War Horse

War Horse

On my 'Hiddles 39th Birthday' post I already mentioned that every year on his birthday, I do try to watch a movie/series in which Tom Hiddleston has a role in. Last year I had watched a part of The Hollow Crown and the year before that I had watched Midnight In Paris. This year I watched War Horse and thereby I've broke the chain of watching something of him that I hadn't seen yet, because I have seen War Horse once. Although, that was long before I've discovered the Thor/Avengers movies, so I couldn't remember much about Tom's role. So perhaps you can say I've now watched War Horse from a total different view! I really do like to write reviews/blogs about films, so I thought let's do a blog about a Tom Hiddleston movie!

Even though I'm talking about a film from 2011, in case someone who hasn't seen this film yet and is planning to, I'll warn: There are spoilers below. 

Years ago I had already experienced War Horse as a breathtaking film and seen from the fact that war related films are not so easily forgotten and because I have a weakness for animal films, parts of War Horse were still very present inside my memory. War Horse is the story of Joey, the horse seen as a Wonder Horse and the relationship that has developed between him and a young man named Albert. After several threats of taking the horse done by a horrible man named Lyon when the father faces trouble in paying their monthly payment for the farm they are living in, the father decides to sell Joey to the army who are seeking horses for World War I. Albert arrives too late, Joey is already sold to Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston), who admits he totally underpaid for a well trained horse as Joey is, but he just hadn't had more to offer. During the whole film Joey manages to touch the hearts of many human he crossed paths with, Tom Hiddleston's character is the first one who separated the Wonder Horse from one of the concerning humans. 

Now I make it sound like Nicholls is just as horrible as Lyon, who I mentioned earlier. He definitely is not! (See the GIF on the side, I see the opposite of a horrible man. 😇)

The GIF where Tom Hiddleston takes off the hat and makes the average woman faint, is where he promises Albert to take very well care of Joey and if he can, he would even bring back to horse after the war is over. Scenes between Joey & Albert I found very touching, the same is to be said about Joey's following 'owners', starting with Captain Nicholls who plainly has sympathy for Albert. We get to see him making a drawing of Joey, meant for Albert. Just like Tom (I adore the pictures with him and the horse, and see the bonus picture at the end of this blog!), Nicholls has heart for animals, so despite of the circumstances, Joey still is in good hands.

Tom & Benedict

I knew that War Horse had been the first film Tom Hiddleston & Benedict Cumberbatch both portrayed in. War Horse, a film set in times of war, was the beginning of a still standing as strong as a rock beautiful friendship between Tom & Benedict. Also I very much enjoyed the first scene that Loki and Dr. Strange..- uhh.. Captain Nichols and Major Jamie Stewart shared. Two great actors who put their heart and soul into the character they are portraying.

After seeing Infinity War I've came across of a meme once that showed Loki arriving in heaven, meeting up with other decreased Hiddleston characters. One of them was Captain Nicholls, so besides that I already had guessed it, I knew his faith. I just totally didn't expected to see it happen so soon in the movie! I really thought Tom had some more screen time. This once again proofs that he doesn't need much screen time to stand out! 

Both Topthorn (Steward's black horse) and Joey were fallen into the hands of the German. This ends with a beautiful evening 'shot' as we see the wicks of the mill distracting the view of another cruel war act, created with other kinds of 'shots' that I wouldn't refer as beautiful.. But luckily, in the next scene the horses are looking in the beautiful innocent eyes of Emilie, their new next young owner. Seeing her hiding the horses into her bedroom, training Joey in the hope of learning him some tricks, is one brighter part of the movie. Although her story too has a sad history. Emilie lives on her grandfather's farm and her parents are (recently) decreased. She also suffers from a illness but as stubborn and brave as she is, she's determined to ride Joey! And she does so but you do see it coming, all good things do come to an end. Here another innocent, pure heart breaks into a million pieces when both the horses are brutally taken away from her.

Another thing I definitely like about animal related films is the developing relationship among animals. Mostly it starts with some hostility during the meet but in the end that has made a huge turn. (Well okay, this movie didn't had a lot of hostility among the two horses, perhaps for them there was enough war around them already..) War Horse really has some stunning shots in where the friendship of Joey and the black Topthorn (Hey, there's Thor in the name) was to be seen. True friendship is wanting to sacrifice yourself for the other and Joey definitely had no doubt in doing so. 💔🐎

Here's a list of animal-related movies that have touched me to:

• Two Brothers
• White Fang
• Call of the Wild
• Homeward Bound
• Life of Pi
• Lion King/Jungle Book
• Bambi
• Dolphin Tale
• Hachi
• 101 Dalmatians, Lady & The Tramp, Frank & Frey
• Black Beauty
• A Dog's Purpose
• We Bought a Zoo
• Dolittle Movie
• A Dog's Way Home

And many many more.

Just like about Loki, I can go on and on about this film. I mean, the no man's land scene and the truce Joey had created. Wow!

It's really in the details and films who are able to have beginning-details return later/in the end, mostly do something to me. They really get me. One strong detail is the regimental pennant Albert attached to Joey during saying goodbye. It later touched Tom Hiddleston's hands (😊), was used in the training done by the young girl Emilie and finally made it's way..- (Just look the film again because it's worth the watch until the very end!) In the beginning of the film Albert had learnt Joey to come to him when he made an owl sounded-like whistle. Not to mention I had experienced those scenes as highly funny when seeing Joey run over everything like a dog would do to get to his owner. When Albert did this again during the end of the movie when he heard about a Wonder Horse while he was being treated for his eyes, try to keep your eyes dry.. Really hard right?

