#i only inserted the lotr stuff

[maryellencarter]

Andy Serkis, of course, as *the* expert in motion-capture acting ever since he first played Gollum 20+ years ago, is a shapeshifter in ways beyond even most character actors to achieve.

He's also a high-level shapeshifter by normal character actor methods -- when I saw him in Black Panther (I think possibly the only place I've seen him wearing his own face, me not being a great moviegoer at the best of times), there was only one brief moment where an expression that reminded me of Gollum flickered through.

Recently, it turned out that a free trial of Amazon Prime which I happened to have running could be converted into a second free book credit on Audible if I should take a free trial there. I've been curious for some time about the 2021 audiobook of LOTR performed by Andy Serkis, and while trying to get my sleep schedule right way up for job-hunting purposes, I've been working on listening to his Fellowship of the Ring. (I've just reached Moria.)

It's a straight-up audiobook, not a play, by the technical definition: one performer, no music or added special effects. But *damn*, you want to talk about shapeshifting? Serkis does startlingly accurate impressions of every actor in the Peter Jackson movies, plus unique voices for characters with no movie casting, and he sings the songs that are described as having tunes.

(I don't have the ear to tell whether he's using new compositions or some kind of traditional tunes, except that I can say for certain he doesn't use Tolkien's rendition of "A fox went out on a winter's night" for Sam's "Troll Song". If anyone with a better ear than mine happens to investigate, I'd be delighted to know what's discovered.)

His narratorial voice isn't 100% Jirt, which is a Choice, but one I honestly support. The Professor had a thick Old English accent which would probably be a chore to listen to or perform for 60+ hours of total audiobook length. Serkis seems to be using something close to his natural Middlesex accent for the narration, as far as I can tell, but there are enough of the familiar Tolkienian twists (like using the "o" sound from the word "tossed" in "shone" and "wroth") that I'm favorably impressed so far.

His Elvish pronunciation isn't perfect, but it's solidly movie-quality (positive); you'd likely have to be me, with a quarter-century and counting of Sindarin as a second language, to snag on the tiny things I'm snagging on, stuff like the Finnish-style double-length "m" in Remmirath or the "eth" sound represented by the "dh" in Caradhras. (There is properly no D sound in Caradhras; the middle consonant sound should be that of the "th" in "these clothes", but I've never actually heard anyone besides myself say it that way.) He gets a lot of the tricky sounds correct, better than I do when I'm being sloppy, like the long-i-adjacent diphthong in Edain or the broad second A in Gandalf.

Also, the unique voices and the vocal effects he brings in for certain scenes are just... I don't even have words. The Barrow-Wight is as terrifying as it was when I was ten. Tom Bombadil sings about 95% of his dialogue, which I've never imagined any performance acknowledging unless it were the hypothetical LOTR opera I suggest every so often, but goddamn if he doesn't somehow make it work. For the movie-cast voices, he flips so smoothly between the mishmash of accents that I keep forgetting I'm not actually listening to a full-cast play with Billy Boyd's chirpy Glaswegian, Sean Bean's gruff Yorkshire, and Sean Astin's earnest put-on West Country all complete.

As for the lowest bar, the reason I refuse to recommend Rob Inglis's older unabridged audiobooks as an entry point -- Inglis regularly inserts contractions that aren't in the original text, turning the formal tone of scenes where "cannot" and "will not" are important signifiers into something incongruously conversational. I do not forgive that kind of alteration in a text where the formality level, and the changes between levels, are such an incredibly fundamental part of what's being conveyed. Serkis has already successfully cleared one dialogue point where it would have been easy to change "can not" to "can't" (Pippin talking nearly as fast as hobbitly possible), and I'm very optimistic that he'll continue to hit those marks.

Wow, that got longer than I expected, but I'm *really* enjoying this rendition. Unless it majorly blows up in my face somehow, I fully expect to have a new go-to recommendation for How To Experience LOTR for people who can't get through it by reading the text. (And even for people who can. I've said on many occasions, that book is written to be read aloud.)

[wordbunch]

hi! could you give me some good LOTR x reader stories from other blogs? I read all ur stuff and I need moreeeeeeee. thx.

YES OF COURSE I can!! Also I'm always on the lookout for more good reader inserts, so if you have any... you know where to find me!! 😉 also thanks for reading my fics hehe 💛 I'll just put strictly lotr/the hobbit recommendations here, but if you also want TROP let me know!

@guardianofrivendell has amazing one-shots 💛

@ironmandeficiency who i've discovered only recently (my bad!!!) 🤭

@emmyspov has some lovely lil stories ✨

@minaturefics i cry every time 😭😍

@elvish-sky i found the masterlist recently and i can't wait to read more 🤩

@tolkien-fantasy has really great headcanons! 💓

@entishramblings with the most amazing super long ongoing legolas x reader!! 😍😍😍

I really hope I didn't forget anyone, PLEASE feel free to reblog and add more, or add yourself, or anything 😁

[tillytaurus]

Eilish “Ellie” Mactavish

Been obsessing over CoD lately so of course I had to insert my “multiverse-OC” in another AU :) this means ellie is part of seven different universes at this point, all ranging from Marvel to Lotr and WoW. Oh well, what harm is another one.

