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babe-bombadil · 5 months

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Monumental Mischief

Summary: Boromir receives a mysterious bottle from Merry and Pippin. Havoc ensues. (Happens post-battle of Isengard on the journey back to Helm's Deep.)

Written for the 2023 @fall-for-tolkien event! Inspired by You Have Mail by @i-did-not-mean-to

Rating: G

Word Count: 1,184

Read on AO3 or below

“Um... Gandalf?”

The wizard looked up to see Pippin and Merry looking at him with what they surely thought were innocent smiles but he knew were devious grins. He narrowed his eyes at them and raised an eyebrow. Merry elbowed Pippin and he spoke again.

“We were wondering if there was any way to get some more of that Entwash that Treebeard gave us?”

“Purely for research purposes of course,” Merry interrupted.

“And we wouldn’t be drinking it ourselves, just, um, studying it some more. You know, to learn more about the mystical ways of the Ents,” Pippin finished.

Gandalf paused. He found himself in a difficult predicament. If he said no, the hobbits would never let it go. Constantly bugging him and asking for it every time he got a chance to sit down. It would be no use to explain to the pair that he did not have access to the draught. They were convinced he was all-powerful. However, Gandalf knew it would be an absolute disaster to give the young hobbits Ent-draught. They were already both taller than any hobbits Gandalf had known, and even if they did keep their word and not consume it themselves, they would surely be using it to wreak havoc on the company.

He kept silent for a moment, pondering his next move, when he was struck with a devious idea. Why not give the hobbits a taste of their own medicine? Surely no harm could be done, and they would all have a good laugh. He could use a splash of entertainment.

“Very well,” Gandalf replied. “I shall see if I can procure some for you. And I must say, I am delighted that you have decided to take a scholarly path. Run along now.”

That night, Boromir was laying out his bedroll when he found a small brown sack that had been slipped into his bag. Curious, he opened it to find a small glass bottle and a letter. He unfolded the note and attempted to decipher the scribbled handwriting.

Dear Boromir, Here is a little thank you present from your favorite members of the fellowship. It will help keep you strong so you can keep teaching us sword fighting. We know you’ll enjoy it!

Signed, Your favorite hobbit (and Pippin) Pippers and Merry Berry Merry and Pippin!

Boromir’s face split into a grin as he chuckled. He really did care for the hobbits and was honored they would give him a gift. In Gondor, the giving of a gift implied great respect and admiration. Apprentices often gave gifts to their masters to thank them for passing on their skills. Folding the note carefully and tucking it into his pocket, he turned to the vial. It was a rather peculiar shape, large at the bottom and curved to a small opening at the top, and filled with an amber liquid. He heard stifled giggles in the bushes nearest him and fought a smile. Perhaps it was hobbit custom to hide nearby while a friend opened your gift.

He pulled the cork out and downed the entire thing in one gulp. To his surprise, it tasted just like regular Gondorian mead. An odd thing to have, to be sure, and too small an amount for his liking, but he was grateful nonetheless. Too worn out from the day to question how his friends procured the drink, he laid down to sleep with a happy smile on his face. It was nice to be appreciated.

The next morning Boromir opened his eyes and stretched with a yawn. A smile set itself on his face as he sat up. His good mood was such that he even began to hum while packing up his bedroll. He had a feeling it was going to be a great day.

Swinging his pack over his shoulder, Boromir strolled over to where Aragorn, Pippin, and Merry were sitting eating breakfast.

“Good morning, friends,” he called out as he approached.

“Hey Boromir! You’re sure looking tall today,” Merry yelled back. He glanced at Pippin, who nodded his head emphatically.

“Even for a man, you seem very large,” the young hobbit added. “We’re so lucky to have such a tall and strong person in our company!”

“Isn’t he looking tall today, Aragorn?” Merry turned his head to look at his friend. Aragorn gave a tired sigh. He did not get enough sleep to deal with whatever antics the two hobbits dreamed up.

“Just finish your breakfast already. We need to get on the road.”

“Aragorn?”

The ranger sat up from where he had been starting a fire. “Yes, Boromir?”

The man took a deep breath. “Is it true?”

“Is what true?”

“Is it true what the hobbits have been saying all day? Am I actually looking a lot taller?” Boromir asked hesitantly.

Aragorn furrowed his brow. “If you’re looking for compliments, you’ll have to try someone else.”

“No, that's not it. It’s just…” Boromir hesitated. Aragorn set down his sword and turned his full attention to his companion.

“Yes?” he prodded.

“Well, the hobbits gave me a drink of some sort the other night and I assumed it was mead, but now I’m worried they somehow got their hands on some sort of growing potion,” Boromir rushed. Aragorn tried to keep his expression serious as he nodded.

“Growing potion.”

Boromir dragged his hand across his face. “I know it sounds fanciful, but they have been making comments about my height all day and it has made me worried! Even my boots don’t fit quite right anymore! Am I truly unnaturally tall today?”

Aragorn took a deep breath and pursed his lips to fight down a smile. It appeared that his friend was legitimately distressed, and it would not do to mock him now. He laid his hands on Boromir’s shoulders. “I promise that you look exactly the same height as yesterday. A completely normal height for a man. I do not know what Merry and Pippin were referring to, but can one ever know what those two are on about?”

Boromir, who had been holding his breath, heaved a sigh of relief. “I suppose I’ve overreacted. The hobbits were probably just trying to compliment me. Thank you, my friend.”

Gandalf smiled to himself. Giving the hobbits a fake potion was a genius plan, if he did say so himself. They couldn’t complain to him that it didn’t work, because to do so would admit they had given it to someone. And if they truly wanted to study it… well, Gandalf knew that definitely wasn’t true. He had successfully pranked the pranksters. Besides, the smallest part of him had enjoyed watching Boromir’s distress grow throughout the day. Such a valiant man being afraid of his height was extremely entertaining.