And here's the bonus Tom Hiddleston I mentioned as a closure of this blog post!

First anniversary of Goddess of Loki on Blogspot!

First anniversary of Goddess of Loki on Blogspot!

Blog created on February the 10th, a day after Tom's 38th birthday.

From February 10, 2019 to February 10, 2020 I wrote in total (this one included) 69 blogposts.

After I had watched War Horse last afternoon on Tom's birthday I realized that this blog's birthday was coming up soon too. One year has passed now, because I made this blog one day after Tom's birthday. It was one day too late when I decided I wanted to have my own blog, no actually one week too late because there were so many beautiful things to share in Tom's Spirit Week (so I just re-shared them a week later)! Because today it's my blog's first anniversary, I would like to look back on a few of this blog's posts, published in the first month! I think it's funny (and sometimes a bit embarrassed) to look back on your older writings, whether they are blogs or fanfiction writings. Not only do you improve your writing style in a year, but often you'll cross writings and you think: "Have I really written that? Was that my opinion?" I hope this sounds familiar, otherwise I'm the only one haha. 

I had a lot to write about in February 2019 because it had 16 posts! However, my first blogpost was a very short one, basically just a status where I shared that I had watched The Hollow Crown for the very first time the day before, on his birthday. My second one was named Favorite Tom Friday, dedicated to #TomsSpiritWeek. It was for the day you had to pick your favorite 9 of Tom from his 37th to his 38th birthday. It was a lot of text, here's a small part of it:

(Note: I'll add "2020:" in commentary I've added now.)

1. Favorite Tom Hiddleston Friday (<-- link to post)

4. Suddenly out of the blue, there was this picture of Tom Hiddleston & Josh Wilson posted by Wilson Worldwide Productions Something about a secret project. I‘m still very curious, because we still don‘t know what it is! I think it‘s something very spectacular! We got something to look forward to! He also posted a second photo (that‘s the one in the collage) in which he tagged me & a few other Tom Hiddleston/Loki fan accounts in. That totally made my day, so thank you Josh!

2020: Is it just me, or do we still NOT KNOW?

6. On the 30th October Tom and Josie Rourke talked at the Alan Howard / JW3 Speaker Series. It was a lovely and inspiring interview, I was able to watch later on Youtube. He talked about how he stepped out of his comfort zone, which has inspired me to do the same. When I hear this man talk about acting; whether it‘s in film, series or theatre; it‘s so so visible I‘m listening to a man who found his passion and as I said it before: He truly has put his heart and soul it. Perhaps I do not know how to properly bring this into words, but I hope you understand what I mean. I think many people can see him as an example, given the fact for example how he has grown in +/- 20 years. From liking to do voices as a kid to this passion and talent which goes much deeper than just the word ‘acting’. He does inspire people to go take their passion to the next level as well. 

2020: Still one of my favorite interviews of Tom!

7. Tom Hiddleston‘s first social media post in (what was it?) 2 years: Loki. More stories to tell. More mischief to make. More to come. That literally broke the internet! What Ralph Breaks the Internet? No, Tom Hiddleston breaks the internet! The #LokiSeries (#Disney+) confirmed by the man himself! I‘m so excited for this whole thing. Patient, patient.. But I‘m freaking out inside! Can‘t wait!

2020: Now we finally have a first look of the Loki Series! And I still can't wait!

9. This photo is taken by BBC Radio 2 during the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show. It‘s truly one of my favorite pictures yet! There he spoke about ‘Betrayal’ which will be hitting the theatre in London next month. He also spoke a little about the Loki Series & about the Nightmanager season 2, but he wasn‘t allowed to say much about it yet. What better to start your Friday morning (it was a Friday) with then listening to Tom‘s voice on the radio! They also had some real good music in-between the talks. I heard ABBA, Journey (Don‘t stop Believing) & a live performance of a song of No Doubt. Also they spoke about the film 'Mary Queen of Scots' which premiered that week. I found it very impressive!

2020: Okay still nothing on the Night Manager Season 2, but wow Betrayal London is almost a year ago now! Last December in my Top 2000 Music blogpost, I also addressed this radio interview when sharing the main reason why I gave Journey's Don't Stop Believing a vote: --> "Ever since my teen years the song Don't Stop Believing came to me on moments when I was about to stop believing.. It's like it's the Universe's way to send me a reminder, a confirmation and it's so beautiful. It's something that gets me emotional too. You know one of my dreams is meeting Tom Hiddleston one day and when he was on the English Radio 2 (betrayal interview) the song Don't Stop Believing was played during that show or after it. And here it comes: Two hours later I switch back to the Dutch Radio 2 and on the very same moment there it is: Don't Stop Believing from Journey!" <-- It was such a magical moment! And the ABBA song was 'Waterloo', one that now also makes me think of Tom every time I hear it!

In a top 9 of 2019-2020 probably Loki in Endgame, Tom Hiddleston on SDCC, Tom's posts about the Loki Series, Betrayal London & Betrayal Broadway won't be missing!

My other two edits I made for Favorite Tom Friday were 9 of my favorite Tom Hiddleston photo's/moments/my fave roles of Tom other than Loki + 9 favorite photo's of Tom as Loki:

2. Loki's Birthday (Chapter of my Loki Novel)

To stay in the spirit of Tom's birthday, I shared a scene of when it was Loki's birthday in my Loki fanfiction. Click the link if you want to read it. I'm currently editing my story, what I had posted here is obviously not edited yet. 

