#word ask game

[jamietarttsnorthernattitude]

When you don’t have the word of the week \_(ツ)_/¯ again.

#word ask game #wip ask meme #make me write more friends #writing things #wip wednesday

[frodo-with-glasses]

Ah, now here’s one I’ve been looking forward to discussing. Lord of the Rings has a strange relationship with hope. Before I began this read-through, I would have told you that hope is at the core of LotR: hope that the war will end, hope that light will triumph over darkness, hope that “there’s some good in this world, Mister Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for”. I would have told you that it’s an innately cheerful, optimistic story, though it gets dark at times.

But over this past year, as I’ve reread this book with the eyes of an adult, I’ve begun to realize it’s more complicated than that.

Lord of the Rings is not a story about hope. It’s a story about what you do without hope. It’s a story about when your spirit is utterly defeated, and your prospects are grim, and both the best and the worst possible outcomes look shockingly alike, and yet you keep walking anyway. It’s not a story of blind, naive optimism, of sitting back and dreaming about a better about-to-be. It’s a story of weighing the facts with a clear mind, of realizing that there’s no way in hell this works out well for you, and of doggedly moving your grain of sand to tip those massive scales anyway, because the only other option would be to sit back and let the world burn.

I feel like that rings truer to the human condition, really. After all, what good is it in the end to be kind and generous and courageous; what good is it to waste our short lives trying to make this awful world a better place? For every one human being trying to be a good person, there are hundreds more who are selfish, cruel, exploitative, greedy, twisted, and wicked. For every good deed done on this planet, there are hundreds more murders and abuses and horrors. One day, you will die, and at some point, everyone who knew you will be dead. There will come a day when you will be utterly forgotten. No one will remember you. No one will remember what you did. No one will remember if you made a difference, if you tried to make the world a better place. And let’s be honest; you won’t. No matter what light you managed to throw into the world while you were alive, this awful cosmos will generate enough pain and misery to overshadow it, eventually. When you’re gone, the world will be just as bad as it always was. Always has been. Always will be.

What good is it to go on loving someone when the diagnosis is terminal—when the medicine doesn’t work—when the sickness in their head has locked the person you love behind an unbreakable concrete wall? What good is it to stand for what you believe in when it’s not popular anymore—when friends and family turn their backs and reject you—when those who gave you praise and encouragement now insult you and curse you and spit on your face? What good is it to love when your heart is broken, be kind when your skin is mottled with bruises, be brave when your back is bent and your arms are weary under the weight of it all? What good is it to cast your little candle light when all the wind in the world tries to blow it out? Why be good? Why be selfless? Why sacrifice so much, when you lose so much more than you gain?

In that moment, there’s only one answer. And it’s not hope. It’s not optimism. It’s some strange defiance, some visceral fire that roars in the chest and aches in the bones.

“I will be light,” it cries. “I will defy you,” it howls. “I will push back with the last of my strength, though you crush me down,” it screams. “Because if I am not light, I am darkness, and I cannot, I will not, I refuse; let me die with my knees unbowed and my head held high; I WILL NEVER SURRENDER”

There are many instances in the book that speak to this point—Aragorn himself says something along the lines of “we must do without hope for the moment”—but to me, nothing better encapsulates this strange spirit of hopeless defiance than this moment with Sam Gamgee.

“Sam said nothing. The look on Frodo’s face was enough for him; he knew that words of his were useless. And after all he never had any real hope in the affair from the beginning; but being a cheerful hobbit he had not needed hope, as long as despair could be postponed. Now they were come to the bitter end. But he had stuck to his master all the way; that was what he had chiefly come for, and he would still stick to him. His master would not go to Mordor alone. Sam would go with him.”

Sam would go with him. Not “we will win”. Not “I believe in us”. Just “he will go, and I will go with him, whether this ends in (improbable) victory or (more probable) a horrible, horrible death”. It’s not that Sam’s hope began to fail here; it’s that he never had much hope to begin with, but he went with it anyway, and it’s only his cheerful disposition in the face of near certain disaster that ever began to flag. Holy cow.

Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but when the first two fail, love is the unkillable cockroach of all the virtues and will survive the nuclear winter of utter despair and grow wings and fly buzzing right up into your face just to spite you.

Now, of course Lord of the Rings does not simply leave us with the tragedy of a futile fight against the darkness. This story has a happy ending. And I’m glad it does, because sometimes, there are happy endings. Sometimes sicknesses are cured, families are restored, and old scars are healed and begin to fade. Sometimes loved ones emerge from the prison of their own minds and return to you—wiser, more melancholy, but still themselves—and you discover that the bond is deeper, the smiles sweeter, the laughter richer, and the love galvanized into something stronger than it ever would have been. Sometimes there are happy endings, and it’s not wrong to want them. It’s not wrong to have hope.

But Lord of the Rings lets us linger in that moment of hopeless defiance, because it offers an odd sort of comfort of a totally different kind.

“Lost all hope, did you?” it whispers. “It’s all right. So did Frodo, and Aragorn, and Gandalf, and Sam. But you see, they kept fighting anyway, with hope or without it, and that’s what made them heroes. Oh, you might still have your happy ending, someday, and it might come in ways you don’t expect. It is also equally likely that nothing will get better, and it will actually get much worse, and you shall die. But do keep fighting. Do keep walking. One foot in front of the other. If you do nothing, the worst will definitely come to pass; but if you fight, it just might not. So if we shall win, let’s not be embarrassed by our cowardice when that happy ending comes; and if we shall lose, let’s not go down without a fight.”

Perhaps, paradoxically, that’s what makes Lord of the Rings the most hopeful story of all. Because this is the story that whispers, “Remember, when all hope is gone…

“It isn’t.”

WORD ASK GAME!

#word ask game #samwise gamgee #lord of the rings #lotr #my writing #oops an essay #if any part of this starts to sound like i read ecclesiastes recently……that’s because i did #what a wonderful book. makes me feel like there’s room enough in my faith for pessimism and existential dread. #which is great because i’m naturally full of both of those things LOL

[daffi-990]

arrive, praise, house, date for wip guessing game!

arrive (from when your heart releases, you won’t fall to pieces)

They eat breakfast and as they’re getting ready to head out, Bobby arrives, enveloping Buck in a hug as soon as he opens the door.

praise (from Fantasy AU)

Buck shrugs, feeling a flush of pride at the stranger’s praise. “I’ve uh- I’ve had some training.” he replies, trying to sound nonchalant despite the adrenaline still coursing through his veins.

house (from Rival Firefighters 🚒)

Besides, Eddie came with baggage and a kid and an ex wife, and while Buck got on with Chris like a house on fire, that didn’t mean he would be okay dating someone with a kid.

date (from Rival Firefighters 🚒)

He wants to look good but still casual, seeing as it's not a date, just three friends going out to dinner. But afterwards might lead to Buck scoring a date, hence wanting to look good.

word ask game

#daffi writes #word ask game #buddie wip

[lqtraintracks]

Word/Excerpt Ask Game!

Thank you for the tag @tackytigerfic @oknowkiss @citrusses @drarrymyheart and @arminaa8 <3333

Send a random word (or two or three) to my inbox and I'll post a line/passage containing that word from a released or unreleased fic.

I'm going to tag: @shealwaysreads @phdmama @ladderofyears @skeptiquewrites @nv-md and @lettersbyelise if you'd like to play!

#word ask game #word excerpt ask game #let's go

[theesteemedladydebourgh]

well, I’m typing away in my little writing cave, but please do send in some word asks and I’ll see what I can share! 🥰

#the first time divorcees club #word ask game #tftdc

[practicecourts]

Yay for celebrating and congrats on almost being finished (and all the kudos of course!). As it’s 3am and I really should be in bed asleep (don’t worry I plan to go back to sleep after this! 😴). I’m gonna give you the words Dance, Sleep and Bed for your word search! 😜

Thank you Ray!! for playing, for going back to sleep, for always being very supportive and your love for this crazy story!! and leaving lovely comments.

