Fantasy Favorites Tag

My awesome friend Jenelle is hosting “February is Fantasy Month” on her blog and across social media, and it’s just as the name suggests—spending all of February celebrating the greatest genre of all time (not that I’m biased or anything). As a part of the fun, Jenelle has created a TAG. Which is what I shall be doing today!

I honestly can’t believe we’re so close to the end of February. Like HOW??? Can I get a refund? I had about a million and twelve plans for this month, and only got to touch like…a fourth of them. I feel like I’ve been either sick or working all month, and all my plans collapsed. Ah, well. Life happens. And there’s always March!

But hey, February isn’t quite done! And there’s a month worth of fantasy goodness to scroll through if you missed it. Jenelle put together a whole line of posts from herself and many other participants. The schedule and links are at THIS POST if you want to peruse! There’s also been a hashtag game over on twitter which I’ve been participating in. I JUST LOVE FANTASY MONTH. So before we must bid it a farewell, let’s do this tag, shall we?

This tag is centered all around fantasy favorites, which is both terrifying and exciting. On the one hand, I HAVE TO CHOOSE FAVORITES??? On the other hand, I love talking about my favorite things. (Hey, I never claimed to be consistent.)

 

. . . Rules . . .

• Thank the blogger who tagged you. (Erm, I totally just stole it from Jenelle’s blog. But she was basically tagging everyone so it wasn’t exactly stealing…? So thank you, Jenelle!)
• Include the graphic somewhere in your post. (*points up*) 
• Answer the questions. (Almost there!)
• Tag a few blogger friends – and let them know they’ve been tagged! (See end of post!)

. . . THE TAG . . .

 

What is your favorite fantasy book?

You would think this would be agony to decide but NO. Yes, I have a gadrillion favorites, and they’re basically ALL fantasy. But I think your favorite book is that one you can read over and over and over again and never get tired of it. That tale that never ceases to make you smile. Your happy place. With characters you consider your best friends, and a setting that feels like warmth and hot tea and joy and home.

For me that book is, without a doubt…

HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE
by Diana Wynne Jones

*in which everyone takes a collective gasp*
*in reality everyone groans, “She’s talking about this book again?”*

Yes, yes I am talking about it again. But it’s my favorite book, guys! My absolute favorite book of all time. I could spend forever inside that moving castle with Howl complaining about his hair or some girl, Michael agonizing over magic lessons, Calcifer burning the bacon in a rage, Sophie cleaning and groaning about the spiders and everything else. It’s hilarious and delightful and whimsical and cozy and just makes me HAPPY.

But, of course, I have many other favorites as well. If you’re super curious, I have a GoodReads Shelf dedicated to my favorite books of all time. (Though it probably needs updating…)

 

What is your favorite fantasy movie or TV show (or both!)?

Oooh, let’s do both! Bwahaha.

Favorite Movie:

LORD OF THE RINGS

(I honestly don’t know why I’m even doing this tag. I doubt a single one of these answers will surprise any of you.)

Yes, I have manyyy complaints about the movie (namely how they made Frodo a whiny, jerk and how they destroyed Faramir’s EPIC character at first *ahem*), but, overall, those movies give me a sense of adventure and longing. I feel both full and empty after I watch them. They fill up my adventurous spirit, but make me long to call Middle-earth my home, to be friends with those amazing characters. Which is probably why I’ve watched the whole trilogy some 283938 times. UGH. IT’S JUST SO GOOD.

If I had to choose a favorite between the three it’d prooobably be The Two Towers (you really can’t beat the battle at Helm’s Deep), but I love so much from each movie.

My other favorite fantasy movie (and movie in general) would be Maleficent. I really should just do a review or something on that movie, because it’s seriously one of the greatest things ever created.

 

FAVORITE SHOW:

BBC’S Merlin

Okay, THIS SHOW GUYS. It is cheesy, low budgeted, and so full of plot holes and cop-outs it’s just downright hilarious. And yet. AND YET. I’ve never loved and obsessed over a show more than I have with this one (which is saying something…I really love TV shows). First of all, it’s ARTHURIAN LEGEND. I’ve been fascinated by King Arthur stuff since I was tiny. Gimme alllll the Arthurian Legend. Second, the premise is really fun: A young Merlin who becomes Arthur’s servant and has to hide his magic because magic is forbidden in Camelot. Bit of a switch on the ultra powerful old guy we’re familiar with, yes? Third, it’s emotional and hilarious. Some episodes will have you sobbing your eyes out, others will have you rolling on the floor in stitches. It’s a great balance!