Suddenly anxious, the wizard reached into his saddle bag and ensured the palantír was still inside. He was afraid that with the prank having failed, young Pippin’s thoughts would again turn towards the stone. Oh, Gandalf wished the hobbit had never picked it up. Perhaps he would sleep with it tonight, just to be safe.

Thanks to @psyche-the-ya-protagonist for being my awesome beta reader!

Comments and reblogs are always appreciated! Let me know your thoughts or personal headcanons!

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glittertomb · 1 year

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I want a lord of the rings/hobbit/silmarillion themed Met Gala … just imagine!🌿🗡️🔮📯🛡️

Mystical elves with golden crowns, wizards with 40-foot robes, girls in horse-riding attire, a bedazzled Sauron (I’m imagining nasx half-naked and covered in black jewels with a fierce eyeball headdress in red and yellow), some comedian or weirdo of course will hobble in like gollum, sword lesbians and pipe-smoking zaddies, someone ethereal like Florence will be an ent with branches sprouting from her shoulders, a dragon breathing faux fire, ancient gods and warriors in cloaks, the K family isn’t invited but the whole cast of the trilogy is and welcome to be their characters or cosplay others!, men with braided beards and women in shimmering gowns, curly-haired folk padding around the carpets in bare feet, Tilda swinton as herself, Billie as a soft but ferocious Arwen in billowing fabrics with a silver diadem of carved leaves, dark riders with faces shrouded in blackness and stardust… my heart would actually explode with joy 🌸💜🪴

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fantasyfantasygames · 1 month

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MiDDDle Space

MiDDDle Space, Stacked Studios, 2002

@identityuniverse sent me a copy of this and I would like to return it please.

The map of Middle-Earth is, as many fantasy maps are, roughly page-sized. It fades out near the edges of its flat world. It is extremely rare for someone working with Middle-Earth to fill in the least bit of that blank space. This game does it in a very unusual manner: it fills that blank space with outer space. It's a little bit Spelljammer, but it's more Starfinder. Elves and Ewarves and even the occasional Ent colony in space, with big ol' spaceships.

"But why the weird spelling?" you may be asking. Well, that's because it's a cross of Tolkien and extremely horny 90's cult TV show Lexx. You know. DDD like a bra size.

Which also explains the name of the game studio.

The setting doesn't bother explaining how anyone got into space or talking about that obviously-Middle-Earth-shaped postage stamp in the corner. It's all about "planet of the Warriors of Men" and "planet of the Dwarven smiths" and "ice planet of the Elven sex clothiers". I like the "Forest Asteroid of the Ents" but that might be more because I love space-forest stuff and Ents. NPCs are bog-standard stock characters who also want to bone.

The rules look kind of like they started off as Rolemaster (MERP, really) hack before shifting over to d20. It uses some custom classes to cover things like the Animist, Mentalist, Mystic, etc. It has plenty of critical hit/fail tables. It ports in some MERP skills directly, overwriting some d20 skills with them. There are places that refer to MERP mechanics like Maneuver rolls, which were not ported in. It's mostly playable if you're willing to do a fair amount of house-ruling.

You have a choice of five ships, with build-your-own ships in a supplement that's "coming soon" (it is not). One of the ships is very Lexx-looking, with the insectoid feel and the phallic look. It's very powerful and extremely unmaneuverable. You can also get a Spelljammer-like galleon with sails and everything, one that looks like an Elven Armada vessel, a vaguely Millennium-Falcon-like ship, or you can each get your own small ship to flit around in. I kinda like that last option. There is never any crew; the ship flies fine with just however many PCs you have. Regardless of which ship you pick, you're going to have a very rock-paper-scissors setup against other vessels and utter domination against anything ground-based.

The art is halfway between Elfquest and Dr. Voluptua. It's all greyscale. I do kinda like that you can see the artist improve in their anatomy and backgrounds over the course of the few years it took to create the game. It does not have a fun-and-sexy sense of humor, and the game plays things straight in multiple senses.

Honestly the thing that makes me unhappy about this game is that it's lazy. If you want to make a horny elfgame (or a horny-elf game), you do you. There are plenty of them out there, another one is fine. But don't make it a knockoff of two or three different IPs, with mechanics from two more, and nothing in it that really provides commentary on any of the above. Do something different or do satire, don't just push out content.

MiDDDle Space was swamped in the d20 tsunami. There were only about 200 copies made in the first place, so it's a bit of a collector's item in some corners.

#ttrpg #imaginary #indie ttrpg #rpg #review #some people get surprised when they find out there are clothes that use the rest of the alphabet

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legend-collection · 4 months

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En/Enji

*En or *Enji is a reconstructed name of the fire god in the Albanian pagan mythology, which has continued to be used in the Albanian language to refer to Thursday (e enjte).

Pic by William Blake Richmond

The deity to whom Thursday was dedicated in Albanian is considered to have been worshiped by the Illyrians in antiquity and he may have been the most prominent god of the Albanian pantheon in Roman times by interpreting Jupiter, when week-day names were formed in the Albanian language. The belief in a prominent fire god, who was referred to as I Verbti ("the blind one"), and who was often regarded more powerful than the Christian God, survived in northern Albania until recent times. Under Christianization the god of fire was demonized and considered a false god, and it was spread about that anyone who invoked him would be blinded by fire.

In Albanian tradition the divinised fire is regarded as the Sun's offspring (pjella e Diellit), which is symbolized by the fire hearth (vatra e zjarrit).

