#yeah neil gaiman gets credit for most of these lines | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

shipaholic · 4 years

Text

Omens Universe, Chapter 6 Part 1

Phew! After a short break, we are back. I have had a successful day’s NaNo-ing, and this entire chapter is queued up and ready to go, so let’s do it.

This is largely based on the unfilmed episode 3 bookshop scene, set in 1800, that is available in the script book. A lot of the dialogue is taken from there, although there are some twists!

Also, I did some minor edits to the last two parts, because I set up a subplot and then ground to a halt trying to write it, so I’ve taken it out for now.

Warning for a couple paragraphs of homophobia via analogy.

Link to the next part at the end.

(From the beginning)

(last part)

(chrono)

---

Chapter 6

AD 1800

A.Z. Fell & Co. stood before him on the street corner like an unwrapped chocolate box.

The door handles were polished bronze. A placard in the front declared that the grand opening was the coming Friday. He already had some marvellous ideas about opening hours.

He pushed open his front doors and strolled inside his new shop.

It was perfect. Just a few little jobs here and there. He summoned a stepladder and picked up the nearest armful of books. This, he would do without miracles. His shelving system would be both gratifying to himself and utterly incomprehensible to customers.

While he worked, the shop bell dinged.

“I’m afraid the shop will not be open until Friday, good people,” he called down. “But we will be having a grand opening immediately after lunch.”

The voice of the Archangel Gabriel said:

“We aren’t here to buy books, Azir -”

He broke off.

Zadkiel froze.

The hardback in his hands almost toppled to the floor. He shoved it into place and jammed his right hand in his pocket, hiding the gem on his finger from view. Luckily, his sideburns concealed the serpent-shaped gem under his ear.

He aimed a smile at his visitors. Gabriel was not alone. He and Sandalphon blinked up at him. Gabriel was impeccable in dove grey, Sandalphon frumpy in beige.

“Gentlemen,” he trilled. “A pleasure to already receive some interest. Mr. Fell will be delighted.”

“Uh. Good.” Gabriel eyed him like he was a woodland creature that had turned up somewhere unexpected. “Who are you?”

“Ezra Crawleigh. I’m Mr. Fell’s assistant. How do you do?” Zadkiel held out his right hand without thinking. He yelped, grabbed the nearest shelf, and toppled off the stepladder, which broke his fall in the loosest possible sense.

“Are humans normally that size?” Sandalphon asked Gabriel in a carrying whisper.

Zadkiel leapt to his feet, dusting off splinters. Sandalphon gaped. It was possible he’d just forgotten to close his mouth.

Gabriel coughed. “Sir, we are here to speak with... Mr. Fell, was it? Is he about?”

“He’s in the back. Please, make yourselves at home. Not that at home,” Zadkiel said sharply as Sandalphon picked up a book and sniffed it.

Both angels stared at him.

“Sorry! Everything’s new, that’s all. It’s like Christmas morning, you know, before the kids start screaming and the wrapping gets everywhere. It’s great that you’re here.” His smile probably looked a bit nauseous at this point. “Just a moment...”

He edged towards the back.

“Oh, Mister Fell! You have esteemed guests!”

He tried to stroll to the back room. Definitely no running. Nope, none of that.

“That human’s a bit… off,” said Sandalphon.

Gabriel agreed. The man had a very strange walk. It was sort of… swingy.

Also, his angelic senses all agreed that the man didn’t really feel human. There was nothing celestial or infernal coming off him, which would normally indicate a human, or possibly an animal, Gabriel wasn’t the best at identifying those. But the lack of an unearthly aura didn’t feel exactly neutral. It wasn’t as if that quality was lacking, more like it was… canceling itself out, somehow. Like opposites laid on top of one another. But that wasn’t possible.

Gabriel put it out of his mind. Impossible things were, well, impossible, and thus not worth acknowledging. As an Archangel, he didn’t believe in unknown unknowns.

Zadkiel, meanwhile, made it to the door to the back room, fell through it and split apart while saying “Aaaagh,” as loudly as he could get away with.

Crowley stared at Aziraphale, wide-eyed. He flapped his arms and mouthed, “Get out there!”

“Where will you go?” Aziraphale mouthed back.

“I’ll hide! Keep them talking!”

“Pardon? Didn’t catch that?”

“Talking, Christ, Aziraphale - oh, blehhh -”

Aziraphale reappeared in the shop as if given a shove in the back. He waved to the men-shaped beings across the room.

“Gabriel - hello. Sandalphon - it’s certainly been a while.” He picked his way towards them. “Listen, if it’s about that business in Paris, um, it wasn’t my miracle…”

Sandalphon still looked baffled, but he usually did, so there was no reason to panic on that account. Gabriel frowned.

“I have no idea whereof you speak, oh Angel of the Eastern Gate.” The frown lifted slightly. “We are here with good news.”

“Oh! How lovely.” Aziraphale came to a halt. A tiny round table piled with books separated him from the two angels. Some good news would go down a treat after the scare he’d just had.

“We’re bringing you home.”

Aziraphale stared.

“Promoting you back upstairs,” Sandalphon added, helpfully.

Something wrenching and painful happened to Aziraphale. Hopes he had never voiced, even to himself, burst and shrivelled up like sickly pods under the glare of the sun.

“I’m opening this bookshop on Friday,” he said, small-voiced. “If Mr. Hatchard can make a go of it, then I think I can really…”

“It’s an excellent idea.” Gabriel clapped his hands together. “Whoever replaces you down here can use it as a base of operations.”

“Use my bookshop?”

Gabriel’s smile turned flinty. “You’re being promoted. You get to come home.”

“I can’t imagine why anyone would want to spend five minutes longer in this world that they had to,” Sandalphon said.

“Aziraphale has been here for almost six thousand years. We must applaud such devotion to duty.”

There was a box in Gabriel’s hands.

“And it hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

The box opened to reveal a medal.

“I don’t want a medal,” Aziraphale said.

“That’s very noble of you.”

Aziraphale swallowed and met Gabriel’s eyes. The diamond was hard and searching and reflected nothing back at him.

Gabriel knew. He probably didn’t know what he knew, but that didn’t matter. Aziraphale had strayed, and he was being gently, lovingly forced back into the flock, where they could keep an eye on him. His lips felt numb. For some reason, they were still moving.

“But only I can properly thwart the wiles of the demon Crowley.”

Why. Why did he have to mention Crowley? Nothing he could have said would be worse.

Gabriel’s eye widened. “I do not doubt that whoever replaces you will be as good an enemy to Crowley as you are. Michael, perhaps.”

Aziraphale thought a very faint noise came from the back room. He hoped to God he had imagined it.

“Crowley’s been down here just as long as I have.”

Through flood and cave and lakes of wine. Through three thousand years of silence. Through everything.

“And he’s wily, and cunning, and brilliant, and…”

My other half.

For an instant, his heart stopped entirely.

Gabriel waited for the pause to become sufficiently uncomfortable. “It almost sounds like you like him.”

Aziraphale opened his mouth and tried to pull something up. A deflection, a lie. Nothing came. He stood sweating in the silence.

