#Fantasy Favorites

Hey, everyone! Since this is my last post in the month of February (at least here on the blah-g) I thought I’d gather up a handful of prompts from this year’s Fantasy Month Hashtag Game and answer them all at once (because I haven’t kept up with it day by day like . . . at all . . .) So, I’ll take on the first 23, since it’s the 23rd and all.

Shall we?

Favorite fantasy   . . .

1. Standalone book ─ Oh, you know . . . Howl’s Moving Castle.
2. Book series ─ The mental agony! The emotional torture! . . . The Queen’s Thief? Maybe? This is an unfair question!
3. Movie ─ Uh . . . In the Game of Tag I said The Seeker, but there are SO. MANY. to choose from. Legend of the Guardians. Avatar. How to Train Your Dragon. Lord of the Rings.  . . .
4. Quote ─ This would be the perfect opportunity to share something deep and profound ─ and in truth there are a great deal of those out there that I love. But if you’re asking for my favorite, then I’ll have to go for the one that makes me laugh every time: “I assure you, my friends, I am cone sold stober.” ─ Howl’s Moving Castle
5. Realm you’d love to visit ─ If we’re just visiting, then either Green Hollows or Glipwood from Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga.
6. Trope ─ Good vs. Evil, because it’s epic, applicable to real life, and broad enough to carry all my other beloved tropes along, too.
7. Creature ─ Really? Do we really need to mention how unoriginal I am? Dragons, people. Dragons.
8.  TV series ─ I don’t watch a lot of American TV, and I watch even less American fantasy TV shows. Like, none. But I do watch a lot of foreign stuff (master subtitle reader right here, don’t mean to brag). That doesn’t mean the choice is easy, because there are so many good shows for so many different reasons. One that I keep going back to every so often, though, is called Mushishi. I love it.
9. Subgenre ─ Epic/high fantasy. Full-blown all-in fantasy with larger-than-life heroes, over-the-top villains, and wild adventures!
10. Friendship ─ I’ve actually been wanting to put together a post dedicated to the Bonds of Brotherhood and how much I love these relationships. There are so many out there, because let’s face it ─ the hero wouldn’t make it alone. Frodo wouldn’t have made it to the fires of Mount Doom without Sam, and where would the Pevensies be without Mr. Tumnus? I couldn’t possibly chose one over all the others, but a few of them would be Legolas and Gimli, Harrier and Terceil, Callum and Aaron, Sorey and Mikleo, Hiccup and Toothless, I should just stop now . . .
11. Minor character ─ Ohh, I’m not really sure what the qualifications are for ‘minor’, but if we’re talking ‘anything that’s not the main character’, and if I’m to choose anyone other than Samwise Gamgee, then I’m all in for Pete the Sock Man from the Wingfeather Saga.
12. Magical weapon ─ I have to say, I don’t really know many off the top of my head. I guess I don’t read a lot of those. Can I say Sting, or is that a cop-out? Anybody got any suggestions for stories with magical weapons?
13. Dragon ─ Toothless. Did I mention how unoriginal I am?
14. Love story ─ Would it be wrong to use one of my own? Because I’m a fan of the relationship between Sergil and Lyla in my Journey Taken saga. Otherwise I’ll throw in yet another plug for Howl and Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle. But then, there’s Kirito and Asuna from Sword-art Online. I can give thumbs up for that one, too.
15. Villain ─ Alex from the Reaper Trilogy. I don’t like that woman. I don’t like her at all.
16. Tragic character ─ It’s a close call between Pete the Sock Man and Vash the Stampede (awesome name, right? It fits him) Both have tragic pasts that make them sadder and wiser.
17. Family ─ Oh, this is different! The Thomas family, from Batson’s The Door Within. There’s a family that loves each other and fights together. Never alone!
18. Food you’d like to try ─ Just about anything they’re serving at Redwall Abbey. Best food I’ve ever read, worst books to read while suffering a stomachache.
19. Holiday/celebration ─ Eek, that’s a tough one. I’d probably say Bilbo’s 111st birthday party, but just because that’s the only one I can really remember!
20. Song/poem ─ The Rowan of Rin series is chocked full of poems, and so are the Redwall books. I once had the one from Loamhedge memorized “Thos who wish to challenge fate, to a jumbled shout walk straight . . .” I really loved that one. But I also love the song Into the West, but it was sung at the end of . . . Return of the King was it? So I’m not sure if that counts, since it wasn’t actually part of the story. And let’s not forget Gandalf’s ‘Not all who wander are lost . . .’ prophecy/poem-thing. That’s one of the most quotable things ever.
21. Mentor ─ You know, I’m not really sure. To pick someone a little less obvious maybe I’d go with Grandmother, from A Green and Ancient Light.
22. Share artwork ─ Um, okay. Here’s one in my Pinterest board for Falconsbane:

23. Heroes ─ Yes! Plural. I’m allowed to list more than one. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Rowan (of Rin), Sorren (Legend of the Guardians), Janner Iggiby (Wingfeather Saga), Aragorn (Lord of the Rings), Jonquil (The Journey Taken) . . .

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And there we have it, folks! Have any of you been following along with #FantasyMonth? It’s been chocked full of great posts from great bloggers all about fantasy ─ and not just endless lists of everybody’s favorites! There’s book reviews, tips on worldbuilding, even a lesson for villains about how to defeat a prophetic hero! You can find the schedule and links to all this greatness right here.

I can hardly believe that February is already nearly over! They say time flies when you’re having fun ─ and I can vouch for that! This month has been full of tackling new things, particularly in writing and in the kitchen (I bake when I procrastinate, so I’ve got a few new recipes under my belt). I have no idea how to write either mystery or romance, but in my local writing group here in town that was the genre for my homework, and while I can’t say how well I pulled it off I can say that I really got into the project! I’m calling it The Forgotten Hero, and it’s a fun, whimsical read full of silly names, disappearing cabbage patches, and lots of cats!

And you know what else? This afternoon I’m going out to see How to Train Your Dragon 3, and boy am I STOKED. I haven’t read anything about it or seen any of the previews, all I know is that the characters are older and there’s this Light Fury dragon. But that’s it. We’ve all been waiting a long time for this moment, and I’m about ready to wriggle out of my skin for the anticipation!