The root of the name of the Albanian deity is thought to be found in antiquity in the Pannonian-Illyrian area, as well as in Messapia/Iapygia in southern Italy such as Ennius, interpreted as a theophoric name: "the one dedicated to En". Other examples with the same root and with the suffix -c (-k) are Enica, Enicus, Enicenius, and with the suffix -n are Eninna, Ennenia, and the short forms Enna and Enno. Compounds of the divine name En are Enoclia "En, the famous", and Malennius containing the Albanian term mal "mountain", interpreted as "the one dedicated to En of/from the mountain".

In his work Speculum Confessionis (1621) Pjetër Budi recorded the Albanian term tegnietenee madhe for the observance of Maundy Thursday. In his Latin-Albanian dictionary (Dictionarium latino-epiroticum, 1635), Frang Bardhi recorded dita ehegnete as the Albanian translation of Latin dies Iovis. In 1820, the French scholar François Pouqueville recorded two old Albanian terms: e igniete and e en-gnitia. In 1879 Albanian scholar and language master Kostandin Kristoforidhi translated Zeus / Δία of the original Greek text with the Albanian Ἒνετε Enete, and Hermes / Ἑρμῆν with the Albanian Μερκούρ Merkur.

Modern dialectal variations of "Thursday" include: Gheg Albanian: e êjte, e ẽjtë; Tosk Albanian: e enjtë; Arbëreshë Albanian: e ègn'te, e énjite, e ente, e engjte, e ínjte.

The names of week days in Albanian are calques of Latin names. Since enjte appears to be the Albanian translation of Latin Iovis diem ('Day of Jove'), the god Enj- or En(ni) of the early Albanian pantheon may have been seen as the equivalent of Roman Jupiter.

The Albanian term enjte ('Thurday') is considered to be a te-adjective presumably descending from the Proto-Albanian stem *agni-, ultimately from *h₁n̥gʷnis, the archaic Proto-Indo-European word for 'fire' as an active force.

According to scholar Karl Treimer, Illyrians worshiped a fire god named *Enji, related to the Vedic fire god Agni, and descending from the stem *H₁n̥gʷnis, the Proto-Indo-European divinised fire. In the Illyrian pantheon the fire deity would have expanded his function considerably, therefore ousting the cosmic-heavenly deity, becoming the most distinguished Illyrian god in Roman times at the time when the weekday names were formed in the Albanian language. In this view the Latin Jovis dies was equated to the Illyrian fire god Enj rather than to the Illyrian Sky father, thought to have been Zot, from Proto-Albanian *dźie̅u ̊ *a(t)t (a cognate of PIE *Dyḗus ph2tḗr). With the coming of Christianity, En would have been demoted to demonic status, although his name has been preserved in the Albanian language to refer to Thursday.

The cult of the mystic fire and the fire ritual practices played an important role in the lives of the pre-industrial Albanian people.

Strong beliefs in the demon of fire have persisted among Albanians until today. The belief in a fire god, who was referred to as I Verbti ("the blind one"), survived in northern Albania until recent times. Under Christianization this deity was demonized and considered a false god, and it was spread about that anyone who invoked him would be blinded by fire. However, in folk beliefs the god I Verbti was often considered more powerful than the Christian God. The struggle between the old and the new god and the former predominant popularity of I Verbti among Albanians is expressed in a tale narrated from a Christian point of view. The purifying power of fire underlies the popular idea according to which the god I Verbti is the enemy of uncleanliness and the opponent of filth.

In Albanian tradition fire itself is worshiped as a deity, and it is regarded as the Sun's offspring (pjella e Diellit), which is symbolized by the fire hearth (vatra e zjarrit). The place of the ignition of fire is traditionally built in the center of the house and of circular shape representing the Sun. Traditionally the fire of the hearth, zjarri i vatrës, is identified with the existence of the family and its extinguishing is considered a bad omen for the family. The fire of the domestic hearth holds divine attributes in folk beliefs, being considered the sustainer of the continuity between the world of the living and that of the dead, and ensuring the continuity of the tribe from generation to generation.

Rose Wilder Lane (1923) provided the following description regarding the northern Albanian fire cult:

The bride carries with her from her home one invariable gift—a pair of fire tongs. When she arrives at her husband's house she takes a humble place in the corner, standing, her hands folded on her breast, her eyes downcast, and for three days and nights she is required to remain in that position... this custom remains from the old days when the father of each house was also the priestly guardian of the fire, and anyone coming to ask for a light from it stood reverently in that position, silent, before the hearth, until the father priest gave it to him. The bride, newcomer in the family, is a suppliant for the gift of fire, of life, of the mystery that continues the race.

#en #enji #albania #europe

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santoschristos · 1 year

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sentimental-darkness · 2 years

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House of the Dragon IS better, yes

I’ve watched House of the Dragon and I must say... there is always an after taste after the catastrophe of later seasons of GoT and they don’t make it easy on you with the music being such a complete rehash of GoT (just why!) so you just can’t help it... but it’s not THAT bad? In the end I actually enjoyed it.

Sure, may not be entirely accurate to the source material. Sure, there is some needless feministic crap in it that I’m sure wasn’t in the book, with some annoying crappy one liners. Will it delay Winds of Winter even more? Sure! Was the black race swap where his hair don’t even match his carnation (and look like they’re fake because they are) pretty ridiculous? NO DOUBT!

