Funnest Films/Shows I Watched Last Year

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Deborah O'Carroll

Today, something random!

Because I haven’t posted in almost literally forever, and I found this in my drafts and thought I’d finish it and share it. (A wizard is never late — my new blogging tagline for when I vanish for months. ;))

My movie and show watching is super varied and one of the few true “hobbies” I have, meaning I don’t overanalyze it or pressure myself about it like I do about everything else. XD (*cough*Writing and reading.*cough*)

That said, because last year I actually kept track of what I watched (which I don’t always do), here are a few films and shows I enjoyed!

(Just a disclaimer that I don’t necessarily endorse all the films/shows below and their content etc.)

ALL THE SHOWS I WATCHED IN 2021

(Not pictured: The Mandalorian, Leverage: Redemption, Almost Paradise, and Over the Garden Wall)

This category isn’t so much “funnest” as “all.” XD There were several shows last year I watched a bit of here or there, but the ones I watched more than a few episodes of were:

Avatar: The Last Airbender – Finished Season 2 and 3 and YES, FINALLY HAVE SEEN IT! Adored this show. XD So happy I finished it. 😀 Zuko, Uncle Iroh, and Sokka are my faves.
The Mandalorian — Most of (but have to finish S2) – Enjoying so far, mostly! Mando himself is the absolute best and Baby Yoda is adorable.
Leverage — I re-watched the entire original Leverage show last year! I don’t re-watch shows, really? It takes long enough to watch one once. But it had been a long time since I’d seen it and it was a huge comfort re-watch during a stressful year last year, and was just so fun. ^_^
Leverage: Redemption — All of it so far – Eh. There were ups and downs; not as good as the original but I did enjoy parts of it. Mostly Eliot Spencer. XD
Almost Paradise — All of it so far – I needed something to try after missing Eliot and co. from those two shows, so I tried this one out and it was an enjoyable show with Christian Kane, and while it had the usual cop-show kind of stuff, I appreciated the extra humor. 🙂 I’m curious to see more.
Over the Garden Wall – I don’t even know why but this was so addicting and kind of amazing and I have mixed feelings about the end but otherwise it was adorable/spooky and AAHH WHAT DID I JUST WATCH? This made an impression and I’m basically Wirt. XD (And my sister and I randomly say POTATOES AND MOLASSES sometimes now.)
The Librarians – I watched the first couple of seasons last year, and actually finished at the beginning of this year – SO fun! As with any show there were less-favorite things, but on the whole I just really enjoyed the characters and the concept and fantasy element and it was just a crazy fun show! (Yes, I did watch a lot of Christian Kane last year. He plays a lot of fun characters. XD)

SOME MOVIES I ENJOYED IN 2021

(Not pictured: Shang Chi, A Cinderella Christmas, and The Button of Doom)

Studio Ghibli — I watched a few of these (still need to finish them, though) and my favorite ones overall that I watched last year were probably Ponyo, Up On Poppy Hill, and The Castle of Cagliostro. Also, the hero and music in Princess Mononoke are also MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!! (Even if the film as a whole was a bit too dark for my personal taste. O_O But I adored parts of it!)
Jason Bourne 3, 4, and 5 — Yeahhh, I figured out I love Jason Bourne movies. XD I just…I enjoy them? I was sad about a certain death in the final one but otherwise I had a blast watching the final three in the series.
The Mummy — I finally watched this series! XD I don’t love everything about them, especially the spookiness (and the change of actress for the final movie), but they were fun adventures and I enjoyed the humor and characters a lot. ^_^ Soo much fun!
Pride and Prejudice (1985) — I had never seen this older version! It wasn’t as gorgeously filmed as newer ones, but I found the casting to be excellent, and the adaption was great too. It was really enjoyable!
Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings — This was the only film I saw in theaters last year (I have since seen Dune, though!), for a sibling’s birthday, and while it wasn’t perfect it was definitely a super fun, enjoyable ride and it made me laugh and I enjoyed the characters and it was exciting and pretty and…yeah. Enjoyable. 🙂
A Cinderella Christmas — This was a random Christmas movie I watched and it was cute and Cinderalla-y and…I don’t know, I just enjoyed it for some reason!
The Button of Doom (short) — I adore the Megamind film. XD So this short in a collection of short films was so much fun! Set after Megamind. Superhero/villain fun. XD

Fave movie rewatches of last year

(Not pictured: The Secret of Moonacre)

Howl’s Moving Castle — Because of course! I adore the book the most but the movie’s delightful. It makes me happy!
Mortal Engines — I don’t know why I love this movie so much but I DO; I just enjoyed it a ton. So sorry to those who dislike it. XD I’ve decided taste in films/shows is just SO individual and subjective. 🙂
Equilibrium — This is a dark one, so beware, but uncharacteristically I really liked this one despite its super-dystopian nature. XD Christian Bale plays a very different sort of character in this.
The Secret of Moonacre — Another case of loving the book and movie, despite them being SO different. This one was just…randomly whimsical and fun. 🙂 (The book is called The Little White Horse and I adore it. They’re almost unconnected though. XD)
Labyrinth — I had only recently discovered this one after hearing about it for YEARS and yeah, it’s kind of strange but it was just kind of a blast. So many great moments! And I finally “met” the Goblin King.

