is not perfect. But as someone told me today - what is? I’m not here now to talk about the flaws of Harry Potter, even though there are many, or my issues with the fandom, and of those there are a lot too. But today, Harry Potter is turning 20, and that’s almost as old as I am, and it really puts in perspective how Harry Potter really has been around my entire life. And it’s meant so much to me.

And it’s not over. I know it’s not popular with everyone, but I love that Harry Potter has kept living on, and not just through fans (but that’s amazing too), but through new information, through Pottermore, through a play and new movies. And I wish that in 20 years time we’re still not only looking forward with fondness on Harry Potter, but we’re discovering new things along with new readers discovering the books for the first time (my ten year old sister loves Harry Potter. She’s currently on her first solo read-through of the books, working her way through Chamber of Secrets). I want new people to discover Fantastic Beasts. I want that to become their Harry Potter that they can follow along and grow with. I want someone to be as happy as my youngest sister was when she read Cursed Child and realized Scorpius and Albus were born the same year as she was. And I want people far into the future reading Harry Potter to their children, passing it on. And I think that will happen. 

Because, as I said, Harry Potter has lived on through the fans too, who’ve truly made part of this world their own. Through fanfiction and cosplay and fanart and LARPS and real life Quidditch and gatherings and musicals and conventions, the fans have made their imprint on this world to. This world that a woman namned Jo Rowling chose to share with us 20 years ago. I can’t imagine how terrifying that must have been, and I’m so grateful to her that she did.

Because, as clichéd as that sounds, I wouldn’t be the person I am today without Harry Potter. It was MY franchise. I made friends through Harry Potter, got good at games through Harry Potter, got on the internet because of Harry Potter, learned important lessons because of Harry Potter, became a better writer and character creator because of Harry Potter. It could have been something else, anything else that caught on in popularity, but it happened to be Harry Potter, and I’m so happy about that.

This is just me rambling and being HAPPY about Harry Potter on tumblr for once, but I can’t really say much else. For a long time I’ve missed when Harry Potter used to make me feel happy, and now it is. 

So I just wanted to say thank you to Harry Potter. Thank you to Jo. Harry Potter is something that’s been with me all through my life, and I will carry it with me, as someone very important said, “Always”. 

[aurumnyx]

Tagged by the lovely @widowsresolve​ (she’s awesome and I love her)

holy crap, you were right this is freakin’ long.  here you go kids, more information about me than you probably ever wanted but are now getting.

Relationship status: i am very very single, and i’m okay with that for the most part.

Favorite colors: RED

Pets:  MY GERMAN SHEP WHO I LOVE VERY MUCH AND GET TO SEE IN 10 DAYS I’M SO EXCITED.  His name is Pharaoh :)  Also my roommates and I have some fishes.

Last song I listened to: i’ve been listening to the Fantastic Beasts soundtrack all day long cause I haven’t really felt like moving and i just really love movie soundtracks

First fandom: technically speaking I didn’t know what fandom was until I was like 13, so Transformers, but before that it was probably Ninja Turtles when I was like 9.

Hobbies: drawing, reading, writing, sleeping

Favorite book: i don’t really know anymore tbh... hopefully when I’m done with school I can do more reading of books and find a new favorite.

Worst thing I’ve eaten: i’m really not picky at all, but like... when you bite into something hoping it’s ripe and the taste is all off and you just need to spit it out.

Favorite place:  uh, that’s a tough one.  I love being home, but I don’t necessarily want to be in Nebraska anymore.  I went to New York for the first time in March and I REALLY REALLY want to go back, so probably New York City right now.

Are you named after someone? I’m pretty sure I’m the only one of my siblings who doesn’t have a family name.

When is the last time you cried? I felt like crying on Saturday, but didn’t surprisingly... So I think the last time I actually cried was about a month ago.

Do you like your handwriting? Yeah, it’s dumb but I’m kind of vain about it and if it doesn’t look right I gotta erase and try again.

What is your favorite lunch meat? probably roast beef, tho salami is probably a close second cause my dad and i got kind of obsessed with havarti cheese and it tastes really good with salami.

Do you have kids? nope

If you were another person, would you be friends with you? I think so. 

Do you use sarcasm? HAH.  It’s like second nature.  

