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haveyouanytime · 3 months

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Rick Grimes age gap smut plz?

rick grimes smut | minors + ageless blogs dni! cw: age gap (rick is in his early 40s, reader is 20), cunnilingus, penetrative sex, a bit of plot!

bye i was so nervous writing this i've never written smut before !! it’s so jarring to just say certain words but it’s embarrassing to use wattpad words ｡°(°.◜ᯅ◝°)°｡ and i'm so so sorry this took so long anon!!!

౨ৎ daily click to help palestine 🍉

Ever since you had found yourself in the prison after being saved from Woodbury, your eyes have always been finding themselves on Rick Grimes. You always admired him from afar as he was always busy with something-- farming with his son, balancing his daughter on his hip, talking with his friends, etc.

The community wasn’t as visually appealing and vibrant as before in Woodbury, but the difference was noticeable with how friendly everyone truly was. Before, it was a taste of suburban life with the amount of gossip and cliques, but now it wasn’t foreign for everyone to sit at the picnic benches and eat the dinner Carol served. Tonight you sat with Tyreese and his sister, Sasha, since they had become good friends of yours. With just your luck, a few others came to join, including Rick.

You let the others lead the conversation, falling into a timid position with her gaze on your bowl and a flutter in your heart. But as you listened to the active conversation, your eyes wandered over to Rick. You admired his dark brown hair that fell into waves down past his ears, his scruff that fell below his cheekbone and framed his jawline, and his eyes that matched the sky on a clear, sunny day. He picks at his plate as he listens from his spot down and across the table, his eyes flickering due to the itching feeling he felt of being watched.

His baby blue eyes caught your observations, meeting yours and making your breath stop and heart race. Your eyes widen and you pretend that your bowl is of much more interest, but his eyes stay on you for a few more seconds. Not long after, you excused yourself and your half-eaten bowl, deciding to call it a night before anyone noticed your and Rick’s interaction or how your cheeks burned afterward.

After dinner, you went up to one of the empty watch towers. It was always empty and had become one of your favorite spots for peace and quiet. You always left a few blankets up here for the nights you wanted to sleep looking at the stars, and tonight you a few of them out with the same intentions. You sighed while looking up at the dark sky, trying to wash away any nerves you felt during the dinner, but baby blue eyes always seemed to pop back into your memory.

Suddenly, there was the sound of the door creaking open and boots clicking against the cold concrete floor. You turned, seeing the man that consumed your thoughts. You swallowed the lump in your throat, giving him a soft smile. “Hi.”

He gives a small grin back, slowly walking towards you with his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “Hey. I, uh… I always see you up here. I was wonderin’ if you wouldn’t mind some company.”

“I don’t mind.” You take a step over, letting him stand beside you. He mimics your position, leaning forward and resting his forearms against the flat surface of the open window. A silence falls over you two, only the sounds of trees brustling in the distance, faint chatter of people still having dinner, and the faint groans of walkers that you push aside internally.

“If you don’t mind me askin’,” He slowly starts, interrupting the serene silence with his deep Southern drawl, “Why were you starin’ at me durin’ dinner?”

You tense up, hesitating. You can’t seem to look at him, but a wave of confidence washes over you as you answer with a soft voice, “Well… I guess… because I like you.”

He seems just as caught off guard as you were before, and you can feel his gaze turn to you and trace along your profile. He clicks his tongue, shaking his head as his gaze falls to his forearms that lean against the open window. “I dunno. Ain’t you a bit… young for me?”

“I don’t think so.” You softly respond, turning to face him and watching his reaction with a gentle gaze. A part of you was hoping he wouldn’t have brought it up-- you weren’t dumb, you knew you were barely 20 while he was in his 40s. “Does it matter?”

He raised an eyebrow, a scoff passing his lips like an airy laugh, “Well, of course, it matters. You’re not mature enough. What would people say about me with a girl that’s young enough to be with my daughter? How would they know you’re the one who made the first move if they see me walking around with a girl half my age?” “Don’t say that. I’m not a baby. I’m an adult. I’m mature.” Your brows furrow, your hands moving to toy with the hem of your shirt, “And it doesn’t matter what they think. People talk and gossip, but if they’re honest, they’ll ask for the truth.”