So there’s a glance at some of the funnest things I watched last year! Told you I have strange taste. XD

I’ve not been keeping close tabs on my watching habits this year, but I’ve been dipping into anime this year (give me recs if you have any!) and I saw Dune in the theaters this winter — oh my word. It was so epic!

Let me know if you like any of these, or about something fun you’ve watched recently, or if you have a favorite anime you recommend!

Thanks for reading!

8-Year Blogiversary + Random Search Terms Answered

Posted on September 9, 2021 by Deborah O'Carroll

Happy 8-year blogiversary to my li’l ol’ blog!

Eight years seems so long ago and yet at the same time it feels like I’ve been blogging even longer . . . just not much recently. XD Still, 350 posts (351 now!) isn’t bad.

Anyway, I had plans to do something fun/exciting for this but haven’t really had the time, sooo this is just a quick post so it won’t go unmarked. 😛

For fun, here are some random search terms that have led to my site and some answers to them!

howl’s moving castle head cold — I’m proud of whoever searched this and pleased it brought you here. XD
forgive yourself thunderstorm — Yes, please do, thunderstorm.
good words for watsup — Um. Maybe how’s it going? Or, I don’t know, maybe … what’s up?
many happy returns tolkien — Yes indeed. But only on January 3rd.
dastan and tamina fanfiction — I don’t have any but I ADORE Prince of Persia, so.
Various searches for Marvel characters (mostly Loki or Hawkeye) and/or fanfiction, doubtless leading to random Marvel dreams I wrote down and posted here in the past, before it was cool probably. *awkward laughter*
Some questions about different Melanie Dickerson books and characters. O_O
Various searches for Ren: The Girl with the Mark and whether there will be sequels. (*SOBS* Sadly, no. T_T The original show is so good, though! Despite the cliffhanger.)
diana wynne jones where to start — Start with Howl’s Moving Castle! I have spoken.
pictures of perfectionism — Oh dear. I … I … feel called out. *nervous laugh*
types of mentor in fantasy movies — Well, not just in movies but definitely some mentors in this post …
power of three word count diana wynne jones — Now I want to know the answer to this too. Well, a random page in my copy of Power of Three has 241 words on it, and at 328 pages, that averages to 79,048 words. Give or take. Probably take, since chapter beginnings/endings have fewer words …
the owl of kedrans wood — Who was searching my book’s title? O_O Sorry to disappoint but it’s not published at this point. *more awkward laughter* At least I’m over half done writing the third book in the series??
diana wynne jones quotes — Ooh, try this post! Great DWJ quotes there.
amazon — … Well then. That’s awkward.
sherlock holmes consulting detective checklist form — I find myself fascinated by this search and how in the world it could have led here. XD

So there is your dose of humor/randomness for the day.

Happy 8th birthday, Road of a Writer. *blows out virtual candles*

And thanks, dear readers, for coming along with me so far!

Have a nice Thursday. Cheers. ❤

Fantastical Realms Blog Tag (#FantasyMonth)

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Deborah O'Carroll

I’m hopping on the February is Fantasy Month blog event (hosted by Jenelle Schmidt) with a tag! (Thanks for tagging me, Jenelle!) Feel free to join in on this tag yourself — you can find the original post here!

Onward to the adventure or questions or both!

The Rules

Thank the blogger who tagged you.
Include the graphic somewhere in your post.
Link back to this blog somewhere in your post.
Answer the questions.
Tag a few blogger friends – and let them know they’ve been tagged
Have fun!

The Questions

1. In a strange twist of fate, you are transported into a fantasy realm of your choice. The catch? You have also been transformed into your least favorite fantasy creature. Where are you, and what are you?

Fantasy realm of choice . . . probably Middle-earth, because yes. Least favorite fantasy creature? They have those? O_O Um . . . I guess anything serpent-like would be my least favorite, so I’m probably doomed to be a scary wyrm that some Elf will find and slay. XD

2. What fantasy creature do you wish featured in more stories? What is your favorite story that has that creature in it?

(Verrry old drawing I did)

Gryphons! They are definitely in a few but not nearly enough. I just love them! Favorite book with a gryphon is probably Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones. I LOVE all the gryphons in there! They have so much personality. I particularly love Kit. 😀 Oh, and I love Gillian Bronte Adams’ Songkeeper series, which also has an awesome gryphon in it!