3. Thor The Dark World 

Still one of my favorite posts. I talked Thor the Dark World, one or maybe my favorite Marvel movies all time! 😊 Again, here's a small part:

Favorite Introduction: In the Avengers we see Loki looking as a mess at first sight, (Of course he made all women worldwide faint a few scenes later, with him staring in their souls while the guards guide him away. Even Bruce Banner got distracted by that look!) here we see the opposite. I can‘t help but saying that he just looks extremely attractive in those chains! I don‘t know how many time was meant to be passed, but he surely doesn't look like he just got Hulk Smashed! The way we get to see him walking towards -there‘s the minor point..- Odin. In between he asked his mother if he made her proud. Also I like the scenes with Frigga and Loki very much. If you ask me I think, despite that he wasn't her real son, she favored Loki over Thor. Yes, I love this introduction. I have played this DVD like a thousand of times, so I usually just skip the prologue part and my movie starts with this scene. :) 

Favorite quote: 

"If it were easy, everyone would do it." 

And of course, off-screen at the end of the scene: "Ta-daa!"

2020: And somewhere in this post I wrote: "Is it an idea to rerelease this film, with nothing but Loki commentary during the whole film?" I still would sign for this haha! 

Favorite Illusion:

In my opinion, too much Loki scenes got cut in Thor the Dark World. (Perhaps because otherwise they could have better named the movie: Loki the Dark World..) But if I should name one they should not had cut out, I‘m not naming this one. I‘m naming the scene in which you see Loki scream loudly after he just heard about his mother‘s death. In the movie we only get to see him moving his furniture, while this extended scene showed much more of his emotions! It showed that he cared deeply, that also the God of Mischief is a man with real feelings. Of course for us it‘s obvious Loki isn't heartless, even though his actions and words have not always shown that. We read it off his face (right?). But when I‘m talking to someone who doesn't understand his character, they describe him as a selfish, heartless dirty bull. Unfortunately for some, Loki still is a misunderstood character. But luckily, the deleted scenes are out there for us to see. And this is one of my favorite because it‘s full of fun! Loki dressed as a King, raising Mjolnir and getting a lot of glory from the folks. An illusion created by Loki. The scene in Thor: Ragnarok (Hela demanding the folks to kneel before her), reminds me of this scene. Loki really has developed himself in Ragnarok, but sometimes I think it‘s funny to wonder: Is Loki really the adopted one? ;)

Favorite ending: Once you have seen the after credits scenes, you don‘t have to see them again. At least, that‘s what I thought. For me the movie starts with Loki and ends with him + the lovely Thor the Dark World music which comes after. Once I said: "Marvel shall never outdo the strong vibe this ending had.", and several movies further I still agree with myself. The best fatherly advise Thor ever got, didn't even came from his father. As if Loki just knew Thor would have turned around while walking away (imagine if he did..), he transformed (looking just as attractive like in the introduction) back to himself and softly said: 'No, thank you..' Gold!

2020: ^^ Still saying AMEN to this!

4. Who is 'Goddess of Loki' ? 

I had found a website with all kinds of questions to introduce yourself to your readers. Funny to read it back tho, let's see if I still agree with my 'one year ago' self:

"By start the people who know me don‘t call me 'Goddess of Loki', most of them don‘t even know I got social media accounts named after that, let along if they even know who Loki is. No, people call me Nicole because well.. that‘s my name. And at the moment I‘m still 27 years old. I do live in a very small town in a country shaped like a hand glove. Do you know what country I mean? (The Netherlands.)"

2020: ^^ That's not right, I'm 28 now lol.


"1. What’s your favorite way to spend a weekend? Watching tv (shows, films with or without Tom in them), writing, reading, in general relaxing and sometimes I like to go out with friends.

2. What type of music are you into? Rock music mainly! I really like 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s."

2020: Nothing changed there.


"3. What was the best vacation you ever took and why? London 2017, it‘s just an amazing city! 

4. Where’s the next place on your travel bucket list and why? Ah, I thought this question would come.. Scotland! I would really like to go to Scotland! I think it‘s a really beautiful country with stunning nature. And I‘d like to see Lake Lochness!"

2020: Well, I'm going to Glastonbury this year, so perhaps question 3 would change. And question 4 would not be right, even though Scotland stands very high on my bucket list!

"9. What are you most proud of in the last year? How much I have grown in my English writing. You should see something I wrote like two years ago, I‘m still working on some adjustments in my older work."

2020: That answer is still correct! I think it's amazing how much you can learn in one year!

"12. Who do you admire most in the world? Do I seriously need to answer this question?? The answer is the person I dedicates this blog to! But besides him I also really admire my family members and some people who had to deal with a lot of difficulty."

2020: 💓

"21. If you could invite 3 people, dead or alive, to a dinner party, who would they be, and why? Tom Hiddleston, Kurt Cobain & Chris Hemsworth. This would be the weirdest party ever.."

2020: Why hadn't I invited Robert Downey Jr? He's definitely invited, so I've got to un-invite someone. Obviously that'll be Kurt Cobain or Chris Hemsworth..

"24. What fictional place / movie universe would you most like to go? Asgard! Dreaming away with Loki below the beautiful Asgard sky.."

2020: Who wouldn't?