He stares into your eyes, a sigh laced with frustration huffing from his nose. “Look. This ain’t right. It ain’t normal. And I can’t be seen as one of those old men who chase after girls like you.”

Your lips press together as his words echo in your mind. Rick can’t tear his eyes away from yours, especially as your sadness was evident in the way they twinkled with the moonlight. “You… you really don’t see anything with me?”

His frown deepens, shaking his head as his gaze turns back to his hands. “No. Not like that. Look, I’m not gonna lie-- sometimes, I think you’re attractive. But… it’s just… I’m so much older than you. How could this ever work out?”

You think, your eyes flickering back out towards the tree-covered horizon as you pull your bottom lip between your teeth. When you do finally speak, you turn your gaze back towards him with your voice soft, barely above a whisper, “If you can’t give in and see anything with me, then just give in one night. That’s all I’m asking for.”

He hesitates, his eyes slowly wandering back to you and down to your lips. You were persistent, that was for sure. "What if I agree to it? What then? Where would this one night lead to?

“I don’t know.” You softly answer, your brows furrowed slightly. “If you still don’t want anything with me after, I’ll leave you alone. Please, just… give me one chance.”

He sighs, running a hand through his dark hair. The offer was tempting, he could admit that, especially as he searched for gaze for any sign of malice behind your offer. Instead, he got lost in your beauty, reminding himself of every reason he fell for you in the first place. “Alright. You get your one night. That’s it. Deal?”

You only nod in response, your words caught in your throat as your confidence from before disappears at his agreement. Rick suddenly takes a step closer, pulling you into his arms. Your lips parted in surprise as you softly gasped, your hands pressed against his chest. “If we’re doing this, it has to be special. That’s all I’m saying. It can’t be some ordinary fling. I ain’t your average 40-year-old dad, you know me. I’ll make sure you never forget me.”

His hand travels down to your hip, his hand slipping under the hem of your shirt so his fingers lightly brush against your skin. His voice is low, a smirk pulling the corner of his lips as he continues, “How does that sound, sweetheart? A night to remember?”

You nod again, your eyes flickering back and forth from his eyes to his lips. You whisper, “Please…” Rick leans in, closing the gap between you two. As your lips finally connected, he couldn’t help but admit to himself how much he enjoyed it. Your soft lips, your gentle touch, the way you leaned into him; he felt something stirring within him, an itching feeling he couldn’t give you up after one night.

You felt yourself melt into the kiss, his lips against yours being just as you had imagined it so many times before. His hands wander to the curve of your waist, his palms against your skin as the fabric bunches up at his wrists. Just as you feel yourself beginning to get lost in the touch of his lips and hands, his mouth slowly trailed down to your jawline, placing warm kisses down to your neck. His breath is hot against your skin, each kiss sending a shiver down your spine.

You can’t stop yourself from letting out a soft, airy moan, your brows furrowing as you grip his biceps. His hand moves to your back, the other moving to the back of your thighs. He helps you down so you lie on your back atop the blankets you had left before, a small shiver running down your spine as the blankets were cold against the concrete floor. He brushes his fingers along your arms to feel the goosebumps that formed, moving so he knelt between your legs.

“Relax, darlin’. Let me take care of you.” He lowly spoke, his blue eyes twinkling with the moonlight that peeked in through the window. He helps you slide your boots off, then your jeans. He groans at the sight of just the thin fabric covering your center, his hands slowly sliding up from your calf to your knee. He kneels before you, slowly spreading your legs apart with his large hands on your kneecaps.

You whimper as the cold air nips at your exposed skin, his hands warm against your legs. He leans down, placing soft kisses on the inside of both your knees before slowly trailing them down your thighs, his stubble brushing against your soft skin. He kissed your mound through your panties, getting a small taste of your wetness and making you softly moan. Your hand moved to rest in his dark hair as he made out with your pussy, sending vibrations as he groaned into the thin cloth separating his mouth and your folds.