3. As you are reading this, a voice rings in your ear proclaiming:

A hero true, a leader strong,
A quest is where you do belong,
So arm thyself, and take your stand
With an item to your left your fate is at hand.

Besides the fact that this prophetic voice is clearly incapable of sticking to a meter, what ordinary item do you now find yourself armed with? (And, for bonus points, what helpful magical properties does it now possess that will help you on your quest?)

A large insulated travel mug full of tea. And the magical properties it has . . . well, clearly, it never runs out of tea, and always keeps it warm, and the resulting never-ending caffeine rush helps me power through my quest, although I probably end up jittery throughout the adventure because of that. XD

4. You happen across an ad in a catalogue promising a magical fantasy cruise that will allow you to stop in any three realms of your choice and explore each for several days before returning you home (and the ad promises your safe return or your money back, guaranteed!) Assuming this is not a hoax and that the tour guides will actually be able to cater to your requests, what three realms will you tour and what do you hope to see/who would you like to meet along the way?

*cracks knuckles*

Firstly, I’m going to Middle-earth, and this fantasy cruise clearly also has the ability to travel through time in the same place . . . so I get to see both Lord-of-the-Rings-times Middle-earth and also back in the Silmarillion times in Beleriand etc. Because . . . THE DREAM. I practically grew up in Beleriand and the other realms of The Silmarillion (I’d see Gondolin! and Menegroth! and Valinor while I’m at it! and everywhere!), and who wouldn’t want to visit Rivendell, Rohan, Ithilien, Lothlorien, the Shire, the Lonely Mountain, Minas Tirith, etc. I would definitely want to meet at least Faramir and Aragorn, and Finrod Felagund and Beleg Strongbow and Luthien Tinuviel, and SO MANY OTHERS.

Secondly, I’m going to Ingary to get to hang out in Howl’s moving castle, with Howl, Sophie, Calcifer, Michael, etc. We’re definitely going to have to have some cream cakes from Cesari’s, and I want to go through the door to each of the places it opens up to. (Bonus: I get to visit Wales. *cackles*)

Thirdly, and terribly selfishly . . . I want to visit the world where my own Steampunk fairy tale retelling works-in-progress take place. I’ve completely fallen in love with it and I can’t wait for the day when I can share this world with others. I love the skyships and the cities in the clouds, the lonely rock formation pillars and dangling walkways across misty ravines, the clockwork dragons and tea and clothing and fairy tale retellings. And I would definitely need to get to go to a ball at the palace where Princess Tasmania’s from, and meet her and her twin brothers Percival and Durward, and of course Auren, and sit on a rooftop at night with Rook on top of his flat over the spice shop (as long as there are no assassins), and sail the skies with Gerias and Noya and the Royal Sky Navy (avoiding the sky pirates, unless they’re charming Keller or clever Skalon), and stand on top of one of the rock pillars in the wind and watch the sun set and the stars come out.

*inhales*

Sorry. I got a little carried away. But those are the three worlds I want to visit. ^_^

5. Congratulations! You are a fantasy hero/heroine about to start your adventure. You get to choose a small fantasy creature to accompany and assist you on your quest. Who/what do you choose?

Talking otter secretary, hands-down. *grinning*

(I’m definitely planning to do more with little Gavin the otter, hopefully in a novel one of these days. :D)

Otters are just SO AWESOME AND ADORABLE and one who can be a secretary would be so helpful. Plus, he could fish for me, which has to be helpful. And hey, if he’s a more sentient otter, who can write, that probably counts as a fantasy creature, right?

6. Elves or dwarves?

Elves!

7. Do you prefer your dragons (we had to have at least one question devoted solely to dragons!) good or evil or a mix of both?

A mix of both. Classic evil dragons are . . . well . . . classic. And you can’t really do better for villains than a dragon. (Like Smaug or Glaurung.) But I do enjoy the ones who are on our heroes’ side — not to mention how helpful they are to have on your side! (Like Toothless!) And the ones who are a little more morally grey and initially hard to figure out which side they’re on are probable my favorite, in general. (Hello, Malcolm Blackfire.) I like all the dragons!

8. World building is a complicated undertaking full of many details. As a reader, what is a small detail you really appreciate seeing when it comes to diving into a new realm? What is something that helps you lose yourself in a fantasy world?