But idk, the acting and choreography and the flow of the story, all of it does seem like it’s grounded... really enjoyed it. Not “super enjoyed” but it was ok and certainly shaping up to be better than later GoT seasons (minus the mysterious winter apocalypse factor but that turned out to be crap and let down in GoT so who cares), oh and the “sjw” messages in it aren’t really THAT over the top and characters aren’t insufferable

Whereas Rings of Power... oh god, this is gonna be such a failure and pure cringe comedy filled with cringe messaging, nonsensical plot on top, even without taking into account its numerous deviations from the lore. The early reviews reveled that much and I can’t wait to see it tomorrow first thing morning, this is gonna be a blast! But for actual weekly entertainment - House of Dragon it is!

Oh and let me tell you... if Amazon just tried to be more lore friendly, said no to all the activist crap, hired non-activist professionals and actually focused on The Forging and Numenor more from the start, no needless original characters, single healer mothers, strangers, feminems and not-hobbits-Harfoots... they would have beaten House of the Dragon easily and they would have done it with utmost respect for Tolkien! Like, seriously, if you know the lore, with all the shit around the death of Celebrimbor and what happened with Numenor, with the colonization and subjection of Middle-earth and later rise of Ar-Pharazon, worship of Melkor... that is a very hardcore and even brutal (at times) story, this shit could have competed with the House of the Dragon easily and even tackled matters such as obsession with bloodline, racism and colonialism + deforestation. But all done in a fascinating and mystical world of Tolkien, with elves, dwarves, ents, perhaps even hobbits (as a cameo) having their own time to shine at the fringes of the conflict between men and Sauron, and of course we would have Anarion and Isilur as our main main characters in this... and of course plenty of black people and other ethnicities in lore appropriate places, like heck, we would hardly even need Khazad-dum in it but I wouldn’t say no to another dwarven clan from the South somewhere closer to Umbar, would have been an interesting take to see the architectural and cultural approaches and they could have found themselves in the middle of the arising conflict in the East. JUST. AAAAGH. It would have been an epic for the ages! What we’re going to see tomorrow? It’s just crap, nothing more, a badly done cocktail with too many ingredients and unmatching flavors. So...

Go watch House of the Dragon - it’s not an epic of the ages, not even S1 of GoT but at least it’s much much better than Rings of Power. If you want too laugh badly though? Yes, watch Amazon’s parody of Tolkien but be sure to torrent the heck out of it so you’re not making it easy for them to claim the numbers and the “success” (which they will do anyway as damage control)

#house of the dragon #hotd #rings of power #tv #tolkien #fantasy

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sanstropfremir · 2 years

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thank YOU for responding to that unduly long ask! life has been interesting so far and I am very thankful for the people I met and the insights I have gained into other industries/countries through people that were immersed in them. I actually got into kpop that way - friend of a coworker of a friend who has personally worked for the p ost-production of this idol's MV and hey! check out this new single they put out! -

honestly I think kpop as an industry carries a bit of mysticism to it for fans (especially western ones) but actually if you talk to people inside it it is mostly just like any other creative industry. You are absolutely right the growth in behind the scenes will never match the output in stars/idols. This is true also for adjacent spaces like football interviews/sports content staff in SK.

Working in the ent. industry as any type of staff is brutal in SK (as it is in most places, to be fair, LA is looking grim) which is why those who have a say in calling the shots prefer idols who they know will get the job done and with a smile on their face. One of the guys I met had a very nice way of putting why more seasoned idols are preferred to 4th gen and that's because "any excessive pride has been snuffed out of them early on in their career". Fortunately if there's one thing I kept happily from the people I met it's that truly most 2nd gen and a lot of 3rd gen idols are very pleasant people to work with who know where they have come from and who they must pay dues to. I've heard so many good anecdotes and fun things other than the pure hardship of filming for godless hours in small rooms with temperatures matching that of heatwaves. And I'm sure the same is true for 4th gen, I just think they're not at a place yet where they're distinctive enough to have that place in variety.

tbh i don't think it's just the kpop industry, i think a lot of people view all arts ent industries with an air of mystery bc nobody teaches anything about them unless you specifically go to school for it or get involved in some way. i met a ton of people doing my masters (did my mfa in contemporary arts but my bfa in theatre) that had no clue what a theatre designer even did, let alone how many people were working behind the scenes, and that was IN an arts field.

and yes yes yes 100% agree about the 'having the ego beaten out of them early' point. about idols yes but also it's the same in theatre, especially on the small scale/fringe level. you work a lot of hours for shitty pay in horrible conditions and if you're an ass about it, good luck getting hired or recommended to a job by any person in that company. being kind, understanding, and respectful will get you everywhere.

and yes about your last point too, it does take time. you need experience to be good on shows and add to that the pandemic and it's put a bit of a damper on the progress for them. also i think i've said this before but i'm not sure than anyone is like. teaching them what they have to do, yanno? not that i think anyone was teaching second gen idols what to do but it was a lot more ruthless and they had to learn pretty quick. there's less stakes now and therefore there isn't as much pressure for fourth gens to develop interesting (for television) personalities. i think in a couple of years some of them might get there though

#anon please chime with anything anytime dont be a stranger i love having fellow arts ent workers around!#pick an emoji or a callsign or something so i know its you. i can only sort of tell who ppl are by typing style #also dont worry about sending long asks. you follow this blog where i regularly type up 1k+ word answers to things #answers #text #kpop questions #these arent questions but theyre going in the question tag bc they deserve to be archived #trying to explain that curators and designers/directors are basically the same job broke peoples BRAINS it was so funny.#i worked pretty frequently at a venue that had no 1) insulation 2) heating 3) bathrooms in the backstage area and lemme tell you #i'm still good friends with some of the actors in those casts to this day #k variety questions

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rivalsforlife · 2 years

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tonight’s the night. the lotrop finale. where things I have feared since I heard they were doing a second age show may come to pass. or may not. either way I’m spending this whole day more stressed than a reasonable person.

but anyways I delayed doing the ep 7 Opinions Posting but here it is. and also probably speculating about the finale thoughts...