Do you still have your tonsils? Unfortunately.

Would you bungee jump? HELL NAH.  

What is your favorite kind of cereal? what ever kind is in the pantry haha, if it’s there I will eat it.  But probably Lucky Charms... or the chocolate Marshmallow Mateys.

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? just my boots.

Do you think you’re a strong person? physically?  LMAO NO.  mentally/ emotionally? ..... maybe?  eh.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? ANNELYN I KNEW I LOVED YOU FOR A REASON MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP IS MY FAVORITE TOO.  It’s also really freakin good with caramel on it.  

What is the first thing you notice about people? eyes, smile, hair.

Red or pink? RED

What is the least favorite physical thing you like about yourself? i’m a lil chubby, but normally that doesn’t really bother me.

What color pants and shoes are you wearing now? i am not wearing pants or shoes right now.

What was the last thing you ate? one of those sausage/ pancake corndog things. 

What are you listening to? Still listening to Fantastic Beasts soundtrack.

If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Permanent Geranium Lake (i looked up crayola crayons.)

Favorite smell? the desert after it rains, clean mountain air, my dad’s cooking, the lemon/ cinnamon thing that my grandma boils and always leaves my clothes smelling like her house after i leave.

Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? my grandpa

Favorite sport to watch? i don’t really watch sports all that often, but i do enjoy some good American Football.

Hair color? brown/ blonde

Eye color? blue-gray with some green around the pupil.

Do you wear contacts? yes

Favorite food to eat? HAMBURGERS.

Scary movies or comedy? comedy, i don’t do scary movies.

Last movie you watched? Guardians of the Galaxy 2

What color shirt are you wearing? Gray with some Autobots on it.

Summer or winter? winter.

Hugs or kisses? hugs.  

What book are you currently reading? Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Who do you miss right now? my mom and dad, my siblings, my dog, my friends back home, a couple of my cousins

What is on your mouse pad? usually my hand.

What is the last tv program  you watched?  F.R.I.E.N.D.S. like a freakin month ago, I haven’t had much time to watch tv.

What is the best sound? a good song, thunderstorm sans tornado siren, little waterfalls, when my family is together and we’re laughing and everything is happy

Rolling stones or the Beatles? eh, i don’t really care either way.

What is the furthest you have ever traveled? France, the Alps specifically is the farthest I’ve been.

Do you have a special talent? apparently people think i’m cool and i have no idea why.

Where were you born? Utah, USA

People you expect to participate in the survey? well, normally @widowsresolve i can count on... but seeing as she’s the one that tagged me... i donno, i’ll tag people and be surprised.

11 Questions from @widowsresolve

1. What movie would you change the ending to?  GIVE ME PERCIVAL GRAVES.  really tho, just... just add him into the end, let me know he’s okay. 

2. Have you ever rock climbed?  on one of those fake rock walls.

3. Peanut butter or mint with chocolate? MINT.

4. Do you prefer baking or cooking?  Uh, I can barely do either??? But i do like baking better.  

5. What show did you watch when you were young that has particularly stuck with you?  uh, my dad and I watched a lot of Wacky Races and Johnny Bravo, and when I couldn’t sleep we’d watch Madeline

6. Favorite movie franchise?  Annelyn expects me to say the Hobbit, and she wouldn’t be wrong, but also Marvel, LOTR, Harry Potter, the first two Mummy movies, Fast and Furious

7. Chemistry, physics, or biology?  probably physics because one of the things i was interested in as a kid was Astronomy.

8. Favorite quote?  “Happiness can be found in the darkest times if one only remembers to turn on the light.”  I got lots of favorite quotes, but that was the first one that came to mind.

9. Do you like puzzles? Do you prefer puzzles with fewer pieces or gigantic puzzles?  I do like puzzles, i haven’t done one in years tho so i don’t really have a preference.

10. If you could live anywhere, where would you choose?  a small town with the mountains in view, a place where i can see the stars, somewhere i can have a nice fire pit in the backyard and a hammock 

11. Favorite trope in fiction?  misfit group becomes family, enemy becomes friend/ weird uncle, the sunshine one/ the grumpy one, childhood friends

My 11 Questions....