Also fair warning to any diehard CoD fans ! I’ve rearranged a lot of the “lore” in this AU, and included stuff from games that aren’t actually linked together… just because I can and I think it’s fun :)

Basic information about Eilish

Age: 25

Height: 5’2 (157cm)

Background

Used to run with a PMC group that went by the name Ghosts, but after some trouble with some of the soldiers in the PMC and an enemy group Eilish and a few other Ghosts were forced underground.

She spent four years hiding in Sweden, living under protection and hidden identity. She had no plans to ever return to serve and was more than happy to spend the rest of her life hidden away in a remote village in a Nordic country… but the death of her brother changed everything.

Her sole purpose in life became seeing Makarov dead. And the only way she’d be able to get to him was to link up with her brothers comrades. Whether she liked it or not, it had to be done…

Together with an old friend, Samantha Wilson, Eilish seeks out Laswell...

[incorrectringsofpower]

Hey, you there.

Yes, you, blogger or Youtuber who’s trying to make clout for yourself by reviewing things that are popular to hate on because it helps you get paid in this late stage capitalist hellscape:

Hi, hello. You might have noticed this relatively large fanblog in the tags for this fandom. Yes, there’s a real person behind it.

Assuming you aren’t just making a video to rehash the same Rings of Power hate everyone else has said and that you are actually a person of your word who is trying to review it with “an objective, unbiased lens” and that you have indeed “done in-depth research on the show and its background” that doesn’t just consist of consuming other things within an echo chamber, I’d like to offer a possible source of content and interest that makes you stand out from all the others who are parroting the same stuff.

That is, I’d like to suggest that you ask current fans of the series specifically why it is they like the series.

A not insignificant amount of both tumblr and youtube commenters are making a lot of assumptions about fans that are largely unfounded and are poorly researched. You need someone who doesn’t ship the most popular ship? Cool, I can connect you to multiple. You need a Tolkien scholar? Awesome, we have them. You need costume experts? We know several who also (surprise, surprise) love the show. You need people who vividly remember all the backlash against the Peter Jackson LotR films? That’s like half the fandom, darling. You need [insert whatever fanbase opinion to discuss here]? We’ve got you covered.

Because largely these reviews are neglecting to actually, you know, talk to us. You’d probably learn more from us than you’d think! But what do I know, I’ve only been running this blog for like 5 months and blocking people who come into our main tags with bad faith arguments pretty much every day.

And if you’re a Rings of Power fan who’d like to share what you like about the show with these folks, feel free to say so in the notes. We’re not going anywhere.

[riddlerosehearts]

Okay now EYE must ask you - how are you liking BG3??? How far are you?? Tell me about your Tav!!!! (Please and thank you <3)

hi!! 💖 i only started the game a few days ago and it was an impulse decision i made after having previously told a friend of mine that i definitely wanted to play it but that it'd probably take me a while to get around to it (and, because i thought i wouldn't play anytime soon i hadn't really been trying to avoid spoilers). but, i have the PC version and while it generally runs just fine, my computer is kind of slow and the game is so big that it took hours to download and install. so i kind of went ahead and started to come up with a whole character idea during that time LOL. sorry if my explanations of things get a bit too rambly/disorganized. i'm actually not very far in the game at all yet, i've been spending a ton of time doing stuff in the druids grove and i'm supposed to go find halsin but i haven't even gotten karlach in my party yet! i've recruited all the main companions except for her but i am excited to meet her. gonna put the rest of this under a cut for length.

my only background with DND is that i listened to the first campaign of the adventure zone and i've watched the legends of vox machina show. i also have a friend who's super into her own DND campaign and another friend who's told me a lot about dimension 20, specifically fantasy high--and i've considered trying it out for her but haven't gotten around to it yet! i think she actually told me the same thing about the episode lengths making it easier to get into than critical role, because i had tried critical role and it was just so long that i couldn't stick with it. but, yeah, i've also looked at the forgotten realms wiki a bit but i've never actually played DND. i have played skyrim and final fantasy 14 and some other similar RPGs with customizable blank-slate protagonists, and in those types of games i always have to make OCs to roleplay as--usually i'll think up a basic idea to start with and then flesh the character out as i get into the game. they're never really self-inserts but i do often project onto them a little.

so, in games like these my first character is usually an elf that specializes in elemental/destructive magic. idk why, that's just what i've always liked. in ff14 i started out as a black mage without knowing it was the hardest class to play LMAO. soooo i went into this planning to create a high elf sorcerer, but as i started writing out ideas and thinking about what to do, i ended up creating a half-high elf bard. they're transmasc/nonbinary and in my head they use he/they pronouns, but i picked the nb option in the character creator and that causes npcs to actually use they/them in dialogue which i think is so cool. i love that the character creator is so inclusive in regards to gender.

anyway, i named them elenion, which is something i took from the lord of the rings universe because i'm a huge nerd. in LOTR it's an elvish word that basically means "of the stars". here's a couple screenshots i took when i first started. let's just ignore the fact that this hairstyle clips into elf ears (and also that the face preset is from a mod i downloaded).