... actually things go back and forth a lot so let’s split this up by plotline so I’m not jumping back and forth all the time. SO much to keep track of.

Harfoot Plotline:

Grove is burnt down thanks to mount doom but luckily the stranger has magic tree healing powers! That’s another point to “good guy stranger” instead of evil. The healing trees in particular put Yavanna in my mind -- and his color scheme IS reminiscent of Radagast? Though I think including Radagast would be a strange choice here, since the common familiarity with Radagast would be bird-poop man. Also not sure why he would be here since there’s at least somewhat textual justification for blue wizards and I still really like that one.

Can’t remember who the blue wizards studied under. Had to look that up. Looks like one is associated with Orome but it isn’t said explicitly who the other was associated with (presumably Orome as well, but it could be Yavanna...?)

Also a little Ent shoutout there with “trees don’t talk” “some of them do”.

The Mystics are here and we still learn very little of them except that they seem to be able to use magic which IS quite interesting. not sure where they’re going with that and not sure if they’ll be telling us tonight...

Side note that I really like every time the harfoots just seemingly completely vanish. it’s a cute little touch.

harfoots have their caravans burned and are left to slowly starve which is quite cruel so I definitely do not think the mystics are good guys at all. but nori wants to help her friend which went so well the last time. the “you girls aren’t going anywhere, not without me” felt a little cheesy imo.

Also this Malva woman always gave me sackville-baggins vibes and I’m half convinced her trying to convince Sadoc to go is that she expects him to die and she’ll be able to take over leadership or whatever. That’s probably not going to pan out. But I think it’s funny. A little more Hobbit Pettiness is always nice.

Still not sold on this plotline. It’s one of the ones I care least about. And I think they’re showing up in the finale.

Dwarves Plotline:

Elrond pleads for mithril by telling Durin “yeah, the elves kinda suck, don’t they?” which is probably the best approach even if it doesn’t work. It’s an interesting little sort of Earendil callback where he’s pleading for help and him pleading is based on him being half-elven.

But this one actually had a LOT of interesting little lore tidbits I was fascinated by. Namely this thing I quickly transcribed while rewatching - “The fate of the elves was decided many ages ago, by minds much wiser, much farther-seeing than our own. Defy their will and this entire kingdom might fall. Perhaps the entire Middle-Earth.”

YESSSS VALAR AND ILUVATAR MENTIONS I always love when those come up. Also little foreshadowing to how defying them is going to get Numenor Sunken in the future.

However this whole fading thing is still really not fitting with me. Because that’s not how rapidly fading works. And it’s not really a “death” in the same sense - their bodies will fade but their souls survive. And they’re still playing it straight. I’m REALLY hoping for an Annatar reveal to turn things on their head later on here.

LIKE GO CHECK THE TREE THE DWARVES HAVE. I’ve been thinking about that the whole time Elrond was in Durin and Disa’s house. Like the tree there is supposed to be tied to the tree in Lindon, right? And it seems extremely healthy, right? SO THIS FADING THING, IT HAS TO BE A LIE, RIGHT? but sadly elrond did not pick up on that. And I don’t think they’re going to be going back there anytime soon... siiiiigh.

Mithril heals the leaf too. Which might just be the mithril being able to heal whatever poison Totally Sauron I Hope It’s Sauron put on the tree, which would make sense if he needs to justify himself. But godddd I hope they’re really not going with this “mithril has the light of the Silmaril and can stop this extremely rapid fading” thing they talk about. IT HAS TO BE A LIE!!!

ugh anyway. conversations between Durin and Elrond are always good. So I really do wish they had Celebrimbor in Elrond’s place, though I try to ignore it and just take the story they’re giving me. “mite dwarvish for an elf” is much more a Celebrimbor descriptor than an Elrond one. But I get Elrond has to be there for brand recognition :/

A little more lore is in here though. There’s the secret names, which is very cool to see brought up. Concerning though is the “Durin, son of Durin, grandson of --” implying that Durin IV’s grandfather was Durin II? Which shouldn’t really be possible? Like, if Durin I, Durin The Deathless was the first dwarf to awaken... then it’s really FAR too much time for only four generations to pass if they’re going this route. Also far too much time before we get to the eventual Durin VII after LOTR. Like... still not sure what’s going on with all these Durins. Durin IV has kids, but neither of them are named Durin, so is it like... a title they get later...? idk.

Two of these Durins have a good conversation. as in it’s interesting. it doesn’t go well for either of them. Durin is disowned, but apparently he has a brother? I am very curious if this is Narvi. Or where Narvi is. I think it’s possible if Durin is disowned he loses the name of Durin and ends up changing to Narvi, which could be interesting and could be how he gets linked to Celebrimbor later without having to create a whole new dwarf character.

pleeeaaaaseeee give me celebrimbor and narvi. or more celebrimbor in general. HE’S AN IMPORTANT GUY AND YOU DON’T HAVE HIM FOR LONG. PLEASE.

durin III throws a leaf down the mine shaft and wakes up a balrog >:( which SHOULDN’T be destroying things until the third age. and at the very least shouldn’t be destroying things now? It’d be really weird if that was the finale but honestly I think this is the last we see of the dwarves this season. can’t see much more for them to do since in previews and such Elrond looks like he’s in Eregion. balrog roars and rolls over and goes back to sleep a few more millenia.

