It’s really too bad that Mara Jade isn’t a) male and b) cooler-looking.
If she was those things they’d be bending over backwards to figure out how to get her into canon even if it made no sense.
Evidence:
Darth Maul, cut in half, literally has maybe a dozen words total, is completely boring other than looking badass. There is no logical reason he could have lived, but don’t worry, we get Spider Maul arcs in the Clone Wars regardless of this!
Boba Fett, eaten by the Sarlacc to be digested for thousands of years, has like a half dozen words. But he looks SO cool, so don’t worry we’ll handwave him getting out of the pit so he can continue to haunt Legends books for decades down the line.
Thrawn, is mostly interesting as the antagonist of the series he’s in, but he looks totally badass, and he’s a fanboy favorite. So we have re-canonized him, woot!
Basically if you’re male, cool looking, and a fanboy favorite, you’ve got nothing to worry about. They’ll figure out a way to keep telling stories about you, canon be damned.
If you’re a woman, well, there’s the fridge. Enjoy your time there.
I love how GRRM weaves these threads of hope throughout his stories, even in the darkest hours when all our heroes are teetering on the edge of the abyss. And it’s Ned who reminds us not to give up hope. Of all the characters GRRM could have chosen to express this sentiment in ADWD, he picked good old dead Ned. Ned who helped do the impossible and cast off the tyranny of the dragons, Ned the White Knight who lives on in the rallying cries of Northmen willing to fight and die for “Ned Stark’s little girl.”
Because Ned Stark is just … everything. GRRM isn’t saying Ned Stark was a fool. GRRM warns us against abandoning honor in the face of a dishonorable world. When the world grows dark, GRRM tells us, we need to hold fast to our principles as tightly as Arya clings to Needle. It will be a long, stumbling journey through night, but that’s when true knights are needed most. It will be hard … but what if we succeed?
“what if we prevail?”
It makes me think of JFK:
We choose to […] do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win
One becomes a true knight, not because it is easy, but because it is hard, because that’s what makes it worth doing. And not everyone will succeed, but what if you do? “what if we prevail?”
This feels like the point of ADWD to me, Ending slavery is hard, but Dany must try anyway, because it is right. Incorporating wildling refugees into Westeros is hard, but Jon tries anyway, because it is right. The break between Tyrion and his family is crippling, but opposing House Lannister is right. And Bran … Bran’s journey through the darkness is one of the hardest of all … but what if we prevail?
So try, GRRM says. Try, even if it’s impossible. Because what if we prevail?
Exquisite Photography Series That Depicts Dried Flowers and Tea Sets
Artist, wife and mother, Marina Malinovaya spends her leisure hours orchestrating extravagant photographic compositions using dried up flowers, leaves and tea sets.
Sagrada Familia is one of my favorite things ever. Not only is it a basilica that looks like the offspring of Rivendell and a Dr. Seuss book, it’s still not finished. That’s how incredibly detailed and complex it is. They’ve been working on it since 1882, and it’s not projected to be finished until 2026.
I love the pillars. They’re so geometrically cool.
This cartoon is great, and the characters are closer to what they’re supposed to be in the book. Yes, Pooh walked around a shouted out rhymes in the book. Characterization is spot on. Too bad this cartoon is too short though, and they didn’t get to the part with Kanga and Roo and Tigger 😦
I know I’m biased, but the Silmarillion fandom is one of the most shockingly amazing things ever. It’s such a culturally obscure piece of media. Like there’s no show or movie or anything, just some equally obscure metal albums and the author’s more widely known related works that overshadow it. It’s a dense book with a narrative that reads more like the Bible than a conventional novel, not to mention that it’s technically unfinished. Even many long-time Tolkien fans haven’t read the Silmarillion. Most people outside of the Tolkien fandom and the fantasy lit community don’t even know what it is. AND YET there’s somehow buttloads of fan art, fan fiction, cosplays, ships, fan theories, fandom in-jokes, music (Did I mention metal?), bootlegged unofficial tie-in novels, and more. People research every bit of trivia and lore about Tolkien’s world to learn more about these characters and their stories. I thought I was a hardcore Silmarillion nerd before I got more involved in the fandom. NO. Compared to most of these people, I’m a filthy casual. I read walls of text analyzing characters and the languages and the mythos and I just end up scratching my head wondering where these bloggers come up with this stuff. There’s so much love and energy and freaking TALENT poured into this community, even though it’s a lot smaller and less popular than other fandoms. It’s been about a decade since I first read the Silmarillion, and there wasn’t a huge amount of stuff out there related to it (God bless Jenny Dolfen), but it seems to have exploded in popularity over just the last couple of years. Heck, I think it’s getting bigger.
And this fandom is NICE, too. Most the Silm folks on Tumblr and around the web are smart, mature, usually pretty friendly people. There’s minimal stupid drama and controversy, everyone just wants to share their nerdy feels and geek out over Tolkien.
The Silmarillion has been so foundational in shaping my creative life, including my interest in the fantasy genre, writing, art, and world-building. It’s a nearly constant source of inspiration. It’s one of my all-time favorite books and is so special to me. The Silmarillion fan community is completely bonkers, bizarre, and incredible. I’m so happy I get to be part of it.
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