Gabriel crossed his arms. His expression was not triumphant, only terribly knowing.

“Where is your assistant?”

“Pardon?”

“The man with the walk. Is he still around?”

“Erm. He’s gone to lunch.”

“It’s eight a.m.”

Aziraphale’s mind swore loudly and then erased the memory of having done so.

“He keeps strange mealtimes. He’s a very… singular man.”

Gabriel leaned towards him. He looked oddly conspiratorial.

“Can I have a private word? In your back room, perhaps?”

This was it. Gabriel knew about Zadkiel. He knew Crowley was in the back. Maybe if he and Crowley ganged up, they could take him down… and then what, impersonate him to Sandalphon? What was wrong with him, he was an angel, angels didn’t attack their bosses, not unless they wanted to plummet into a lake of boiling sulphur at any rate -

Gabriel swept past him and headed for the back without permission. Aziraphale bobbed along behind him.

The little stockroom was empty. Aziraphale wanted to cast an eye around for Crowley, but held himself in. He stood to attention before Gabriel.

Gabriel looked down at him. He snapped his fingers. Aziraphale almost flinched. Then he realised Gabriel had performed a miracle to soundproof the room.

“Listen. Aziraphale. Can we talk?”

Aziraphale gave a squeak.

“Here’s the thing. I’m concerned for you. Six thousand years - that’s a stretch. It’s bound to have an effect on an angel. Maybe they’d start to get… overly attached? To someone on Earth that they shouldn’t?”

Aziraphale’s heart rate reached a fever pitch.

“Your assistant,” Gabriel said.

“Oh!”

He gaped at Gabriel.

“Now, obviously it’s happened before,” Gabriel went on. “The whole Nephilim thing, you remember that, you were there. Of course we made sure that no offspring would ever again be possible between our kind and humans, and not a moment too soon. Wow, was that ever disgusting! But, I suppose, if one were that way inclined, it would still be possible to develop certain feelings, a preference for one human in particular, say? And I need to make it plain that that is totally and one-hundred percent not allowed. Under any circumstances.”

Aziraphale’s mouth made a few shapes.

“Right you are?” he managed.

“Any. Circumstances.”

The diamond shone, menacingly.

Aziraphale fought down an urge to laugh hysterically.

“Yes,” he choked. “Yes. I - I see. Well. Thank goodness you arrived and - and set me straight. Not a moment too soon! Of course, I would never - but if I had - I would certainly feel my, er, preference dissipating.”

Gabriel clapped him painfully on the arm.

“Good man. So, you can just tidy up down here, and then come back to Heaven with me and Sandalphon.”

The air of giddy relief evaporated on the spot.

“We’re… going right now?”

Gabriel screwed up his face.

“Well, you know what? I might squeeze in a visit to my tailor first. Give us a couple of hours.”

Aziraphale nodded mutely. Gabriel waved.

“Catch you later.”

He swept out of the room. Soon after, the shop door slammed.

Aziraphale tiptoed to the door and checked they had both gone. He could feel no pulse of celestial energy in his shop. No angels here.

He closed the door and sagged against it.

A tiny black snake crept out from behind a shelf. It turned back into a full-sized Crowley. He dusted his coat off, frown lines deep between his hat and sunglasses.

“Well, then.”

“I could use something strong,” Aziraphale muttered.

“No time. You’re about to be press ganged back Upstairs.”

“So it appears.” Things were dire if Crowley’s first reaction to hearing bad news was to skip the drinking. “And replaced by Michael, apparently.”

Crowley shook his head vehemently. “No chance. Michael’s a wanker. Sit tight, angel. I’ve got a plan.”

Before Aziraphale could react, he snapped his fingers and vanished.

---

(link to next part)

#omens universe fic #omens universe #good omens #good omens fic #ineffable husbands #steven universe #yeah neil gaiman gets credit for most of these lines #'but why bother to include a scene that's mostly a retelling of (almost) canon?'#WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO KNOW *ominous laughter*#look Gabriel's always fun to hate #don't read too much into it

4 notes · View notes

thenightling · 5 years

Text

My horror dislikes list

I love horror, particularly Gothic Horror as a genre. However there are certain common types of horror or sub-genres of horror I don’t really care for. Just because I don’t like it, it doesn’t mean I don’t understand it or can’t appreciate that others might like it. This is just my personal opinion and I mean no offense to anyone. And some of what I may list will be controversial to some. Bear that in mind. Horror that I don't care for:

1. This one is probably the most controversial so I’ll list it first.

Most controversial: H. P. Lovecraft. It's not that he is "too wordy" or "long winded." (Never insult me like that.) It's not that I "don't get it." It’s not that he uses “archaic language.” (These are real things people have assumed when I tell them I don’t like Lovecraft). I just feel he's overrated. I don't like his antisemitism, which was considered extreme by 1930s American standards. And I don't like how he's credited with creating certain concepts that weren't really his doing. His ideas about long sleeping ancient / forgotten Gods or Old Ones can be found as early as Goethe's Faust Part 2, if not earlier. Other authors that had similar ideas before Lovecraft include George MacDonald, author of Lilith. Sometimes I like when other people adapt Lovecraft. I liked Neil Gaiman’s A Study in Emerald. I liked the origin of Morpheus’ helm in Sandman: Overture (also Neil Gaiman). I liked the two episodes of The Real Ghostbusters animated series inspired by Lovecraft. I even like the spoof Lil Cthulhu. But I’m just not a big fan of actual H. P. Lovecraft. This doesn’t mean I haven’t read it. Nor does it mean I don’t understand it. And I do appreciate his influence on pop culture. I just feel he’s overrated. 2. I don't like Rob Zombie movies. It's all the same to me. Boring, grimy, sweaty, eldgelordy- full of overused modern tropes like flickering lights, jump scares, and "I haven't showered in a month" antagonists. He sucked the supernatural out of Halloween and there's nothing truly distinct about any of his films. It's just a style that doesn't appeal to me. 3. CG. I love practical effects. Most CG is lazy, cartoonish, and doesn't look like it's really there. I know it can look realistic and gorgeous at time but most horror films don’t take that route. Most horror directors use it lazily. There’s a Night of the Living dead 4 or 5 by the Syfy Channel where a manhole cover is clearly CG. Why did a manhole cover have to be CG?! And there’s CG blood in Spartacus: Blood and Sand, which is very distracting because it looks like jello flying at the camera. The werewolves in An American werewolf in Paris are already dated and very fake looking yet the transformation in An American Werewolf in London still gets to people today. The werewolves in An American werewolf in Paris didn't even look real by 90s standards. They looked like beasts that escaped Who Framed Roger Rabbit. In the Fright Night remake there's a scene where a windshield shatters in front of Amy's face and she screams on que but she doesn't flinch or blink, making it very clear the glass isn't really there. Had it been sugar glass or ice to give the effect, there would have been a natural flinch. I feel practical effects, if you can't guess how it was done, can be more unnerving and the reactions seem more real. That's why some 80s fantasy is more unnerving for kids than some modern horror. 4. Jump scares. Jump scares are lazy. Being startled is not the same as being afraid. And when they add a musical chord to accompany the scare it's like idiot proofing ot say "This is where you should react." The only jump scare that ever worked on me was when I was twelve-years-old watching Interview with the vampire. Louis says "It's the carriage." and he goes down to the door. And you know damn good and well it's not the carriage. He opens the door, there's no one there. You know it's coming, but when he turns his head and Lestat's hand grabs his throat, I jumped the first time I saw that. I knew it was coming. But I still jumped. To me a good scare is when it creeps in and crawls under your skin. When I was watching Let the Right One In I remembered thinking “Ah, this isn’t so scary.” and it was at the part where Eli climbs up the side of the hospital. It was snowy outside, just as it was in the movie, and late at night. And at that moment the power went out. For a split second (It was only a second) I thought “Oh, crap! Vampire child’s gonna get me!” And I was a grown woman in 2008. I was twenty-six-years-old. Another incident that made me realize just how scary Gothic horror truly is was when I was watching a History Channel show about the real Castle Dracula. And it mentioned the locals seeing mysterious lights and noises up in the castle so some priests were sent to bless the place. A storm came in suddenly and the priests had to do the blessing from a distance. (This was Poenari castle, not Bran. Bran is used for tourists. Poenari is where Vlad spent most of his time but it’s considered unsafe). And as I watched this I remembered that storm summoning was supposed to be one of the vampire Dracula’s powers. At that moment the door creaked open And I practically leapt out of my skin. That’s when I knew Dracula is actually scary.