(Then came a Valentine post, a post about the Raffle for meeting Tom Hiddleston, first news about the Loki Series and news about Betrayal)


5. Stuttgart Loki Funko Pop Custom

In February 2019 I also received my Stuttgart Loki custom I had requested. I still love him, he's so adorable! More pictures in the blogpost of February 23rd.

6. Throwback to Tom‘s Spirit Week: Good Will Thursday

My last post from February 2019 was dedicated to a charity for animals, my subject for Thursday's theme of 2019's Tom's Spirit Week:

Small part:

#TomsSpiritWeek: For today‘s theme #GoodWillThursday I chose to support charities. Since I already have donated for both of the Tom Hiddleston birthday Fundraisers for Unicef, I chose Animals Syria - CatConnect. I chose to donate the exact amount I had paid for an event which got canceled (and so was refunded to me). 

#CatConnect is on my list for charities I wanted to support since I saw the episode of husky Zeus on Dogs (Netflix documentary). As I got a big heart for animals and I want them to live a happy and safe life, the episode touched me very much. The episode is about a Syrian refugee. His dog Zeus remained in Syria for several years before enlisting the help of Animals Syria to make the reunion possible.

2020: ^^ I don't know if it's still on Netflix, but 'Dogs' is really worth the watch!


💚💙💜💛


Compared to last year and seen how busy I am lately, I know I won't make it to 16 posts for February this year! But since I watched War Horse last night and because I like to write film blogs/reviews, I think my next blog will be about War Horse!

I want to thank everyone who has followed me & has been reading my blogs this year. Up to another year of fun, lots of Hiddleslove & lots of Loki's mischief!

See you soon!

💓

Love,

xx

Nicole

💓

Hiddles 39th Birthday!

Hiddles 39th Birthday!

9 February: Tom Hiddleston's Birthday

Dearest Tom,

Years really do fly. I remember your 38th birthday like it was yesterday. I had totally stepped out of my comfortzone with making a silly video of me singing Happy Birthday to you. And I haven't stepped in that comfortzone again ever since. I've made some crazy but good decisions, overwon some of my fears and did the things I desired for. Thank you Tom!💓.

Today it's your day. Have a lovely, fantastic birthday! Enjoy your 39th birthday! Congratulations! And.. Mischief is allowed! Haha. 

I wish all Hiddlestoners a lovely, great day on Hiddles Birthday!

In Dutch we say something similar like: "If it's your birthday, you hand out treats!" In case of Tom, I think that's exactly what he has been doing for the past few weeks! Because we've been granted with a few exclusive first looks of his dyed black hair for the Loki Series, the Super Bowl video, Thor Ragnarok deleted scenes and there were some pictures of Tom I've never seen. And all this in my busy months! Yeah, it has been quite hectic this year and it actually has just started! I've started a new job, got a lot to do here and there, had a school reunion and I even had a blind-date (but let's forget about that because that absolutely was a no match..) While there's a heavy storm outside, there's a lot of Tom to share on his birthday, so shall we do that? 😁

First look of Tom Hiddleston as Loki, doing preparation for the Loki Series:

Dit bericht bekijken op Instagram

Prep is going really well. #Loki

Een bericht gedeeld door Tom Hiddleston (@twhiddleston) op 27 Jan 2020 om 11:35 (PST)

There were already rumors that Tom had dyed his hair black and there he posted the proof! We've got to do it without Loki's long locks, but I think this look fits Loki very well too. At least it's not as short as Thor's look from Thor Ragnarok! Also this means bye bye beard as Tom is now seen clean shaved. It resulted in fans creating 'RIP Hiddlesbeard' memes and videos. Don't be sad! No beard means more Loki so what more could we want? However, Loki with a beard, how would that be?

Loki in the first Marvel Studios trailer for the Disney Plus Series, showed at the Super Bowl:

Loki, smiling, showing his naked arms saying: "I'm gonna burn this place to the ground!"

Uhm.. Wow!

Make-up Artist Douglas Noe shared a photo from Tom from the summer of 2017:

Dit bericht bekijken op Instagram

#fbf Summer 2017 ‘Thor Ragnarok’ pickups Here’s Tom taking out the trash... aka me. All kidding aside, Happy Birthday (this Sunday the 9th) to one of my favorite people. It’s been said so often, he’s truly remarkable in every way!!! 39 years young! #tomhiddleston #loki #happybirthday #ragnarok #alwaysgreat

Een bericht gedeeld door Douglas Noe (@douglasnoemakeup) op 7 Feb 2020 om 8:27 (PST)

Ohh and let's not forget about this one: 😮

Deleted Scene of Thor Ragnarok:

Loki, Thor finding a homeless Odin and then there's the introduction of Hela. This scene is epic! 

Enjoy this lovely day! What are you going to do today? I'm going to watch a Tom Hiddleston movie. I think it's going to be War Horse, it's been a long time when I last saw it! Have fun!! And next year: Big 40th party?? 😁

PS: I remember that I made this blog one day after Tom's 38th birthday, so tomorrow it's the first anniversary of GoddessofLoki.blogspot!

Credit frame: Neopets

Love,

xx

Nicole

Dolittle Movie

The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle (Universal Pictures)

Set Robert Downey Jr. in the middle of a bunch of animals, add a dose of humor and a golden combination has been created! I suppose that might have been a thought from the makers of The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle. Smart move because Downey Jr. has a huge fan base and a real fan (like me) shall not skip one of his movies! Do you say Dr. Dolittle, then images of the humorous Eddy Murphy, who has played the role in quite some films, are coming in right away. Now it's up to Robert Downey Jr. to portray the role of Dolittle, the doctor who’s able to communicate with animals. Of course Robert is best known as Tony Stark / Iron Man, a role that in my opinion truly was made for him! But also as detective Sherlock Holmes, he proved that he can be called an actor with the capital letter A. 

