February Wrap-Up

February was...February. It always feels a little bit like we're just waiting for March, but at the same time, it was a legitimately fun month in many ways. I'm still being eaten alive by school, but we're not going to talk about that, because it's boring. On to the interesting things! 

Blog
(As always, all of these are links, even if they don't appear to be.)

My Blog

Review: "Blackfoot" by W. R. Gingell
Tolkien's True Myth & Tropes In Fiction
Review: "Memories of Glass" by Melanie Dobson
A Startling Realization About My Fictional Family
February is Fantasy Month: Questions and Fandom Tag!
Jem Jones Linkup #6: In Which Dragons Are Invisible To Our Narrator
12 Classic Loves Collab//Guest Post by S. J. Barnard
Pirate Blog Party Tag!

Around the Blogosphere

It was a truly fantastic month in the blogosphere, so it was really hard to pick posts to highlight! (And I'm, *cough* sharing a ridiculous number *cough cough*. But here are some of the fun things that happened in the blogosphere this month!

• Christine Smith came back from her hiatus, with some amazing reflections on life, and her goals for 2021!
• Jenelle Leanne Schmidt announced Fantasy Month for February again!
• And she posted this very fun post on her ten favorite fairy tales, and the retellings of them that she's read!
• The wonderful Kenzie participated in the Fantasy Month Tag, which was VERY fun to read.
• Emily @ The Ones That Really Matter posted some really striking and important thoughts on writing and life and balancing the two things.
• Sarah Seele posted a sonnet on writer's block, which is both relatable and extremely impressive.
• Jem Jones returned, with a new Quirk prompt, and a Christmas tag!
• MK @ Sarcastic Scribblings did a hilarious but totally accurate Write What You Know post on large families.
• Catherine @ The Rebelling Muse had a blogoversary! 
• I had a guest post on S. J. Barnard's blog!
• The Temperamental Writer @ All Things Trivial and Insignificant wrote a fantastic Quirk that I 100% fell in love with! 
  
• Megan Chappie is BACK! *happy dance*

Books
*Dragons in the Waters by Madeleine L'Engle
Finding True Happiness by Robert Spitzer, S. J.
*A House Like A Lotus by Madeleine L'Engle
The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis
Frederica by Georgette Heyer
Different by Nathan & Sally Clarkson
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
*The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery
*Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
*Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
*The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (DNFed)
*Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery
*Anne of Windy Poplars by L. M. Montgomery
*Girls' Club by Sally, Sarah, & Joy Clarkson
The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera
*The Princess Bride by William Goldman
*Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Movies
(There may be minor spoilers for Thor: The Dark World, GotG2, Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, and Civil War)

WALL-E

Eomer was adamant that I HAD to watch this movie, so we ended up watching it for Family Movie Night the first week of the month! It was a lot of fun, and I couldn't believe I hadn't watched it before. 

The incorporation of Hello Dolly was one of my favorite parts. That musical was a fairly big part of my childhood, so I loved having the music and certain scenes be worked in and plot important!

Also, there is almost no dialogue? And I love. it. It was so cool how the storytelling worked even without many words. 

And the worldbuilding! The worldbuilding was amazing and felt like it could actually happen, and I just loved watching all of the cool that came with both the Earth-world and the space-world.

That scene where WALL-E and EVE are dancing in space... <3

Thor: The Dark World 

I liked this one a lot! I don't have huge amounts to say, as I imagine I will with a lot of the other movies, but...

I loved seeing Asgard more! It's such a fun location, with so much beauty and majesty and cool-ness.

Thor and Jane are the best. (Legolas thinks they kiss too hard, though. XD) 

Loki and Thor! Loki's quotes are the BEST, and as much as I don't really want to admit it, I totally see myself in his "crisis management". ("Define 'worse'"). The way he "worked together" with Thor, and their dysfunctional brother relationship is just...I like it a lot. (Also, the part where Jane slapped him in the face. That was awesome.) (And then that part in the climax! Because Thor still does love his brother, even if he knows he's a treacherous brat!)

Um, and that scene where he's trying on all the different looks? And he's being Captain America? *dies laughing*

Jane! The sheer nerdery levels are high. ("It's a soul forge." "Does a soul forge transfer molecular energy from one place to another?" "Yes." "*whispers* Quantum field generator.") And also, I just love it when she slaps people. There, I said it. 

The gravitational anomalies! Darcy! Ian! Dr. Selvig! Love.