I also had a nightmare once about being a werewolf in the style of The wolfman. In the dream I blacked out during the transformation and then suddenly it was hours or a day later and I knew I must have done something terrible and I found loved ones slaughtered. I remember the guilt in that dream and I knew The Wolfman had reached me on a level most horror doesn’t, on a fear of what it must be like to be like him. My most recent experience with a truly good sense of my skin crawling horror was watching an episode of DC Universe's Swamp Thing. A child is possessed with the ghost of Abby Arcane's dead childhood friend. She's been singing their old song and acting ...well, weird. "If you're her than prove it?" She is smiling menacingly. It looks like she'll do nothing. Abby turns to walk away. This is where most jump scares happen. But it doesn't. As she nears the door it slams shut but that isn't the end of it. It's not just a stupid psych out jump scare the way most horror movies do now. Instead the whole atmosphere of the room changes. Everything becomes damp. The lighting dims. Everything becomes slightly off-kilter or "wrong" like in a nightmare. It was so atmospheric, so spooky... It was the best Gothic horror moment I had seen in literally years. I had goosebumps. 5. The polarization of vampire fiction triggered by the Twilight fad. Thankfully this is dying now. But for a while vampires were divided into two styles. The broody, whiny emo, or the mindless killing machine AKA "the Shark with legs." I missed the balance of charming and charismatic, but also predatory. I missed the likes of Frank Langella as Dracula and Chris Sarandon as Jerry Dandridge. The Fright Night remake was disappointing for this reason. I hate that vampires rarely shapeshift now. I hate the nerfing of their powers. And I hate that Jerry's human-side was erased as a reactionary response to be anti-Twilight. It ruined the remake for me. 6. Ghosts that movie like a broken VHS tape. The jerking movement ghosts of ghosts that suddenly flicker or spasm and suddenly are a few stepped forward without actually moving... This works in Ringu / The Ring because she IS a damaged VHS tape but in other ghost stories it doesn't really work for me. it takes me out of the story and I notice it's following a trend. 7. Torture porn. Pity, and gross-out is not fear. It's like how that game show / reality show "Fear Factor" confused fear with disgust. "eat these random cow pies" isn't fear, folks. Actually Torture porn kind of bores me . I don't feel fear. It's just drawn out mutilation and torture. I may feel pity for the character or be disgusted by the graphic mutilations but I'm not afraid of it. And it's lazy and cheap. 8. Next on Lazy and cheap... Found footage. I HATE found footage movies. Shaky cam and screams into a camera don't do it for me. And they all feel the same. 9. Most Zombie Apocalypse movies. Most recent Zombie apocalypse movies bore me. There are a few exceptions like the original Night of the Living Dead, which, at the time it was made was unique and atmospheric but many zombie films attempt to imitate it and it becomes bland and formulaic. I also liked Return of the Living Dead because it was one of the first Zombie Apocalypse movies. It hadn’t yet become dull and predictable to me that everyone huddles together and it becomes more and more futile until there is no one left or it’s utterly hopeless. And so as things became repetitive I started to dislike the ‘zombie apocalypse genre.” Exceptions include Night of the Living Dead and Return of the Living Dead. I also like the original White Zombie and I walked with a Zombie but those are pre-Zombie Apocalypse. There are a few zombie films I like that aren’t that scary but I like them because they are different. Those include “My boyfriend’s back.” (Daddy, I love him!” “He’s a zombie, you freakin’ idiot!” I love that line). And Warm Bodies. And please don’t use Warm Bodies to discredit my status as a horror fan. I just like it because it’s different. First, R isn’t that bad of a protagonist. He’s more well developed than Edward Cullen and he spends half the movie eating the brains of the dead boyfriend of the girl he’s pining for, carrying bits of brain in his pocket. There’s no sugar coating that. Also it’s one of the few zombie apocalypse movies to have a happy ending. Yeah, it’s sappy and a bit hamhanded bu tit has a sweet message. Sometimes it’s okay to like sweet.

10. Remakes that suck the supernatural out of a supernatural story. I’m tired of gritty. I’m tired of “grounded in reality.” The supernatural is scary because it is unknown. In the case of Child’s Play, a hacked AI doesn’t seem as creepy to me as a soul of a serial killer seeking a new host body. Also the cynical part of me suspects the “grounding in reality” is a direct ploy to get a release in China, which does not like supernatural content in American import movies. This is part of why Disney / Marvel has been downplaying Marvel’s supernatural side. I miss supernatural horror. I’m tired of remakes literally sucking out the soul.

11. Bonus: Anything based on a “true case” by The Warrens. I believe in the paranormal. I respect paranormal research but The Warrens were known con artists, even among paranormal researchers. If you look at most of their haunted house cases there’s a particular formula. Woman moves into dream home with loving, Catholic family. Weird things slowly start to happen. The husband is skeptical / getting possessed. The wife goes to the church for help. The priests can’t help or nothing happens in front of them. Desperate she attends a Warrens lecture. Never fear, The Warrens are here! And lo’ and behold, the house is full of demons! Demons only The Warrens know how to Handle. This happens in The Haunted (Not to be confused with The Haunting), it happens in Gave Secrets: the story of Black Hope Cemetery and pretty much every other haunted house story they got involved in. They made book and TV movie deals and later bigger Hollywood movie deals. Now half the horror and Parapsychology world thinks they were demonology heroes and not the con artists who once ‘exorcised a werewolf” (Look it up.) I am not a fan of The Warrens.

#Horror #Gothic Horror

14 notes · View notes

dailythranduilproject · 6 years

Photo

Username(s) we can find you under:

TheMirkyKing - @themirkyking

> What Media do you create?