In Dolittle, the Avengers actor brings along one of his Marvel colleagues: Tom Holland, the current Spiderman from the MCU. As Jip the dog, he dropped four legs. (Because spiders have 8 legs, I know bad joke..) Bohemian Rhapsody actor Rami Malek also has a role in this film, namely Gorilla Chee-Chee. The female roles in this film are portrayed by (among others) Emma Thompson and Selena Gomez.

If you are following Robert Downey Jr. on social media, you probably have seen some of the promotion that he did for Dolittle. Around the 10th of December, he shared a humorous video in which the animals supposedly did an audition. (Several existing films included, shall add the video below). One thing was Barry the tiger (Ralph Fiennes) roaring like a dinosaur from Jurassic Park. A little later he says: "Put me in the movie or it's Downey for dessert .." I saw that in the morning, so I didn’t wanted a dessert, but it did made me look forward in seeing the film even more!

Also, from the first second, the trailer took me to the adventurous and somewhat fairy-tale world of Dolittle. The film was produced by the makers of Disney's Alice in Wonderland & Maleficent and you can certainly see that in it. Dolittle is set in the Victorian era and based on the equally named children's book series (the first one now is a 100 years old). Eddy Murphy’s version was compared to the books and earlier films quite different in details such as time, story and characters. Dr. John Dolittle, portrayed by Downey Jr. with some traits of characters that can be found on the IMDb list from Johnny Depp, prefers only animals around him. Due a serious illness of the young Queen Victoria, the eccentric doctor is needed, urgent. Together with his faithful parrot Poly and a student (Harry Collett), he’s going on quite the adventurous quest to find an extremely rare medicine for the queen. The rest of the crew includes a polar bear and an ostrich who are constantly arguing, a squirrel with sinister plans and a silly duck. Compared to Dolittle’s animal chaos, Tony Stark was lucky with just one talking raccoon!

Dolittle is a film for the whole family. (Although Dolittle takes his pet gang everywhere, I don’t think the employees at the cinema will appreciate it if you bring your own pets to the film..) Not just among children, but also among grown-ups, animal films are still hugely popular. And obviously the dose of animals and humor are all well present in Dolittle! 

 And no, I’m not Robert Downey Jr. tired yet. Hell no! I’m happy that we will at least see him one more time as Tony Stark in the Black Widow movie & that there’s a Sherlock Holmes film scheduled for 2021!

Have you seen Dolittle? What did you think of it? Feel free to share it in the comments!

First post of 2020

First post of 2020

In my country, the beginning of January often is described with: "Falling a in a deep black hole.." However it wasn't that heavy for me, I notice that the new year came with new things, new feelings and a lot is going on within and around me. It resulted in me having less time and motivation to update my blog. Also to gain me some experience, I started with a new job this week so things kind of need to be settled down at this point.

But that doesn't mean that I have neglected all my writings for the past few weeks. I've updated both my Loki and The Lion King fanfiction with another chapter. Okay, the Loki story I wrote a few years ago, so that one just needed some editing. But for Scar's Reign I had some new inspiration that I needed to write down.

Links to those stories:

A Loki Novel Part 1
Chapter 8: Tom's Pancakes, Chris's Eggs and Loki's Rage

(Okay I don’t know if Tom & Chris are such good eaters, but it was fun to write xD)

 “After Chris had spent the early morning to do some stretching and work-outs, Tom greeted him and together they decided to do something about their growling stomachs. Since they hadn’t eaten much yesterday, the both of them highly needed to get some food, so they simply followed the scent of freshly baked bread and pan cakes. Finding the table full of delicacies, obviously didn’t took them very long. The table already seemed to be discovered by Owen. Chris took a few eggs and Tom‘s heart probably started to beat faster when he took a bite from a pancake.”

 Continue reading: Tom's Pancakes, Chris's Eggs and Loki's Rage (wattpad) and Ao3.


The Lion King Scar's Reign
Chapter 14: The Elephant Graveyard

Credit Scar/Nala artwork: Deviant Art User Whiluna

From this story I also updated the summary:

A dark era has reached the Pride Lands, with Scar as its king. The lionesses, the hyenas: they all have to deal with each other. This story will reveal what‘s truly happened during Simba's absence. What's life like on the Pride Lands with Scar? With his chaotic mind, Scar has got his eyes drawn to Nala. 

Also his past still haunts this black maned lion. And how's Scar holding up as king himself? Every day there‘s the chance of him or one of the hyenas spilling their secret out in the open. But there‘s one other lion who knows the truth: Zira. Scar and Zira have a rather unpleasant history together and also the hyenas are wondering if he still stands on the same page as they are. While Scar is worrying about his future and the 'ghosts' of his past, Zira and the three hyenas are secretly plotting against him. Does Scar have anyone left on his side or has he, with his actions of the past, created his own Lion Graveyard?

Is Taka still hidden somewhere inside or is our pal truly destined to be doomed? (based on The Madness of King Scar & A Tale of Two Brothers) I work with the italic font to reveal a character‘s thought.

