Eilonwy Held Up The Golden Ball. He Took It, Cradled It Reverently In His Hands, And Whispered Something

Okay no I need to talk about the book version of Howl's Moving Castle. I love the movie but the book has such a different vibe and you, yes you, should read it.

Movie Howl is a soulful and quiet. Book Howl is a drama queen and Causing Problems and has a long string of jilted exes and couldn't shut up if you paid him.

Sophie and Howl drive each other up the wall at the beginning and it's really funny. Sophie and Howl are (despite themselves) very much in love by the end and they still drive each other up the wall and it's even funnier.

In the movie, Howl has been ordered by the king to participate in The War, and Howl is avoiding it because he is a brave conscientious objector. In the book, Howl has been ordered by the king to rescue his lost brother from the Witch of the Wastes, and Howl is avoiding it by any means necessary because he is a cowardly weasel who wants to stay as far from the Witch as possible.

In the movie, the Witch cursed Sophie because she was jealous about Howl speaking to Sophie for five minutes. In the book, the Witch cursed Sophie because Sophie had been doing surprisingly powerful magic for years without knowing it and it was actually starting to cut into the Witch's plans. (Sophie does not discover any of this until nearly the end of the book, but the reader can start to pick it up much earlier and the way Sophie's magic works is pretty darn cool.)

In the movie, there's a rumor that Howl eats the hearts of maidens, but this is implied to be nothing but nasty fearmongering. In the book, there's a rumor that Howl eats the hearts of maidens because Howl started the rumor so people would stop asking him to do wizard junk all the time.

The book lightly parodies a couple of tropes from Western fairy tales. In particular Sophie has internalized that, as the eldest of three sisters, her "destiny" is to fail so that her younger sisters will look cooler when they succeed, which is why she's so resigned to the hat shop at the beginning. (Sidebar: Sophie's sisters come up much more in the book and they're great.) There's also a really funny bit where Sophie attempts to operate a pair of seven-league boots.

In the movie, the fourth and final location that the magic door connects to is some sort of black void / mindscape / time portal dealy. In the book the fourth location is Wales, in the UK, on Earth, so that Howl can visit his family, because from Howl's perspective this is an isekai story.

Drawing Request (if you wish):

Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Whimsy dancing

Ooo, an excellent idea!

CTF Japan is underrated and over hated. Hot Take.

Héra and Eowyn are not the same! They have similarities, but also important differences!

Both wanted to protect their families and people.

Both wanted to break free of the roles others set for them.

Eowyn was battling depression (or rather the Black Breath). She'd been oppressed by societal expectations and duties, as well as harassed by Wormtongue for so long. She derives hope from Aragorn and is motivated to take up the sword to protect her family and kingdom.

Héra lived in relative freedom. Yes, people criricized her for being "wild," but for the most part, she was free to roam as she pleased. Her father holds her back when war comes, but not in the way Eowyn was held back for so long. Despite being put through the wringer, Héra never loses hope. She grieves, but never sinks into the depths of depression.

Eowyn falls in love with Faramir. She was never trying to escape marriage, just trying to defend her family and not be bound to traditional gender roles. Once the threat is gone, she's content marrying Faramir and becoming a healer.

Héra's different. She doesn't want to marry. She remains a shield maiden.

And both are wonderful characters.

Having internet friends is an experience. Did you eat today? I can't believe your sister hasn't apologized yet, what a bitch. Drink a glass of water right now. Want to see a cat picture? I love you. I know you better than your parents. I don't know your name. I'm having a rough day, can you talk to me about your favorite videogame? I love you. Good morning means good night means good afternoon means go to sleep. Here's a doodle I made in class. I'm stealing your clothes as we speak, they're so pretty. I love you. I love your pet. What does your hair look like? I'd love to see that weird leaf. I love you. I'm making you your favorite food. Thank you for holding my secrets for me. I love you. We're having a coffee date. I love you. I'm giving you a screen-sized hug. I love you. I love you. I love you.

Oooh, tell me about "Steve blipped"!

This one is built off the question: What if Bucky survived the Blip at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, and it was Steve who turned to ashes? Written from Bucky’s POV, this one is kind of an angst-fest. I don’t have the full thing drafted out, and I’m not sure when I’ll ever finish it, so here’s a snippet of the beginning:

————

“Bucky.”

It was Steve’s voice, with something in it that yanked Bucky back ninety years to the days when Steve was a sick little kid, frightened and unsure behind his bravado.

And then Steve turned to him, blue eyes wide—and collapsed into a column of grey ash.

No.

No, no.

No.

He never remembered stumbling forward, never remembered landing hard on his knees. He only remembered the sick horror clambering up his throat, the ash dissolving between his fingers even as he clawed at it, tried to gather it.

NO.

A barrage of neon blue death rays, aliens, childhood illness flashed behind his eyes—all the things that Steve had faced, had fought through, had survived by sheer force of will…

…only to be defeated now by a simple snap of fingers.

It was unthinkable.

It was true.

Bucky’s world reeled. He bowed his head and let the despair take him, waiting for his own body to dissolve.

It didn’t—and there lay the true tragedy.

Till the end of the line, they’d always said.

He had never wanted Steve’s line to end first.

Happy Good Friday ✝️

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”-Genesis 3:15 KJV

Even as far back as the book of Genesis, God revealed His plan of salvation for mankind. That even though the devil (the serpent) would decieve and manipulate to bring sin into the world, and have Christ crucified (bruise His heal), it would all be in vain! Christ would arise the third day, defeating death and the devil! (bruise his head)

LOTR MUSICAL EXCHANGE: A BONUS SURPRISE GIFT FOR EVERYONE - FROM EILEEN!

i'm so excited to get to share these videos from eileen: ✨Now And For Always ✨Special Thank You

thank you SO SO MUCH to ben, michael, spencer, suzanne, and especially to eileen for reaching out to take part and making this incredible gift for us!!!

Okay but seriously an AoS musical episode would literally be the PERFECT spot to include Chloe's little stint as a Chinese pop star

I have no idea how a musical episode would even work into the plot (maybe sometime in s6? Bc Izel's whole thing was about resonance frequencies so maybe they had to sing in order to stop some plan of hers?), but it's just. It's so perfect

Can you imagine them all arguing or something and suddenly Daisy breaks into song, beating all the others, leaving the others stunned. Like, "whoa, had no idea she could do that!" and "where did you learn to sing like that?" and Daisy's like "uhhhhh don't worry about it"

And then we have a post credit scene of her desperately trying to wipe the "Uh Oh" music video off the internet but no matter how hard she tries she can't do it

Presenting their majesties Attolis Eugenides and Attolia Irene, featuring Gen's hook, Irene's earrings, and color coordinated outfits.