His hands crept up as he continued, sliding under the hem on either side of your hips to slowly work the white fabric down your legs. He groaned lowly at the sight of your wet pussy, discarding your panties haphazardly as he leaned in to kiss along the crevices of your thighs. You whimpered in response, your legs tightening slightly as he purposefully avoided your aching cunt. It quickly turned into a loud moan and a tug at his roots, however, as he finally leaned in, tracing a line with his tongue up your folds.

He began to suck on your clit, his nose pressing against your abdomen as he kneaded his fingers into your soft thighs to keep them spread. His blue eyes kept their burning gaze on yours, watching and enjoying every reaction you gave. You had had boyfriends in the past, a few in college who showed you a good time-- but God, they hardly were boys compared to the man between your legs.

You whined, covering your mouth with your hand as he wrapped his arms around your legs, keeping them spread and preventing any writhing. You were slowly reaching your orgasm, your back arching and your chest rising and falling in staccatos with your shallow breathing as the muscles in your thighs tensed under your grasp. Just as you feel the band snap within your abdomen and your head falls back against the blankets as you moan, lewd slurping noises fill the room as Rick devoured like a man starved.

You panted, catching your breath as you came down from your high, as you felt Rick begin to kiss up your stomach. He pushed up your shirt, helping you slip it off over your head. You sat up, your hands working on undoing the buttons on his shirt from the bottom up. Your hands brushed against his chest as you did, and as he pushed the beige fabric off his shoulders, you sighed at the sight. He had soft muscles, the fair skin covered in a bit of hair, especially his upper chest.

But the one thing that pulled your attention away from his body or looking up to admire his face again was the strain you saw in his dark jeans. Your hands moved to undo his belt, the clinking sound adding to the tension and excitement between the two of you. With your bottom lip between your teeth, you undid his button and zipper, helping him push his pants and boxers off, exposing him to you. You take him in your hand and stroke, making him groan as he felt heavy and warm in your hand. Just as you move down to take him into your mouth, his hand moves to cup the side of your face.

“No, no, can’t wait any longer, darlin’.” He grunts, leading you again so you lie on your back. Now he laid atop you, allowing him to connect your lips again. You moved to unclip your bra, slipping it off and tossing it somewhere in the room. Now, as you wrapped your arms around his neck to kiss him back with just as much fervor, you whimpered as you felt your sensitive buds press against his chest. He couldn’t help but move his hips as you made out, pushing his cock between your folds and against your clit.

You whined against his lips, tugging lightly on the dark hairs at the nape of his neck, “Please, Rick, stop teasing…”

He quickly gave in, placing one kiss on your cheek before leaning onto his elbow, using his free hand to adjust himself so he pressed against your entrance. He slowly pushed in, watching your reaction. You whimpered and softly moaned, grabbing onto his back as you adjusted to the feeling of him inside you. Your soft noises mixed with his panting, echoing in the empty watchtower as he slowly began to move his hips back.

He groaned as he found a slow rhythm, his hands moving to the back of your knees to hold your legs spread apart. He felt your nails scratch along his biceps, your head thrown back to expose your neck to him. Taking advantage of that, he leaned in, placing warm kisses and small bites along your neck. You both were intoxicated by the feeling of one another, not caring about a single thing other than being together and moving in a slow rhythm.

As you felt your orgasm begin to approach again, your whimpers turned into moans as you clung to Rick. He grunted at the feeling of your walls tightening around him, one of his hands moving so his thumb rubbed against your clit. You gasped and moaned at the added stimulation, quickly becoming undone around Rick. As you moaned and clawed at his back, your back arching off the blankets as the band in your abdomen snapped again.

“Fuck, darlin’,” Rick moaned, watching as you came under him. Just the sight alone pushed him closer to his orgasm, making him pick up the pace of his hips slightly as he chased the feeling. The quickening pace mixed with the feeling of your passing orgasm made you whimper, overstimulation making you feel fuzzy around Rick’s cock moving in and out of your passage.

He grunted as he quickly pulled himself out, finishing on your abdomen. He panted, his blue eyes stuck on the image before him-- you lying in a dazed, angelic state. He grabbed one of the unused blankets, wiping your abdomen before tossing it away. He sighed, moving so he lay down beside you on his back.

