mylittledragonhoard

[mylittledragonhoard]

Hey there, Friend! I hope everything is going okay with you, haven’t seen you here lately! Wishing you a good day today, and thank you for all your wonderful works which you share with us! Hope you never lack for inspiration! Cheers!

Hello dear anon. Thank you for the well wishes, and I wish you the same in return. 

[mylittledragonhoard]

Fic: Viva Las Vegas

Chapter Four: Monday Evening

They decided that it was a good day to see the Fountains of Bellagio over a breakfast of fluffy pancakes and perfectly cooked sausage. They sat side by side instead of across from each other, and Kili noticed the smiles all the waitresses would give them whenever they walked by.

The Fountains didn’t dance until later in the afternoon so that gave them a few hours to kill. After breakfast was done, they decided to walk and see what they could find. Vegas was filled with sights on every corner, so it was impossible to find nothing.

Around noon Fili pulled Kili into a building with the giant mascots for M&Ms on it. The sweet smell of chocolate greeted them as they entered, and Kili’s eyes widened at the sight of all the candy. It took a while to go through all four floors, and they spent a lot of time on the third floor where visitors could write short messages on their own candies.

Other customers kept glancing over at the two grown men giggling as they brainstormed messages short enough to fit. Most of their ideas were not suitable for print or they were too long. Eventually they settled on ‘Kiss me, I’m Irish’ and ‘Kiwi, not just a fruit’.

By the time they left, it was time to head to the fountains, and after a quick check on Fili’s phone, they made their way in the right direction.

Kili munched on a few of his M&Ms that he’d stashed in his pocket as they walked, the other hand held in Fili’s. The rest of his items had been stashed inside a messenger bag that Fili had grabbed before leaving the hotel room. Kili couldn’t remember the last time he’d held hands with anyone, and Tauriel didn’t count because she was usually pulling him somewhere and trying to take his arm.

He liked this. Fili’s hand was comfortably warm, and his fingers fit between Kili’s perfectly. Occasionally Kili would feel a light caress of a thumb or a squeeze around where his ring sat, and when Kili would return the caresses, he was treated to a bright smile.

He grinned when he felt another light squeeze.

Read on AO3

[mylittledragonhoard]

Fic: Viva Las Vegas

Chapter Four: Monday Evening

They decided that it was a good day to see the Fountains of Bellagio over a breakfast of fluffy pancakes and perfectly cooked sausage. They sat side by side instead of across from each other, and Kili noticed the smiles all the waitresses would give them whenever they walked by.

The Fountains didn't dance until later in the afternoon so that gave them a few hours to kill. After breakfast was done, they decided to walk and see what they could find. Vegas was filled with sights on every corner, so it was impossible to find nothing.

Around noon Fili pulled Kili into a building with the giant mascots for M&Ms on it. The sweet smell of chocolate greeted them as they entered, and Kili's eyes widened at the sight of all the candy. It took a while to go through all four floors, and they spent a lot of time on the third floor where visitors could write short messages on their own candies.

Other customers kept glancing over at the two grown men giggling as they brainstormed messages short enough to fit. Most of their ideas were not suitable for print or they were too long. Eventually they settled on 'Kiss me, I'm Irish' and ‘Kiwi, not just a fruit’.

By the time they left, it was time to head to the fountains, and after a quick check on Fili's phone, they made their way in the right direction.

Kili munched on a few of his M&Ms that he'd stashed in his pocket as they walked, the other hand held in Fili's. The rest of his items had been stashed inside a messenger bag that Fili had grabbed before leaving the hotel room. Kili couldn't remember the last time he'd held hands with anyone, and Tauriel didn't count because she was usually pulling him somewhere and trying to take his arm.

He liked this. Fili's hand was comfortably warm, and his fingers fit between Kili's perfectly. Occasionally Kili would feel a light caress of a thumb or a squeeze around where his ring sat, and when Kili would return the caresses, he was treated to a bright smile.

He grinned when he felt another light squeeze.

Read on AO3

[mylittledragonhoard]

Writing Tip

because I see this everywhere and most people don’t know about it. The hyphen(-), the en-dash(–) and the em-dash(—) are three completely different things with completely different uses. If you write fanfiction, it’s likely that your readers won’t care, but if you want to submit a manuscript for publishing, you need to know the difference. 