i didn't really give him a tragic backstory or even the most interesting story haha--i'm wanting to do something bigger and angstier with another character on a second playthrough when i'm more familiar with the lore and world of the game. and i'll probably also end up changing or expanding on some things about this character later, but for now i just kind of made a normal guy with normal problems. i had this idea that his father, a human who attracted the attention of a beautiful elf woman, was also a bard and was a very successful musician in his youth. so elenion has always shared his father's passion and dreamed of being like him, being able to effortlessly tell incredible tales and inspire crowds of people through song, but no matter how much he studies and practices he never feels good enough. if he seems confident it's usually just because he's gotten really good at faking it. he's also pretty reserved and often avoids having to talk about himself by asking a lot of questions. see, i kind of wanted to specifically find a way to not roleplay the usual sort of loud, flirty, goofy bard, lol. not that i dislike those kinds of characters or anything though!

however, bards are meant to be super charismatic, witty, and persuasive and of course the game strongly encourages that with the dialogue options and skill bonuses you get. so my way of explaining this is to have elenion be a bit like raine from the owl house, in that they may be shy, but they're very firm in their ideals and are no pushover when it comes to protecting themself or their allies. they're clever and have a snarky side to them, and they're genuinely friendly and caring in a way that gives them a sense of quiet charisma. which reminds me that one of the spells i gave them at the start was sleep, and it's made me imagine that when they were a kid they tried calming a crying baby by playing a lullaby on their lute and accidentally ended up casting their first spell.

oh, and, i also wasn't really sure at first where in the world i wanted elenion to come from but i decided on something pretty quickly after getting multiple of those dialogue options suggesting that the protagonist is baldurian! i pictured them growing up in a somewhat small town with their family but moving to baldur's gate as an adult, hoping that if they left the comfort of their home and started to journey out into the world a little they'd eventually find their spark and become the bard they wanted to be. unfortunately they've had little luck so far because even after all this time they can't see that maybe their whole fixation on trying to be just like their father and achieve the exact same kind of success that he had is holding them back. the fact that their father died the year after they moved away hasn't helped either. and now, in the middle of traveling to a historical site that they'd wanted to see in person and use as inspiration for a song, they've been abducted by mindflayers and are struggling with the massive upheaval that this has brought into their relatively mundane life.

so. yeah. my tav for this first playthrough may not be the most unique or exciting character but i like him! i like figuring out what kind of choices he'll make and thinking up new ideas for what he likes and how he sees the world. also, i find it funny how in your reply to my ask you said you thought you'd be into gale but then you fell for astarion--because i thought that i'd be all over the edgy, brooding, snarky vampire man, but it turns out gale is so charming and funny that i'm probably going to romance him first. i'm also pretty intrigued by shadowheart and wyll but i'm so early in the game that i can't even say who i think my overall favorite companion will be because they all seem so interesting!! even karlach despite the fact that i haven't actually met her yet, i've seen a bunch of cool gifsets of her and my brother told me he's been romancing her on his playthrough. i really need to go find her soon.

i'm sure you can tell from everything i wrote here that i am definitely enjoying the game LOL. i can already tell that there's just so many different things to do and see, that i will both need and want to do a lot of different playthroughs and that it's going to be something that sticks with me. nothing wrong with using guides and walkthroughs btw! i do it too because i'm worried about missing too many things and have the world's worst sense of direction even with a minimap. honestly i probably need to look up some guides for certain mechanics that i don't feel like i've really figured out yet. there's a sarcophagus trap in the ruins early in the game that got me SO stuck and got my whole party wiped and then i looked up a video and found out you could turn off the whole trap system by pushing a switch... i felt so stupid askjdfgf.

anyway, i think this got to be way too long of a reply so i will stop here! but if you ever wanna tell me more about your tav or anything definitely feel free to and i hope you're having an awesome day!

[sotwk]

Random ask hour! Which of your OCs is your favorite to write about & why?

Hi Callon! Thank you for this thoughtful Ask and the opportunity to talk about my OCs! <3

It's a bit sad/embarrassing, but I haven't written about my OCs (either fics or headcanons) nearly as much as I ought to, because I still struggle with fear of rejection. I just can't shake the voice in my head saying stuff like "no one wants to hear about OCs"; "only canons will get interest"; or "reader inserts will get more likes, so just do that". This creates a lot of conflict in me as a writer, because my OCs are where I find most creative joy. I returned to fanfic writing and came to Tumblr with the goal and intention of sharing my prized LOTR OCs--Thranduil's family.

Yet I'm still struggling to build up the confidence to do so! Even with all the lovely friends cheering me on!

All that being said, the OC I would love to write more about--and also am the shyest and most nervous about--is my Elvenqueen, Queen Maereth, mother of Thranduil's five sons. Every Thranduil writer has their own version of his beloved wife (even multiple ones!), so why should anyone care to read about mine?? (says the Negative Nancy in my head.)

Gif made and gifted by @arrthurpendragon (Thank you again!)

I have TONS of fully-formed info about her, all of which are just sitting in my Notes Document waiting to be written into stories. I hesitate to "spoil" them by revealing them in headcanons, because I am still hoping I can get readers to enjoy my planned fics about her long, epic love story with Thranduil. I like to think she's actually a very interesting lady.