As you both softly panted, staring up at the plain gray ceiling of the watchtower. It was silent again, save for the sound of nature and gravel underfoot in the distance. You turned over, looking into his blue eyes again, whispering, “Stay the night?” He nodded, giving a small smile while not moving as you grabbed a blanket, pulling over you two. He pulled you into his side, letting you tuck your head against his chest. Just as you lay beside him, soft and warm, he knew he couldn’t give you up after one night.

#rick grimes x reader #rick grimes #rick grimes fanfiction #rick grimes smut #rick grimes x reader smut #rick grimes x y/n #rick grimes x female reader #twd #the walking dead #twd x reader #blog:haveyouanytime

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babushkatty · 5 months

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Tranquil SAGAU - Part 2

-> Part 1

-> Part 3

"How does it feel like, to fly?" You asked idly, cuddling into Dvalin's feathered, soft back.

"I could show you," is what you got for an answer.

And so here you were, flying over Mondstadt (the country) and being utterly speechless at how little justice the game did to the utter beauty of it all.

Hills of grass and farmlands (it made so much sense for Mondstadt to be a country of agriculture, of farming, how had you not thought of it before?) rolled lazily wherever the eye could see, stretching well over the horizon.

Forests swayed with the wind as Dvalin flied by, lush crowns blending into one another and protecting the animals underneath.

Lakes and rivers cut through the monotony of greens and browns with a brilliant blue, sparkling in the sun like Edward Cullen.

The mountains of Liyue, so small you had the impulse to grab them into your hands despite how far away they were, were like an extension of Mondstadt -- a slow and steady rise from a mere molehill to a towering behemoth overlooking the vast world.

Dragonspine, instead of playing into the beauty of Mondstadt, seemed to go directly against it. Using it to enhance its' own presence, to have your eye stray and appreciate the cold, ethereal mountain of snow and ice instead. It looked deceptively peaceful from so far away - the nearly permament snow storm looking like a translucent garb shrugged elegantly onto white robes of an indifferent jade beauty, whose mere gaze could freeze you to death.

And Mondstadt (the city) looked like a mere speck of dust in the grand scheme of it all.

"How pretty," you couldn't help but say, head swaying to and fro as you enjoy the view and the gentle winds from where you sat, sprawled out like a starfish on the dragon's back.

You kind of saw a pattern there, but you certaintly weren't complaining.

Dvalin huffs a laugh.

"It is only natural, Teyvat was made by the All-Mother. Anything made by their hand is bound to be beautiful."

You laugh, loud and unrestrained and uncaring, because there was no one to scold you for being yourself anymore, "Indirectly complimenting yourself, are you?"

And Dvalin laughs too, a deep rumble of a laugh that has him dipping in altitude for a moment before he rights himself.

It was nice.

"I'm hungry."

"Then we shall land."

.　 . • ☆ . ° . • ° : . * ₊ ° . ☆

While you ate some fruits that a few adorable squirrels offered to you almost as soon as you landed (which made you melt into a puddle of happiness again, because they were so cute it hurt and they let you pet them a few times before they left), Dvalin made himself comfortable and started speaking. He wove stories like a master seamstress --of Teyvat, of Mondstadt, of Barbatos and of his own past--, giving birth to such vivid imaginery that you almost felt like you were there with him while it all happened.

He was a great storyteller.

The years of friendship between him and Venti probably contributed to it, there is only so long you can go without picking up a few things from an insistent friend after all.

"Durin was a pitiful creature. An artificial existence made by an arrogant Alchemist of Khaenri'ah in a futile attempt to recreate the All-Mother's miracle of creation, wishing for freedom and friendship but unable to attain them."

Dvalin huffs.

"I had to strike him down, for the safety of Mondstadt. And even on his death bed, not once had he blamed me nor Barbatos, merely wishing we had met in better circumstances."

The mood turns somber.

"His heart still beats in Dragonspine," you say after a while.

Dvalin exhales a long and drawn out breath.