Writing, Drawings-pencil and occasional colored pencils/pens, and some edits.

> Where can we find your work?

A03 and tumblr . I have a DeviantArt account(under different name) but that is just to look at all the wonderful art out there.

> What would you say you are best known for in the fandom?

Umm…not really sure as I don’t think many know me…I would have to say for my writing?? LOL

> Do you have a favorite pairing?

Too many! But my true love is Barduil, then Thrandolas. Thranduil and Elrond, Sigrid and Legolas (Looking right at @Moonofmorrigan for sucking me into that one!) And Elrohir and Ela (OC of @damnitbarduil)

> What other fandoms are you part of?

Yuri on Ice, Avatar the Last Airbender, Game of Thrones, more as a spectator.

> Any advice/words for others in the fandom?

Don’t shame/troll/hate anon others for what they enjoy, write and create. There is enough ugliness out there, don’t add to it. I know it sounds Pollyanna, if you don’t have anything good to say then say nothing- there is REAL person on the other end. Creative criticism is fine, as is disagreeing with someone, but do it in a constructive way. And if you are thinking that your writing, art or anything sucks, so what? If you enjoy doing it then do it. We all have different skill levels and talents- explore them and grow. Have someone you chat with read or look at them and get their feedback- most people are their worse critic’s, so get that other opinion! Respect others works-no stealing- everyone deserves their work credited! HAVE FUN! There are so many wonderful people out there, ready to share their joy of this fandom. :D

PERSONAL > Favorite color?

Not fair, I like almost all colors but I would have to say greens and blues draw me.

> Favorite Book?

Really unfair! So many books have a special place in my heart. Two Towers- J.R.R. Tolkien; American Gods-Neil Gaiman; All Creatures Great and Small- James Herriott; Dragonsinger- Anne McCaffrey; Dune- Frank Herbert. Just a few ;)

> Favorite movie?

Again- So hard to single out one so here are some of my faves- Singing in the Rain; Spanglish; Howl’s Moving Castle; The Secret World of Arrietty; To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar; Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

> Do you have a pet peeve?

Aside from the usual; rudeness, ignorance, intolerance; it’s people who chew their mouths open-shudder! (Only children are forgiven…barely.)

> What country are you from?

United States

> Who do you think you might have been in a past life?

Depends on what time period, but some sort of household staff member- like maid or kitchen help. Or a squirrel…yeah, probably a squirrel.

>What do you like to do in your spare time other than create the media you work on?

I enjoy cross stitching, gardening and reading.

>When did you join the fandom?

I have been a Tolkien fan since I was 10 but didn’t really join in the fandom stuff till 2015.

Followers Questions

@mewardy:

1- How long have you been writing?

I have always enjoyed writing, my mom still has stuff I wrote in elementary school (so embarrassing), but didn’t really start writing and posting after I discovered A03 and Tumblr. It was great knowing that there was a place to share my stuff.

2 -Why fantasy - especially Thranduil?

I have always been drawn to fantasy/sci-fi. I find it more freeing- the options are limitless. While I usually write modern AU’s there is still an element of fantasy. Thranduil just drew me in. I liked Legolas in LOTR, but nothing like Thranduil. While I didn’t really like PJ’s vision for Thranduil, I did love Lee Pace’s portrayal of the Elven King. For me, Thranduil sparked my imagination- he comes off as cold and arrogant. He is, but there was more to him, just hiding it. That is what I enjoy. Exploring his private life. He allows for so many different versions and I love writing him and reading how others see him.

3 -Where are you from?

United States- Seattle.

@sweetfairy1:

1 - How did you develop your super cute drawing style?

First off- thank you! I like Chibi styles so I kind of base my stuff off that style. A mix of Chibi/Shojo?? I think of my stuff as cartoonish.

2 - When you drew Thranduil and/or Bard the first time, did they look similar than they do now?

My first drawing was Thranduil, and I think they look similar, just a few changes. And it really depends on what I am trying to draw. Some I do just as portrait drawings, then the cartoon type and every so often, I try for the more realistic style, as in Manga style-lol

@eldritchmage:

1 - I enjoy your artwork very much, so would like to know how long you have been drawing?

You are so sweet! I have been doodling and drawing since I was a kid, nothing serious, I only took a calligraphy class in school and then one art class in college. I keep thinking of going for more formal learning cause I would like to have a stronger skill set then I have now.

2 - What prompted you to start? Drawing Bard and Thranduil??

I saw a chibi Thranduil and I loved it. Thought, hmmm…lets see how mine would look. That was it, now I have notebooks, scraps of paper, sketchbooks filled with them.

3 - Do you have other favorite subjects as well as Thranduil and Bard?

I usually just draw random figures. I tend to do portrait, and I struggle with full figure- my other half is always at me about drawing whole figures, especially the feet! And not to draw on lined paper! LOL

4 - Also, how did you come to develop your distinctive style?

I really like Manga so that is a big influence. Then the usual culprits of seeing other artist styles, animated films and such, then wanting to incorporate and explore it in my own fashion.

@bellevox:

1 - Can you tell us about your family and your country?

I have two older siblings, a sister and brother, but I was the surprise baby so I pretty was ignored by them, unless they needed a punching bag-lol. My parents are still feisty and active at 80 plus. I have been cohabitating with my wonderful mate for 23 years, one day he will make an honest woman out of me ;) I was born in the United States, currently live here, but lived in Australia for 2 years- enjoyed it very much. I like to travel when I can, work permitting. Over all, I live a pretty quite life, enjoying time with family, going to good breweries and playing games, nothing too exciting. :D

@moonofmorrigan:

1 - What do you consider to be the most challenging thing to write? (Like angst, fluff, etc.)

ANGST! I love reading some good angst but I find that the hardest to write. There is a fine line with it and I just don’t know if I have the skills!

2 -We've worked on a couple of writing projects together. What is your favorite part so far of our current story?

What I enjoy most with writing with you is the unexpected turns that the story takes. How I will have a whole course of action planned for Bard and then- WHAM- Thranduil goes in a direction that surprises Bard and now a new course needs to be followed. I just love that! Case in point- when Thranduil fell ill and almost died…. I loved the mystical elements that took place. Of course I would be lying if I said I didn’t like the more nsfw moments, cause those are a lot of fun!

3 - What kind of stories would you like to see more of in the fandom?

I would love to see more Sci-Fi Au’s. I am a sucker for elves in space!

@floranocturna:

1 - what is your dream destination to travel?

Lord, everywhere! I would really love to be able to travel the world, spend months at a time in a country, getting to know the area and people. Nothing fancy, just kicking around and seeing more then just the “famous cities”.

2 - If you could change one thing about Thranduil's outfit, what would it be?

My least favorite of his was that robe he wore in his private chambers! It was so shapeless, like some frumpy housecoat! I would have loved to see him dressed in the greens and browns, like how I imagine him before he became King.

3 - Are you an organised writer or do you just write and sit down when the inspiration strikes?

Soooooo disorganized! Inspiration with hints of structure. My notebooks are a mess with hastily written stuff! Arrows and bullet points everywhere, change this, add that, oh here- he says this! And my crazy short hand- even I sometimes puzzle over it!