1.  What did you want to be when you were little?

2.  Road trips, yay or nay?

3.  What is your favorite video game and/or board game?

4.  Where is one place you’ve always wanted to travel to?

5.  Summer Olympics or Winter Olympics?

6.  What is something that makes you happy?

7.  Any brothers or sisters?

8.  Ever done anything crazy?

9.  Cars or Airplanes?

10.  (Annelyn I’m stealing one of yours) Favorite trope in fiction?

11.  Favorite candy?

I tagggg.... @trouble-under-fire @gingahninjah @robotzombiedog @the-curly-headed @writersstareoutwindows @mickymoon and really anyone else who wants to...

[lostinpagesblog]

Hello, everyone! I have a special post today – I convinced one of my good friends, Mariah, to guest post! She’s a giant Star Wars fan and recently finished reading The Rise of Skywalker, so I asked her if she’d like to review it for the blog. If you have any questions/comments, she’ll be in the comments to talk!

Hi, everyone! My name is Mariah, and Katie asked me to collaborate with her on my own book review. I currently work with Katie at Books-A-Million, and I’m an avid reader – my choice of genre being sci-fi. That being said, this is my first ever book review or blog post for that matter, so I am a little nervous. I think Katie is absolutely crazy for asking me to do this, so please bear with me. I hope you enjoy! 

Not only am I a lover of books, but I’m also an avid Star Wars Fangirl! What is a fangirl?! Well, it is just what is sound like: girls that are fans! Growing up I was always told Star Wars, comic books, or even video games were meant for boys. I was called a nerd or geek for even liking such things – words that were meant to make us feel bad for liking things that made us happy. Which is simply NOT true. Fandom is not reserved for just one gender, being a geek/nerd is okay. Being different is okay, as long as you have confidence in yourself! That’s what being a fan/fangirl is all about! And in stressful times like we are in now, we need things to help us destress. During my COVID-19 quarantine, I have been using Star Wars as my escape from reality – something I have avidly been doing since 1997. So, Katie thought since the DVD of Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker is now available to everyone, it would be fun do a review on the book in comparison to the movie. Since Katie doesn’t know a damn thing about Star Wars, that’s where I come in! If I haven’t completely lost you yet, hold on tight and get ready to light speed ahead to a Galaxy far, far away!

Your enjoyment of the book is going to be reflected by the your enjoyment of the movie. Therefore, because I really enjoyed the film, I really enjoyed the book. With TROS being the final establishment in the Skywalker Saga, nine movies in total, it was a bittersweet moment for me. Twenty-five years of my life had finally come to a close, and it was a beautiful experience. After the movie had ended, I knew I had to get the movie novelization. I have read Star Wars novels that were side stories and adventures of fan favorite characters, but this was my first time reading a movie novelization. Rae Carson was not given easy task, but she executed it very well! It doesn’t fix the problems some “fans” had with the movie – which is OKAY because it wasn’t Carson’s job to do so. She does however add MORE: more context, more internal monologue, more dialogue between characters to scenes that could’ve really used them in the film. But her biggest strength is the ability to SLOW things down! If you are someone that hasn’t seen the movie since it was out in theaters, I would suggest watching the movie again, and then dive into the book. Let the book guide you, surround you.

The Rise of Skywalker is an end to a forty year saga, and you can feel those final lines by the end of the story. But like I said, it takes care of pacing issues that the film had. You really get a sense of Rey’s struggle with the Darkside more when you get a glimpse of what is really going on inside her head. Like with Rey, the book gives us more of Kylo Ren’s struggle with his past, too. We get an insight of his life as Ben Solo, something a lot of fans wanted to see more of on film. We also get more Babu Frik, who happened to be one of the breakout characters from TROS.

(Harry Potter fans may enjoy this: Babu Frik is voiced by Shirley Henderson, who played Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films, RANDOM RIGHT?!!) 