The hyphen (-) is the basic symbol you find on your keyboard, and it’s meant to only be used for hyphenated words (well-being, two-thirds). 

The en-dash (–) is a slightly longer dash. It’s usually the width of an uppercase N, hence the name. You can find it by looking through the ‘insert symbol’ option in MS word or many word processors, and it is meant to be used to show a particular distance, or for intervals (May–August, 1900–1916, pages 12–22)

The em-dash (—) is what people most commonly use, but they refer to it as a hyphen. It’s the longest dash, about the size of an uppercase letter M, and you can either find it through the list of symbols in your word processor, or some word processors actually automatically transform two hyphens (–) into an em-dash  (—). It is meant to be used as a break in the sentence, in a place where a comma, semicolon or colon would normally be used or as a break in dialogue. (Her niece—the daughter of her oldest sister—is the one over there.) 

*All three types of dashes are normally meant to be used without any spaces on either side of the dash. 

[mylittledragonhoard]

I wish… I wish… What do you wish? I wish I had a chance to say goodbye.

[mylittledragonhoard]

GatheringFiKi Fic Recs

I know this is late af but I thought I would compose a list of some of my favorite fics in recent memory, as well as calling out some of the amazing authors this fandom has been graciously blessed with. All of these authors deserve the love!

Barbarian by FuryNZ | @furynz FiKi | M | 75,102 First, anything by FuryNZ is an amazing must-read. This fic in particular is brilliant. It has the perfect amount of whump and love, as well as a wonderfully developed alternate history of the Dwarves.

Between the Boards by Linane | @linane-art​ FiKi | E | 65,002 | Finished I’m always taken aback by how poignant this fic is. Beautiful historical AU that takes place during the Holocaust. There are also several side one-shots!

Bottoms Up by SaucyWench | @myseri​ FiKi | E | 32,010 | WIP - Hiatus Again, there is nothing that Saucy writes that isn’t brilliant. This one has always been one of my faves. Who doesn’t want to see our boys as strippers????? It’s a WIP but still worth a read and maybe one day it will come off hiatus 🙏🏼

Loving Sea Series by Ralemalt | @mylittledragonhoard FiKi | G | 66,809 | WIP w/ one-shots Bless Ralemalt and her keeping the FiKi fandom new and fresh. I love this series. I love mer!AUs. I could go on forever on how much I love these fics. Give me mer!Fili, or give me death.

Seasons in the North Hills Series by dandelionpower Britchell | M | 354,440 | Finished - WIP If you want a series that reads like a novel, this is your fic. It’s long, has a very developed AU, and the writing is brilliant. There are even some illustrations!! It’s still being written with frequent updates!

In the Night Lands by blue_butterfly & FiliTheLionKing | @blu-b Britchell | E | 73,564 | WIP Another really cool WIP AU. I’m a sucker for royalty!AU Britchell fics I guess?? Really interesting plot and just a fun angsty fic.

The Shadows Between Stars by My_trex_has_fleas | @my-trex-has-fleas​ DarkHawk | E | 187,168 | Finished CAN WE GIVE TREX AN AWARD FOR JUST BEING A QUALITY ONE WOMAN DARKHAWK SHOW????? Seriously. All her fics are great and I don’t know how she is so consistently creative for what I feel like is a hard crossover to write. This one is a fun sci-fi gays in space fic. A++++

Folie A Deux Series by My_trex_has_fleas DarkHawk | E | 276,098 | Finished - WIP Uhm. Murder husbands. Is there anything else that really needs to be said????? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And while I know that GatheringFiKi doesn’t cover RPF, if anyone is interested, I can also compose an Aidean fic rec list! :)

[mylittledragonhoard]

I fucking love Irish slang like it’s the most creative craft ever.

Today I heard a coffin being referred to as a “wooden onesie” in the sentence “Ah jayysus, me nanny looks better than ye and she’s in a bleedin wooden onesie” and it was honestly life changing

[mylittledragonhoard]

WIGGLY TOOTHLESS!! {x}

[mylittledragonhoard]

[mylittledragonhoard]

• This was love at first sight, love everlasting: a feeling unknown, unhoped for, unexpected - in so far as it could be a matter of conscious awareness; it took entire possession of him, and he understood, with joyous amazement, that this was for life.