Southlands/Numenor/Galadriel Plotline:

ontamo is dead, surprising no one, but honestly if I had to put money on one of isildur’s pals dying I would have picked valandil. maybe they’re going to build him up more before they kill him off and isildur names a kid after him?

and of course they’re baiting isildur death but we all know that’s not going to happen. he’s fine. mostly I’m just very happy that berek the horse survived :D

Elendil was really interesting this episode for me. He’s trying sooo hard to keep it together even though he thinks his son died. The “I should have never pulled the Elf on board. I should have left her in the sea where I found her.” to when Galadriel comes to talk to Miriel and the way he looks at her and says the name “Galadriel” like he’s kind of pushing the blame onto her (which Galadriel IS taking) but then breaks down and cries there near the end. I really liked all that. Also his little friendship with Miriel is still a little highlight.

Anyways Galadriel. She seems to have gone through a bit of a shock and is waking up a bit from her vengeance with the “it darkens the heart to call dark deeds good” stuff. Her teaming up with Theo is interesting there and she has a much more caring side to her with that. When they’re talking about who she lost at first she brought up “my brother Finrod” and I was disappointed the rest of her siblings got no mention, BUT THEN SHE MENTIONED CELEBORN.

I already talked a lot about that. But I’m coming around on it. I think it could be funny to give the world’s most boring guy an interesting plotline that’s not just being a malewife. And the best part of it all is that it significantly reduces the chances of her getting with halbrand at any point!!! justice!!!

also the trivia section mentions they’re going with Sindar Celeborn, which is the one I like the most, so that’s excellent! and they met while Galadriel was dancing in a glade of flowers in a little Beren and Luthien callback :,) miss those guys.

Also, this incredible exchange:

Galadriel: There are powers beyond darkness at work in this world. Perhaps on days such as this, we’ve little choice but to trust to their designs. And surrender our own.

Theo: My home is gone. Where’s the design in that?

Galadriel: I cannot yet see it.

ESTEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT WHAT SHOULD BE SHALL BE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

aka me not being religious at all but cheering at tolkien religion mentions.

I really need to reread the Athrabeth honestly. I keep thinking about it but it’s been so long since I read it. estel......

ok uh moving on. Arondir Bronwyn and Theo all live, miraculously. happy little family. let’s go to Miriel now.

She’s blinded, which is an interesting choice. But more interesting to me is her referring to herself as the daughter of Ar-Inziladun, which is her father’s Adunaic name - is it possible that this somehow pushed her more in the nationalistic Numenor direction? Or that she usually uses this name since she’s pretending to not be one of the Faithful? Either way interesting things for Numenor coming up. I definitely wonder how her being blind is going to affect Pharazon’s plans, like if he’s going to win people over more that way.

But I really like both Elendil and Miriel so far, I think their portrayals are closest to what I’d imagine for myself? I like how they’re both keeping it together for their people here. And I like Miriel’s determination when she was giving her revenge speech.

aaand now we’ve got halbrand. he’s not dead :( however much we may have hoped. In fact he is SO not dead that he’s going to go on a CROSS COUNTRY ROAD TRIP WITH A SEPTIC WOUND because I guess that’s how things work. I really don’t like that. I really don’t like that he’s going to Eregion presumably, too. Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll die on the way?

Galadriel calls him her friend which made me cheer. Then Halbrand says “I will not abandon these lands and condemn them to burn” which is very much NOT a sauron thing. he’s getting less sauron-y lately. so I’m hoping they don’t turn back on me with that.

Galadriel at last giving up her sword to Theo is very cute though, I like that.

We get one last look at Adar who is having a good time and Waldreg who is clearly in too deep and just trying to make Adar happy. And finally confirmation that this is Mordor!

The orc theme with the like percussion beat or whatever can get very catchy sometimes.

And at last:

FINALE HOPES

halbrand falls off his horse and dies. too bad! it’s now CELEBRIMBOR TIME because this guy is not nearly as prevalent as he should be.

actually whether halbrand lives or dies I don’t care as long as he neither kisses galadriel or ends up being sauron.

BUT I WANT SOME CELEBRIMBOR. I WANT SOME REAL FEANORIAN UNHINGED GOODNESS HERE. And I want the reveal that it’s actually Annatar manipulating everything from behind the scenes. I think that if they can pull of the slow reveal that many assumptions we’ve been operating under for half a season were actually lies that could be really cool. And we can get Annatar. And we can get Celebrimbor.

I... have a feeling this is building up to some ring forging but I’m hoping they’re lesser rings and not any of the Big Ones, since Annatar is needed for most of them, and if we don’t have him yet then what’s the point!!! But I do hope we get at least a hint of him. Even if they haven’t cast him yet.

Ughh I honestly don’t really know where they’re going to go with a lot of this. I just want the mithril-silmaril thing to be fake, and I want the rapid fading of the elves to be fake, AND I WANT ANNATAR. AND I WANT MORE CELEBRIMBOR. I want Noldor to make mistakes :(

oh also I want a gil-galad parentage reveal at the most random time that would make me start screaming hysterically.

hmm I don’t know! I don’t know! I don’t know where anything is going!!! I’m kind of panicked about it!! DON’T MESS THIS UP FOR ME!!!!!

I want to be able to go into season 2 a little more reassured that they’ll be able to pull off the Big Events properly. if they can’t then these next several years will be miserable. aghhh.

so I’m spending this day just trying to get my mind into a Normal Person state of like a normal person who does not care too much about lord of the rings adaptations turning out exactly where I am so that if this goes badly I can just walk away from it normally instead of it tormenting me. we’ll see how successful it is in the end.

to quote our incredible lady galadriel: “[I wish] that would should be shall be.” now to sit here in agony for five hours.

#lotrop #me chanting to myself: I am so normal. I am so normal right now.