Some of these "secrets" about Elvenqueen Maereth include:

What exactly is her lineage? Which of the Sons of Feanor does she descend from?

If she is Noldor, does she have a Quenyan name?

Who are her famous canon relatives?

Why did she reject Thranduil's marriage proposals?

How did she become so friendly with the Dwarven Kings of Khazad-dûm?

Does she have special "powers"?

What's the deal with her color-shifting eyes?

I am itching to answer all of these questions and more--I just wish I could find the time, energy, courage, and motivation to do it!

I will continue to try! <3 Thank you as always for your support, @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog!

[dashielldeveron]

HELPPPPP TELL ME WHY IVE ONLY NOW FOUND YOUR FICS AT AN UNHOLY HOUR IN THE MORNING AND HAVE SPENT THE PAST FOUR HOURS PORING OVER YOUR WRITING????

literally wasnt in a bnha phase atm when i got smacked in the head with the absolute DELIGHT that is your writing??!?! oh my GOD your writing is so delicious i was kicking my feet and had to put my phone down MULTIPLE times when going through shinsou's, monoma's, and dabi's part of the soulmate series and im Not Ready for aizawas or todorokis. what RIGHT do you have to make me have to stuff my comforter in my mouth to stifle my laughter as i clutch my phone in my hands and grin like a maniac at the absolute comedic gold that is your writing.

Your dialogue? masterful. i want to eat your writing because the interactions between characters seem so Real and Complex and in depth i am frothing at the mouth you dknt UNDERSTAND!!! And the fact the reader insert has a nuanced personality!!!! the snark and sheer Kindness from the reader in dabi's fic and TENDERNESS!!! HAD ME!!! SHAKINF!!! goddd you write tenderness and yearning so so well im going to be re reading your fics for the next couple years, actually. "shy boy" and "sweet boy" being used for dabi , , , im on my hands and knees you have no right!!! at all!!! to make me want to kiss the reader insert!!! hello!!!! what the fuck!!

AND MONOMA!!! MY BABYGIRL!!! HES SUCH A THEATRE NERD WHO WANTS TO PRACTICE AND SATISFY YOU BECAUSE!! TO SEE U BE UNRAVELED BY H I M --- NOT AN ABILITY HE MIMICKED FROM SOMEONE ELSE--- MAKES HIM SO SO WEAK. i have no words. best monoma character portrayal ive seen. hands down. im gonna die happy, actually.

also.

reader: wanna try sexting?

shinsou: no <3

made me cavkle so hard aksbjsbsbs i love that man sm

Oh btw!! may i ask what other chars you have planned for the soulmate au? i will be. frothing over whatever you put out nonetheless!! i hope you have a lovely day <333

four hours?!?!?! you could've watched gone with the wind in that time!!

yessss YESSSS get back into bnha!!! we want you back!!!! lol it's fab that you were reacting like that to thinking about the boys; i think that monoma would be kicking his feet, too, if he were reading about you!!! and shinsou would get so overwhelmed reading fluff about you that he'd have to take breaks, splash water on his face. if dabi read fic, he'd prob read the whole thing in one sitting, emotionless, but then have to go throw rocks at windows. whatever you're feeling, they'd feel, too

and yesssss dabi is shy/sweet boy bc that's what he is!!!! he's prob not feeling very shy/sweet in canon rn, but he'll remember eventually!! ohhhhhhhh monoma my beloved. GOD it makes me so happy to hear that you like him here. i love monoma soooooo much; i dislike how he's villainised in fic bc it's easy to, but i think he's so charming and devoted, both to his friends and to the bit. and based on 1-B's play at the festival, someone's a huge fuckin' nerd about LOTR and Shakespeare and stuff, and i think it would fit monoma well; he seems aware of the roles of characters in stories and overall storytelling, and LOTR/HP/Shakespeare are all about structure and word choice. i love him. i'm going to take him to therapy and make out with him in the car afterwards.

also!!! not that there's a "correct" order to read the routes in, but it sounds like you're reading them out of release order!!! which is great!!! i'd be FASCINATED to hear back from you after you read aizawa's chapter, bc that's where most of the tainted love lore is dropped--and aizawa's and shinsou's routes have pretty heavy overlap.

i'm writing shigaraki's right now, and then i have a route for [secret character], censored not bc he's the "true route," or anything, but bc he already appears in the story, and from my POV, it would sour his current scenes if we knew we had a route with him. these are the routes i have planned, and then i will either 1) let the fic marinate or 2) leave the fic "finished" but occasionally add "non-canon" routes for other characters and perhaps "fandiscs" for existing routes. considering i have lots of ideas for other fics, i'm leaning towards the first one, since i don't think i can commit to the latter right now idk

but ohhhhhh i love you. you are SO kind, and i'm so so so glad you're liking the fic!!!! i hope the rest of it is just as fun and that your day is peaceful!!!! xx.

[diegoalvesisgod]

For the ask meme ✌️

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

Okay, so at first when I was like 12-13, me and my friend would write something like self-insert fanfics about celebs we liked, and we would always make it super romantic and hot, and then make like a comedic twist at the end that would ruin it all. Which is basically why I have no issues with RPF because literally we would write RPFs about ourselves and make total fools out of ourselves.