Also, I like how neatly this one wraps up! Ignoring the creepy credits scene, of course. And the whole Loki thing. But other than that...this is just about the neatest any Marvel movie has wrapped up so far. But I do love that they make you wait until after alllllllll the credits for resolution. XD

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

First of all, just a word to the wise, there is a lot of vulgarity in this movie. Not so much swearing sort of vulgarity (although there is that), just...vulgar vulgarity. So, yeah. 

But despite that, I actually really enjoyed this one! The plot was pretty well thought-out, the characters legitimately continued their arcs in really good ways, and I loved seeing more of Yondu and Nebula. It was also hilarious, almost as funny as the first one, which was a lot of fun, since I was watching with Mom, Dad, and Legolas and we were all cracking up.

Gamora is my spirit animal. Her complete denial of the "unspoken thing", the way she doesn't want anyone to know she dances, the way she doesn't show she cares about her friends but she really does, her epic eye rolls...yeah. Amazing. (I'm not as far along in my arc as she is, though. XD)

Also, Gamora + Peter! Soooooo cuuuuuute guyyyyys that scene near the end where Peter just puts his arm around her...<3 

The Gamora + Nebula sister relationship! I really, really love that part of this movie, guys. (That hug! Is so awkward! And I love it.)

The climax was amazing! The amount of twists and turns the movie worked in in ten minutes was incredible.

Oh, oh, and the Zune thing at the end! Our family had a Zune for many years, so that was really fun. :)

Pete's Dragon (2016)

This was really cute! I appreciated how the whole "we're hunting the dragon" thing didn't take over the whole plot, and the visuals were gorgeous, and the dialogue was great, and I liked a whole lot of the characters. Also, the theme of the beauty and mystery of nature, was *chef's kiss*

That said, I have a few burning questions:

--So, wait, is Eomer Gavin evil? Or even consistent? Or does he just have the short-term memory of Dory? *is confused*

--How on earth is Pete still able to speak fluent English after living with a dragon and a picture book from age 5 to age 10? 

--So, you're just going to ignore CPS? How does that ending even work?

--How does Elliot communicate with Pete? Have they just been together long enough that they've got a Kristoff-Sven thing going? But how accurate is that?

--So wait, Elliot can *spoiler* breathe fire *end spoiler* and he didn't use that for anything but accidentally imperiling the good guys? Does he have the short-term memory of Dory?

So, I can see how one might critique this movie as a movie, but I did really enjoy watching it with my siblings.  

Avengers: Age of Ultron

(Oh, and lemme just put a little "rewatch" asterisk right up there, because yes, we rewatched it with Mom and Dad...less than a week after our first watch? XD)

Who gave this movie permission to be this amazing? Hmm? 

For some reason, after GotG2, my brain sort of felt like that was a nice wrap-up? But no, there's more! More Marvel! More my-favorite-characters-being-amazing-TOGETHER. Yassssss. Brace yourself--this is going to be long.

First of all--THE AVENGERS ARE SUCH AN AMAZING TEAM. I just love it. That first scene! Is so amazing! And they have an Avengers tower! And I just! Love! Everything! About it! 

The fact that Thor is worried that Captain America is going to be able to pick up the hammer...<3

They're working in themes! And I'm scared! "Endgame" and "The end of the line" both come up, and both from TONY STARK which is making me SCARED, guys. Very, very scared. (If he dies, I'm going to cry. And that's saying something. Then again, same for Captain America. And Black Widow. And Hawkeye. So. Yeah. That'll be fun. Cuz I have a feeling that at least one of them is going to die.)

While we're talking about Tony ("Hello, Deere"), he's...conflicted in this one. (Still awesome, though. I still love him. He's still the most quotable.) He honestly is just...trying so hard to keep his team and his world safe, and this is how he's trying to do it. And he's not tinkering just because he's having fun--he's using his problem-solving skills to try to bring about peace. (He's a techie. He needs A Solution To This "War" Thing.) Only, he does it a little wrong. And once he makes a mistake...he'll do a lot to make it right. His worst fear is letting down his friends, and whatever you can say about Tony Stark, you can't say that he's not TOTALLY loyal to people he loves. (Even if he doesn't always directly show it.) 
(I was, however, quite irritated by his inappropriate jab at Nat during the climax. Please, Tony. Have a filter. Occasionally.)