I showed a small part of the Loki story, so here's the beginning of the chapter:

Continue reading (or just read it in bigger size 😆): 

Ao3: The Elephant Graveyard

Ao3: From the beginning

Wattpad Scar's Reign

FF.net Scar's Reign

Quotes

I thought it's never too late to share some January inspiration, so here are a few inspiring quotes:

Here's a photo I made last week:

No, the picture is not edited in black & white. I was watching two squirrels chasing after each other in the trees (camera couldn't catch them). Due the light the trees looked like they were black. What's the message of this photo? Perhaps it meant: 

"Not everything always is that black & white like it seems." 

Isn't that a perfect quote to end this post with? It could be, but I want to end the blogpost with the following:

Robert Downey Jr. as Dolittle!

In my second blogpost (unless Tom Hiddleston will post a selfie of him as Loki on the set of the Loki series before the weekend) of the year I'm going to do some writing I absolutely love too, namely: blogging/reviewing films! As a animal lover I am definitely looking forward in seeing Dolittle, from which Robert Downey Jr. (definitely one of my favorite actors too!), has made me excited for with all the promotion he did on his social media.

Have you seen Dolittle already or are you going to see it? Feel free to share your opinion about this movie in a comment on my next blogpost that will be named: Dolittle Movie.


Love,

xx

Nicole

Music Inspiration (Top 2000/Christmas)

Christmas for me means family time, sharing, raising the glass and music meaning: Top 2000! ♫ In this blog I'm sharing my love for music before we'll start the most wonderful time of the year! 🎄🎅

Tom about the Nutcracker

I really enjoyed listening to Tom Hiddleston's childhood memories about Tchaikovsky's the Nutcracker  (listen below). I always love to hear Tom speaking so passionate about the things he loves and just imagine Little Tommy listening to a beautiful art of music: aww😍 I really appreciate the classical music and every now and then (when writing) I turn on Mozart or Beethoven, but in today's blog the music mentioned are quite a different genre.. Tomorrow starts an inspiring music program as well, hosted by my very own favorite radio channel. It's called the Top 2000 and just like for Tom Hiddleston and many others, music is a very important factor in my life and in this post I'll want to share my love for these 35 songs I gave my vote to this year.


The Top 2000

NPO Radio 2's Top 2000 is a yearly music list airing from Christmas until December the 31st, 23:59 (directly followed by ABBA - Happy New Year). From the 1st until the 7th of December you were able to vote, filling in a list of max. 35 songs, a hard job because if you ask me, picking only 35 songs is quite a challenge! I called it the most important vote of the year. Some songs are rusted up in my yearly list. However every year there are songs that have a special story, especially for this year and therefore those songs made it to this list. Also that is what the Top 2000 is, looking back on memories born this year before celebrating the arrival of the next year. One of the things I love most about the voting is filling in the motivation of why I chose that particular song. Here's my list of songs I voted for this year.


My Top 2000 list:

(Alright, I'm a bad calculator, but I do know that below are 36 songs instead of 35: the why is explained.)

1. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Maid of Orleans 

If you read my blog regularly, you know I'm a very spiritual person. Last year I heard this song on a spiritual night that had all to do with strong women from the past who have meant something for the world. Maid of Orleans is about Joan of Arc, one of the strong women the evening was about. I recognized the song but I didn't knew who it was. Two months later I heard it in the Top 2000, quickly made a screenshot in the app so that I would remember the name of the song (the artist name is one I easily forget..). It's one of the songs I do listen a lot now and after everything I've grew in the last year, it truly needed to be on top of my list!

It's such a beautiful song, listen here:

2. Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way  

When I hear this, I often think that this song is giving me a message. A message to follow my dreams by simply going my own way. This is something I'm really trying to do. It's something I would advice everyone to do, although it doesn't always seem to be easy. One thing is clear: How hard it's going to be, the path is there! The song seems to come to me on moments I need to be remembered by it. Local coverbands do often play this one a lot and last year I heard Fleetwood Mac live on Pinkpop. Go Your Own Way always hits me, and it does get me emotional from time to time..

3. Guns n’ Roses – November Rain 

This is one of my all time favorite classics. In this list, I will never skip November Rain. It's just such a beautiful song and I do remember the rainy videoclip with the wedding, the funeral and Slash playing the guitar outside the church very clearly. It disappeared out of the top 10 last year, I hope one day it'll be back in it.. Often on family-days when a Guns n' Roses song is playing, people tell a story about little toddler Nicole.. I'll explain that one when we'll reach Knocking on Heavens Door.

Something else, I actually never have seen the original Guns n' Roses live but next June I get my chance when they're standing on Pinkpop, a Dutch festival. So.. who's coming with me?

4. Nirvana – The Man Who Sold The World

I dare to say that I find Nirvana's version better than David Bowie's version. Even though many will disagree, Nirvana surely beats the original version in this music top.. Nirvana is one of my favorite of all times and I just love the Unplugged in New York album. Perhaps this was the album that made me fell in love with Nirvana, even though I knew some of their other songs. Some say: Nirvana is one you hate or love.. Well, I love it!

5. Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song 
Okay, I admit, this song has entered my list the year that Thor: Ragnarok hit the theaters: 2017. I can't believe I had never heard this one before, while of course I knew some songs of Led Zeppelin. We come from the land of the ice and snow! This song always makes me laugh and it reminds me of some hilarious Loki/Thor moments: (Get Help..) It's an epic underrated song. I hosted a intro music quiz (based on the Top 2000) the other day and only one person guessed the artist while nobody knew the title..