We also wrote like a lot of LOTR fanfic at that time, especially anti-Boromir stuff.

But mostly, I would write original fiction and poetry in my teens, and I only knew about fanfic because my friend was really into Twilight and she wrote fanfic... yeah.

Then I discovered fanfic in the Livejournal era and I lurked for some time before starting to write it myself (after the EURO 2012 I believe 🤔). And... I'm still here.

[writerinspo]

ROLEPLAY PARTNERS WANTED!

I have no desire to write on tumb/lr anymore but I am searching for potential writing partners on disc/ord/gmail/docs.

ABOUT ME

30+ year old roleplayer with 20+ years experience spanning many platforms & fandoms. I have a full-time job & life. I prefer multi-para to novella writing, potential NSFW themes depending on the storyline, & am open to writing with OCs (as long as they don't linger into self-insert territory) & canons. I am also open to doing AUs or crossovers with them.

FANDOMS

I am seeking out two specific fandoms - Marvel (MCU specifically up to Endgame; last show watched was The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) & Lord of the Rings/Silmarillion (books based but movies only knowledge is welcome, not familiar with Rings of Power currently but open to interacting with people who also use that).

I am open to crossovers & AU stuff also for the fandoms.

CHARACTERS

I have 3 I am looking to write specifically:

Karen Page - NMCU/MCU based canon (been writing & developing 6+ years)

Lothíriel - LOTR book/headcanon based canon (been writing & developing 10+ years)

Nessavendë - Silmarillion/LOTR based OC (been writing and developing 20+ years)

I also have an OC I have written long-term as well who is available:

Adrienne Reidar - Werewolf: the Apocalypse/Werewolf: The Forsaken based OC (been writing & developing 15+ years)

WANTED FANDOMS

Of my four, Karen is the most flexible in regards to fandoms obviously. For her:

MCU (DD/Punisher/Defenders at the top with movie and other shows coming in second)

DC

Peaky Blinders

The Leftovers

Apocalypse settings

Letterkenny/Shoresy

Wrestling

I also open to any settings & characters for her that are modern, not necessarily superhero based.

For Nessa & Loth:

Tolkien based (books, OG trilogy, not seen ROP & no interest in the games produced or knowledge of them but I have no qualms with interactions)

Modern settings (AU or a post-Dagor Dagorath situation)

Game of Thrones

Other fantasy settings

WANTED PLOTS

Honestly just depends on who you want to write and write against. For shipping, anything is open for all four of my characters (romantic [all four are bisexual but obviously Loth will be less sure of her own sexuality], platonic, familial, etc.). I am down for different ideas on writing & I am not insanely strict on adhering to canon to the point we are writing the books out. Exploration is the game.

I have docs available with information for all four including headcanons that have been developed over the years of writing each of them.

Hit the 🖤 and I will contact you from my main blog or send me a message!

[shadebloopnik]

I keep having these fic ideas that i KNOW will end up sounding like self-insert Mary Sues but i love them anyway????

Like, I had this one fic idea for the hobbit/lotr. So there's this small girl found dirty, injured, half dead, etc. found in the Greenwood. She gets found by the elves and taken to the kingdom until she could wake up. Thranduil finds her and interviews her for her name and stuff, but she can't remember much. The most she can come up with is that her name is Sorano. She looks quite young, but with elves existing, you never really know someone's age right. Still she acts young, so that was something. But ofc she's not just an ordinary girl, shes Special™ (Yes im disgusting, and cliche). So she has this, elvish like traits in her, with her fair skin and slightly pointed ears. Her eyes, tho just as odd as an elf's with their glow, gives off a different vibe, and will LITERALLY glow gold and all when she's in a mood. Her nails are always sharp, she's pretty short for an elf, only barely reaching Legolas' shoulder, has WAYYYYY sharper senses, and she finds herself a bit more durable too.

Sorano ends up getting somewhat adopted Thranduil. Tho he was suspicious, she broke down and was genuinely scared and confused when he found her, and acted so so young that he couldn't help but be a bit sorry. As time grew, he became much fonder of her despite her oddities and came to accept her like a daughter. Tho it was never official, everyone in the wood knew to treat her as their own little secret princess. She gets very close with Legolas as her big brother.

As for Sorano herself, she knows she's different (*cue edgy music lmao jk*) but she never gave it much thought. She loves the Wood and the citizens, even tho she doesn't interact with them alot. She usually enjoys climbing the trees round the woods, her physique letting her cover much more ground faster, letting her explore areas that Thranduil would rather she doesn't for her safety. Basically, picture this elegant and frail looking girl thats lowkey a gremlin.