Thank you Mirky, for this great interview.

#daily thranduil project #interviews #themirkyking #thranduil #themirkyking interwiew

49 notes · View notes

smillingcartoonist · 6 years

Text

TV Shows that I Watched in 2017

A Series of Unfortunate Events (2 Episodes)

I Nearly forget that I watch this ! I Watched 2 episodes and then something happened to my computer, I don’t remember what ! but I lost interesting, and still with no interesting what so ever to continue watching.

Samurai Jack (Season 5)

This wasn’t my favorite cartoon back in the day so I wasn’t expecting much out of it ,but oh man ! Turn out to be a really good ! a much more mature story line, I got a little down by the end, But I think it end really well ! The whole story of Jack dealing with his failure and his own wish for Death was pretty interesting, when all of that was solved it kinda drop the ball a little ! and Visually too, by the end the visual aspect of the show is gone ! I remember that some people are really worried about if Ashi and Jack are gonna end up together,well this is tumblr,this is what really important here !! I don’t know/care about the general opinion about the ending of the show, but I guess for other people if doesn’t go the way they want they will rage about it ! which is pretty stupid ! after the success of this revival, some other shows announced a revival,First Invader Zim and then Hey Arnold, The Arnold movie come out just recently,But Invader Zim is still with no date of release,that’s a bummer.

Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Season 1)

If we talk about fidelity to the material which was originated, this version of Ghost In the Shell is the more faithful adaption of the comic ! Mamoru Oshii movie was good, but It kinda goes really far from the manga, like this version got more of the political and crime drama that the comic had and it’s more appropriated to the show. The Major of this version is more like the Major of the comic, she have a pretty humorous personality, way more in the comic, The tachikomas are in here and the the whole section 5 appears in most episodes, even trough the main focus is on The Major,Batou and Ishikawa,most on him ! I guess because he’s the most Human Character in the team !

The Show is divide in a main line story,The Laughing Man case, and some others cases, that later on some of they get integrated into the main story, overall is pretty good, I can’t think of something bad about this show, everything is really well craft, expect to the Major Child Spare body,why the fuck she have that ? Why she use that ? That’s was really weird !! Other think that is good and deserve some credit is the dub, the English dub is really good,but only for the main characters,everyone else have a mediocre or bad dub, In fact it was really hard to find subs for this show !

Doctor Who (Season 10)

This season was bad ! The First half of episodes are ok,but the second is just the worst ! and this season got the worst season Finale so far ! Let’s break this shit down !!

Let’s start with Bill, did she have a arc of a story in this show ?? for most of the time she was just there ! either something happen to her and the doctor have to save her or she was there to do something and say something, but outside of that, she doesn’t have a story ! in comparison to another character like Martha from Season 3,she did have a story, she began travailing with the Doctor,she kinda fall in love with him but he doesn’t love her, things happens and Martha and the doctor solve it ! and by then end she quits because the Doctor doesn’t love her and she get on her life,it’s kinda lame but at least it have some goods reasons, Bill story is like What ?? She travel with the doctor,die and becomes a cyberman, die again and become a liquid alien and then she goes way because the doctor is Dead and her Crush come to get her ?! Is that even a conclusion ? Nardole was even worse, he’s boring, he is a boring comic relief, he was pretty funny on the Christmas specials,but on this he’s like the Doctor’s mom ! and he also have nothing to do ! most of the episode he appear he doesn’t do anything, So Why put him in there ??

The First half episodes are good, they are most involving the relationship between the Doctor and Bill, again Jamie Mathieson write a really good episode “Oxygen”probably the best episode of this season even trough I don’t think it was his best episode ! Extremys was also good, even trough it had some of the over the top stuff that Moffat like to put ! The Doctor meeting the Pope, The Doctor Fuck the pope, a female Pope ? for some reason they keep trying to make that Doctor have bang half of the universe ! I was expecting at some point Matt Smith say to Clara “hey Clara did I Tell you about when I Bang Joana D’arc ?” and also anything that happens in this episode got nothing to do with the next, Why the monks are running this specific scenario ?? Why they let they own Computer send a warning to the Doctor ??

The Other half of episode is when things start to fall apart, “the Pyramids at the end of World” still a solid episode even trough the most convenient thing happens at the end to let the story have a third part ! This Third part is a Failure,they had a really good premise “the Monks have brainwash humanity to believe they are they rulers and the Doctor is on they side” This could be a really good episode, but turns out to be bullshit, turns out the Doctor is faking he do a faking regeneration just to fuck with Bill, also they really exploit the fact that this is the last season of Capaldi and think they audience are a bunch of idiots that don’t know that will only happens in the last episode ! At least the scene with Michelle Gomez was good ! Mark Gatiss write another bad episode so fuck it, The Eaters of Light was really good, after two really bad episodes it’s refreshing to have a episode with Doctor Who stuff on it !! and then The Season Finally comes in, World Enough and Time was pretty good, even trough I Got a big issue with The Doctor saying that he have a Crush on the Master when they are children, was that really Necessary ?? did Moffat had to do this so he could appeal the hearth of some horny teenager girl Out there ? did the Doctor really need to say “Oh he was my fundamental school crush”, Was that necessary,no ! Fuck You Steve !! But that’s not even the tip of the Iceberg ! The problems get worse on the last Episode !

The Doctor Falls his the lamest Season Finale so far !! This episode is a soap novel that doesn’t go anywhere !! and also they keep showing the Doctor Contenting his regeneration, Oh he can do that now ? yeah I Guess he can, and only now !! Why Bring John Simm back if you not gonna do anything with him ?? The Only thing that he do is Flirt with Gomez and then shoot her in the back, also that, You expect that Missy story will have some kinda of nice conclusion,Oh ! Missy is turning good ? she will have some kinda of redemption at the end,that since interesting, but Moffat have to end that in a lame way with he Master Shooting himself, Oh ! God Moffat ! get your dick out of our mouth !! that was terrible and we something even worse ! You have the lamest Deus Ex-Machina that I Ever seeing,so the Doctor is dead,cyberBill is about to die and then The Liquid alien girl appears at the end and just transform Bill into another liquid alien, Because she can do that of course !! if this chick could appear anytime to help she could appear sometime before all this shit happens,or even in some other episode where Bill was in danger and she could help, But any way, she get then make in the Tardis,How ??, and she just happens to know how to pilot the Tardis,because she is a Dues Ex-Machina !! and then Bill leaves the Tardis seeing “Yeah Doctor that was fun,But your Dead Now,and my Crush have come pick me up, so Bye !” and the she leaves, The doctor wake and say some embarrassing and unnecessary stuff and go outside the Tardis to Scream NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO in the snow,because he acting like a kid and does not want to regenerate. Man ! That was terrible ! Fuck You Steven Moffat !!