- Thomas Mann

[mylittledragonhoard]

[mylittledragonhoard]

 Fabulous Fili Friday

[mylittledragonhoard]

I never made a post about draft horses. :T They are the gentle giants of the horse world, sometimes growing as large as 20 hands and over 2000 lbs. The tallest horse in the world is an American-type Belgian horse named Big Jake (I think???).

A very big (but good) boy!

Despite their size, draft horses are known for their quiet, even temperaments, which make them good work horses. They were originally bred to pull wagons and plows, and they still do that. The most famous draft horses are probably the Budweiser Clydesdales, i.e. the horses in those Superbowl commercials that make us cry every goddamn year.

Draft horses can be ridden, and they are often crossed with lighter breeds, such as Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, to create tall, sturdy-boned, quiet sport horses.

Such horses were a common sight during foxhunts, as “hotter” breeds, like Arabians and Thoroughbreds, tend to lose their minds a bit in the chaos of the hunt. Draft horses can also be crossed with Mammoth Jack donkeys to create draft mules, which are also used to pull plows for the Amish.

Mammoth Jack donkey:

Draft Mule:

There are a lot of draft breeds, some more common than others. Many of the common ones are easy to tell apart from the others, but they’re all large-boned and tall, except for the draft ponies, such as Halflingers and Norwegian Fjord horses.

The Belgian

There are two Belgian horses, one that’s popular in Europe and another that’s very common in the US.

This is the European-type “Brabant” Belgian, which tends to be very thick boned and roan in color.

This is the American-type Belgian, which is lighter-boned and always sorrel/palomino in color:

Here is a Brabant Belgian mare pulling some shit:

A lot of draft horses really do enjoy pulling stuff, as much as a horse CAN enjoy doing anything that’s not eating grass and farting. Horse pulls are a common sight in Middle America, often done using Belgian horses. Here’s one of a team pulling 9200 lbs. They pull for a very short period of time, often only a few seconds.

Next up is the Percheron, which has a similar body type to the Belgians but are always black or dapple. They can be slightly more spirited than Belgian horses, with some demonstrating high stepping action.

They are not to be confused with Friesians, who have much more “feathered” legs and feet (long hair around the lower legs) and are lighter-boned. Friesians also don’t come in dapple colors, like the horse at the top of this post.

Clydesdales

Clydesdales are recognizable because they are a) always bay colored and b) almost always have four white socks and a blaze on their faces. They also have much more feathering on their legs than Percherons or Belgians. Clydesdales are more common in parades and the like because they tend to be slightly lighter than Percheron and Belgians, and because of this, they’re more agile and “showy”. You probably would not want to plow with a Clydesdale. You could, but their feathering means their feet get dirty much easier than a Belgians might.

Shire Horse

Shires come in a variety of colors, usually black or bay, and they are probably the most “feathered” horses of the popular breeds. They’ve got lots of fur on their feet.

Gypsy Vanner Horses

Gypsy Vanner horses got their start pulling Roma wagons, but now they’re mostly used in fantasy photoshoots, and you can see why. They are beautiful horses, definitely not the type you’d want toiling in the muck. They are almost always paint colored, which distinguishes them from Shire horses.

These are the main, most popular and commonly seen full-sized draft breeds, at least in the US. However, there are also draft ponies, the most popular of which is the Halflinger, which resembles a shrunken Belgian horse. They are ALWAYS sorrel/palomino colored, but their frame can vary. Some Halflingers are lighter-boned and more suitable for riding. Others are thicker-boned and better for pulling.

The other unmistakable draft pony is the Norwegian Fjord, easily recognized by the black stripe in the center of its mane, like a reverse ice cream sandwich.

This can lead to some creative hair cuts

So there you go. That’s a somewhat comprehensive review of draft horse breeds. Here is a size comparison for funsies, with the average riding horse in the middle.

[mylittledragonhoard]

Amazing Creatures Have Been Discovered across the Planet!

[mylittledragonhoard]

First kiss *

[mylittledragonhoard]

Heath Ledger’s response to homophobic reactions to “Brokeback Mountain” (x)

[mylittledragonhoard]

I started to watch The Vikings and Lagertha’s hairstyles got my attention and thought they would suit Fili very well and… Well. Is it normal having a boner over own drawings? Because I’m having one. But viking Fili is just.. Damn, and I can’t help it.