Yadayada the Company eventually passes through the Woods and she actually helps out in convincing Thranduil to let them go with the promise of proper payment, even volunteering herself to go with them to ensure of no trickery. Thranduil (and Legolas who was hiding in the background the whole time) was expectedly INDIGNANT(i imagine them squawking in offense that she thinks they value her so little and its HILARIOUS for my dead humor.) Eventually she gets to go, and hijinks occur and she ends up helping witth the battles with her secret amazing protagonist powers(lmao there's actually a reason for it but too tired to type)

Ohhhhh and I wanted to pair her with Fili bc he's adorable and I need more fics with him in the main pair

[paintedhyenadogs]

Growing up with a western view of Elves in popular media (Like in LOTR and The Hobbit or currently, The Witcher) I saw elves as reserved, and not really liking humans (or maybe that's just how I interpreted things idk). Brushing up on my own cultures view on elves or elvish type creatures, they are treated far better in comparison.

(more under the cut)

Within shared folklore (between Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei), Orang Bunian (translated into "hidden people" or "whistling people) are known to be invisible to most normal people, and can only be seen by people with "spiritual sight", kinda like modern day ghost lore. Said to live in the deep forests and mountains of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, away from most human contact, but near human communities (even living in their homes). They are known to be benevolent, usually befriending humans and helping bomoh (which is kinda like a witch doctor). They also have magic, humans usually do some rituals or give offerings when crossing or trespassing on their land.

There are two depictions of them, the more traditional one is that they are beautiful, nearly identical to humans (minus a philtrum on some accounts) and are dressed in ancient southeast asian style clothes. The other, more modern depiction, is a more high fantasy elf. The kind you usually see in fandom and games.

So in comparison to how elves are treated in popular media (at least the ones I see, like The Witcher, Dragon Age: Absolution, etc), Orang Bunian are treated with far more respect and reverence in some cases. Human men are even known to marry Bunian women, and be whisked away for years. Like, these are not the elves I grew up seeing (I never watched Magika unfortunately). It's so interesting how differently creatures like these are treated in different places.

It's not like good creatures are the norm here, I grew up never playing hide and seek past dusk because I'd be kidnapped by the Hantu Tetek (titties ghost, kinda terrifying if you read about how it's supposed to look like). I grew on things like Hantu Raya, Pocong and other horrifying stories. Then Orang Bunian come along, their only downside is whisking people away sometimes, and because time works differently, they come out of their happy fun time after years and years, in which the people they knew have already died.

Orang Bunian are such fun to get into. I should put more Malaysian folklore into my content and self insert stuff.

Feel free to comment if I got anything wrong.

[a-ramblinrose]

Hello My Dears!

I realized that a pinned introduction post would be wise. This realization did not actually tell me the best way to do this XP so excuse my nonsense. Or enjoy it! Enjoying it would be nice!

To get the necessities out of the way:

 Call me Rose! My gender is a *insert weird noise here* but I’m fine with she/her/they. Really just be polite and it’s all good. This blogger is closer to 30 than they would like because the passage of time is a trap. I’m a Taurus so I've warned you all about how stubborn and ridiculous I can be. No claims of surprise on that front allowed. In theory I’m a poet and prose writer but in practice I’m in the middle of a slump on the wordy front.

 I’m an avid bookwyrm with a massive hoard of a TBR Pile and an even larger library of books I’ve loved. Discovering fanfiction only increased my consumption of words and my fic bookmarks are a vast labyrinth to get lost in. 

This blog is a mix of book and miscellaneous fandoms run 90% by queue to give some verisimilitude of functionality/organization to my chaos. I do tag. My book related tags are honestly basic and the fandom stuff is mostly titles. There are a few lingering custom tags from when my blog was shiny new and I had dreams of being Creative™ but never without the simple tags for clarity. I don’t tag for ships. I’m a shameless multishipper with an armada behind me spanning way too many fandoms to count with new interests as the wind blows. No, really I’ve been lurking in the fandom areas of the internet for a very long time. When nostalgia hits weird things end up on my blog.

Favorite Poets:  Mary Oliver, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, John Keats, Rumi, E.E. Cummings, Leonard Cohen, Andrea Gibson, Billy Collins, Ocean Vuong, Richard Siken, & many many more

Favorite Authors:  Terry Pratchett, Ursula K. Le Guin, Neil Gaiman,

 Becky Chambers, Ben Aaronovitch, Robin McKinley, Megan Whalen Turner, Tamora Pierce, Phillip Pullman, Tanya Huff, Eiichiro Oda, Hiromu Arakawa, T. Kingfisher, Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù, J.R.R. Tolkien, & many many more

And a small selection of fandoms that end up on my blog:  

Batfamily, Star Wars, MDZS, TGCF, SVSSS, BNHA, ASOIAF, Discworld, Sandman, FMA, One Piece, Sailor Moon, The Magicians, Studio Ghibli, LotR, Clamp, Black Sails, The Queen’s Thief, & many many more

[lilolilyr]

What the last show you HAD TO BINGE, as in you physically couldn’t get yourself to pause it (and even bathroom breaks were only on an emergency basis)?

I don't really... Do that? I've had this ask in my inbox for like a year now waiting for an opportunity to answer it properly, but no xD I think the last show I watched more or less in one go (so like... an episode or two a day over the course of one or two weeks) was either Hannah or Good Omens, both in 2019 (just the first season of each was out at the time, I've not continued Hannah since but I do plan to watch GOmens S2 once it's out though mostly because @neil-gaiman is perfect advertising and now my curiosity beats my inability to commit to a show)

I'm not sure whether I've even finished a single show since then! I'm in the middle of most star trek shows, I haven't even finished my fav DS9, I'm at the beginning of Witcher S2, watching random eps of NUMB3RS and Rizzoli&Isles whenever I'm at my parents' place bc they're slowly going through the pile of DVDs (calling the show after the Rizzles shipname for brevity's sake so much now my dad does the same, I'll call that achievement accomplished) and sometimes rewatching randoms eps of shows I already know...