American Gods (Season 1)

Adaptation of a book,written by Neil Gaiman,Book that I read in the beginning of the year and I Like reading it,maybe it was the last Book that read this year ! I don’t remember ! But anyway, I Liked this show overall,really competent adaption,just some things i Think Like: Anansi is not a elderly pervert man,that was the whole reasons I like that character,because he was grumpy and every line he insulted Shadow. Other thing I didn’t like was the among of gratuity sex scenes in the show,there is not that among of fucking in book, there is this scene where Bisquis Pussy vore this guy in the beginning and some other sex scene later, in the show they put some more of Bisquis eating people for no reason at all !! she also become a important character now,because in the book she appears and then she appears again and die !

Michiko To Hatchin (22 Episodes)

Anime is not really my thing, But this year I Try somethings, this and Ghost In the shell are the ones that I Like ! I find this thanks to Tumblr,Yeah !! sometimes you can find good things in this place, It got my attention because of the premise, It happens in Brasil and some Brazilian guy made the sound track, that enough to get me to watch ! and I Like it, one thing I find weird is the Tone of the show, like it begins really cheeky and Funny and on the forth episodes things start to get more serious and then get less serious, and it keeps going like this into the end. The Director of this show Sayo Yamamoto, direct a show that made a huge success last year, specially here on tumblr, the anime about gay ice skating “Yuri on Ice” I kinda wanna watch that now,just because it was directed by her ! By The end of anime I Got that the message was “Girls shouldn’t be running after man that are fucking jackasses” which I think that is true and right !

Ballroom & Youkoso (4 Episodes)

This was the first deception on trying to get on Modern anime ! It is this slice of life with a bunch of dull characters and dull humor, I didn’t like anything about it, the animation too was really dull,like everything in this show was dull for me ! The whole point that I thought it will be interesting was the dancing part ! but when that happens, it’s lifeless, like Finally the dull Protagonist get to Dance and he does a incredible move where he stand still !! don’t move, dance is all about moving and the first he does is not Move !! in the next episode the “I’m the best” character goes dance,furious because the dull protagonist got some fun not dancing on his place, and the you think is gonna be the most awesome thing into the next Dance contest,but there is only 10 seconds of actual dancing and the rest is just flashing images and the crowd cheering, I Get the impression that I should be doing the same but is so dull !! after this I really could care anymore !

Preacher (Season 2)

I Enjoyed This Season a Lot more then the first,Like this season have a lot more of the fell of the comic into it then the first and it’s way more resolved in the adaptation part ! finally Jesse gonna search for god ! the they motivations are different, in the comic Jesse what to find God because pissed with him and the TV show he want to do that because he thinks that he is in some kind of holy mission ! The Humor get’s kinda predictable, Because everyone in the world of Preacher is really nasty and terrible person, so you know that something nasty is gonna happen ! One thing that I find strange was the whole Hitler good man thing,every time that happen is said “No Man! what are you doing !!” in times like this, that’s pretty dangerous !!

Castlevania (Season 1)

Warren Ellis can do anything, he can write a story about dish washing and it gonna be the most awesome thing ever, it will probably involve a alien abduction or a secret organization plot to kill aliens or supernatural creatures ! any way this was another good show with marvelous quality, the only bummer it is so short, 4 episodes, and when it ends it end out of the no where like “that is, more next year” ! I Just wandering what’s gonna happen in the next season ! if Belmonth is gonna have to fight the monster of Frankenstein and mummy ?!

Psycho-Pass (20 Minutes)

Din’t even bother to get anything for this ! I Thought this would be a good show, the premise was good, the design of the characters look like shit ! But maybe the story would be good, but when I Finally watch, damn, that was terrible ! the first episode begins with the villan (I guess) wanking about himself and then it goes for some of the stupid anime shit that ever seen ! I Just could care ! after 20 minutes i Just stop the video and said no ! fuck this !!

Twin Peaks (Season 1,2 and 3)

My favorite show of the year !! I Got interesting in it when I saw somethings here on Tumblr,and the I decide to Watch the First episode of the Third season, after watching some episodes I decide to go see the other 2 seasons (To see if anything that I saw it will make sense), that was like 36 episodes or something, for some reasons at the time I got nothing to do so had plenty of time of nothing to do ! I Enjoy most of it, it’s like a Soap Novel with bizarre characters and that managed to get me entreating to watch everything and see what was gonna happens with to does characters,You Know like any other show should be ! But It fells kinda flat after they solve the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer, but the whole thing with Window Earl was cool the actor that play him was really good ! I Just wonder how he moved a giant piece of Chest to that, hum that … that place and later they show like 5 people with a crane trying to move that thing from there !

I Also watched the two Movies,Fire Walk with me and The Missing pieces, The Movie are really different from the the TV show, like It doesn’t have space for comedy into it so the Movie is really depressing,You already know what is gonna happen, but even so !! after watching that I watched the Missing Pieces in a vain hope to see if anything that I saw later would make more sense ! Guess what, It Didn’t !! The Missing Pieces is all the scenes that didn’t make to the movie,it also have the scene of the meeting in the Convenience store and the scene with Phillip separated of which other,that for some reasons Lynch decide to put them together to make even less sense !! does that mean that it make sense now ! I Guess !?

Season 3 was incredible, if I was not terrified I would be laughing my ass off, but after 18 hours of pure surreal stuff did i Understand anything of it, mostly of it no, I saw some theories and it make me fells stupid ! Because there is this whole other thing happen and I didn’t even notice, “I’m a idiot for not noticing that early” I said to my self, and I saw some other theory about how this things that seen out of place and weird are in fact critics to state of America. When I finally saw the ending I was not expecting anything different, I wasn’t expecting to end on a good way, every season didn’t end with a happy ending, so this one should be the same ! What i find incredible was the number of people trying to figured out the meaning behind the ending in a number of way’s, but like It doesn’t matter if you watch all episodes at the same time, you not gonna find anything, the only way to figured out is to Interpreted everything you see and figured out how that work !! You have to think about you saw, But if can’t do that,what are doing watching this then ??

Big Mouth (Season 1)

I Got interested in this after seeing the two teaser, the first one I laugh once, and the second,that was the ending of the second episode, sold me into it. I find it really funny at some parts and not funny at all in others, all that Thing with Jay and his Pillow I think that was the most surreal stuff that I have seen in years !! even more surreal then Twin Peaks. Maya Rudolph was The Hormone Monstress is the high point of this show,she give a lot Charm to the character. A Lot of people didn’t like this show because it was to offensive for then and too ugly !! But like, all this cartoon show for adults are all really ugly !! so like, so what ??

Mindhunter (Season 1)

I Like a lot of crime investigative stuff, and like most of the show even through there is somethings that kinda seen like they go no where, all that stuff with the tickling, I Though it go to something bigger but it didn’t !! I Though that they will go back to the first case they reject and solve it, but I guess that would be a think for season two. I Like how they handle the arc of the Mindhunter,this whole thing of him being this ambitious agent that want to discovery a new method of investigation and becoming this self centre asshole that thinks that he his the fucking most ! Now that is a Grow of a Character !!

