mariganath

[mariganath]

The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want right now. ~Zig Ziglar

#quotes #motivation #i feel personally attacked

[mariganath]

I tried something new. Writing a Middle Earth story about young Fili and Kili and Uncle Thorin. I was inspired by this amazing piece of art by @sugarsu Here is the link to the original post. If you like the artwork, please consider reblogging the original post as well.

In the woods of Ered Luin

Summary: Uncle Thorin is taking care of young Fili and Kili and they visit the woods in the area of Ered Luin, The Blue Mountains. Just a lot of fluff and a somewhat anxious Thorin at times, but we all know the boys, so we can't really blame him 😉

divider created by me

It was still early, but Fili and Kili had already been running around since their eyes had opened to a beautiful day in Ered Luin. Dis and Thorin were sitting at the kitchen table, quietly drinking their coffee and listening to the chatter and laughter of the boys. Thorin usually didn’t have a lot of time, so he valued these family moments very much.

Thorin had offered to spend the day with his little nephews. His dear sister Dis had gratefully accepted the offer and looked forward to having some time to herself. But as soon as Thorin had offered to take the boys, next to excitement a little pang of fear hit him. What mayhem would he encounter this fine day? Nothing ever did not happen, something always did.

Thorin mustered up his courage and got up to fetch the boys. When he saw a heap of pebbles, blankets, pillows and a cat on top of it, he wondered what had happened in the few minutes he had taken his eyes off of them. Shaking his head, he said, 'Come on boys, get your coats, put on your boots.’

The heap of blankets, pillows, pebbles and cat immediately came apart and two pairs of eyes looked at him questioningly. 'Where are we going uncle Thorin?' they asked. 

“You’ll see. Now come on, get ready,’ he told them.

Not long after, they entered the forest near the Blue Mountains. It was a beautiful day so far, but the big furry clouds in the distance promised some well deserved rain for the plants and wildlife in the forest. The leaves were softly rustling in the breeze, birds were chirping and singing, insects buzzing. The forest was so full of life, yet so peaceful. 

Kili was jumping and running around. There was so much to see. Flowers, plants, little rocks, insects. Thorin smiled. That boy never seemed to run out of energy. Fili was usually much more reserved and quiet. He was walking alongside Thorin, observing the woods, asking him all kinds of questions and Thorin was answering them patiently.

‘What animals will we see today uncle Thorin?’ Fili asked. ‘Will there be moose? And wolves? What about bunnies? Oh look, uncle Thorin, what kind of bird is that?’ his little fingers pointing at a bird with a bright red chest, singing its morning song on one the branches of a big oak tree.

Thorin cringed at the idea of encountering a wolf and the pebbles being in danger, but he didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, for Kili came running up to him. 

‘Look uncle Thorin, look what I have!’ he exclaimed enthusiastically. He was holding something in his tiny hands, careful not to drop it. Thorin crouched down. ‘What have you got there little man?’ 

Kili opened his little hands and a black spider crawled out. ‘You can have it uncle Thorin,’ he said proudly and with a big grin on his face. ‘I fetched it for you.’

Oh dear, how to get himself out of that situation.

‘I think the spider is …,’ he started

‘Ciaran’,  Kili said.

‘What?’ Thorin looked at Kili, confused.

‘It’s name is Ciaran,’ Kili explained.

Thorin raised his eyebrows at that and scratched his beard. Wow, he had only just found the spider and it already had a name as if it were part of the family and needed to be taken up in the Durin family tree.

The new addition to the line of Durin was quickly forgotten though, when a rustle of leaves alerted Thorin and he looked in the direction of the sound. The word ‘wolves’ still fresh in his mind, he grabbed Kili and told him to be quiet. He checked on Fili, who was crouching down beside Thorin, imitating his uncle and all three of them looked in the direction of the moving bushes nearby.

A little spooked by Fili’s question about wolves, Thorin wished that he had brought his sword. He held his breath, but he sighed with relief when a deer and a fawn appeared and not a big bad wolf. 

‘Oh look uncle Thorin,’ Kili pointed at the fawn, ‘A baby deer! Can we go pet it?’ he asked excitedly.

‘No, Kili,’ Thorin said, ‘They are erm … having breakfast. It’s best to leave them be.’ 

Kili sighed disappointedly and Thorin chuckled.

‘Come on boys, let’s go about our way. There is a stream not far from here.’ 

That also got Fili excited and both pebbles ran ahead, their chatter and laughter echoing between the trees. It warmed Thorin 's heart to see them so excited and happy. With a smile on his face, he followed his nephews in the direction of the stream. 

The clouds, which had seemed so far away at the start of their walk, now gathered above them, hiding the sun and making the forest a little darker. Drops of rain started to fall and the calming sound of the raindrops falling on the foliage and the fresh smell of wet earth had a calming effect on Thorin. All anxiety about wolves forgotten. 