"You will be able to put him to rest, once you grow stronger. It is merely a matter of time."

Quiet protests of you not being the All-Mother, of you simple being (Name) and nothing else, are quickly shoved to the back of your mind and ignored.

Instead, you ask why he believed so.

"You have purged me of the Abyssal filth that had tortured me for centuries with your mere presence, despite having descended only recently. That is enough confirmation."

You blink in suprise.

Didn't that mean you were much earlier in the timeline that you thought?

Huh.

Something to think through while you monch on the fruits.

Then again, did it really matter how early into the timeline you transmigrated? You weren't an ambitious person and you didn't crave adventure and excitement. People like you manned the market stalls rather than making a difference.

...you probably jinxed yourself.

☆(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ* ✨ Author Note✨

Countdown to All-Mother dearest jinxing themselves and making a difference - however long it takes me to write the next chapter!

Now, ✨how do I taglist people cuties✨

I am trying to tag someone but the @ can't find them, someone heeeeeeelp I'm poking and fat-fingering everything on their profile but it doesn't work :(

Also, if someone is bored of boring music check out The Kiffness on youtube, I'm having a Kiffness x Goat collab on repeat and it's dope af.

Kookee kookee with a cockatiel is dope too.

And the cat jams.

He has a whole playlist of just cat jams, what more does a coach potat like me need?

#genshin sagau #sagau x reader #sagau #genshin impact #x reader #genshin x reader #isekai #x gender neutral reader #x gn reader #x gn y/n #self aware genshin

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buggreawlthys · 2 months

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'"...immeasurable halls, filled with an everlasting music of water that tinkles into pools, as fair as Kheled-zâram in the starlight. And, Legolas, when the torches are kindled and men walk on the sandy floors under the echoing domes, ah! then, Legolas, gems and crystals and veins of precious ore glint in the polished walls; and the light glows through folded marbles, shell-like, translucent as the living hands of Queen Galadriel. There are columns of white and saffron and dawn-rose, Legolas, fluted and twisted into dreamlike forms; they spring up from many-coloured floors to meet the glistening pendants of the roof: wings, ropes, curtains fine as frozen clouds; spears, banners, pinnacles of suspended palaces! Still lakes mirror them: a glimmering world looks up from dark pools covered with clear glass; cities, such as the mind of Durin could scarce have imagined in his sleep, stretch on through avenues and pillared courts, on into the dark recesses where no light can come. And plink! a silver drop falls, and the round wrinkles in the glass make all the towers bend and waver like weeds and corals in a grotto of the sea. Then evening comes: they fade and twinkle out; the torches pass on into another chamber and another dream. There is chamber after chamber, Legolas; hall opening out of hall, dome after dome, stair beyond stair; and still the winding paths lead on into the mountains' heart."'

--i mean, i'm sold. this dude knows how to spruik a cave.

#actual poet gimli gloinsson #i love this passage so much it's so beautiful #words to make you fall in love with geology #lotr newsletter

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tower-tale-comic · 3 months

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Tower’s Tale: Season 1 Full PDF

This pdf includes all 277 pages of Season 1, as well as artworks, doodles, bonus comics, and character sheets made during and after the production of Season 1.

All of that for the low, low cost of $0! Yup! It’s free to download!!

Available through the link below 👇

#tower’s tale #the 25th bam #khun aguero agnis #tower of god #undertale #undertale au #webcomic #artists on tumblr

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glitteringaglarond · 1 year

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'Do you think those halls are fair, where your King dwells under the hill in Mirkwood, and Dwarves helped in their making long ago? They are but hovels compared with the caverns I have seen here: immeasurable halls, filled with an everlasting music of water that tinkles into pools, as fair as Kheled-zâram in the starlight.