Hawkeye. My word. He gets so much development in this movie, and I am HERE FOR IT. His family! Is! The! Best! Thing! Ever! I just...his wife is awesome, and his kids are adorable, and even though I don't know what's going to happen in the next few movies, I'm quite miffed at anyone who ships him and Natasha. (Look at me, probably alienating half the blogosphere. XD) But I SERIOUSLY hope nothing happens to his family. Cuz I can see that getting really tragic, really fast. And Marvel kind of has a penchant for tragic.

Um, and also Natasha's relationship to Hawkeye's family? SO CUTE GUYSSSS. "Did you bring Auntie Nat?" "Why don't you hug her and find out?" *dies of sweetness* Also, "How's little Natasha doing...Traitor." And "Nathaniel, say hi to Auntie Nat!" "Fat." Literally, this is the best thing since sliced bread. (I totally want to be one of Hawkeye's children. For real. That would be amazing.) And it's much more obvious in this movie, but Clint and Nat totally have a brother-sister relationship, and I love it. "Nobody eats in a dining room." (It's almost as amazing as her and Cap's brother-sister relationship. That one's still my favorite, though.) 

Natasha. She gets a lot of development in this movie, too. The stuff about the spy school...wow. That was terrible. And I just...the part where she said "I had a dream that seemed reasonable at the time...that I was an Avenger." That was...I kind of broke. Also, I LOVE the fact that she was so upset about what they did to her at the spy school. Because in a world where women do that to themselves or their husbands on a regular basis, someone being so upset about it, was extraordinarily refreshing. (And also, I am horribly sad for her. I kind of want to punch someone. Because she would be such a good mom.) That whole thing, while it did make me mad a bit (more on that in a mo) was a very pro-life scene. In multiple ways. I am a fan. 

Okay, so now let's address the elephant in the room. Natasha and Bruce. So, when I said last month, and I quote, "I literally have no [shipping] preference (yet) and will go with what the franchise does.", the subtext was, "They can ship her with either Clint or Steve, and I will be happy. Obviously they can't ship her with Tony or Thor, and I'm pretty sure Bruce is out. Cuz of that 'Hulk' thing." (And I mean, now they can't ship her with Clint. Officially. Unless Laura dies. In theory.)
So. Yeah. I was a little bit mad. At first. And now I have mixed feelings. Because, honestly, it's not the weirdest thing. I mean, I don't personally find someone who turns into a huge green rage monster attractive, but that doesn't mean she couldn't...and Banner does have loveable traits. I do definitely see how his dedication to peace would be attractive. But at the same time, they both have the same huge insecurity, which doesn't necessarily seem like it would make for the best relationship? (Although idk, that could be a way for them to connect?) And also, I feel like she's trying to push him into a relationship that he really doesn't want to be in right now? Like, sure, maybe by coming on strong, she'd convince him that she really was serious, but...the banter about the shower? I was honestly kind of worried about content, at that point. (Also, isn't he, like, a lot older than her? He looks a lot older than her. Not that that's a huge problem, I just...I don't know. It's a little weird.) 
And I mean, at the end he kind of...leaves. And I have a feeling he's irritated at her? And doesn't think he's safe? I'm not sure he's going to let this relationship happen. Idk. I guess we'll see! I'm trying to withhold judgement until the next few movies (which is hard for someone who usually has an opinion within thirty seconds.)

During the final battle, the huge amounts of worry for the civilians, not only from Cap, but from everyone...I just love it. Honestly, the whole movie is really pro-life, and I am HERE FOR IT. And the fact that the Avengers were literally all willing to sacrifice themselves...just going to be over here crying now.

I realize I've not actually said anything about the Maximoffs (really cool, but also *crying*) or Ultron (good villain) or Vision (also cool, but a little confusing) or the fact that Pepper and Jane are not.in.it. (*irritated*), or the ending (so good!), but I really don't have any more space...so this is going to be it for now. 

Ant-Man

I was not expecting to like this as much as I did! (I'm probably going to say this about every non-Thor, Iron Man, Cap or Avengers movie. Of which there are several. This is kind of like my attitude towards classics, I guess?) 