He loved the woods, the sounds, the smells. He filled his lungs with a deep breath of fresh air and for a moment closed his eyes and held his face up to the sky, the fresh rain drops gently falling on his face, his beard and his long, dark hair, which was held back with a beautiful handcrafted clip in the form of a raven. 

He stood there, enjoying the moment, but then, at once, snapped back to reality. It had gone quiet. Even though shouting and noise usually didn’t mean anything good when the boys were concerned, neither did absolute silence. He quickened his pace and almost tripped over a boot and another one and another. He followed the trail of boots, picking them up. Apparently, the boys had decided that they no longer needed those. 

He approached the stream and saw Fili crouched down, his blue cape over his head and his chin resting in the palm of his hand.  Kili was perched on his hands and knees on a flat stone in the stream.  They were studying a black bird which was hopping from stone to stone in the stream. The bird paused, sat on a stone and curiously turned its head from side to side, seemingly as curious as the boys. It was altogether a peaceful sight, the dripping sound of the raindrops making little circles in the water, the gently flowing stream, and the boys watching the bird, watching the boys.

Thorin crouched down next to Fili and put his big hand on Fili’s tiny shoulder. So that’s why the little rascals had gone quiet, he thought and smiled.

‘Can we keep him uncle?' Kili asked, breaking the silence. ‘Can we take him home so that we can show him to amad?’

‘No my dear boy, your mother wouldn’t be very happy if you took a bird home. It lives here, in the forest, you know. This is its home.  Everyone and everything has its own place in this world and the woods is where the bird belongs. It would be sad if it had to leave his home. You don’t want it to be sad, do you?’

Thorin heard himself say the words and for a moment sadness hit him. His thoughts went to Erebor, his home, where he belonged and which he had been forced to leave and for which he longed with all his heart. One day, he would return to the Lonely Mountain. He was sure of it.

He didn’t have long to think about it, because a frog hopped out of the water, onto the stone chasing off the bird. 

Kili giggled and reached for the frog. ‘Can we take …’ he started.

‘No, Kili, we can’t take the frog home either,’ Thorin said sternly, but he had a hard time keeping a straight face. Kili seemed to want to take home every animal and insect he encountered. Thorin was sure that Dis wouldn’t appreciate a zoo in her home. 

After a moment, Thorin got up and said, ‘Come on boys, put your boots back on. Let’s go see if amad has something nice to fill your bellies ok? You must be hungry after all these adventures.’ 

With that, the frog was all about forgotten, the boys hurried to put their boots on and off they went with Thorin in tow. Thorin was quietly enjoying the walk back home, while Kili and Fili chased after butterflies, found treasures - read 'stones' - along the way, chased each other and left Thorin wondering if he, Frerin and Dis had ever had the same amount of energy as these two boys. 

The rain had stopped, the sun had broken through the clouds, its rays illuminating the way home and he couldn’t have been more relaxed.

By the time they got home, Thorin was quite proud of himself that so far, the day had passed without any incidents and mayhem under his supervision. He was grateful for the family time, but also, deep down, grateful to be handing them back over to their mother, his dear sister, whom he admired more and more, every time he looked after the boys.  But also deep down, he longed for another day with his nephews, whom he loved as if they were his own sons.

If you liked the story, please know that I appreciate reblogs and comments very much 💜

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#tolkien #middle earth #the hobbit #fanfiction #thorin oakenshield #fili & kili #awww #right on queue

[mariganath]

#music #epic mashup #right on queue

[mariganath]

Rogue One Crew playing DnD or as a DnD RP.

Jojo. Jojo. Listen. LISTEN. You have to understand how pathologically I've been procrastinating for the past nine months (seriously it is a problem to the tune of, I don't know how I'll finish my degree like this, please someone fucking help me)

anyway. to *checks notes* "help me understand the mechanics of 5e" (for absolutely no reason other than my ambition only takes ridiculous non-employable forms)... I made a very broken build that perfectly encapsulates R1! Cassian Andor (lv 8 Assassin Rogue, lv 3 College of Valor Bard):

Here are his spells, that you could flavour as not-spells but just persuasion skill/spy training quite easily

(He has a resistance to cold because he's from Fest, okay. Also, naturally, took the sharpshooter feat.) This character, like Cassian, would be kinda useless in combat after the first round BUT supremely useful in a) spying, b) sabotage, c) recruitment and d) interrogation.

#rogue one #cassian andor #dnd #character sheet #accurate stats and stuff #right on queue

[mariganath]

Cassian + looking at Jyn

can’t take my eyes off you playing in the background

#rogue one #cassian andor #acting masterclass #an otp is born #right on queue

[mariganath]

AU ask: the Rogue One crew in a doomed (or not) nineteenth-century Arctic exploration story...

oh my god???? YOUR MIND! no joke, can someone write this, please?