The home DVD release doesn’t include any deleted scenes, which is upsetting because I was hoping some of them were scenes that were in the book that I really enjoyed. Every time a new scene would happened, I would be focused. The book included extra moments with Zorii Bliss and Lando, as well as adding a new character, Chesille Sabrond captain of the Star Destroyer Derriphan on Exegol. We also got a better understanding of how Emperor Palpatine survived and why he was still alive. (I won’t spoil why right now, I’ll add those to a spoilers section.) But my over all favorite moment, is a scene shared by Chewbacca and Kylo Ren. Without spoiling too much we get a sweet “Uncle Chewie” moment with a flashback from Kylo as young Ben Solo. It’s a scene I wish we could’ve gotten in the movie. If you were someone that wanted more Ben Solo out of the film, you will get it from the book. Not as much as you might like, but enough! When he sacrifices himself to save Rey, it will make any Reylo fans’ (Rey & Kylo fan-shippers) hearts break even more. Princess Leia’s (Sorry General Leia) role works a lot better in the novelization. That’s no fault to be creators of the TROS film, for the late Carrie Fisher died in late 2016 – a year before Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (TLJ). When originally planning the new trilogy, Lucas Films originally stated that the first movie, The Force Awakens (TFA), would be Han Solo’s film. The second (TLJ) would be Luke’s, and the third would be Leia’s. Carson wasn’t limited to only unused footage from the first two films. She gives Leia more scenes, and they were an overall highlight! We were given more details about her training with Luke and her experiences with the Force. 

I will say I understand why a lot of fans did not like The Rise Of Skywalker or the sequel trilogy entirely. Even though Star Wars has released novelizations of each feature film since 1977, fans didn’t have to read extra content to understand the movies of the same title. The novels didn’t add anything, and they also never took anything away either. We understand what was happening in the films, and George Lucas (original creator of Star Wars) answered those questions we were asking onscreen. The sequel trilogy lacked those elements on film, and that’s probably why fans didn’t love them as much. Star Wars was different! Unlike how most films are book adaptations, SW is a complete screenplay, and the novels and comics were extra. We shouldn’t have to go to extra source material to understand the film better, but that is the marketing world we live in. That being said, Rae Carson doesn’t get enough praise as she should for her work on the novelization of TROS. Overall she brought more in depth understanding of the characters and made them more personal than what is played out on film. I feel like you will find the novel to be a good companion, or should I say Dyad, despite how you feel about the movie itself. 

Now, after all that, this is when I start getting into the SPOILERS. So, if you don’t want the book elements to be spoiled, this is your stop. Now you Rebel scums that stuck around this long with me, thank you! Assuming you have watched The Rise of Skywalker, read the novel yourself, or you don’t mind spoilers (SHAME!!!), this next part I’m going to talk about has some spoilers from the book and scenes the movie left out. Hopefully I can give you a better explanation of why things happened in The Rise of Skywalker. I’m not going to give them all away, just some of the ones I feel are important and were my favorite. So last warning… God Speed Rebels! 

The novel starts off with Rey versus the film starting off at the scene of Kylo Ren. About a year has passed between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, and not much is different between the first time we see Rey in the film versus the first time we see her in the book. We do you get more of an exchange with Leia as a Jedi master. We get a longer version of Leia’s flashback scene of her Jedi training, and we get to see her Skywalker side. We get to see how powerful Leia really is with the Force – something sadly we did not get to experience in the film. Leia knows she’s at the end of her life, and she hears Luke calling to her telling her “It’s time.” Leia being classic Leia doesn’t take orders from anyone when she knows she can do more to help others, so she lets Luke know she had “one more thing to do”. We also get a Rey and Rose exchange, which is a missed opportunity in the movie. It is very rare you see female-female interactions/friendships in a Star Wars film. It’s a scene like that I would have really liked to see play out in the movie. 

Now on to Adam… I mean Kylo Ren! Kylo’s introduction is much like in the movie, VERY INTENSE! Carson was able to add more intensity than what played out on film. We learn Kylo is on the planet Mustafar, which already brings more depth into the scene because this was the same planet the final battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker occurred in Episode III. Anakin had turned to the Darkside, becoming Darth Vader. We didn’t know where he was until after the movie had already come out, and Lucas Films  informed us that Kylo was in fact on Mustafar. Knowing would’ve made the scene even more intense because he was battling on the ruins of Vader’s Castle, where his grandfather called home. Kylo is met by an oracle named the Eye of Webbish Bog, a creepy spider-like creature, and Force Whill, a creature that really makes you feel uncomfortable. The oracle reveals to Kylo something called the Wayfinder, an ancient pieces of technology created by both the Jedi and Sith. Kylo does state how easy it was for him to obtain the Wayfinder, he then concludes it’s because he was Vader’s heir and it belonged to him. Knowing this gives you a better understanding on the point made in the movie on why “only two were made” – one for the Master and for the Apprentice. Vader kept his Wayfinder on Mustafar, revealing itself to his grandson. And The Emperor kept his on the Death Star, later revealing itself to his granddaughter… Rey! 