But I loved it! I loved the way it was focused around the plot of a dad wanting to be able to see his daughter, with very little romantic subplot! (Look, I don't have anything against romantic subplots, but there are other kinds of love, okay? And I appreciate familial love getting the floor for a little bit.) And Cassie is soooooo adorable. It only weirded me out a little that she has the same name as one of our goats. XD

The plot almost felt like a classic heist movie...but with a ton of ridiculous humor around classic heist movies worked in. Which was a lot of fun. Because it was a serious movie, but it was also funny--not as irreverently as GotG, but in a more ironic way.

Oh, and the Avengers get worked in! Sort of. The only Avenger we really *see* is Falcon (until the after-credits scene, of course), but allll the references to them (and Age of Ultron) were the BEST! "I think our first move should be calling the Avengers." "They're probably too busy dropping cities out of the sky."

And! The Ant-Man suit is really, really cool. But I will admit to being grossed out by some of the ant scenes. (Look, ants are kind of gross sometimes. K?) Also, the bullet ants--I had JUST learned about the Schmidt pain scale, and was quite freaked out. 

Overall, I'm really looking forward to seeing Ant-Man (and the Wasp!) again! 

Captain America: Civil War

This was a terrible, horrible movie. Actually, lies. I am lying to you. It was objectively a very good movie. But it was so SAD. And PAINFUL. And I have FEELINGS.

(For the record--if I could have found a gif of Tony's side in this particular fight, I would have put it up instead. Just wanted to get that out of the way before I start in on my thoughts. XD)

After Age of Ultron, everything was great! They were a team! They had an awesome facility! They were training new Avengers! And then...this happened. Gah. Grr. Argh.

The thing is, when faced with the Accords, there's not really a right answer. Tony is right, that they need some sort of oversight. Now that SHIELD is gone, there is 100% a who-will-guard-the-guards-themselves problem. But at the same time, Steve is right, that a government is perhaps not the right way to do that. They're both doing what they think is right, which is part of why it's so painful. 

So, for the record, I wasn't really rooting for either side. I was rooting for both, I suppose?

Cap. My poor Cap. The thing is, like I said, he's partially right about the Accords. And he's ultimately right about Bucky--that's he's not the one who blew up the thing. But what bugs me about that is that even though he's right about that eventually, he starts trying to save/hide Bucky for the wrong reason. Not because Bucky is innocent, but because Bucky is his friend. Even if Bucky had been guilty, he would have saved and hid him. And that irritates me. Because loyalty to friends is good. It's one of Steve's strong points for sure. And I love that about him. But at the same time, it's also one of his flaws. And kind of misplaced, in this instance. Also, it's just not like Steve to operate outside of the law. And I kind of see why he's doing it, but it still bothers me. 

Tony-my-Tony. One of his "things" is that he blames himself for everything that goes wrong on missions. And so he desperately wants someone to tell him what to do, to oversee the team's efforts, and to take away some of the blame, if something goes wrong. But of course, having superiors doesn't actually make him blame himself less, when bad things happen. Like Rhodey. And the knowledge that it was his fault, and he can't do anything about it, just eats him up inside, and leads to him pushing away Natasha. (That scene was one of the most tragical things I've ever seen in my life, to paraphrase Anne Shirley.) Also, his parents' death is something that he also blames himself for, at least in part, at least because he never told them he loved them. And that's eating him as well, which is why he reacts so extremely to that particular thing in the climax. 
(Um, and also he and Pepper are taking a break? WHAT. No. Stop. I mean, I kind of understand. But still, that made me sad. And mad.)

The thing is, Cap and Tony were friends. And they acknowledge that, throughout the movie. They're a good team, they like hanging out, they work well together. And then to have them on opposite sides--to have them on such opposite sides, at the end--it's extraordinarily painful. And also--anyone else think that Cap was legitimately going to *spoiler* kill Tony *end spoiler* when he had him on the ground and was hitting him with his shield? The look in Cap's eyes was, quite frankly, chilling. 

One of the things I think the movie shows really well is the actual tragedy of a civil war. Not just this civil war--any civil war. Because it's friends--siblings, almost--against each other. Natasha against Cap. Wanda against Vision. Natasha against Clint, for pete's sake. That part made me so sad. And mad. (And then Wanda just! Hurts my Natasha! For no reason! I liked you, Wanda. Natasha liked you. Come on. There was no need for that.) 