Dance (25 times), Sleep (2 times ) and Bed (0)

He winked and spun around in some crazy dance move that was probably hot in the seventies. Strike that, it was incredibly hot still in 2017 and would be for years to come, the thought made her cheeks glow.

#HOHFY #word ask game #i'm so crap at tagging #loveliest tumblr friends #ray of sunshine #good morning

[alamos-garden-lover]

Water

The pressure was gone.

He could breathe.

What happened? The last thing he remembered… something large was above him, the current picked up… and it went dark.

Where was he?

Sand. A beach. A tiny, desolate island.

There was nothing but pine trees here.

The water lapped at his legs, hungry. He scrambled away with a shriek.

No response. He was completely, and utterly alone.

#darkrai #word ask game

[kitkatt0430]

Hope for the WIP word guessing game?

“Maya?” Phoenix repeated. When did Maya have time to meet this girl?

Probably while Phoenix was in the hospital, actually. Made sense, anyway.

“Yeah, she said you defended her and Mr. Edgeworth and you learned everything from her sister. And Lana said that if we were in trouble, we should go to Mia so… I-I know Mia Fey is-is dead, but Lana won’t defend herself and you’re-you’re my only hope.” The poor girl was so close to crying that Phoenix really didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t good with crying women.

From a sequel to Nothing (Everything) to Lose that will cover Lana's case. Maya's gone back to Kurain just like in canon and enough time has passed that Phoenix's arm is mostly healed and he's finally getting back to work - am I taking artistic liberties with the amount of healing time necessary after a gunshot wound? Yes, but I've made my peace with it.

Phoenix is going to be very upset when he learns Lana used Miles' car to transport the dead body. The last thing Miles needs - or deserves - is to wind up framed for murder again. And Lana came very close to doing exactly that, whether she meant to or not.

#kitkatt0430 answers #word ask game #phoenix wright #fanfiction #ace attorney #ema skye

[musicalchaos07]

WIP game-afraid

"Afraid the ground would split open taking away everything she loved and her with it, but now she finds herself trying to summon one to swallow the ugly building into hell."

I had to dig through like 4 WIPS for this 😂

#word ask game

[lockergirl]

what about dying for the word game? or if that’s to spoiler heavy, crying.

Phil's entire family was made up of miracles, of people kind and good and powerful who chose to love instead of hurt him, but Kristin was somehow even more unbelievable. His entire childhood, Phil had been petrified of death, had run from it at every opportunity, and yet her embrace had only ever made him feel more alive.

Phil wasn’t scared of dying anymore. Not if it meant an eternity with her.

#word ask game #ask

[oh-three]

I have three ask games going and that may or may not end up being problematic later on, but I love interacting with you guys and talking about all of our writing.

#word ask game #rose line wip ask game #sleepover asks

[jamietarttsnorthernattitude]

For the wip word game: Plan or Light

Thank you my talented friend!

From an untitled (fuck! Always forget about titles) day 21 of whumptober.

“Roy!” Ted yells downstairs. “Call 9-1-1!

“9-9-9!” Roy yells back.

“Not the time Roy!”

Ted slowly walks the rest of the hallway, noticing the random blood smears on the wall. Ted flashes between walking into his basement and walking down Jamie’s hall. It all morphs together as Ted’s breath comes quicker and quicker. His heart rate fills his ears, and it's impossibly fast.

All of the doors are open except for the one at the end of the hall. It’s barely open a crack but it calls to the American. Ted slowly pushes the door open, trying not to think about that Friday in 1991 that he opened another door looking for another person he cared about.

The room is empty.

The only light comes from around a closed door on one side of the room. Ted’s not sure if it's the bathroom or a closet. As he creeps closer, Ted concentrates on his breathing. In. Out. In. Out.

Ted closes his hand around the knob and turns slowly.