Okay, now the major question… HOW DID PALPATINE SURVIVE? Well SPOILER… Palpatine is a CLONE! Palpatine is living in a clone body, and his son, Rey’s father, was also a clone. More specifically an imperfectclone, not an identical copy of Palpatine. Rey’s father had no force-willing capabilities, therefore he was deemed useless.We learn that Palpatine’s clone body was unnatural and not powerful enough to hold Palpatine’s full spirit/power. He was able to cheat death by sending his spirit to a clone body on Exegol, as he was falling to his death in Episode VI. We also learn when the Clone Son conceived Rey the natural way, it created a perfect vessel to hold Palpatine’s spirit. If you are new to the Star Wars universe and your only experience to the movies is just the sequels trilogies, the whole Emperor coming back is a bit confusing.  

The last thing I want to talk about is Kylo/Ben Solo and Rey’s connection, and that the book shows the importance of the Dyad in the Force. A dyad in the Force is a phenomenon that occurs when two Force-sensitive individuals share a unique Force-bond, connecting their minds across space and time… soulmates!! This power is very rare. Palpatine thinks he is able to use this against Rey, but he misses the key components: love and empathy. You are bonded with someone. The book explains the dyad to be a soulmate connection without actually using the word “soulmate”. If you are a Reylo shipper, that will make you happy.  It doesn’t necessarily mean a romantic soulmate, but maybe it could. In theory, maybe there used to be a way that Jedi used to teach the force with a dyad, but we don’t know for sure. With all of that, let’s talk about THE KISS. I will start by saying that I am a sucker for happy endings and love wins all, therefore I am a Reylo supporter. I believe in the Ben Solo redemption. I was disappointed in the fact that the author didn’t come out and say the kiss between Ben and Rey was a romantic one. I believe it was something that needed to be clarified in the book, but, once again, you are left to interpret whether it was or wasn’t. On film that was a romantic kiss to me. In the books, Carson writes it for Rey as being a “kiss of gratitude”, but for Ben it was more “endearment”. So, what? He was friend zoned?! While reading the scene I still interpreted it as an act of love. I feel like why we never got a clear explanation is because of Hollywood. For some reason, Hollywood movies and shows don’t like to show powerful women in a happy relationship or in one at all. Either she is isolated and doesn’t have a love interest at all, or she is at odds with the other person who typically is played out as her equal. My favorite thing (sarcasm, definitely) is when they kill off a loved one/s, and in her pain/loss, she gains her strength – which is bullshit! I’m not wanting a damsel in distress, but I also don’t want a total “I don’t need anybody.” I’d like a happy medium. Powerful woman can have a love interest. A partner doesn’t take that power away from them. 

No more spoilers! In conclusion, my overall thoughts of the book were positive. In many ways, the Skywalker saga is about love and family, the inner conflict between the Lightside and the Darkside, and the Force that connects one another into a balance. At the end of the film, we see a parallel moment between Rey and Luke watching the twin sunsets, which is a nice way to connect the stories.

Thank you for reading, I do hope you enjoyed my first ever book review! Thank you, Katie, for asking me to do this collaboration with you. I look forward to hearing your comments and questions! May The Force Be With You! 

Mariah D Carley

Like she said, comments/questions are welcomed below! Make sure to follow Mariah on her socials listed below, and go leave her some love!

Mariah’s Instagram | Mariah’s Twitter | Mariah’s Goodreads

Until next time,

Guest Post Book Review – The Rise of Skywalker #starwars #riseofskywalker Hello, everyone! I have a special post today – I convinced one of my good friends, Mariah, to guest post!

[michonnes]

G: What was your first fandom?

HARRY POTTER! Haha I was pretty young and mega petty. I spent a lot of time being on fandom wank.

But sometimes, you just gotta put a bitch in their place, lmao.