This year they have added a function where you can see a statistic of how the song has been doing it during all editions of the Top 2000. See here how Thor Ragnarok made it increase in 2017:

6. Neil Young – Keep on Rocking in the Free World 

You know, you're able to visit the Top 2000 café every year. It's just that with one ticket (they're cheap and sold out fast!), you're allowed to stay for 30 minutes. This was one of the songs that was playing last year when I was there. It's the only one I remember because it was the only real good song I heard in there. I shall always be remembered to that when I hear this song. I used to have the title written on a sticker bought at Pinkpop, it's a great motto indeed.

7. Electric Light Orchestra – Don’t Bring Me Down 

Speaking of great motto's, this definitely is one too! This is one of the songs I have listened to this year a lot, therefore (and because it's awesome!) it's in the list. The beauty of the list is that there always songs in it that have a extra special meaning that particular year. This year I've learned that I'm stronger than I think I am..

8. Guns n’ Roses – Knockin' on Heavens Door 

Back in the days when I was 2 (long time ago, I don't remember it haha) a TV channel, probably MTV aired a daily Top 5. The early 90s seemed to be the years of Guns n' Roses, Mr. Big, Metallica and Ugly Kid Joe, as these were the artists my parents told me I enjoyed to listen to everyday. They sat me in front of the TV, watched me trying to sing along during Knockin' on Heavens door, while obviously all I brabbled was "Ai ai ai".. Even back then, I knew what good music was!

9. Nirvana – In Bloom 

One of Nirvana I've started to appreciate more and more the last two years. Also this one entered the Top 2000 last year. The best version of this song I think is not the regular version, but the version that's on the Nevermind Deluxe album. I don't know, it's just a little different.

10. Led Zeppelin – Stairway To Heaven 
I wished this was the number 1. It's such a beautiful song. Last year Stairway to Heaven disappeared out for the top 3 because of Billy Joel's Piano Man (not a bad song either..) and this year it ended up on place 5. Well, at least it's still in the top 5! The other day my father showed me a video of a version of Stairway To Heaven sung by the singer of Heart. Who thinks women can't sing should definitely listen to this: Stairway to Heaven by Heart

11. The Eagles – Hotel California 
The forever number 2 (however it actually did beat Bohemian Rhapsody a few years ago..). Such a beautiful song, can't skip it!

12. Boston – More Than A Feeling 
According to my father, this is the best song in the world! It indeed is a real, real good song!

13. Lex Uiting – Nao ‘t Zuuje
This is a local song, very local song. It's from the city where I visited the 'vote-bus' (see below). Actually it's a slightly emotional, carnaval (link to the blog I wrote about this subject in March) ballade. It entered the list last year and that gave such a proud feeling. Note: I'm not that crazy of Carnaval, but a little I can have..

14. Elton John – Circle of Life
The Lion King (1994) still is one of my favorite movies and Elton John's Circle of Life always brings me back to the Pride Lands! 

15. Wham – Last Christmas 
It's almost Christmas and my favorite Christmas song can't miss! However this month I have listened to Christmas Was A Friend Of Mine a lot, so I think I have one more Christmas song that enters my list next year!

16. Jason Paige - Gotta Catch'm All (Pokémon theme song) 
Okay, in 2015 this song was voted in due a FB action.. I thought it was funny, as long as if it's not that extreme (Top 10 for example). Yeah I gave it a vote again and that resulted (as usual) in a discussion with my father. "If you can't find 35 better songs.." I might leave it out next year then.. The radio channel has a game 'The Top 2000 Shuffle' in which you get 5 random songs from the last Top 2000. For each song you got to say No or Yes (if you want to hear it) and if you reach the last song, that one automatically will be played. During the voting week they did this game like every two hours. I was lucky enough to be selected for playing the game and I already feared the Pokémon song to be my first choice.. and that was the case! I made the DJ laugh by telling the story about the discussion with my father but I turned the song down.. I went to the 5th song: a Michael Jackson song, not bad.

17. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit 
Another Nirvana song: Yep, and it's not the last one! The ultimate rock song!

18. Bon Jovi – Bed Of Roses 
Bed of Roses is such a beautiful song. I once said they should play it on my funeral. 

Isn't this beautiful? :

I wanna lay you down in a bed of roses
For tonight I sleep on a bed of nails
Oh, I wanna be just as close as the Holy Ghost is
And lay you down on a bed of roses

19: Europe – The Final Countdown 
In the motivation I wrote this is the perfect nr. 1 for the Top 2000 (instead of Bohemian Rhapsody).. Because of "The Final Countdownnnnn" and then it's 2020, you know.. Never going to happen.

20. Muse – Uprising 
One of my favorite bands of the century! And I think Uprising is their best song. I have seen Musest (Muse Coverband) two times now. Muse is definitely on my list too!

21. Linkin Park – In The End 
Another example of a band from which the singer died way too soon! (a.o: Nirvana, INXS) Spoken of things the singers (Kurt Cobain & Michael Hutchence) have in common, Chester Bennington had such an amazing voice. 

22. ABBA – Waterloo 
Waterloo💓 My favorite ABBA song. Every time I hear it, my heart warms. And of course, it makes me think of my favorite country: England!

23. ABBA – S.O.S 
Also this ABBA song has something special. A few years ago I also had a great night when seeing a tribute-band of ABBA.