But the TRUE gold of this show is the characters themselves. The writers may not have been great at ultra deep, clever plots, but they knew how to make you love the characters. The banter, the friendships, the romance, the arcs…just EVERYTHING. I adore these characters with all my heart and soul.

 

Merlin and Arthur’s bantering friendship is my favorite friendship in all of fiction, just so we’re clear.

I absolutely recommend this show to everyone! It’s quite family friendly, save for some low cut dresses the girls occasionally wear, and of course there’s lots of magic. But if that doesn’t bother you WATCH IT. And then thank me later. *smile, smile*

OKAY. I need to move on before this whole post turns into a Merlin fangirl session…

 

Who is your favorite fantasy hero/heroine?

Favorite hero? Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle.

Favorite heroine? Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle.

DON’T HATE ME. You had to know a tag centered around fantasy favorites would have to have multiple HMC mentions. Let’s be real here.

Okay, but Howl is such a, erm, different hero. He’s a coward and ridiculously melodramatic and so beyond full-of-himself. And yet you love him anyway? It just makes it that more satisfying when you discover all the good things he does and how much he actually cares. I just…can’t.

Then there’s Sophie, who starts out mousy and a bit of a pushover, and turns into this sass-master and throws things at Howl when she discovers she’s in love with him and like #relatable?

Diana Wynne Jones’ characters are not your stereotypical heroes, and I LOVE that. I love how much personality and ridiculousness they have.

(I was gonna do an honorable mentions list of some of my other favorite heroes/heroines, but lolololol then I realized it’d be a mile long so yeah. We’ll just stick with Howl and Sophie.)

 

Who is your favorite fantasy side-kick?

GOOD GRACIOUS. I…don’t know? There are so many great side characters out there. UGH. All right, this one is getting a list, because I really don’t have one specific favorite.

- Luna Lovegood (from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling)

- Neville Longbottom (also Harry Potter, the HP side characters are the best.)

- Samwise Gamgee (from Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien but I think you guys already knew that. ;P)

- Carswell Thorne (from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer)

- Iko (also from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer)

- Walter Foley (from The Dragons in Our Midst series by Bryan Davis)

- Calcifer (from Howl’s Moving Castle [yes I had to, shh])

- Crispin Beasley (from The Beaumont and Beasley series by Kyle Robert Shultz)

- Arbrook Huxley (from The Electrical Menagerie by Mollie E. Reeder)

Yeah, we could be here forever. I’ll just move on…

 

Who is your favorite fantasy villain? (the one you most love to hate?)

Blermf. I DON’T KNOOOW. Again, I don’t have a specific one I can name at the drop of the hat. There are so many.

Some I’ve always loved to hate are Bryan Davis’ villains (he writes some formidable ones). Devin and Morgan from his Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire series seriously do not. know. when. to. QUIT. You want the heroes to defeat them SO BAD. Then there’s Mictar, from his Echoes from the Edge trilogy, who is one of the most spine-tingling villains to exist. That guy gave me the CREEPS. Which was epic but…yeah. Ewgh.

Death-in-Life/the Dragon from the Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl is soooo hate-worthy. The destruction he caused just…yeah. Not one of those dragons you want to mess with.

Then of course there’s Levana from The Lunar Chronicles. Who is so detestable and deluded. Like seriously lady, take a chill-pill.

OH. And Cora from ABC’s Once Upon a Time TV series. Ugh. I hated her so, so much. The completely twisted things she did made me furious.

 

Just go away, woman. Please.

Mainly what draws me to a villain (in a I-hate-you-but-respect-you-as-a-villain sort of way), is if they’re a seriously formidable foe. If they’re easy to take down, then what’s the point? No. I want villains who make it so hard for the heroes, you can’t imagine how they’re going to make it through it. It just makes the villain’s downfall that much more satisfying!

 

What is your favorite fantasy sub-genre?

Oh good, an easy question for a change! That would absolutely be fairy tales and retellings. I WILL TAKE ALL THE FAIRY TALES THANK YOU.

 

What is your favorite thing about fantasy?

DRAGONS!!!

Okay, okay. I’ll tryyy to answer this seriously. (I mean, dragons is 10000% one of the biggest things I love about fantasy, but ya know.)

I think my favorite thing about fantasy is the infiniteness of it all. There is literally NO end to what you can do with fantasy. With contemporaries or historical fiction, you’re stuck with rules of time periods and this world. But with fantasy? ANYTHING goes. Literally anything. I just love the utter imagination of it. How you can make stuff up, or use things that exist but turn them into something new, or even change history. Dragons and fairies and talking trees and shapshifting cats and magical weapons and prophecies and chosen ones and lost princes and princesses and literally ANYTHING ELSE you can ever think of can EXIST in the realm of fantasy. Just thinking about the possibilities makes my reader and writer heart soar.