'And, Legolas, when the torches are kindled and men walk on the sandy floors under the echoing domes, ah! then, Legolas, gems and crystals and veins of precious ore glint in the polished walls; and the light glows through folded marbles, shell-like, translucent as the living hands of Queen Galadriel. There are columns of white and saffron and dawn-rose, Legolas, fluted and twisted into dreamlike forms; they spring up from many-coloured floors to meet the glistening pendants of the roof: wings, ropes, curtains fine as frozen clouds; spears, banners, pinnacles of suspended palaces! Still lakes mirror them: a glimmering world looks up from dark pools covered with clear glass; cities, such as the mind of Durin could scarce have imagined in his sleep, stretch on through avenues and pillared courts, on into the dark recesses where no light can come. And plink! a silver drop falls, and the round wrinkles in the glass make all the towers bend and waver like weeds and corals in a grotto of the sea. Then evening comes: they fade and twinkle out; the torches pass on into another chamber and another dream. There is chamber after chamber, Legolas; hall opening out of hall, dome after dome, stair beyond stair; and still the winding paths lead on into the mountains' heart. Caves! The Caverns of Helm's Deep! Happy was the chance that drove me there! It makes me weep to leave them.

'No, you do not understand,' said Gimli. 'No dwarf could be unmoved by such loveliness. None of Durin's race would mine those caves for stones or ore, not if diamonds and gold could be got there. Do you cut down groves of blossoming trees in the springtime for firewood? We would tend these glades of flowering stone, not quarry them. With cautious skill, tap by tap – a small chip of rock and no more, perhaps, in a whole anxious day – so we could work, and as the years went by, we should open up new ways, and display far chambers that are still dark, glimpsed only as a void beyond fissures in the rock. And lights, Legolas! We should make lights, such lamps as once shone in Khazad-dûm; and when we wished we would drive away the night that has lain there since the hills were made; and when we desired rest, we would let the night return.'

And this. This right here is why Gimli has been one of my favorite characters ever since I was a child. There is a reason my tumblr url is glitteringaglarond, and it’s this passage right here.

Gimli has proved himself to be many things throughout this story - he’s a badass, he is witty and intelligent, he has a brilliant sense of humor and is the funniest character in these books - but one of the most important things about him is his love for beauty.

We saw it in his longing to see Moria, regardless of the dangers. We saw it as he couldn’t help but turn aside and gaze into the waters of Kheled-zaram. We saw it as he praised the beauty of Galadriel. Gimli is a character with a deep, artistic, soulful love for beauty. And it comes across most strikingly here, in this passage.

Because Gimli is out of his element right now, traveling through this strange, dangerous, magical wood. He is injured and weary from battle, and is once again riding a horse - something that he explicitly dislikes. This is the absolute last situation where somebody should be unveiling their poetic soul, and yet that’s what Gimli does.

Because to Gimli love for beauty is stronger than weariness and fear and uncertainty. And while being in this forest makes him fearful, only being forced to leave a thing of beauty can make him weep.

So he tells Legolas about the caves, using language so poetic that we can’t help but see the caves through his eyes and appreciate their beauty in ways we might never have done otherwise. And even Legolas is moved.

I cannot overstate how important his love for beauty is to me, and unlike Gimli I am not enough of a wordsmith to communicate exactly how deeply the beauty of his soul, expressed through this love, touches me. The best I can do is express my joy at having been taught appreciation for beauty at such a young age by such a teacher, and I can only hope that like Gimli, I too can help others find an appreciation for the beauty around them that they might not otherwise have seen.

#lotr newsletter #Gimli #my op #I have said it before and I will say it again… the fact that I consider myself an artist has its deepest roots in Gimli son of Gloin #he is so important to me #and to those who are curious... this is thee thing that solidified gimli as one of my top 5 faves #pinned

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pepperonitowerask · 1 year

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Wait, If the tower's done rebuilding then maybe the doors are open and y'all can go see if peppino's ok!

Pepperman: "That's the plan, buddy! The cowpoke will hitch a ride with me-"

Vigilante: "Who you callin' a cowpoke?"

Gustavo: "And I've got some food packed away in here in case the trip takes a day or two! Not that it should- with any luck, he'll be right near the entrance!"

Noise: "Probably won't, though. Knowing him, he'll be clawing up the walls trying to find a way out. Maybe he'll be pissed at us for not comin' to see him sooner? Or maybe..."

Fakino: "?? ????"

Noise: "... Right, right. Or maybe I'm just worrying about nothin' at all. Thanks for the snap back to reality, buddy."

