Latest Posts by blazingquill - Page 7

First week of #31daysofharry challenge :)

Things I don’t really see people talking about from Solo:

-They had Lando pronounce Han “Hān”

-and made it REALLY SUPER clear that parsecs were a unit of distance (but made doing the Kessel run in 12 parsecs still really impressive)

-just to cover some relatively minor plot holes from the original trilogy

-and I absolutely loved it.

Cassandra has a blinding, powerful crush on Aveline and that’s just fact, the reason Cullen’s leading the Inquisition forces instead of Aveline is because the first time Cassandra tried to say a sentence to Aveline, she instead just laughed nervously and excused herself. The second time Aveline beat her in an arm wrestling match and told her to get the hell out of her office. The third time Aveline said she wasn’t interested in running some ragtag army, thank you, not while Kirkwall is still half rubble. The fourth time, Cassandra tried to arrest her. She panicked. It’s what she does when she panics. Aveline rolled her eyes and said after seven years of friendship with Hawke, she’s not scared of some Chantry brute on a crusade, and Cassandra tried to say something insulting back but just ended up stammering something about not needing to take this kind of lip from handsome women with bright red hair and big strong arms and a smile as wonderful as her loyalty to her friends, and at that point Cassandra just cut her losses and fled. 

Varric doesn’t know any of this because Aveline doesn’t gossip. The moment Varric learns, Cassandra has already decided she’ll need to leave the Inquisition or murder a dwarf. Fifty-fifty. 

Harry hesitated, but after all, Ron had been honest with him, so he told Ron the truth…

one of my absolute favorite bits from the hp books that never made it into the movies. though admittedly, the ootp movie had to rly condense a lot. i think the relationship between harry and ron is super underrated/overlooked - there’s so much love, trust, and support between them in this scene.

A hero in more ways than one

me, wandering shoeless through the snowy wastes of ao3: please… all i want is for luke and leia to have grown up together…… blease…………..

heyyy you mentioned vorkosigan fic recs yesterday. do you have any you could hand to me? ratty suggested aral vorkosigan's dog (i think that's the name?) to me already, but i haven't gotten to it yet. thank u

HEY, I had to wait a couple days to have time to reread things, because I knew that was inevitable. 

Aptitude - Miles added, “Security was never on my top-ten list of assignment choices.“ "Not choice. Aptitude.” (-The Vor Game)This is EXACTLY what you wanted. Miles and Ivan and SImon and fluff and Aral and politics and espionage and fireworks!! And more fluff.

Uncle Simon - Simon has no children of his own. But he has an honorary nephew.This is also exactly what you want, with less politics and more things that will squeeze your heart in a mostly good but slightly painful way. But stop after “doubting his word” if you want to avoid more significant spoilers.

Lord Gregor AU - An alternate universe in which Prince Serg Vorbarra did not die at Escobar, but lived to become Emperor of Barrayar.AU of Barrayar, basically, which I’m pretty sure you’ve read. 

Liegeman - Aral and Simon have a conversation after Warrior’s Apprentice. besties and PAIN

Aral Vorkosigan’s Dog - Illyan is assigned to watch Aral Vorkosigan during the Escobaran war. Soon he has to choose between his duty and his conscience, and the consequences rapidly get beyond him.Alternate title: The Wooing of Simon Illyan. Alternate Alternate title: That TIme Ges Vorrutyer was So Awful a Previously Well-Behaved ImpSec Lieutenant Basically Committed Treason (It’s Okay; Negri Planned It).

Young Ivan Series - a collection of drabbles about, you know, Ivan as a kid. Miles features heavily. It’s great.

Victory Conditions - Miles, Ivan, and a couple compatriots discuss their Academy exercise and subsequent debriefing over drinks. (Remix of Improvisation, which recounts the exercise itself.)

Once you’re much later in the series, I will recommend many more fics because this fandom has a disproportionate amount of stellar fic and I don’t understand it. I particularly recommend Philomytha and avanti_90, both of whom are hella prolific and hella good. 

intonima: The Defenders + Text Posts

The Defenders + Text Posts

DA Romances as Told by Marriage Tweets

Alistair

[Wedding] Priest: They’ve written their vows.