But also fantasy has dragons. So yeah.

 

What is your favorite fantasy realm?

JENELLE. You are killing me with these questions!

Again, I have the hardest time choosing just ONE. It’s always been a toss up between Middle-earth, Narnia, Neverland, and Wonderland. But I have never been able to choose. MEH.

 

What is your favorite fantasy magic system?

Hmmm! I’ve never really thought about this much.

I really liked the magic system in Fawkes by Nadine Brandes. It involves color magic and masks, in which you’re chosen by a specific color (if I remember right?), and when you wear that mask of that color, you can move objects of the same color. Like let’s say I was chosen by the color green, then, when I had my green mask on, I could telekinetically  move any thing the color green. Epic, right? And I love masks, so using them in that way was BRILLIANT.

I also love the bending in the Nickelodeon show Avatar: The Last Airbender. It’s all about controlling, or “bending”, specific elements (earth, fire, water, and air), and I think elemental magic is super awesome!

 

Sell me a fantasy book! Have you written a fantasy book? Give me your best pitch for it! Have you read an exceptionally great fantasy book recently? Convince me to make it my next read!

Oooh, fun. I have of course written a fantasy book (okay, lots of them) but nothing’s published. So let’s go with an actual published book. Hmmm… What book do I want to force convince you guys to read? I’ve already talked about Howl’s Moving Castle. Eheh.

OH. I KNOW.

The Electrical Menagerie
by Mollie E. Reeder

(Link leads to GoodReads page so you can add it to your TBR. *wink, wink* *nudge, nudge*)

I just recently read it and guys. GUYS.

There are a few special books in the world we each have, those chosen ones we can always count on to bring a smile, to make us feel warm inside like a hug from a loved one. Those cozy, go-to stories that never let us down or get tiring no matter how many times we read them. I’ve only ever had a few. Howl’s Moving Castle, The Betsy-Tacy series, The Hobbit, Narnia, and…that’s it? WELL. The Electrical Menagerie can now be added to the list. That’s how much I loved it.

This book is compared to The Greatest Showman, with good reason. But imagine The Greatest Showman set on floating islands with automatons powered by stardust and a competition to perform for the Future Celestial Queen herself all interwoven into an intriguing mystery. So yes, The Greatest Showman but...better. YES, BETTER.

Our protagonist is Sylvester Carthage, a middle-aged man with a knack for creating “electricals” (basically robots that he makes to perform in his traveling circus-eque show). THIS MAN. I love how he wasn't your stereotypical 17-year-old perfect hero. He's a man struggling with a health problem and to make ends meet but with stardust in his eyes. He clings so tightly to hope and dreams and doing the impossible, while also much preferring to tamper quietly with his electricals than attend parties. I ADORED him. ADORED. He was seriously one of the most precious of characters I’ve ever met.

Then there's Arbrook Huxley, the younger, charming, smooth-talking business partner who always provided a laugh. You’d think he’d take over the show and I’d like him more, but somehow Carthage stole my heart completely. But AWK. Arbook was amazing too. AND THE FRIENDSHIP. Epic bromance anyone? YES PLEASE. The friendship between these two was pure gold. Possibly one of my most favorite literary friendships in existence.

Oh, and can we also talk about the SETTING? Floating islands and flying trains all above the aether sea and set in a steampunk-type atmosphere. YES. It was so…magical. I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s just something you have to experience. But it was, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful, unique fantasy worlds I have EVER come across.

The plot is also so engaging. Full of mystery and friendship and dazzling performances. I was enraptured. YOU GUYS. I literally cried when I finished it, just because I loved it so much I didn't want it to end. Like…I’m not joking. I don’t know if I’ve ever done that before?? But wow. THIS BOOK. Just…just read it. You won’t regret it, I promise.

(I should probably just do a proper review of this because I could talk about it forever.)

Whew! Those were some tough questions. But so much fun! Thank you, Jenelle, for creating such an epic tag! Now let’s pass this awesome thing on!

 

. . . TAGGING . . .

Kiri Liz @ Lianne Taimenlore | R.F. Gammon @ The Writer's Song | Madeline @ Short and Snappy | + YOU (because I love this tag and want everyone to do it bwahaha)

 

QUESTIONS

Here are the questions for easy copying and pasting purposes.

What is your favorite fantasy book?

What is your favorite fantasy movie or TV show (or both!)?

Who is your favorite fantasy hero/heroine?

Who is your favorite fantasy side-kick?

Who is your favorite fantasy villain? (the one you most love to hate?)

What is your favorite fantasy sub-genre?

