Growing Up With Star Wars

So because today is May the 4^th(Star Wars Day) I thought it was about time that I wrote a post about one of the major influences to my storytelling.

Before we start, I just want to note that this is not a post comparing the old Star Wars to the new. I could have gone that direction, and I’m certainly not afraid to share my opinion of Disney’s Star Wars fanfiction, I am tired of that and I will not be speaking of it here. However I do want to make it clear that when I say “Star Wars” I only mean the Original Trilogy and the Prequels.

Like me, I think most people who grew up in the 80s or 90s were raised watching Star Wars or at least were aware of it. Now it’s pretty much a household name. I vividly remember watching the Original Trilogy movies when I was only a wee thing with my grandpa. I remember really loving C3P0 R2-D2 and of course the Ewoks. The Phantom Menace came out when I was about six or seven, and I still recall the first time I watched it. I didn’t go to the theater to see it because I didn’t like theaters as a kid, but I did watch it after it came out on VHS (yes I’m old.) I think this is when I really started to fall in love with Star Wars.

A lot of people my age, even some good friends grew up on Harry Potter, they dreamed of going to Hogwarts. Star Wars was my Harry Potter; I didn’t want to be a wizard, I wanted to be a Jedi. I wasn’t into the idea of sitting in classrooms all day learning magic you couldn’t even use in real life. I wanted to fight evil with laser swords and psychic powers and who wouldn’t?

I mean, if I’m being honest, at this point in my life I would probably rather be a rogue bounty hunter because it beats having to deal with the politics of being a Jedi, and I am more morally grey, but yeah…

Even after other fandoms came into my life, which I arguably became more obsessed over, Star Wars remains one of the first. I didn’t get into Lord of the Rings until I was a little older and was on my fantasy kick. And I know a lot of people slam the prequels and now that I’m older, yes, I agree, Anakin is annoying, and some of the storylines are a little uninspired, but these came out when I was a kid, and I remember the anticipation for Episode III, wanting to see the final ties between the prequels and the Original Trilogy. 

While I’ll admit I haven’t obsessed about Star Wars as much as some other fandoms, I think it’s almost more than that. It’s a safety zone, it’s a constant. It’s a timeless story. A classic tale of Good verses Evil. The characters arcs that are clearly defined. I know I have used Star Wars as an example multiple times when describing literary devices because you can and there’s something still wonderful about these kinds of stories despite what critics like to say. I don’t think people will ever stop loving these simple stories of villains and heroes. I know I won’t. I will never stop thinking about characters like Luke, Han and Leah. Seeing these characters rise above the odds and save the freaking universe should be inspiring to us to get through our own daily struggles. They didn’t even have to be larger than life characters, they were still relatable. They certainly didn’t get through their mission without the hiccups. Anakin’s story can be seen as a cautionary tale about how power corrupts and the terrible things we can sometimes be willing to do for love. Obi-Wan is a hero who is willing to play by the rules until he sees a better way and then he’s not afraid to break them. They’re human. 

Star Wars is something I have enjoyed in one shape or form pretty much my entire life. My brothers and I had many lightsaber fights, we used to play with the action figures all the time (maybe sometimes we still do) We spent a summer binge-watching Clone Wars when we first got Netflix. I’m pretty sure Obi-Wan was one of my first fictional crushes and honestly still is one of my absolute favorite characters ever. I love the comfort of stories like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings too. They show you that even farm boys and hobbits can save the world, they show you that YOU can be a hero too. Not because being a hero is easy and not because it’s not going to be hard work, but because sometimes you’re the only one who can do a specific thing. While most of us probably aren’t going to end up having to save the world, I think the same concept can apply to lesser things as well. 

I’d love for anyone reading this to share YOUR Star Wars story with me! Until next time, May the Force be with you!

Little Box of Fandoms Update!

So A while back, I talked about my new Etsy store that I was about to open. Since then, everyone who follows my social media has probably seen the stuff I've gotten up in the store but I thought I would post a little about it here, now that I have multiple items in the shop.

First off, since this week is the finale of Supernatural Season 12 I'm running a 10% off coupon for my shop, so if you see something you like, this is the time to get it! Just use the code: BABY1967 at checkout =)

So, here's just a few items that are in the shop right now:

The Bookish Box

The Jane Austen Box

The Hobbit Box

Rogue One Kyber Crystal Necklace

BBC Merlin Scarves

BBC Sherlock and John Friendship Necklaces

So stop by and check it out! I'm always adding new items so come follow the shop, and also the other social media involved:

Shop:https://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleBoxofFandoms
Tumblr:https://thehighfanladyhazel.tumblr.com
Twitter:http://twitter.com/Box_o_Fandoms


Also check out this unboxing my friend Mara did of the Bookish Box on her Youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZvQxpEdlJo

My Hobbit Supper! And a Pseudo Review of "The Desolation of Smaug"

I meant to post this Friday when I made it, but... I was too tired that night and have been working ever since so I only got a chance now. But yes! I made a Hobbit supper on Friday to celebrate the release of The Desolation of Smaug which I also got to see that day and LOVED IT!!! I don't care what anyone else has to say, no one is going to sway me in my opinion that it was blooming wonderful. My only problem is that I need to see it again to actually get everything to register since I was having a fangirl attack through the entire movie.