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ruelknudson · 2 years

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How Writing What I Know Shaped The Keeper’s Light

Writing what you know is a famous and belabored axiom often handed down to new writers by the tired old guard of established wordsmiths. This well-intentioned advice is designed to help ease the frustration young authors feel when they try to craft their narratives. In my opinion, it is one of the best bits of advice an author can give another writer. However, it is also a misunderstood phrase which is quickly shot down, ignored, and ultimately resisted by many fiction writers for the wrong reasons. For myself, my story of a lighthouse keeper who is haunted by the ghost of his dead wife under the growing influence of a mysterious floating monolith could not be written without writing what I know.

How do writers reconcile the fantastic or supernatural elements of their stories with what they know? It’s easy to assume that what people know would be firmly rooted in reality. Under the very literal interpretation of “write what you know” it seems the imagination and impossibility of some fiction will be shackled behind stories of the daily monotony of the true existence that we actually live and know. I have only stepped foot in a lighthouse once, and it certainly was nothing like the one in my book. I have no experience with floating mystical or magical obelisks, and thankfully my wife is still alive, and we live happily together in the real world. So how can I support such a rule if I am simply going to break it?

The truth lies in two elements: the interpretation of the rule, and the understanding of a story’s elements. While these elements define how this rule is applied, they are also connected with a deeper understanding of writing that is often missed by many writers.

I’m going to start with how I see the elements of a story. The Keeper’s Light is not a story about a lighthouse keeper, the ghost, or the monolith. These are simply things in the story. They are the ingredients that hold together what the story is about. My story is about a great many elements that collide frequently and are pushed and pulled against each other. The collision of these elements makes the story what it is. Love is a key element, as is regret, fear, acceptance, and forgiveness. The story is, when put as succinctly as I can, about a person reconciling the life of burden they chose, and how a new understanding of why that life was chosen can redefine this existence in a profound and sometimes horrible way. But it also incorporates an element of empathy, where the characters in the story eventually see things from a new point of view and accept the choices and events that occur. The lighthouse, the ghost, the lightkeeper, the nephew and the monolith all serve to drive this story forward and give it the flavor I want the story to have.

This all serve to address the second point: how we interpret the idea of “write what you know.” I will often see writers argue that J.R.R. Tolkien never met an elf, wizard, or an ent. He certainly never encountered real magic, demonic balrogs, wraiths, or magical rings. Therefore, how could he have written a foundational story for modern fantasy so well?

He didn’t write about those things. He wrote about war, industrialization, corruption, fear, love, and hope. His story wasn’t allegorical, and yet it stood in for the experiences he had, the things he was afraid of, and the things he cared immensely for. He tapped into his love of rural England and the hard-working salt-of-the-earth farmer when describing his hobbits. The fear and desolation in Mordor were ripped from his own experiences in World War I. In short, when he wrote about things that could not exist, he used things that did exist as a foundational element to his narrative. The reason why Lord of the Rings works isn’t because it is a great fantasy. It is a great fantasy because it is written about us, our world, and the experiences and people Tolkien knew.

The Keeper’s Light is similarly executed. The lightkeeper’s existence, his fate, the ghost, Benjamin, Ben’s wife, the community in the story, and the lighthouse are all a part of my life. I told a story that was a journey towards realization that occurred after I watched my father be consumed and ultimately killed by cancer; a disease that most likely attacked him because of choices he made in life. The story is not an allegory of this journey, but the feelings I experienced for years were what I used to develop the story that became The Keeper’s Light.

If you took the fantastic and unrealistic subjects which are in the story and laid them out, you would have a list of boring ideas. There is little depth and nothing about it seems worthy of writing a novella. If you mapped the events in the story in a line with a brief summary of what happens you have an empty and soulless report on a string of events. Finally, when you lay out what the story is about, you have another problem. The collection of themes is sad and pointless, and you can’t imagine anyone wanting to read it. But when you combine these things together you have something worth reading. You have a story filled with fantastic and unbelievable things rooted in emotion and themes firmly grounded in experiences the reader can understand and identify with. By the end, you may even find that the story is hopeful and, as one reviewer put it, comforting.

More importantly, when authors write what they know the readers can feel the honesty of the words. There is a realness to the story because the story is being told about real things. Therefore, we say “write what you know.” We are saying to new writers that you can write about anything, but make sure that the story is told with the truth and reality that is known and has been lived by the writer. This is where that magical connection between the reader and the story is made. It is a relationship between shared emotions and experiences that exist within our own personal story that guides us on our journeys through fantastic worlds.

In the end the author should want the reader to know that what is written is true, even in fiction.

#writeblr #my writing #writers #original work #fantasy #writers on tumblr #fiction

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elixir-kq · 2 years

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BASICS

GROUP NAME: ELIXIR (일렉시아)

CONMPANY: KQ Ent

MEMBERS: Bora, Jay, Hana, Minji, Nara, Lina, Subin

FANDOM NAME: Moons

OFFICIAL COLORS: dark purple and midnight blue

DEBUT ALBUM: Black magic pt1: Under the spell

DEBUT SONG: LATATA

DEBUT DATE: august 19th, 2020

SOCIALS

INSTAGRAM: @elixir_official

TWITTER: @elixir_official

YOUTUBE: ELIXIR

VLIVE: KQ ELIXIR

DISCOPGRAPHY

Black Magic pt1: Under the spell (2020)

Black magic pt2: Potion (2020)

Black magic pt3: Break through (2021)

Black magic ep: Pure magic (2021)

Mischevious (2021)

Dark side intro: All lies (2022)

Dark side pt1: Mystic (2022)

Dark side pt2: Power (2023)

TOURS

Black Magic: Enchanted (asian & america tour)

(nov 2021 - feb 2022)

#kpop oc group #oc kpop #ELIXIR #sihyeon #yeji #soyeon #chaeryeong #karina #ningning #chaein #kq #kq entertainment #ateez #fictional idol oc #fictional characters #fictional kpop group #fictional idol group #fictional kpop community #oc idol

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lestefanmar · 2 years

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15,65,77? 👀

15) Favourite Shiny:

My favourite shiny is, of course, the best shiny, Trevenant:

It has a very mystical feel to it, which ought to be the goal when making a rare form for the ent Pokemon, and on the whole it looks like it's ashen and flaming.