Smells are always a good touch and are helpful to bring in. But I think my favorite is when there are myths and stories WITHIN the story, which makes it have a further depth to it. It’s just so cool when characters can reference this myth or story and it effects their own. It can be hard to do well, because sometimes there’s too much of it, or else the reader just doesn’t care. But when it works, it’s brilliant. J. R. R. Tolkien, Joanna Ruth Meyer, and Jenelle Leanne Schmidt — for example — do excellent with this! So does Kyle Robert Shultz, though in that case it’s fairy tales harking back to fairy tales, but they’re always tweaked so it makes them feel real.

9. You have been transformed into your favorite fantasy creature. Problem is… you’re still in your own bedroom and your family is downstairs, completely unprepared for this shock. What creature are you, and how (if at all) do you break the news to your loved ones? (Or how do you get out of your room?)

Oh dear. XD Well, I’m a gryphon, as implied earlier, so that’s cool! I probably wouldn’t break the news — they would probably just arrive in my room and find me sitting on my bed and barely fitting (because gryphons are large), trying to decide if I should try flying out the window or just keep reading. 😛 I hope I could talk though, so that they wouldn’t think I’d been eaten. XD And I’d probably be freaking out (I would freak out if my hair turned a different color, let alone if I turned into a creature) buuut I like to think it would also be kind of cool? Especially to fly . . .

Tagging

I tag Sarah Pennington, Claire Banschbach, Lauri, and YOU if you are reading this and want to do it! (Absolutely no pressure. XD And apologies if you’ve already been tagged! I am behind on blogs and internet in general. XD)

Well. How was that? I hope you enjoyed my answers! Thanks so much for reading! 🙂

In Which I’m Kidnapped (Interviewed) by the Frabjous Ness Kingsley

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Deborah O'Carroll

Hey guys! I just wanted to let you know that I’m being interviewed today over on Ness Kingsley’s blog and it’s a total blast!

She is always one of the MOST DELIGHTFUL of bloggers and humans, with one of my top favorite blogs (it’s so funny, halp!) — plus, being from England and probably ranking as the world’s #1 fan of Georgette Heyer are further marks in her favor!

Also, her questions are hilarious WHILE being insightful, and I had a blast answering them, so you definitely don’t want to miss it.

So please go here: [i totally didn’t kidnap deborah o’carroll for an interview. pfft.] unless, as Ness delightfully puts it “DON’T READ ON … if you don’t want book recommendations, VITAL TIPS on participating in NaNoWriMo, and a banquet of scintillating conversation.”

Thanks for reading!

10th! NaNo 2019: Operation Foxtail

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Deborah O'Carroll

It’s . . . October? I’m not really sure how, but since it is, it’s time to start thinking of NaNo. *cue screaming*

So I’m introducing what I’ll be writing for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) during November 2019! (A challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.)

Or, at least, sort of introducing it. *cough*

Say hello to . . .

Operation Foxtail.

Which doesn’t actually involve any foxes, but there you are.

Operation Foxtail is a codename for another story.

See, I want to write this other story, but I’m afraid of getting it wrong or getting stuck, and I’ve no idea if it will work to write it for NaNo. Plus, sometimes if I announce something, it suddenly doesn’t want to be written. (Awkward.)

I’m giving this vague story a codename to take the pressure off myself, so that if it turns out it doesn’t actually work, I can switch to something else, or several something elses, without feeling like a failure.

In the words of Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle:

“Only way I can do something this frightening is to tell myself I’m not doing it!”

So that’s what I’m doing.

I’m very obviously not writing this something. I’m writing something called Operation Foxtail.

Obviously.

You see? Less pressure.

I’m Howling myself into doing it (perhaps) by saying that I’m not.

(And because codenames are cool and this sounded vaguely better than a Super Secret Project.)

(Also, I like the name, and adorable little cover I made, enough that someday maybe I actually will write something called Operation Foxtail. Just to be more confusing. Ahem.)

(And I’m entirely too fond of parentheses, if you didn’t notice.)

10th NaNo

Also, also, this is my TENTH November NaNo! And since this is NaNo’s 20th, that means I’ve been here for half of the journey. XD

I’ve done and won 9 NaNos so far and I’m looking forward to (hopefully!) rounding out the decade. Here’s to a frabjous November! Which we still have nearly four weeks to prepare for, THANK GOODNESS.

Let’s be buddies!

Sooo, since the NaNo site recently had a serious overhaul (and is still slightly glitchy and new and I’m still not used to it, halp), if we were buddies in the past we’ll have to re-buddy each other. If you’d like to be buddies (new or old!) you can find me under the name Celtic Forest Dweller or at this link! Or drop a comment with your username or link for me to find you! 🙂

NaNo Tips

And if you are new to NaNo, or would like a refresher, feel free to check out my most-popular post ever, from ages past, featuring a NaNo Prep Checklist! Not all of them will necessarily apply, but there’s a few ideas in there! (And lots of gifs. XD)