For my supper, I made little meat and potato pies, boiled carrots, and scones with jam and honey. To drink I made "ale" by mixing grape juice and ginger ale together ;) Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I had to fend my brothers off while I was trying to take the pictures.

As for the movie itself, yes, I already said I loved it. It was actually even better than I was expecting. I'm not going to give away any spoilers, but I LOVED what Peter Jackson did with it because in my opinion, he kept all the stuff from the book that mattered but really just fleshed out the storyline, and gave the characters more character. I loved the original story, but I really didn't like how all the dwarves seemed like essentially one dwarf. There were no defining characteristics between them. The actors who portray the dwarves in the movies work so so hard on coming up with backstory and little things that just bring the characters to life and I love that so much about it. Richard Armatage is one of my favorite actors ever--he might possibly even be my favorite, and the emotion and character he put into Thorin is just...there's too much there. I loved how they gave Kili more of a story line in this one as well, though I wish there was more of Fili! They come as a package deal and while he's there, the story didn't focus on him. There was one part in particular that happened to be my favorite in the whole movie between them and Thorin though. I'm not going to give it away, but anyone who knows me well enough can probably guess at what it was ;)

Look! All my favorite characters on one Poster! (Apart from Bofur, I love him too)

One of my main concerns with the movie was that there would be too many elves, but in all honestly, I didn't have that impression when I watched the movie. In fact, Lee Pace did such a brilliant job as Thranduil, that I actually wished he had more screen time. And I liked to see Legolas be not so perfect, younger and more hot-headed. I've never disliked his character, even though he has never been a favorite either. In short, I never watched the movies for Orlando Bloom like some people I know ;) I also didn't hate Tauriel like I thought I would. I still could have done without her, and all the important moments with her in them probably could have been accomplished by Legolas (Okay I have to give this spoiler to explain myself, so if you haven't seen, don't read until the next paragraph!!!) I think Legolas could have healed Kili and at the same time furthered the plot: In my writerly mind, I see it like this: Legolas felt kind of bad for what a jerk his father was to Thorin's company, and so he goes after the dwarves to help them when he finds out the orcs are on their tail. I can't see him leaving Kili to die just because he's a dwarf, that makes no sense, so he would have obviously healed him, and it would have taught him a lesson that dwarves aren't all conceited, and later help to further his friendship with Gimli in the Fellowship, and it would have taught the dwarves that not all elves were the enemy. And I think it would have been especially important for Fili and Kili to have been a part of that exchange, because they were not jaded by the past like the others of the company, so it would help form bonds later. So you see, I could deal with Tauriel, but she felt out of place and unnecessary. Frankly I just think she was the product of lady writers helping Peter Jackson. It always annoys me when people put (especially a non-series) girl character into a movie made from a book. We all know it's only to keep the women viewers happy. Um...well, we already have Richard Armatage, Aiden Turner, Dean O'Gorman, Martin Freeman and whoever else might take your fancy, and for the most part, the girls (like me) are going to be happy. The only girl fans who even care whether there are strong female characters are in the 12-15 age range. And Tolkien's female characters have always been strong and awesome! Remember Eowyn? If he had wanted to put a female character in The Hobbit he would have, and I am nearly certain she would have been just as awesome, but there wasn't a need for one in this story. At it's heart, it's a brotherhood story, a story about home and kin and there wasn't a need for a female character. As I've said many times before, romance does not need to be involved to save someone's life. It is not weird for a man to save another man's life at all and it would not have been strange for Legolas to do so for Kili. (end explanation.)

And so onto Bilbo!!! Yes, Bilbo fans (and I AM one despite what some people like to accuse me of just because I love Richard Armatage more than Martin Freeman ;) Bilbo fans can appreciate this movie. There were so many awesome Bilbo moments that made me really happy. I liked to see him having grown from the first movie into knowing more of what he was doing and pretty much keeping the dwarves in line since Gandalf wasn't around to do it. Again, I think Martin Freeman is perfect in the role and I know he's going to kill me in the third movie (am so and so not looking forward to it) And the part between him and Smaug? Perfect. Just perfect. It was traditional to the book, but again, had, I felt, more added character and Benedict Cumberbatch voicing Smaug was totally awesome. His voice acting was wonderful ;) And yes, they actually did manage to slip a couple tiny Sherlockish moments in. (Yes I totally, maybe almost laughed really hard in the theater when he deduced Bilbo had come from Laketown). Oh yeah, and the visual effects were lovely too.

And that's pretty much all I can put into words. It was the best three hours I have spent all month and now I'm going to go see it again soon =D

And on another note, if you haven't already taken a look at my new blog "Tales from a Modern Bard" go check it out and start reading my story The Voices Beneath an Arthurian retelling from Mordred's point of view. And so I can't be accused of shameless plugging, if you are interested in being a guest writer for the blog, let me know!! You can find my email up in the "Contact Me" tab. I would love to hear from you fellow writers!

I hope everyone is having a good holiday! I will have at least one more post up by Christmas for sure. Until then...

Slainte! And if you haven't already seen Desolation of Smaug GO SEE IT NOW!! And then come back to discuss it with me =)