HoF: *recites beautiful vows*

Alistair: *takes out notecard* I love you and cheese the same amount.

Zevran

Zevran: My partner messaged me to say they’re excited to have barbecue ribs with me tonight, so I made sure to compliment their sexting skills. 

Morrigan

Child: *crying because it isn’t her turn with the tiara*

Morrigan: ‘Tis important to share, girl.

HoF: You’re 35. Give her the tiara.

Leliana

Leliana: I’m secretly investigating how many decorative pillows I can put around the house until my wife loses her shit.  Current count: 23.

Anders

[RSVPing to party]

Hawke: *whispers into phone* Is it ok if I bring my weird roomate?

Anders: *from behind* STOP CALLING ME THAT!

Isabela

Hawke: I’m glad I got married.  Everyone deserves a sidekick!

Isabela: Good point, Robin.

Merrill 

Hawke: We need milk, eggs, and bread. Write it down.

Merril: No need. I’ll remember!

Hawke: [one hour later] What’d you get?

Merrill: A panda!

Sebastian

Hawke: Until I got married, I didn’t know it was possible to chew gum arrogantly.

Fenris

Fenris: We got invited to two parties this weekend.

Hawke: Wow. We finally have friends.

Fenris: We’re skipping both, right?

Hawke: Obviously.

Solas

Inquisitor: I’m still waiting for my husband to apologize for what he did in my dream last night.

Sera

Sera: *pulls back curtain while wife is in shower* Are we - stop screaming, its just me - Are we out of Cheetos?

Cullen

Cullen: [Leaving for work] *gives wife quick kiss* *spends 10 minutes saying bye to the dog*

Bull

Bull: You gonna drink that entire bottle of wine?

Inquisitor: You didn’t marry no quitter

Bull: *nods* My Queen.

Dorian

Inquisitor: I love you.

Dorian: You should. I’m a goddamn miracle. 

Cassandra

Cassandra: *watches Inquisitor sleep* I just love him so much. He’s my everyth-

Inquisitor: *snores*

Cassandra: I CAN’T LIVE LIKE THIS.

Josephine

Josephine: *Runs back into house which is on fire*

Inquisitor: What are you doing?!

Josephine: I just wanted to straighten up a little before the firemen get here.

Blackwall

Inquisitor: My husband won’t let me pick up wood at Home Depot because he doesn’t want it scratched or bent, but I can take care of his children daily. 

My family and I rewatched some Doctor Who for the New Year :D

Every Doctor Who episode written or co-written by Steven Moffat, from 2005 to 2017.

Some IR Characters as “Guide to Troubled Birds”

Breq:

Awn:

Seivarden:

Anaander Mianaai:

Mercy of Kalr:

Tisarwat:

Ekalu: 

Kalr Five:

Raughd:

Dlique:

Zeiat:

Sphene:

I apologize for my brief recommendation of the further novels, as it was without context and born out of my excitement for the books. Frankly, I wrote it with the assumption that whatever my feelings upon the matter you already had your own, and would do whatever you wished no matter what I said. Having said that, I will now write the reason I so quickly recommended the books without giving you context.

Reading Bujold, for me, is a baseline to expand one’s empathy for others. All books do this, to an extent, but Bujold does it with particular finesse, and with, I admit, a dry irony I very much enjoy. She writes humans who push the boundaries of how we define humanity and asks us to expand our definition of humanity to include them.

Within her books she discusses a wide variety of topics, frequently pertaining to ethics. She is at her best while writing ethical intellectuals. A shortlist of the topics Bujold breaches are, family, identity and self-discovery, redemption, ableism, patriarchy, the mechanics of privilege (from different points of view), tradition and innovation and how they relate, medical ethics, bioengineering, and more (not to mention a generous portion of science fiction ethical dilemmas). Within the world of her books she focuses more upon characters than she does upon science, giving a plausible future scenario in which she can discuss more topics more freely than she might be able to within the modern era.

Shards of Honor was Bujold’s first published novel, and therefore lacks some of the polish and skill of the later novels. She is an author whose writing gets better, not worse, as she progresses. This is even more impressive when you realize that Shards of Honor is no where near a ballpark that could be considered bad.