What is your favorite thing about fantasy?

What is your favorite fantasy realm?

What is your favorite fantasy magic system?

Sell me a fantasy book! Have you written a fantasy book? Give me your best pitch for it! Have you read an exceptionally great fantasy book recently? Convince me to make it my next read!

Don’t forget Fantasy Month is still going on for a few days. You can find the full schedule HERE!

 

TALK WITH ME!

What’s YOUR favorite fantasy book? I NEED TO KNOW. And favorite fantasy movie and TV show (I’m always looking for more!)? Do we share any favorite fantasy things? Let’s give fantasy ALL the love!

10 Valentine’s Date Ideas for the Fantasy Dwellers

Valentine’s Day is this week which means a lot of people are scrambling around trying to figure out the perfect dates for their sweethearts. And for a lot of people, it’s pretty simple. A nice coffee shop date, going to the theater, or just grabbing some flowers and a card at Winn-Dixie. But what about if you live in a fantasy world where such conveniences aren’t available?

Not every fellow has a Walmart around the corner after all. I mean, sure, you may be adept at swordplay and the lost heir to the entire kingdom, but how is that supposed to help you woo your love on this romantic holiday?

Never fear! Today I’ve got 10 Valentine’s date ideas for a variety of fantasy world dwellers. You’re sure to find the perfect idea to show your dearheart that you really do care.

 

10 Fantasy World
Valentine’s Dates

 

DRAGON RIDING

Who doesn’t want to go dragon riding, I ask you? I mean, if a guy took me dragon riding, I’d probably marry him on the spot. Just sayin’. Nothing like riding high in the sky on a deadly, fire breathing beast to truly showcase your love.

With that said, you may want to assure that the dragon you’re riding is friendly. Having your love be burnt into a human torch or turned into a beast’s next meal maaay dampen the date just a smidge.

Also, some dragon rides risk being taken to a dragons’ nest where a gargantuan dragon is seen eating smaller dragons if not provided food. Such a sight could be a little repulsive and/or horrifying to your date, so be wary.

Other then these little setbacks, a dragon ride is a surefire (seewhatIdidthere) way to impress your date.

 

STEAL THEM AWAY TO NEVERLAND

Ah, Neverland. The world invented by childhood imagination. An island full of mythical creatures and adventure. What better place to go for a date?

Of course, there are certain steps you must take to get your crush there. But don’t worry, it works every time.

Step #1: Break into their nursery.

Step #2: Lose your shadow in said nursery.

Step #3: Break into the nursery again to regain your shadow.

Step #4: Have your crush help you sew your shadow back on and charm them with stories about Neverland.

Step #5: Convince them to come to Neverland (success!).

Step #6: Oh wait, they also want to bring their brothers. Ew. But fine, whatever.

Step #7: Take them all on a harrowing flight. Off to Neverland!

Boom. You’ve done it. Now you can have weeks worth of fun and adventures. Although…you may want to consider telling her early on that you have no desire to grow up or have anything to do with that lovey-dovey stuff. Yeah, she may leave you and end up marrying someone else. But hey, honesty is the best policy, yeah?

 

MAD TEA PARTY

Girls LOVE tea parties. Unfortunately, normal tea parties aren’t always available in fantasy worlds. But never fear! A mad tea party will do just as well. Just wander around in the woods for a while, you’ll probably come upon one eventually. Though there is definitely a possibility you and your date will have to share the tea table with some, erm, unconventional guests who will switch seats at any given time, recite absurd poetry, and maybe ask an unsolvable riddle or two (how is a raven like a writing desk?). But it’ll keep the date entertaining anyway, right?

Oh, also, don’t cross Time while you’re there, or you may be stuck at tea time forever. Then again, that’ll prolong the date so…your call.

 

SEE THE FLOATING LANTERNS

Now this is a true romantic date right here. Buy a floating lantern, go out in a boat, watch the lanterns fly. Ah, beautiful.

Just, erm, be wary. Because your date’s evil mother-who’s-not-actually-her-mother may be lurking nearby to kidnap you and convince your date you betrayed her. That could really put a hamper on second date plans.

Also, you may want to take singing lessons before any of this. Random bursts into song are likely to occur, and if you’ve got no talent in the vocal musical area well, that’d just make for an awkward romantic sequence. But if you live in a fantasy world, you were probably born able to sing perfectly and know the line to any random song that ever comes up. So you should have no reason to worry.