And I think the last TV I've watched at all was LotR Appendices stuff with @toboldlynerd uhh what was that two weeks ago?? So yeah, no actual binging to be found here xD I'm always fascinated by people who do that. There's a reason I like shows with episode-long story arcs best - I want to go to sleep after finishing one! Then again, I'm totally capable of binging when it comes to reading: both when it comes to books (Eifel-Krimis, Discworld, Agatha Christie,...) and especially fanfics, I've binged the entire Ava/Deborah tag on Ao3 through continuous reading within 2 weeks (during semester break - so i really didn't do much beside reading, at one point I realized a week had passed bc dance practice was again and it felt like I just went there the day before bc everything blurred together!)(and without watching the show beforehand or at all), and currently the only reason I'm not binging through @purlturtle's amazing Star Trek self insert series anymore is that I'm with family and can't be glued to my phone to the point of not noticing my surroundings which is what would happen if I continued reading that right now xD Sunday I'll be back at it tho! Anyway, so I'm just not a binge person when it comes to TV for some reason? Still, thanks for the ask! <3

[garoumylove]

hi! would you tell about your drawing and writing journeys? how you started, what inspires you, if there were any obstacles etc - everything that you'd like to share! ive seen some of your old arts and can say that you've made a great progress, also some color scemes that you choose for your arts, like red/pink/white are very beautiful ヽ(*・ω・)ﾉ

Ah thank you so much for such a kind ask!! (I'm writing this on my PC so I can't use emojis but just imagine a lot of hearts inserted here!! ^.^)

I'll try to keep this as brief as I can as I don't want to go through my life story and sound self important!

But basically I've been writing since I was pretty young, like middle school. I was lucky to have some amazing English teachers who always encouraged me and praised me! I wrote for English class and just for myself since I was like 12. At first they were just fantasy stories and then as I got into high school it became romance stories and fanfiction (that I never published). I have hundreds of pages worth of writing from my high school years omg! I'd stay up late instead of sleeping writing this stuff haha!

I also wrote some crack LOTR fanfic with a friend in high school and we published it but it got taken down eventually and has been lost to time.

I stopped writing for a while because I got older and life got in the way. Then in 2017 I got very sick with some mysterious neurological thing (and i'm sick again now unfortunately) and to cope I got into anime and manga because it was the only thing that held my attention enough to distract me from a pretty horrible health crisis.

I watched OPM as one of my first animes and then read the manga. I ended up just falling in love with Garou's character. As someone who was bullied by other kids and adults in my life pretty constantly I saw A LOT of myself in him and understood his anger and secret insecurity. I felt so much for him that it pushed me to start writing little romantic drabbles again in my diary. Eventually, someone showed me AO3 and I saw people writing xReader fanfiction which I had not heard of before but I was instantly hooked and decided to try write a silly little smut just for fun, just to try it out. I posted it on AO3 in 2019 and got an overnight very positive response and a couple of people asking me to write more. I was very pleasantly surprised, so I did! And then after a couple of fun smutty xReaders I started to write things that were more emotional, a bit deeper and I became very passionate about it.

We get so little of Garou's life and thoughts and feelings about things outside of his hero hatred and his bullying and insecurity that I wanted to fill in those blanks. I wanted to explore the depths of his mind and character beyond the desire to be a monster. Because of course he is very human and very insecure inside just like many of us. I also wanted to explore that romantic/sexual side of him and his thoughts and feelings about that since that's also a basic and huge human need for most people. So that's where my writing inspiration comes from! I feel very lucky and honoured that so many people have read my fanfics and enjoy this characterisation of Garou I have created.

As for the drawing, well I really loved drawing as a kid but I wasn't very good and it's not something I took too seriously even though I loved doing it. It wasn't until I got into One Punch Man and Garou that I became really passionate about learning how to draw. I wanted to dive into the OPM universe and create, create, create. I wanted to make Garou and other characters come to life through my art (and writing).

The ship I draw (Garou and Eiko) is based on my xReader fanfic "Love/Hate". I just fell in love with my own story so much that I wanted to draw it as well as write! So the two things have come together nicely in that way :)

For my colour schemes...I just really love warm colours, that's all I can say really haha! No matter what I draw I always end up gravitating towards the warm reds. It's like a habit/addiction I guess lol!

My ideas for drawings are a mix of completely my own original ideas and using memes or photos etc as reference when I'm feeling the art block. But I do love drawing Garou, light of my life, my love. I've probably done it over 500 times now =^.^=

I hope I managed to answer your questions! Please let me know if there's anything else and thank you again for your kind words!

[caromangu]

Guys I'm going to go crazy over the fact that people are angry at Amazon, who didn't buy the rights to the Simarillion, for making a Lord of the Rings show. They're main argument?