#ted lasso #ted lasso fanfic #word ask game #wip ask game #ask box game #ask box is always open #nativestarwrites

[frodo-with-glasses]

For the ask game: food

Food is very important in Lord of the Rings. In fact, I’d argue it’s one most important things in Lord of the Rings. Forget the monsters, and the battles, and the king, and the dark lord and all that nonsense—you can’t understand Lord of the Rings until you grasp how in love this story is with food.

As this dude famously pointed out:

And if I can put all seriousness aside for a second, I love that about LotR. To Tolkien, reveling in the small joys of life isn’t just a frivolous pleasure; it’s almost a moral imperative. The love of food and laughter is a virtue, contrasted against the vices of greed and corruption. To love the small things in life—the little joys, the little moments, the little blessings—is tantamount to righteousness, and the oppression of those joys is abuse and despotism.

Sometimes we get to thinking it’s always hard and painful work to do the right thing. Sometimes, it is. But there’s a certain wholesomeness and goodness to enjoying yourself; there’s virtue in taking joy in being alive. Gratitude leads to contentment, and contentment leads to joy, and joy leads to a better world on the whole.

There’s something enchanting and wonderful about the fact that the fuel for our bodies isn’t some bland, pale, homogeneous sludge. It’s FOOD! And food is varied and curious and wonderful and fun to experience. God could’ve made people to run on gasoline and wood chips, but he didn’t. He sat around and came up with hundreds and thousands of colorful and fascinating edible things; gave them all different looks and tastes and smells and feels and textures; gave us the faculties—including one very sensitive little organ in our mouths—to detect those attributes and translate them and differentiate them from one another; and then let us loose to find out all different ways that edible things can be prepared and combined and experienced. And it’s fun! It builds skills and communities and conversations, and it’s pleasant to experience and brings people together! AND WE GET ENERGY TO LIVE OUT OF IT! Isn’t that awesome??

Tolkien certainly seems to think so. There’s got to be a reason that so many meals are described in such loving detail. As he wrote elsewhere:

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

WORD ASK GAME!

#word ask game #lord of the rings #lotr #my writing

[daffi-990]

Hi Daffi 🥰 for the WIP asks: pretty, hurt, ache?

Maggie! Thank you for the ask!

pretty (from Rival Firefighters 🚒) ((I use pretty quite often in this fic apparently haha)

He’s still attracted to Buck, but there’s a friendship growing between them that Eddie thinks could be something great, and he doesn’t want to rip it out from the roots just because Buck is pretty and Eddie wouldn’t mind rendering him speechless.

hurt (from Rival Firefighters 🚒)

The protector in him is snarling and gnashing, wanting to break free and use his fists to ensure this psycho doesn’t hurt Buck ever again.

ache (from when your heart releases, you won’t fall to pieces)

He’s used to the ache in his chest that comes with wanting what isn’t yours.

word ask game

#daffi writes #word ask game #buddie wip

[leopardmask-ao3]

horror?

I think anon wants some angst, but sadly I cannot deliver 😅 I dug DEEP into unpublished scenes and stuff for this one, but while a few documents had the word "horror", it was always in chapters I'd already published so I don't think they count for this game! Another miss :(

The ask game

#I felt so bad about two misses in a row that I dug through literally every document I could think of that had unpublished bits #ask game answer #word ask game #again feel free to keep guessing

[emry-stars-art]

Hello! may i request Andreil and no. 4 for the mistletoe drawing meme??

@oddgreyhound you guys had the same brain for a second there and I LOVE it

Requests are open until the end of Dec ‘23 💕

#Andrew ‘cat behavior’ Minyard strikes again #will anyone else get a real kiss instead of headbonk? #remains to be seen #the answer might lie in how much y’all want real kandrew sooooo 👀 #lmk #headbonk lmao. one word now #fan art #my art #aftg #all for the game #neil josten #andrew minyard #andreil #asks #mistletoe ask #requests #chibi #digital