24. INXS – Never Tear Us Apart

I remember there were years I had added a lot of INXS songs to my list, some of them never actually came in the list and a few have disappeared last year. The singer Michael Hutchence had such a beautiful voice which is to its fullest in this song. I often say I am born like 20 or 30 years too late because the 80s truly were the years when lots of men had long hair. Unfortunately only a handful have such long locks nowadays. 

25. Michael Jackson – Leave Me Alone

If you have never seen this videoclip, you definitely should. It's a funny one with labradors. Around the time Michael Jackson died, we just had our labrador. One channel aired Michael Jackson videoclips non stop for days. So every time I hear this Michael Jackson song with the labradors in it, it reminds me of my own labrador. 🐶

26. Foreigner – I Want To Know What Love Is 

Just a really beautiful song!

27. Sly Fox – Let’s Go All The Way 

Funny story. This is a song I have heard a lot on the radio, but first the only thing I remembered was the beginning. That's something like: "sham sham zea" <-- googling that, no results of course.. However somehow I found it and when I requested it, the Radio DJ even played it. Unfortunately, the song hasn't made the final list. 

28. Slash ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators – World On Fire

As for the motivation for this song I refer to a blog from June: Pinkpop/Music. My highlight of the the Pinkpop festival this year: The rocking sounds of Slash, Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators. I made the choice of going to stand in front at Slash's performance. That's something I don‘t choose to do often, or like ever. (You shouldn't do that at a performance of Rammstein or Rage Against the Machine for example, if you don‘t want to end up in the raging crowds or if you don‘t feel like you‘re standing so secure in your shoes, like me.) Since last year I‘m developing myself by stopping to see my legs-condition as an obstacle. It‘s like they are less a burden now, but of course there are some limits. But standing in front at Slash ft. Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators is not something I regret. I hope to see Slash again next year, when he comes with Guns n' Roses.

29. Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box 

One of the first songs of Nirvana I knew. I bought the single of this song. Unlike the videoclip, the image on the single is quite beautiful.


30. Nazareth – Love Hurts 
Really beautiful song, although some here at home disagree..


31. Ugly Kid Joe – Cats in The Cradle 
It's sad that there's no song from Ugly Kid Joe at all in the Top 2000. This one or Everything I Hate About You should have been in there!

32. Nirvana – Come as You Are 

Here's Nirvana again, you know me by now! I really like this song. As read in the title, this song is about being yourself. Don't pretend to be someone else. And a "No, I'm not going to judge you", perhaps is to read in the line: "No, I don't have a gun", Kurt keeps repeating.

33. Guns n’ Roses – Estranged 

Estranged perhaps is the less known sister/brother of November Rain. Give it a chance, because it truly is just as beautiful! A little lyrics: Cause I see the storm getting closer And the waves they get so high Seems everything we've ever known's here Why must it drift away and die..


34. Led Zeppelin – Kashmir
They made such great music, Led Zeppelin! I'll always enjoy this one for the full 8:30 minutes!


35: Giant – I’ll See You In My Dreams / Journey - Don't Stop Believing
I listed these two songs together because they kind of have the same meaning to me. I voted for I'll See You In My Dreams last year, but it's actually not in the voting list so I chose Don't Stop Believing from Journey instead. Never stop believing in your dreams, it's something I have mentioned in my blogs a lot. Ever since my teen years the song Don't Stop Believing came to me on moments when I was about to stop believing.. It's like it's the Universe's way to send me a reminder, a confirmation and it's so beautiful. It's something that gets me emotional too. You know one of my dreams is meeting Tom Hiddleston one day and when he was on the English Radio 2 (betrayal interview) the song Don't Stop Believing was played during that show or after it. And here it comes: Two hours later I switch back to the Dutch Radio 2 and on the very same moment there it is: Don't Stop Believing from Journey!

I would like to share the lyrics of I'll See You In My Dreams with you, see why I have fell in love with it:

Gone, the voice that used to fill the room is all but gone
An echo of a perfect love that ended wrong
Girl, we tried so hard when love was on our side
And yesterday will always be the reason why
You keep comin', you keep comin' back, you keep comin' back for more

I'll see you in my dreams
There we'll be safe tonight, from the lonely days of memory
I'll see you in my dreams, oh

Time, time will never be a friend of mine again
It tries to make your memory fade, but I won't let it end
Let the sun go down, so I can drift away
Let me close my eyes and live another day
You keep comin', you keep comin' back, you keep comin' back for more

I'll see you in my dreams
There we'll be safe tonight, from the lonely days of memory
I'll see you in my dreams, oh

The truth, oh it's there for you to see
Sometimes it's painful to be on your own, on your own

I'll see you in my dreams
There we'll be safe tonight, from the lonely days of memory
I'll see you in my dreams
Back in my arms again, and no matter what tomorrow brings
I'll see you in my dreams, oh, oh, oh

Visiting the 'Vote-Bus':

and I also visited the 'vote-bus' itself, as they had a stop somewhere close. So, on the 6th, just like many others, my alarm went on 6 o'clock and I was traveling to the location on 7:20. The only difference is that for most people if the alarm is set on 6 o'clock, its for work and definitely not for fun.. I'm not traveling towards the café this year, so I really liked it that the bus had a stop close to my home this year. The weather had turned into a December Rain and my feet were cold afterwards.. But I spoke with one of the DJs of the radio and of course scored me a photo. It was definitely worth wasting some sleep hours for! 

I hope you enjoyed my blogpost. And now let's go enjoy Christmas!

And I wish you a..

xx

Nicole