"It's not canon!!!1!!!!"

You guys seriously cannot enjoy a show anymore. When did hating something and making people feel bad about liking it become normal and ok? I'm not typically a blog that says this stuff but even I have had enough.

The people who don't like it are typically at least one of these four things

1) Hate it because Amazon made it

2) Hate it because it isn't canon

3) Haven't even fucking SEEN IT!

4) Hate it because the devs are different from LOTR and The Hobbit's and have DIFFERENT STORYTELLING METHODS (seriously, no one is going to have the same goddamn storytelling method)!!

It's those people that are making the world a sadder place. It's people like them that make my friends scared to even talk about it. It's people like them that make me so fucking angry. They make everything political and make a big fucking deal over budget shit when it, ultimately, doesn't matter.

"Bad characters can't carry a good plot. But good characters can carry a bad plot" may apply here. We don't know yet because it's only been one fucking season. You cannot judge a series, WHICH IS STILL IN THE DAMN MAKING, by the first season. You cannot do that fairly. It's an awful way to live.

Do I fall under the above category about me judging a series before I've even seen it? Yes. Abso-fucking-lutely. I did that with WandaVision and Moon Knight and they are among my favorite shows.

You cannot judge, hate, or say anything about the devs, storytelling methods, or plot until you have seen it fully.

Is that asking too much? At this point, it is. And it isn't supposed to be like this. It shouldn't be hard to be fucking decent and simply say "I don't vibe with it but I won't be rude and an asshole about it".

If you are one of the aforementioned people, I will never forgive you for what you have done to the kids and children that loved something and you destroyed that joy by being an asshole. You hurt that kid, child, teen, whatever, by saying "It's awful because of *insert awful reason here*" and knowing DAMN WELL that that person loves it. It is sickening how I have to put common fucking decency in these words. It is disgusting and absolutely depressing.

[perexcri]

!!!

“Mike’s shoulders instinctively scrunch up to his ears, his posture curling over a little to try to bring himself down a few inches in height. He looks like he’s trying to fold himself up into some younger version of himself where these doubts lie, to make his eighteen year-old self fit properly with the insecurities he’s carried around for this entire decade.” This paragraph is a) Very in character (u continue to have characterization in a chokehold), and b) a extremely big and painful mood that stabbed me in the throat.

The tiger !!!

Us 🤝 Mike wheeler: knowing Will deserves a stuffed tiger rheikedidj

(Tbh cheating at a fair game is Well deserved lol bc those games cheat so.)

also lmaooo at the matching rings of power, Mike is such a nerd I’d die for him.

Mike being afraid of heights!! Leah u are 1000% correct and also Ow😭

“You two have very bright futures ahead of you. Only lightness–no more shadows from other worlds around us.” 🤔 their history teacher tapped into some magic methinks. Maybe some latent power from byler’s previous life? i wonder what Mike was hoping for from her that he didn’t get?

Tbh this is Very realistic of a first date w the awkwardness between them—even if it’s someone you know as well as these two know each other (aka literal reincarnated soulmates) it would be unrealistic for it to go perfect for them. Esp since they can’t fully relax since theyre in public and it’s the 80s. Is the night over tho? 🤔

Also just wanted to say your friend’s binding of THABA is Literallt So cool and it’s awesome that you have a physical copy now!!

I hope you are doing exceptionally well!!💐

Vee!! i'm glad i could get his character down well (something that i am often Very Worried i am not doing for ANY of these characters), but ACK sorry for stabbing you in the throat (metaphorically, of course). i think Mike is relatable to a lot of us for lots of reasons like this, unfortunately :')

Will deserves all of the stuffed tigers!! and honestly after his Vegas comments in the van, it only made sense that he and Mike cheat to get it. like you said, those games are rigged anyway, so who cares?

they are loser nerds, first and foremost. i wanted them to have matching necklaces like in aftry, but i thought the lotr spin would make it funnier. lol nerds

OH YEAHHH the heights thing!! the funny thing is i was originally gonna have them have their first kiss in that scene? the more i thought about it though the more i was like "eh this doesn't feel right," and then it occurred to me that after Mike. you know. willingly threw himself off the cliff at the quarry, that maybe he's a little scared of heights now. it makes sense to me :D and ahhh i'm glad you can appreciate some of the awkwardness of their first date!! again: they are loser nerds!! and it's basically both of their first official dates, so i felt like they'd be a little awkward about everything. to a certain extent, i think they're both trying to live up to their own expectations, but also the expectations that get put on first dates in general by *society* or whatever. *insert obligatory we live in a society meme here*

heheheh some of Mike's behavior is addressed in the rest of the fic (or at least i sure hope i managed to convey it - anyway that's going up right after i respond to this, so i guess we'll know soon, right?). i've been dissecting his character with a spoon lately and it unfortunately bled into this fic. oops

AHHHH i'm glad you liked my friend's fic binding!! T_T they're such a lovely and talented friend, and they do all kinds of cool stuff!! it made me so happy to get, but it also made me happy seeing other people talk about how impressed they were with their handiwork. they deserve so much heheheh 💜

i am wishing you all the best as well, Vee!! i hope you're having a good weekend :] 💜💜💜