Fakino: "!!!!!!!!"

Noise: "I mean really, what am I getting myself so worried about!"

Noise: "We haven't been gone for that long. What's the worst that coulda happened to the guy?"

((posting from here on will be slower since me (the mod) has stuff to do durin the week, but the askbox will remain open!

#pepperoni tower au #pizza tower #pizza tower au #pizza tower askblog

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anghraine · 3 months

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I caught up with my re-watch of the second episode of Rings of Power! The episodes are long and have a lot going on, but it was fun and enjoyable—more than the first, actually, since it wasn't trying as hard to introduce everything and could breathe more.

I really liked the beginning with Galadriel in the sea, staring up at the stars before she starts swimming. Very apropos.

I thought Nori et al's stuff would be kind of tedious (I've never been super into hobbits or proto-hobbits), but tbh I find everything about it delightful to watch.

Arondir and Bronwyn are maybe the prettiest onscreen pairing I've ever witnessed. Their little theme/motif is also really nice and not overwrought the way the music sometimes got in the first episode. It suits my sense of their story being a bit like marginalia that doesn't exactly fit into the grand sweeping main narrative of Middle-earth, but is getting some spotlight anyway.

And now we've got Celebrimbor for real, with warning bells all over him! (Not literally.) I appreciate that almost the first thing he does is mention Fëanor, and he and Elrond immediately dive into a conversation about the Silmarils and craftsmanship, and Elrond seems deeply ambivalent off the bat. Him saying "So much beauty, and so much pain" about them/Fëanor's craftsmanship while wearing a feathery outfit that is hard not to associate with Elwing is ... yeah. You'd know, Elrond.

Celebrimbor's slightly snarky explanation that he asked for a massive team to build his tower forge thing and Gil-galad "has sent me you, instead" kind of worked for me? Robert Aramayo doesn't look anything like my idea of Elrond but I love his difficult-to-pin-down yet determinedly pleasant performance of Elrond's emotions and mannerisms. I also like Celebrimbor's robes.

And, oh man, seeing Khazad-dûm in its heyday? HELL, YEAH. The music is doing some of the lifting but mostly it's just fucking awesome to see. The show is clearly lingering on it with a lot of love and attention, which it's really nice to see the dwarves getting.

I liked getting references to Aulë from the dwarves (no, it's not what dwarves would ordinarily call him, but it's a reasonable concession to comprehensibility for people who aren't, well, us). During the whole challenge thing, Elrond is referred to as an Elf over and over and over, which I'm kind of :\ about as a firm proponent of Half-Elves Are Not Men or Elves, No Matter What Ultimate Fate They Chose. Elrond seems pretty uncomfortable with it (though that may be more about his relationship with Durin), but also does more or less accept it as a descriptor.

Nori was still trying to figure out the Stranger, which somehow is not boring, and meanwhile her father's ankle breaks or sprains or something as part of festival preparations. The Harfoots collectively treat this as a huge deal and are asking if he'll be able to migrate, which is not exactly framed as super ominous, but definitely seems significant and at least somewhat ominous. Nori is clearly pretty freaked out.

The first part of the episode is sadly a bit sparse on my girl Galadriel (though she got so much attention in the first episode that it's understandable), but we got back to her, still swimming. It'd be a bit unbelievably impressive from other people, but I can believe it for her. She sees the raft of survivors before we do, which I liked as a little detail.

The raft is really spiky, appropriately enough for a raft with Sauron on it. It's kind of hilarious that almost his first line is "Looks can be deceiving." No shit, lmao.

The survivors+"Halbrand" and Galadriel have this brief and slightly weird interchange about Corsairs, which strikes me as an odd reference both geographically and in the time period we're in.

Then there's a SEA WYRM that shows up out of basically nowhere and causes havoc resulting in the deaths of everyone except Sauron Halbrand and Galadriel. A coincidence, I'm sure.