American Vandal (Season 1)

The whole part of the humor of this show kinda feel flat for me, but the investigation stuff is way more engaging, I like how fluid the whole investigation process how they going finding out how everyone in this school have some dirt in then and how that later affect them ! in the end they come to a solution to get the asshole that was false accused set free, but later he get in jail again because he’s just a asshole, But they don’t solve the mystery,Who Draw the dicks ?? My Guess is that was the History teacher,the cool dude that bad mouth the other teacher, I think because the way he storm out of a scene they show in the last episode.

Inuyashiki (3 Episodes)

I already have made fun of the two first episodes of this anime, I was reluctant to continue watching this,after the third episode I was done with this, basically what happen in it is a reminder that Bad guy is bad and good guy is good Nothing else happens,the characters does’t haven anything to them they have no charm or anything,they are this bland person with no expression, I guess that they faces never change,they have the same face every time !! I was really expecting something more out of this !! I Guess that I don’t have the age to watch this animes anymore,I can’t go back be a thirteen old again !!

Genocyber (5 Episodes)

This is some old cult anime stuff, ultra violent and really nonsensical, and some how can be was better any of this other animes that I have watched, is there a lot of more effort put into it by the way,it was kinda fun to watch this and see the stuff happening and just shout to the screen “What ?? Why ?” it made me care that’s the important thing, also the soundtrack is good,is probably the best thing out of it !!

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (Season 2)

Is kinda sad talk about this,since the show was cancelled, But even so,I don’t have enjoyed this season as more then the first one, It was funny and all,but the whole fantasy world don’t have got me, and this whole another plot of Dirk trying to be a normal Detective didn’t land well for me.I Think that the Third Season out have turn out to be great, also this thing of turning that Computer guy into the antagonist was kinda surprising and out the nowhere !! Also The Creator of the Show Max Landis was accused of Sexual harassment recently, Guess that’s way the show was cancelled !!

The Young Pope (Season 1 ??)

From all the shows here,this is the one that got the best cinematography of them all !! really stunning photography, Jude Law give a incredible performance in this show,I Guess that i never seen anything else with him,But anyway he’s just awesome ! They gave him a bunch of huge speech to him, so there are some incredible long scene of Jude Law talking about how his character is awesome and can do anything ! also I was kinda confused watching, the initial speech that he give on his dream confused me when he was taking decision that are the opposite from early, I was thinking that he was just pretending to be a huge asshole when in fact he is a huge asshole !! but also sometimes not a total jackass and by the end he have some kind of redemption ! that I don’t understand if they want to make a Season 2 out of this,the whole story of Jude Law is done what more can you go far from this ? But if they wanna do it I’m Fine with this !

Dark (Season 1)

My Second favorite show of the year, I Like everything about it,the story,the photography.the music, it’s really well put together, a lot people compared this to Stranger Things,and it’s nothing like it ! Stranger Things is this little light harder show that funny and colorful and Dark it’s just Depressing, It’s this show that nothing is gonna go well and it’s not go end in a happy way, The only problem that I got is that I don’t remember any of the names of the characters I Only know the name of the main kid with the yellow jacket that is Jonas. I’m looking forward to the next Season,the show leave a lot of question open, and I wanna know who is going to be our real protagonist !! Also The Director of this show Baran Bo Odar,is the director of one of the worst movies of this year called Sleepless,which I find weird since this show is so good.

Stranger Things 2 (Why The Two ? Season 2)

Another Show That I don’t think it make it up for the last one, I not part of the cult of adoration of this serie,but I like it I Think there are good and fun to watch and not this Grater masterpiece that people make up to believe. I felt that the some of the same stuff that happened in the last season is happening again in this, Hysterical Mom is more Hysterical, let’s trash Winona Ryder House in some way ! Friends are not friends anymore and get back being friends !! the rest of it was just ok, they the asshole from the last season not be a asshole anymore,guess I Kinda like him now, which make four of the characters that I like in this show,Him,Dustin, the new Hellboy man and Eleven. I Guess that they could’t stretch this for one more Season,but they did !! What gonna happen in the next season ?! Did they gonna turn the asshole of this season into not a asshole and make him have a affair with the mom of the sour face kid ?! is Dustin gonna have more adventures with the non-asshole cool guy ?! Winona Ryder is goona stop being Hysterical ?! (probably no !) Also they kinda ruined Dustin Character in this season,they turning him into fat kid slop comic relief, I don’t remember him being like that In the last season ?!

Punisher (Season 1)

The last Show that I watch this year, I enjoyed watching, even trough I Don’t think it had the among of shooting that I wanted to have ! From all this netflix super heroes show’s I only watched this,Jessica Jones and Daredevil,I Really don’t care about the rest, But This show is on pair with Jessica Jones in mine opinion.I don’t know much about The Punisher comics so can’t comment on anything of this part ! I Think that Jon Bernthal is great actor, he really give a good performance making the Punisher into this psycho maniac that want to kill people ! He have great Gutural Scream ! I saw video about Sicario and how Dennis Villanueve put this whole section of in the movie so he could Film Jon acting !! Like he is really good, I Think that he is the perfect Candidate to be a New rambo, If someone ever wanna do a new type of Rambo Movie he would be great there !! shooting people and screaming at the same time !

#a series of unfortunate events #stand alone complex #doctor who #samurai jack #american gods #michiko to hatchin #Twin Peaks #Big Mouth #Castlevania #Preacher #Mindhunter #Genocyber #Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency #The Young Pope #Dark #stranger things #punisher #American Vandal

262 notes · View notes

bereft-of-frogs · 5 years

Text

A Theology of the MCU: Myth, Marvel, and Mímir’s Well

(I love coming up with pretentious essay titles ya’ll this is one of my true academia skills)

aka, solving the in-universe discrepancies between the Marvel Asgard and Myth Asgard that no one asked for but I’m going to do anyways

So I was finally inspired to work out what I thought about the in-universe Norse Mythology and how it related to the actual Asgardian characters we know and love by this post. I’ll get to what I agreed with and what I didn’t a little later, but this kind of meta has been long coming because I def use and abuse mythology and should figure out what I think about how mythology and the relations between myth Thor & Loki and ‘real’ Thor & Loki before I screw anything up too badly.

The easy explanation is that the contents of the mythology in the alternative universe depicted in the MCU is just different. Our only real engagement with the myth in the movies is when Selvig pulls out the children’s book at the library and the images clearly look like Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, rather than other depictions of the mythological Thor and Loki.

[Sidenote: eddas for dummies ’s illustrations of the Norse gods are great: https://edda-for-dummies.tumblr.com/]

So we could just say that things are different, they match onto ‘reality’ a little better than the Norse mythology we’re familiar with in our version of the universe, and done.

Or we could make things more complicated.

Which, in my opinion, is infinitely more fun. And I apparently have a lot of time on my hands (lol I don’t, I’m just procrastinating), so I’m writing up my explanation of how the ‘real Asgard’ and ‘myth Asgard’ were connected in the Viking Age and how the real Asgardians could have inspired their mythological counterparts.

And the answer is syncretism!

One of the main problems the original post points out is that the dates don’t line up. Loki is commonly accepted to be born in 965 CE, as stated in Thor. So he was born after the myth development and worship, and at the start of the Christianization of Scandinavia. Thor is accepted to not be that much older, given their similar appearance as children and other general character/relationship traits. How is this possible?