Natasha is the beating heart of the Avengers, tbh, even in this movie. Maybe especially in this movie? She has a close relationship with basically each of the other original Avengers: brother-sister ones with Clint and Cap; a...something...with Bruce; an undefined teasing-antagonistic-supportive one with Tony; ...maybe not something per se with Thor, but he does tend to keep himself a bit apart. And she helped Cap train the "new" Avengers, so she has a special relationship with them, too. So she does her very best to straddle the gap between the two groups--she's supporting Tony, but she's emotionally supporting Cap--that scene at the funeral! was so sweet! And while she fights for her own side, she ultimately lets Cap go. Which I think was the right decision. All this to say, she may edge Tony out of top spot for favorite Avenger, one of these days. (If anyone asks, I did not admit that.)

Peter Parker was funny, I will admit. I wasn't expecting to like Spiderman so much.

But there's! No! Resolution! They're! Just! Separate! Now!? WHAT? NO. HELP. They need to be a team! *angry growling*

Life

I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing, because it's in the garage, but look, here's an artsy picture of one of the joints. XD

Legolas and I did a fun project together--we built a movable divider for our goat shed! It hangs in brackets on the walls, and will be used to keep the goats separate when one of them is kidding, and then to keep the kids separate when we want to keep them away from their moms overnight so we can milk in the morning. I designed it, and was so happy when it worked out! It was really fun to get to see a project through from design to hardware store to completion--I hadn't done that in a while. Also, I got to use a chop saw. That was pretty cool. 

I may or may not live in Narnia. Can neither confirm nor deny.

Yeah, so remember how last month I said that February could either go spring or serious winter? We went with serious winter. It snowed six inches the night of the 12th-13th. And then kept snowing until we had more than 8 inches (maybe closer to 10 in the end?) by the morning of Valentine's Day. Fortunately, with chains, we were able to get to Mass. We may or may not have just about doubled the number of people in the church when we walked in. XD (And thank goodness, the snow started melting on the 15th. This is the way I like it. Snow, and then it melts.)
And for the record, even though I'm a snow grinch, I did play out in the snow with my sibs a bunch, went sledding, built a Loki snowman, and made honey candy on snow.
(I know that all of you who live in places that actually have serious winter are probably laughing at me right now. But it was serious winter for us.) 
And actually, towards the end of the month, it did get more spring-like, like 2021 was going "why not both?" about the weather.

I incorporated fabrics that reminded me of each of them, plus my signature jeans fabric.

I FINALLY finished my wedding present for Frodo and her husband! It's a lap quilt, so it's big enough for two people to snuggle under if they're watching a movie or something, but small enough to be easily portable! I had a lot of fun making it, except for the part where I broke the sewing machine multiple times while making it, and had to CONSTANTLY baby the tension while I was binding it. *eyeroll* 

Lent has been going better than I expected! (So far. I'm not counting chickens here. That's dangerous). I honestly forgot how much I love it--the pared-down-ness of the liturgy, family Mass and Stations of the Cross on Fridays, and most importantly, the Dominicans wearing their cappas! There's something about a Dominican in a cappa...

(This is a major hint as to what project I'm referring to.)

This month, I've been able to more or less get past my block on my writing project that's currently entitled "Project Megan's Godchild" (Megan as in Megan Chappie. It's a bit of a long story). It's the first major drafting project I've taken on in years, and I'm both loving and hating it. I find I tend to lose a bit of momentum if I share too much about my writing, so you probably won't hear about it too much on here, but getting back to work on that, even just a little (cuz I do still have school and all that), was a major win this month. 

March Plans

• Baby goats! Cassie (the goat, not the Ant-Man character XD) is due on March 14, and I'm so excited to have baby goats around again! I've been able to feel the kids kicking, which is adorable and making me ridiculously impatient. :) 
• More Lent! I'm mostly excited for that, only, Legolas is doing a fast this Lent that makes it impossible for us to watch Marvel movies any day but Sunday, so...yeah. 
• Legolas's birthday! Poor girl, her birthday almost always falls in Lent, but we generally try to celebrate, even if that means making her "birthday" on the closest Sunday.
• Finishing Winter quarter! As much as I'm enjoying ASL, not going to lie, I'm going to be really excited to be done with this quarter. 
• Start another quilt! (Like I don't already have one that's not done yet. I'm incurable. It's good I'll be going to college where I won't have a sewing machine. XD)
• Write an report for Animal Biology on the Crest-tailed Mulgara! That should be interesting... (Yes, I chose that animal. I'm not sure I knew entirely what I was getting myself into.)

Have you been enjoying Fantasy Month? How's your writing going? Did it snow where you live?