I do not have a reference for how much you know about the series, so I will now expound a little upon its format.

The protagonist of Shards of Honor, Cordelia, appears as the main third-person narrow point of view for one more book before a time jump and a change in perspective to her son, Miles. Miles is his own protagonist for the majority of the series, though in later books the cast expands. Miles is a complex character that I do not wish to spoil should you decide to keep reading, but he very atypical for a protagonist of his sort, and it leads to a lot of interesting things about the series at large.

In addition, it is important to note that not all of Bujold’s novels are romances. Barrayar, the next book, can be semi-classified as a romance given as Aral and Cordelia are both still present, but I find it more justly fit into a political thriller. All the novels in the series can be called space operas. Furthermore, depending on the book, she writes within the genres of horror, speculative fiction, comedy, mystery, and drama. While this has a potential to be jarring with a less skilled writer, with Bujold, the result is instead a cohesive, interesting universe with realistic societies.

The books do include trigger warnings on rape and torture, though the worst instances are in the scene you mentioned in Shards of Honor, and instances in Mirror Dance much further in the series. The most common just complaint I have heard of her books is a lack of understanding of gender and sexual orientation early within the novels. She does not handle the subject horrendously, as you have likely gathered from the nature of Beta colony, but there are some instances that reveal a lack of understanding into bisexuality and what in means to be transgender. However, this lack of understanding, too, improves as she continues to write.

The series itself is extremely important to me, which doesn’t necessarily mean it will be an extremely important to everyone. However, I would highly recommend you continuing to give it a chance. I did not receive the impression you particularly disliked it, but rather you enjoyed it well enough, but not enough to derail your reading for the next month as you finished the series. I strongly urge that you do. Personally, I find it some of the most poignant books ever written on human nature and on human hope, and have long felt the relatively insular community that knows of its existence should expand. It is a series I honestly believe would improve the world if everyone read and understood its messages. It is a story of finding joy in the darkest times, of changing the world, and of the power of human inspiration.

Read further. Just do it.

@unexpected-firestorms replied to your text post

Read further. Just do it

I’m not absolutely opposed to the idea, but I’m gonna need way more of a convincing pitch than that.

This is one of the better reviews I've read I think

the last jedi. many spoilers.

Idek where to start with this one, I did enjoy it! But I was left very confused and conflicted my pals!! Gotta say it!! I’m going to give my impressions below, don’t yell at me

Things I liked:

- The 10 minute or so opening sequence was exciting and funny and devastating and kind of reminded me of the opening to Star Trek (2009). Except this ended worse for the rebels obviously

- Rose as a character was sweet and kind and brave and I liked her a lot, plus Kelly Marie Tran is pure sunshine

- Poe and Leia’s relationship, which was so clearly surrogate mother/son and very moving. He deserved her, Kyle did not

- I’ll just get this out of the way - Poe looked fucken amazing the whole movie, showstopping, incredible, I was blessed

- I loathe fangirls’ obsession with the whiny mediocre looking genocidal white man who is repeatedly called ‘boy’, like as a trope, but objectively kyle ron’s arc in this movie was actually pretty fascinating to watch! Very complex. Just remove the weird undertones in scenes with rey please

- Admiral Holdo was strong and clever and brave and I really, really adored her in this movie. Laura Dern is a TREASURE and further proof the women in this movie are ICONS. Flying through the Star Destroyer at light speed, jfc it was stunning, she was so selfless. I’m emo again

- Canto Bight looked poppin. Loved seeing the aristocratic side of the galaxy, even though it honestly felt like I was watching a different film for those scenes lol. The casino was very… familiar. Like as a setting. Idk if that makes sense it just wasn’t quite as kooky as I was expecting, they were even wearing tuxedos and clinking average wine glasses

- The salt plains were fricking GORGEOUS okay the battle of speeders and ships leaving what looked like bloodstains, it was such an extraordinary visual, especially because of the massacre of the resistance population. Honestly. Looking forward to the gifsets

- ‘Lifting rocks’ nice, NICE

- Luke dressed in black, slick as hell with that lightsaber silhouetted in front of a dying sun and looming AT ATs…. You better believe I shed a damn tear!!