My headcanon explanation is: the Thor and Loki of the myths are actually amalgamations of several different Asgardian heroes, or even other deities from the proto-Indo-European mythology, that are eventually condensed into the figures of Thor and Loki (and Frigga and Heimdall, etc etc). (Very common in real world mythological and religious development.)

But since it turned out that these figures were real in the MCU and there was indeed a physical place called Asgard where Odin reigned, with Valkyries and gods, a Valhalla, etc…So that’s where I got the ‘amalgamation of several Asgardian heroes’ thing. Perhaps two thousand years ago the barrier between Asgard/Midgard was thinner, or it was more acceptable to travel on Midgard. Asgardian heroes, infinitely stronger and magical and seemingly immortal, travel on Midgard and have adventures and are seen as gods. The stories told, the sagas, poems, etc are all depicting something much more concrete, and material, than distant deities. Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology has its flaws, but the introduction does contain one of my favorite quotes: “…myths of a people who did not entirely trust or even like their gods, although they respected and feared them.” which I feel like would be a good description of this relationship. They write down stories of stuff they did with their wandering friends, and over time they take on spiritual significance.

“But,” you say, “that doesn’t 100% make sense either. There are references to Thor and Loki earlier than 965CE, and there are some stories that you pick out and attribute to the ‘real’ Thor and Loki when you’re using and abusing mythology for fanfiction inspiration. How do you explain that, hmmm?”

This is where the original post was like a lightbulb going off. Mímir’s Well could give a humans a glimpse of the wider Realms and/or future. (Or at least I think it was supposed to be Mímir’s Well…I think the movie may have said something about the Norns, but I also have Thoughts about the Norns,* so I’d prefer to have it just be Mímir’s Well.) But I thought the ‘drunk Viking fell in a well’ was a little reductionist.

Absolutely no disrespect to OP intended! I love that post. It’s brilliant and the meta on the ages are so well thought out I have officially adopted that explanation for the age discrepancies. I just have a lot of Feelings about the development of religious systems and tend to be sensitive about attributing religious development to things like ‘drunk people making up stories’ because I think spirituality/religion of any kind is a profound reflection of man’s attempt to make sense of the universe, and so complex and varied and beautiful and I’ve struggled a lot against people who don’t understand, or purposely misrepresent, the fundamental societal purpose of religion and the quest for meaning…but anyways…

So yeah, due to my weird neuroses about religion and myth, I want to give the early poets more credit than ‘drunk Viking that fell in a well.’ Instead of accident or foolish ignorance, there could have been a mortal, or several mortals, who gained particular favor among visiting Asgardians and were gifted with knowledge of the future and of Asgard and built their myth upon that. Because of increased traffic between Asgard/Midgard, early Scandinavian societies were interacting more with Asgard than modern humans. So they were getting stories of Asgardian heroes, interacting with travelers, etc. They prove themselves to Asgardian travelers in various ways, then the Asgardians show them the wells. Perhaps mortal sorcerers were held in higher regard as well. Anyways, they also enter Mímir’s well at the invitation of whatever Odinic wanderer that may or may not be Actual Odin, and see the future, but distorted by their own limited perception and experience.

You have to keep in mind that linear time is essentially a social construct. (I’m only half joking with that.) Especially in Norse mythology, where time is simultaneously linear and cyclical. So, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter that the timeline doesn’t add up. When the mortals enter the well they see things that happen no matter where they happen in the timeline. So they see Ragnarök, which has both not yet happened and already happened. For another example, they could see the essence of Loki’s betrayal/fall from grace, and it gets combined with another figure, who, let’s say, went to a feast and insulted all those assembled.

This makes it super easy to steal from the myths at will, and kind of sort myths into ‘yes this story involved the ‘real’ Thor & Loki’ and ‘nope this involved someone else and was later attributed to Thor and/or Loki.’ So I sit there and say like “Ah, I like this one, someone saw this in the well” and “nope, I don’t see this one as fitting their characters, that one was from another Asgardian hero.”

Examples of the divide:

People seem to generally like ‘lips sewn shut’ storyline (‘The Treasures of the Gods’ in Crossley-Holland), the birth of Sleipnir (‘The Building of Asgard’s Wall’), and I’ve seen the Lay of Geirrod (‘Thor and Geirrod’) done fantastically well. I tend to lift themes/motifs pretty frequently (and that’s how I stole the essence of Helreith Brynnhildr, which was written down in the 13th century, but actually happened to the Valkyrie in the 21st) and there are other stories I’ve seen less frequently adapted, like ‘Thor’s Journey to Utgard’ that I think make sense, but I don’t really see either Thor or Loki as having wives or children, so I can file that as someone else.

[Two more headcanon-y headcanons: there was another figure that was more like the myth-Loki - blood brother of Odin who at some point betrayed them, and was the more malevolent figure, that was syncretized with Loki at some point. And Hela got so much more distorted because of whatever Odin did to erase her from memory. He was successful on Asgard, where he had more control/power, but he couldn’t catch everything on Midgard, which was already starting to grow more distant from Asgard, if the Hela thing occurred between Thor and Loki’s births like the timeline seems to imply.]

So yeah. This is a thing I did. I did a lot of thinking about this while washing dishes the last couple of days. I just really like exploring the relationship between mortals and the gods, which would also be important if Asgard was going to sail their way to Earth and rebuild in Norway, like Odin wanted them to in Thor: Ragnarok. (That was a great line too: “Remember this place. Home.” Ahhhhhh, we can have such interesting interactions between modern Scandinavians and Asgardians and it would have been great. Thanos ruins everything. But also, we probably never would have because I don’t anyone working at Marvel cares to think this much about myth…)

*My Thoughts about the Norns: I weirdly like the idea that the Norns are essentially the True Deity. Mostly because I’m super, super into triple goddesses. And the way (though I’m pretty sure I picked this up from other fanfiction), the characters invoke the Norns like ‘God’. (tbh it’s also a good cheat for fixing dialogue where I’ve snuck in a ‘oh my god’ or ‘godforsaken’ etc.) You’ll also notice though, that I only ever have the like ‘highborn’ Asgardian characters invoking the Norns. The ones who have their names directly taken from mythology (Thor, Loki, Heimdall, Frigga, Odin, etc, plus I think people who were actually living in Asgard, so most of the survivors on the Ark), invoke the Norns, but other ‘lowborn’ characters from the Nine Realms will say ‘gods’ instead. That worked itself into the second chapter of ‘Misuse of Magic’.

God, I’m such a nerd. I’m going to go put myself in nerd timeout. Bye…

[PS - I used the Kevin Crossley-Holland anthology, The Penguin Book of Norse Myths, above because well…I own it. And it’s in my apartment and not my parents’ basement. But I do recommend, accessible but with an extensive notes section.]

Did I do it right? This is the first time I’ve ever posted this sort of thing hope it’s okay ahhhh

back to timeout

#mcu meta #maybe meta? idk it's probably more headcanon #whoops #i'm a huge theology nerd i'm in a nerd timeout now

0 notes