Bodhi as the scientist kicking the whole thing off (Bodhi must always be The Catalyst this is a rule)

Jyn as a geologist - her parents set heaven and hell in motion to send her to university. Geology was her mother's special interest, too, and they used to spend a lot of time together with Jyn's books.

Also, her father was a scientist and the one to originally plan this mission. He went to Lord Krennic (House of Lords) for government funding, the mission got infinitely more dangerous because they added some kind of land claim for the Crown to it.

Bodhi fell ill at the last moment - he was Galen's best student and supposed to go on the expedition - and Galen's crew disappeared into the Arctic, never to be seen again.

Bodhi and Jyn are half wanting to complete his work, half trying to find out what happened to him

Cassian as the captain, obviously. He resents this whole idea from the get-go, but he needs the money and he secretly thinks these green idiots need all the help they can get. Also, this could prove that Lord Krennic and Lord Tarkin are corrupt and sent Galen Erso to his death to further their own means, and Cpt. Andor may or may not be part of a group who has been trying to prove this and other machinations like it for probably a decade...

Melshi as first mate, Chirrut as one of the sailors (I feel strongly about this), Baze as the ship's cook, Kay as the ship physician (we're going a little Master and Commander on this now)

Cassian and Co. are initially very apprehensive about Jyn and Bodhi - a bourgeoise young lady and a university student who never goes outside, they won't last the week! - but it turns out that - Jyn spent a lot of time after her father's disappearance with "uncle" Saw, a US Navy captain always sailing *dangerously* close to, uh, piracy - Bodhi is trying his best and his best is actually very helpful - he also turns out to be a very talented navigator in his own right

things get *grim*. I could never do this fic justice because I know nothing about ships, geography, the navy, or the Arctic, but there must be storms on the high seas, the ship getting stuck in the ice, some undercurrent of political intrigue (please note here that I have no idea when to set this and therefore can't give examples. Maybe mid- to late 1800s. I feel strongly about it NOT being the 1830s simply because that fashion is Not It for this scenario)

several crew members have to die tbh, maybe main crew members

at least one of the extended crew was paid off by Krennic, actively trying to sabotage the mission (so they don't find out what happened to Galen)

at some point, I want them to be Doomed and all the long-time sailors completely giving in to their fate, only to have Science and Modern Thinking by Jyn and Bodhi save the day (it's a very old trope but it's period-appropriate!)

#rogue one #historical au #fanfiction #someone please write this #right on queue

[mariganath]

wapo really channeling the mcsweenys today

#alexandra petri #satire #is dead #feminism #this is why we need it #right on queue

[mariganath]

I'm like a girl who wants to read more books but doesn't

#i feel personally attacked #reading #the plague really did a number on my ability to focus and retain text #but i'm not giving up anyway #right on queue

[mariganath]

How many times do you think Amanda Grayson, wife of Sarek, said “Well, bless your heart” on Vulcan without anyone understanding what she really meant.

And one day, Spock says it, using it correctly, to someone who’s being a pain in the ass and Bones chokes on air?

#i lol'd too hard #star trek #headcanon accepted #spock #amanda grayson #bones mccoy #right on queue

[mariganath]

Here's to all my lovely Diego mutuals. I love you all and I am very thankful for all the friends and wonderful moments that this fandom gave me.

HAPPY 2024!!!

#cheers #happy new year #diego luna #my lucky charm #every year

[mariganath]

Ecosocialist praxis

#dc comics #poison ivy #neil gaiman #ecosocialism #right on queue

[mariganath]

Bryan Lee O'Malley remarking that he had Scott explicitly spell out that his relationship with Knives was inappropriate in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off because he feels like a lot of the comic's readers maybe didn't pick up on that is very funny not only because how do you not, but also because the original Scott Pilgrim comics are some of the most didactic media I've ever read outside of, like, medieval Christian allegories about the wages of sin. It's just constantly explaining to the reader exactly why Scott is a bad person, sometimes with little annotated diagrams. Genuinely, what's it gonna take for the twentysomething male audience not to idolise a loser?

#comics #scott pilgrim #media literacy #reading comprehension #right on queue

[mariganath]

#palestine crisis #people are not their governments #terrorism #coexist #right on queue

[mariganath]

Corvids stay winning.

#corvids #eating the rich since forever #right on queue

[mariganath]

#history #middle ages #renaissance #witch craze

[mariganath]

#humour #satire #illustration #mad magazine #plus ça change

[mariganath]

“what if the house was haunted” what if the house WASNT haunted. what if your continual presence there is what corrupts. what if you are what haunts this house

#hauntings #be nice to your house spirit #right on queue