- Rey and Kyle fighting the praetorian guard looked pretty sick, gotta admit that. Again, Snoke was ugly as hell but his whole aesthetic was *chef’s kiss*

- Benicio del Toro didn’t have as big a role as I thought, and it’s a pity, because he was great. Like, predictably villainous but hot asf and COOL. Hope he comes back. Unless he died. Did he? That wasn’t clear

- “You’re scum.”

  “Rebel scum.”

- R2D2 playing the Leia hologram message from the first movie. Oh boy. Everyone in the theater made sounds, we were shook

- That ending with Luke looking at the twin suns…. listen I’m a thug but my eyes leaked. That really was our lil farm boy who wanted power converters and who looked at Han with stars in his eyes and who wanted to make his sister proud and who loved a pair of sassy droids and who dreamed about leaving his nowhere town to be something great, and now he’s gone, and to that freaking score. I wasn’t chill.

Things I wasn’t so hype about:

- Finn was just going to ditch the resistance and POE to save himself and Rey. I get it, it makes sense, it’s an arc, Finn’s still my son, he’s heroic and he grows so much. But I’m a whiny asshole and it bummed me out lol

- Any hint of this godforsaken idea that is r*ylo just shortens my lifespan. I hated the bizarre shirtless scene. Their whole ‘connection’ led to good character development but I hated it happening. The resolution of her giving him the metaphorical finger from the ship of the father he murdered healed me though, fear not

- Phasma’s 15 minutes of fame was more like 30 seconds. Why bring her back at all, it was so brief. With gwendoline christie being in the press tour so much I just assumed she was going to ascend the ranks of villainy. Oh well

- Was it just me or was Leia like… diminished here? She spent half the movie unconscious. It makes me REALLY sad because I remember what the cast said about how the third film was supposed to be hers, like TLJ was Mark’s and TFA was Harrison’s. I wonder what they would have done to conclude the trilogy.

- The fact that there were like 20 rebels left at the end of the movie just made me so miserable. My god. All of the original films’ rebels and the Rogue One rebels and…. we’re left with barely enough people to make up two even volleyball teams. Like. Not a criticism of the film really but it just made all that effort in those movies hurt knowing that this was all they had to show for it.

- The imagery of Snoke manhandling Rey and making her ‘come closer’ fucking got to me, especially as it came on the heels of Kyle doing something similar in TFA. Must we do this, every time. Must we

- BB-8 was sort of… too useful, lmao how many times did he save main characters? Deus Ex BB? I love the little robotic football but it was convenient and after the third time, not very cute anymore

- Finn and Rose’s little side quest annoyed me, I’m gonna be real honest here. It just felt really, really weird, them (particularly Finn) being kind of swept away by the regalia of this casino and then ending up in a giant space goat car-chase type scene, meanwhile Poe and Leia have 5 hours to live and Rey’s being turned over to the First Order, you know? It seemed like they were filling time, or something… the movie felt like a 6-part TV series crammed into one movie, like there were a lot of things going on with different people and they all had different, kind of jarring tones. Like Poe’s in the trenches of a war movie, Rey’s in a psychological drama, Finn and Rose are in a comedy action heist caper ft. an adorable sidekick.

- I don’t get Finn and Rose together. I don’t. They had a sweet friendship, but I always assumed Finn and Rey would be the Couple (yeah I wanted stormpilot too but we live in a crap heteronormative world). Not sure what this means for Ep 9 since Rey didn’t seem bothered by Finn’s clear attachment to mah girl Rose…

- Poe, a queer icon, being portrayed as a straight in this film, irked me. You know what I mean, the gay vibes were not as potent here and it was really disturbing. Not sure what it means but it wasn’t good, I don’t like being patronised

- WHERE DID FINN PUT THE JACKET ONCE HE CHANGED INTO HIS FIRST ORDER UNDERCOVER GETUP. IS IT GONE, DO I NEED TO CRY

Things I’m neutral about:

- Rey’s parents being nobodies. I lowkey saw this coming, and it’s a pretty innovative idea, to have Kyle be the last Skywalker…. to end this dynasty, which has been fairly shitty. 2 out of 4 were murderous dicks. Not great stats

- Snoke could’ve been aunt beru in disguise and I wouldn’t have cared, honestly he was always just Snoke to me, no conspiracy

—-

This movie was dope. It did not fulfill my expectations, which I’m being told by multiple articles and tweets from film critics is apparently a super awesome thing. I too like critiquing film for being edgy and new and different, and in terms of artistic value it’s important - especially for a franchise so well known for tropes. But I’m a simple fuck who just finished exams and a stressful as shit year… I wanted to see Poe and Finn cuddle (platonic or not), Rey straight up kick the ass of Snoke and/or Kyle, Luke to lightsaber-battle someone with the wow-factor of Darth Vader at the end of Rogue One (which would involve actual contact lol), and nobody to die or be wrong, or like, straight

Anyway. A good film. Rian did a great job, and it doesn’t deserve all the vitriol it’s getting. I am fascinated to see where it ends up, I gotta say. Jesus what the fuck will I be doing in December of 2019 though, that’s the real question

I have no excuse

Rogues in leather jackets! (Or faux-leather if you prefer)

Warriors in flannel (part 1) Warriors in flannel (part 2) Mages in crop tops Advisors in Kigurumi

My three romanced companion city elves are too good for Solas’ shit

I know there’s no way this can happen but a girl can dream, right? I just want to inflict pain on sol-ass too ignore me

This was inspired by my old mage elves idea so yeah

extra:

Situation: Solas tears down the Veil, elves across Thedas slowly gain their magic and immortality. Guess who would not like that development.

also this in an excuse to draw a long-haired fenris helping refugees or escaped slaves

bonus

So Gaider tweeted these today and here they are voiced (aside from Morrigan unfortunately)!

Dragon Age “Favorite Game” Alignments:

Lawful Origins -knows everything about the DA universe -reads all the codex entries -actually knows things about story structure -nerd

Neutral Origins -romances alistair every time -can never bring themselves to make evil choices -loves the music -cries a lot

Chaotic Origins -“FINE DWARVEN CRAFTS DIRECT FROM ORZAMMAR” -just replays all the different prologues over and over -restarts when they get to ostagar

Lawful 2 -thinks DA2 was unfairly judged in comparison to origins -has Strong Opinions ™ about anders -thinkpieces and meta -secretly bitter

Neutral 2 -really just loves all the DA2 characters -like, REALLY loves them -a lot -fix-it fic and coffee shop AUs -probably bisexual

Chaotic 2 -has only played 2 -“wtf is a darkspawn lol” -purple dialogue options -probably a blood mage

Lawful Inquisition -enjoys fetch quests -takes time to craft new weapons and armour at regular intervals -talks to every companion between every single mission -looks up walkthroughs and quickloads whenever a companion disapproves

Neutral Inquisition -Inquisition was their first DA game -avoids fandom drama -just genuinely enjoys all the games -the most chill

Chaotic Inquisition -“HOLY SHIT YOU CAN JUMP” -spends 90% of their time falling off of roofs in skyhold -runs into dragon battles 20 levels too soon and gets destroyed -tries to glitch on purpose

Star Trek: Discovery midseason finale tonight! Check out the first 8 of my retro episode posters as you prep for Episode 9: “Into the Forest I Go”.

The Midnight Splatter Series - Created by Melissa Smith

T-shirts, mugs, and cases available for sale at her TeePublic Shop. All of her designs are 25% off this week, just use the code GIVEME25 at checkout!