65) Favourite Movie:

Indisputably 'Spell of the Unown', the Lucario movie has a neat aesthetic and great visuals — as well as Regi cries — and I love what the Darkrai movie *could have been* for the most part, but SotU has both the aesthetics of the former and actual development of some of the mindfuckery that could've happened in the latter.

It's genuinely one of the few Pokemon movies that's enjoyable to watch not only for a Pokemon fan, in my opinion.

77) Favourite Eevelution:

Vaporeon, probably, its design is the one that stands out the most, when the others are mainly odd cats.

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odlneswrld · 2 years

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ꕤ welcome, ever wondered who was there before our current six? well I’m here to help!

the group have had a history of line-up changes and hiatuses along with rebrands, today I’m here to tell you all about our former odine ladies, the reasons why the left, what they are up to now, and any other interesting details!

here’s a complete list of odine’s former members!

one. heo ‘lottie’ eunji

eunji stuck with odine for their debut and first comeback before the group went on a 6 month hiatus with no updates on anything, before making their return in late 2015 they announced her departure from the group. She is now a model and YouTuber.

two. kim ahyoung

ahyoung stayed with odine until 2015, although featured in the m/v she was on hiatus during promotions for “welcome back, odine” the company officially announced her departure on September 22, 2015 due to personal reasons. She opened up a personal instagram in 2016. In 2019 she made a post exposing former member ‘Angelita’ of bullying her into leaving.

three. kwon danbi

danbi joined during their first comeback ‘electricity’ and left in 2016 due to her physical health, she had broken her leg twice in their entire career and had decided she was done with the korean media industry, she currently lives in the UK and has a YouTube channel.

four. lee ‘mila’ sora

Sora joined in 2015 during “welcome back, odine”and made her leave in 2020 whilst the group was on hiatus, she later was announced to have joined Mystic Story and to be participating on Girls Planet 999, she debut placing 10 on the show making it into Kep1er.

five. angelita lee

Angelita stayed with the group for almost their entire career up until “on the top” she left the group after she got caught in a bullying scandal between her and former member ‘ahyoung’ of course they were proven false but she still decided to leave the company, she later debut under YoungSound Ent. as a soloist and is doing very well.

#꒰ఎ ♡ ໒꒱ will i ever meet the one? // development #deluxeocnet #fictional idol community

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notmuchtoconceal · 9 months

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Saw your rune and incense and skull post. I knew you liked runes, don't try to hide it! Even though I was goofin' that first time there was still an element of it that was simply appealing to what I presumed was a (b?)lat(a?)ent love of the mystic. And it was genuine, even underneath all the jealousy I had for you, too. Come on. You've got some woman of the night shit in you, too! I'm not saying this in a cruel way. Not the Language Demon speaking. Or maybe he's just quietly murmuring in his seal you trapped him in. Either way. I'm just sayin': U know u love it ;)

What does the note say, btw? Not good at reading cursive.

the man u reminded me of would freak the fuck out every time he saw runes cause he assumed they were a defacto white power thing

this is multiple levels of stupid i will now elucidate publicly, for my lovely assistant has so graciously prompted me with an opportunity where we can both look like functional human beings on tumblr.

right, so. not everyone who is a norse pagan or even proud of having european heritage is a white supremacist. first of all, the concept of white supremacy is already something of a plot, for it assumes all europeans are a homogenous mass, which they're certainly not.

sure, maybe this is the fascist proof of alan moore's octopus monster or whatever, that you need an external enemy (or simply the threat of one) to unity fragmentary groups into oppositional unity, but like ~ white people invaded Africa, bro. maybe black people used to have Atlantean magic powers and white people lied and said it was them.

they're real good at that. i don't know.

let's step back for a moment and reconsider that the hunky northmen are themselves an indigenous religion which was pushed to near extinction by an invading colonial power, by which i mean the romans who are the catholics now. white in the American parlance is better understood as WASP -- White Anglo Saxon Protestant. East-coast yuppies. Frat boy supremacy. It's ain't exactly pan-Europa, but the imaginary category of "white people" allows them to claim the krauts, the mics, the dagos, and even sometimes the slavs under the banner, as honorary members, by which i mean trophy servants they can spit on cause they ain't got money or divine carnivore blood, making this a race issue and not a class issue, and not a hybrid reptile-essence infusion issue.

this isn't even considering that the magical properties of norse runes are shared by the letters of the hebrew alphabet, which have their own sets of numerical magical correspondence in the kabbalah, both deriving from the shared Phoenician alphabet, which was a gift of Hermes-Thoth father of all language arts, come on bro. how fuckin stupid can ya, be?

like, don't get me wrong.

racism in america is definitely real, but also if you hyper-fixated on it in real obvious and specific ways, the clever racists who secretly hold the political power can get real good at gaming u.

history matters, bro.

there are real answers. not just what makes you look good.

#the note is a list of all the bros #whose heads i wanna fill with fun #and whose mouths i wanna fill with cock #thank you very much indeed!

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