Then we cut back to Elrond and Durin, and finally find out why Durin is so mad at Elrond. It turns out that Elrond basically ignored his existence for 20 years while he was doing ... things, and Elrond didn't even realize it'd been so much time because a couple decades is nbd to him. Angst and other difficulties around different lifespans = one of my most favorite fantasy tropes, so I'm onboard for this particular drama.

It's a little surprising that Elrond of all people would make this mistake, but then again, Elros himself lived so long that 20 years would have been a tiny fraction of his own lifetime, too. (Now I want lifespan angst or anxiety or something with Elros being the one who's "welp, it's really been that long?")

Anyway, I enjoyed how serious and fraught the whole discussion is and then the cut to comedy when Elrond arrives to apologize to Durin's wife, Disa. IDK, I didn't feel it was undercutting Durin as a character or his feelings, even while poking a bit of fun at his sulkiness—e.g., when Disa enthusiastically tells Elrond to make himself comfortable, and Durin is like, "But not too comfortable."

I love Disa's appearance, by and large. The patterning on her outfit is so cool and different. She's generally a delightful character, and I appreciate that while there's an element of calculation to what Elrond is doing, he seems genuinely interested in her and her work. The narrative itself feels really interested in the dwarves and their culture at this point, and I just enjoyed that a lot.

Meanwhile, back to Galadriel and Halbrand/Sauron. It's still really funny to me that there was so much indignation over Eminem Sauron being insufficiently hot, and then actual Sauron turned out to be this currently bedraggled but very conventionally attractive guy.

I like his little head tilt as he's ostensibly figuring out what's going on and his little "You're a deserter, aren't you?" As if he doesn't know who Galadriel is, hah.

When he says "My people have no king," it feels like a pretty blatant call-back to Boromir in Jackson's FOTR, but of course it's inverted, ultimately. Halbrand is a shadow Aragorn, not a shadow Boromir, and is himself (supposedly) the king he's rejecting. I'm not going to go on too much about it because I have a whole post about it here.

Anyway, Galadriel condescending to Sauron is kind of delightful. Sure, she's mistaken in assuming he's mortal. But everyone should condescend to Sauron, actually!

Back to Bronwyn, who is a bit more interesting in this episode, she actually makes it home and tries to convince her village that something is very wrong, but no one believes her. They seem kind of ridiculously stupid, tbh? Maybe not ridiculously—I can believe they would actually respond that way (I lived in the shadow of Mt St Helens for years, I know very well that historically sometimes that's the response to clear warnings of disaster). But come on, people.

Then there's Arondir in the horrifying claustrophobic tunnels with the glimpses of horrific claws. It is very successfully claustrophobic, especially when MICE start running all over him as they're trying to escape. Agh, the special hell. Then he emerges in a pool of water, only the water is super gross also, and he's focusing on the bubbles of something pursuing him only to get grabbed by a different claw monster.

We don't see him again for the entire rest of the episode and that's alarming!

I was taking little notes while I was watching, but at this point that got interrupted and I ended up watching the rest of the episode with other people and didn't take notes. But general thoughts:

Durin's final change of heart wrt Elrond and decision to take Elrond's offer to his father was a bit oddly offscreen, and it's kind of needlessly mysterious about what advantage the dwarves have over the Elves, but the show has already given us enough through both exposition and the behavior of the characters that it's not hard to buy.

Sauron saving Galadriel with Finrod's dagger is like. Hmm. Well. Yeah, that's a lot. I really like the scene of their raft in the storm—not much actually happens apart from it looking cool, but it did look really cool! And I love the imagery of Sauron desperately trying not to be drowned by the wrath of the sea, aka what will actually happen to him! :)))

I love how mysterious the Stranger is and basically everything that Nori and Poppy choose to be. Things like Poppy's "I don't speak firefly!" just work much better for my personal sense of humor than ... like, dwarf-tossing.

Theo's whole deal with the sword is ... menacing in a way where we know enough to know something is Very Wrong and related to Sauron, but not really what's going on with it. And the thing Bronwyn and Theo fought and killed was super freaky. I liked the abrupt cut to Bronwyn showing the decapitated head to the stupid villagers and them being like, "hmm. okay, guess we're moving now."

Aaaand Galadriel and "Halbrand" have been discovered!