STRANGER THINGS LOCKSCREENS! ⚡

LIKE AND REBLOG IF YOU SAVE, FOLLOW ME AND THANK YOU! 🔥

📸: Credits to BossLogic

text post meme: stranger things + dungeons and dragons

do you ever just think about the fact that ginny weasley canonically kicked some boys’ asses for bullying luna because i think about it pretty often

Star Trek: Discovery + The Onion headlines (1/?)

the hatred for ron weasley and the perception of him as “useless” tends to be at least partially rooted in this idea that you have to be talented at everything you do and never put a foot wrong in order to be accepted as someone’s friend—like, because hermione’s a genius and harry is prodigiously skilled at defense against the dark arts and quidditch, ron, who doesn’t have any particular unique skill apart from chess, is somehow lesser in value to them and “unworthy” of their company.

it really speaks to this ridiculous idea that people are commodities, that they’re only good for what they can do for you. hermione’s only valuable to the trio because she’s smart, harry’s only valuable to the trio because he’s famous and good at combat magic. fans of ron weasley have to fight tooth and nail to get people to remember that ron contributes emotionally to the trio, that he helps keep harry and hermione grounded and in perspective, and that’s just as important as practical skills (of which he actually does have a great deal, or are we forgetting that he has the exact same grades as harry minus the top d.a.d.a grade?)

but ultimately, what it comes down to is this—the trio aren’t friends because they fight death eaters. they aren’t friends because they battle voldemort or hunt for and destroy his horcruxes together. they aren’t friends because they have to be. they are friends because they love each other, because they fundamentally care about each other and value each other as individuals quite apart from their special skills. they see in each other people who are there for them and support them and help them when no one else will, who will bring them up short when they need it, and they admire and care about each other and their relationships.

if you’re the kind of person who expects people to look for friends solely based on what skills those people contribute to the group, maybe the people in your life need to watch their backs so they know not to invest too much in a relationship with you. because why bother if all that matters is their skill set, which can change or be upstaged by someone else’s at any time?

ron is important and valuable to the trio because he is ron. they are friends with him and care about him because he is ron. people matter because they’re people, and this absurd and damaging philosophy that people’s value and worth should be inherently tied to their abilities really needs to stop.

so the next time someone asks you “what unique things has ron done? what are his special skills?”, as if that is the litmus test for someone to be accepted and loved, they may be the kind of person that you need to look at and just ask why ron needs them in the first place.

Memories that conjure patronuses:

Ron:

Seeing Hermione wake up after being petrified 

Harry telling him that the Burrow was the best house he’d ever been in

Harry saying that Dumbledore knew he’d want to come back

Ron tearfully telling the twins what he thinks Harry is going through at Privet Drive and instead of making fun of him, Fred wipes his tears while George says “we’ll just have to go get him then, won’t we?”

Hermione: 

Being rescued by Harry and Ron from the giant troll

Getting accepted to Hogwarts

Adopting Crookshanks

Ron squeezing her hand when they see Harry is alive

Ginny:

Realizing Harry wasn’t killed by Voldemort

Luna befriending her in their second year while others have avoided her because of Riddle’s influence last year

Winning the big quidditch game and getting kissed by Harry for the first time, all in the same day no less

Seeing Ron be impressed by her as she practices curses

Luna:

Dancing around with her mother as a little kid while her father smiled and worked

The first time Harry complimented her spellwork in a DA meeting

Going to a Wizard Rock concert with Ginny one summer night, her first summer adventure with a friend

Ginny asking her and Neville to reform the DA while Harry, Ron, and Hermione look for horcruxes

Neville:

Luna sleepily kissing him on the cheek while he organizes stuff for the DA and Ginny plans

Dumbledore awarding him points for standing up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione

His grandmother being proud of him for being accepted to Hogwarts

The moment he stands up to Voldemort and realizes he isn’t as scared as he used to be

ASOIAF meme | [2/3] OTP ► Jaime and Brienne

↳   “ Brienne’s big blue eyes were full of hurt as Balon Swann and a dozen gold cloaks led her away. You ought to be blowing me kisses, wench, he wanted to tell her. Why must they misunderstand every bloody thing he did? Aerys. It all grows from Aerys. Jaime turned his back on the wench and strode across the yard. ”

Game of Thrones S7 + The Onion Headlines: Part 2

All of my Wicked art in one post.

Some of my Wicked the Musical :Act 2 drawings plus the extra scenes. 

I don’t think that I will be able to finish the act 2 of this version. I just lost my drawing files because my external hard drive got broken few weeks ago. Still trying to find a way to recover the files but I’m already working on the newer versions of my first batch of act 1. well, life goes on~