MAGIC CARPET RIDE

This runs very close in the vein of seeing the floating lanterns. A starry night, you two bursting into song (gotta keep those voice lessons up, don’t forget), so on and so forth. BUT to get to this point requires a bit more effort. First you have to actually obtain a magic carpet, which usually involves getting sent to prison, making deals with evil dudes, exploring ancient, sentient caves, and nearly dying. A genie might be thrown in there somewhere too. But if you can manage all that and make it out alive with a magic carpet, you’ve got your key to an iconic romantic date. Totally worth it.

Oh, just know if you lie about your identity to your date she’s going to get miffed. Remember what we learned earlier, honesty is always the best policy. Like, seriously. Please avoid the unnecessary drama and just talk to your crush openly. It’s not that hard.

 

TIME TRAVEL

If you’re fortunate enough to live in a world where time travel exists, then by all means, use it! The date possibilities are endless, literally. You can take your crush to the end of the earth where she discovers she’s the last human in existence and have an existential crisis (ah, romantic). Or how about Victorian times to visit Queen Victoria herself? Only to discover the British Empire is being terrorized by a werewolf (full moons are perfect for date nights). Or to witness the fires of Pompeii. (Fire is romantic, right?) I mean, really. How could she not fall in love with you after all these great trips?

 

ARCHERY CONTEST

Why not show off your lady love your superior archery skills? After all, there’s always archery contests going on in fantasy worlds, right? Although, you may have to go in disguise since the entire thing is probably a trap and your enemies are watching. So if you want your lady to know it’s you, be sure to give her a heads-up. And if you do get caught, things can get messy. Not exactly much time for having a romantic date. But still, who wouldn’t enjoy a day out at an archery event?

 

LAND IN THE HEALING HOUSE

Nothing like almost dying to truly capture the heart of your lass and get to spend some quality time together.

This is one of those ones that takes some extra steps and forethought though. Such as being shot with an arrow by one of the dark lord’s minions, mistaken for dead, and thus being thrust in a pyre by your psychotic father. But this is IMPORTANT. Make sure you befriend a wise wizard before doing any of this, so he can save you from the pyre. DON’T FORGET THIS STEP.

Alrighty. Now we’re good to go. After nearly dying, you’ll awake in the healing house and, lo and behold, there’s that beautiful lady whom you can woo. Because healing houses/hospitals/what-have-you are always the perfect backdrops for romantic dates.

 

STORM THE CASTLE

Maybe tea parties or magic carpet rides or singing under the floating lanterns isn’t your date’s style. No, your love has a much more adventurous side than all that. NO PROBLEM. I’ve got a solution for a guaranteed fun date night. Storming a castle!

Because, after all, you live in a fantasy world. And fantasy worlds are filled to the brim with castles ruled over by tyrannical kings and queens. You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting one. And hey, if you manage to succeed in storming the castle and taking down said tyrannical royal, you may end up being richly rewarded or become the ruler yourself and be able to afford an immensely expensive wedding and live happily ever after. I cannot see how this could go wrong.

Just be sure to have a wheelbarrow on hand. It’s a necessary tool for storming castles.

 

SAVE THE WORLD TOGETHER

Perhaps none of these have captured you. After all, this is for the love of your life. You want to really make this Valentine’s Day special. Nothing but the best for your coo-chi coo-chi, woo-chi little chu-chi face, amirite? Never fear little teddy bear. I’ve got you covered.

Save the world together!

This always brings about absolute twue wuv. After all, there’s so much time to think about crushes and feelings and kissing when your entire world is in dire danger and only you can save it. And, since you live in a fantasy world, chances are it needs saving. As we discussed, tyrannical kings and queens and whatnot are running absolutely rampant.

So grab your sword you learned how to use perfectly in a two minute montage, offer your arm to your fiery red-headed love of your life who probably hates you at first but will come to fall in love with you after you’ve both nearly died some half a dozen times, and go off and save the world! Because loooong, harrowing journeys and bloody battles is a fabulously romantic way to spend Valentine’s Day and truly fall in love. 10/10 recommend.

 

(I know this isn’t a fantasy story. Shhh.)

 

There you are, my fantasy dwellers. No more fear of not being able to provide a truly memorable Valentine’s date. Who needs cards and flowers from Winn-Dixie anyway when there’s castles to storms and dragons to ride?

 

TALK WITH ME!

Which of these dates would you like to go on the most? (I’m partial to dragon riding and Neverland myself.) And do you have anymore suggestions for a fantasy Valentine’s date? Please add to my list! We gotta help these fantasy lads out after all. ;)

P.S. For more fantasy fun, Jenelle Schmidt is hosting February is Fantasy Month over on her blog. There’s a hashtag game, a tag, and a ton of posts featuring all things fantasy! Check out THIS POST for details! (My post isn’t part of the lineup or anything, I just thought you guys would like to know about it.)