#tolkien specifics are not common knowledge

[wheels-of-despair]

Draw Me Like One of Your Dwarf Girls, Eddie Pairing: Eddie Munson x You Summary: Eddie decides to work on his drawing skills, and accidentally awakens a monster in the process. Contains: Titanic references, female nudity, a brush with death. Word Count: 1.3k-ish

"Draw me like one of your dwarf girls, Eddie," you say in a sultry voice, trying your hardest not to laugh.

"What did I tell you about talking?" He pauses to give you a pointed look, since he's already told you to pipe down several times. You roll your eyes, and he returns to his drawing with a renewed vigor.

It's early 1998, and you've recently dragged your poor Eddie to a theater to see that damn Titanic movie everybody and their mother keeps raging about. All 3 hours of it. You may have neglected to mention the runtime when you bought the tickets. You owe him.

He survived, but was suddenly faced with the desire to "work on his people-sketching skills." Which of course meant it took him less than a week to convince you to strip and pose like Rose on the couch, wearing only that red guitar pick necklace he's had since high school.

You're stretched out and exposed and already bored. Two hours ago, he'd adjusted your hand a quarter of an inch this way, your knee a quarter of an inch that way, and you'd been instructed not to move.

Well, it felt like two hours, but it was really only about 30 minutes.

With nothing else to do, and being mildly disappointed that he didn't find your commentary amusing, you watch his eyes follow the pencil scratching across the paper you can't see. He's cute when he's concentrating. Tongue poking out, brow furrowed, that spark of creativity in his eye. It must be going well, because he smiles occasionally. He even giggled once. If you had to guess, you'd say it probably had something to do with a nipple. It was a little chilly.

"Just as I thought; it's a masterpiece."

"Are you done?" You'd only been in this position for an eternity.

"Oh yeah, this baby's getting framed." Ignoring you, he holds his sketch pad out to view it at an arm's length, beaming at his creation.

"Can I move now?!"

"Yeah, you can move."

You stretch your stiff limbs and get up off the couch, reaching for the flannel he'd discarded on a chair nearby, buttoning a few buttons as you pad over to where he sat admiring his work.

You place a hand on his back and look over his shoulder at the figure on his sketchbook. You're confused, but you can't take your eyes off of it. You can't think of anything to say. Until…

"What. The FUCK. Is THAT."

He looks up innocently and says, "What? I was just following instructions. You kept talking, figured I better listen."

You have no words.

You do, however, have a fucking BEARD in Eddie's drawing.

He sits there, looking up at you with a proud grin on his face, waiting for you to react.

You stare at him wordlessly, still in a state of shock.

Until he laughs at you. LAUGHS AT YOU.

Your brain begins to swirl furiously, until it flashes one word: KILL.

You clench your fists, and he begins to sense that you're not going to start laughing with him. His eyes widen, and he jumps out of his chair, vaults over the coffee table, and stands on the couch.

"I can explain," he says quickly, trying to sound calm, steps unsteady on the cushions.

You can explain too. Explain to the responding officers how one Edward James Munson met his gruesome demise.

"It's Tolkien."

You ignore him and advance slowly, like a predator stalking its prey. Eyes unblinking. Blood boiling. Steam probably coming out of your ears. He jumps off the couch as you approach the coffee table.

"It's from a book!" He's walking backward, holding out his sketch pad like a lion tamer with a chair.

His eyes bulge as he hits something solid. You've backed him into a corner. Literally.

"Tolkien! Middle-earth! The Hobbit! Nerd shit!"

Nerd shit won't save you now, Munson. You narrow your eyes and prepare to go in for the kill. He panics.

"Dwarf women have beards! It was a joke! I'm sorry! I love you!"

The "I love you" makes you pause, just as you were about to pounce and slash your prey to pieces. The hell?

"What?" you ask, giving your head a slight shake in confusion.

"Dwarf women have beards. In the books. You said to draw you like a dwarf. It was a joke. I thought you'd know what it was."

"You thought I'd know some random detail from a book I haven't read in over a decade?"

"I mean, it's a pretty memorable detail…"

You roll your eyes, heave a sigh, and pinch the bridge of your nose. Why is this not surprising?

"So you're not gonna kill me?" He's still backed into his corner. You consider it for a moment, deciding that you've played with him enough for today.

"Not tonight, Munson."

He exhales and leans his head back against the wall.

"But I WILL get you for this," you threaten, pointing a finger at him. He nods, used to this constant back-and-forth game you'd both been playing for over a decade. He knew you'd never really hurt him, just like you knew he wouldn't hurt you either. It was just a game.

You turn to walk away, and hear him whisper to the abomination he's still clutching: "Don't worry baby, you're still gettin' framed."

You whip around, eyes flashing. He gulps. You step closer, making him lean further back into the wall. He's cute when he's scared.

"Give it."

He stares at you with those big, beautiful brown eyes of his.

"Give it," you repeat, holding out a hand and waiting for him to place his sketchbook into it.

Reluctantly, he hands it to you. You maintain eye contact as your fingers find the thick cover page, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of looking at his ungodly creation again. You slam it shut and he flinches.

"What are you gonna do with it?"

Beat your nerdy ass to death with it.

Still clutching his sketch pad, you step back silently and gesture for him to walk on by with your free hand. He slowly peels himself off the wall and begins to move with an apprehensive look in your direction, and a thought occurs to you.

As he scurries past you, you smack him on the ass with his sketchbook. He whirls around with a yelp, hands clutching his cheeks. It's cardboard, you drama queen. You step closer and swing the book at his arm.

"You made me lay there for AN HOUR! While! You! Drew! That!" You punctuate each word with another smack of the sketch pad. He continues overreacting to each hit and falls to the floor with a wail when you finish yelling, clutching his imaginary wounds. You lift the book above your head with both hands, ready to finish him.

"It started out real! But I couldn't make it look like you! It wasn't pretty enough!" You graciously decide to let him continue, still holding the sketchbook in an attack position, just in case. "I tried," he explains calmly now, "but it wasn't working out, and then you said the dwarf thing, and I thought it would be funny. I'll make it up to you."

"Damn right, you will." You lower the book and release it. It lands on his chest with a light thud. He grins from his position on the floor. You step over him and make your way toward the bedroom.

"Starting now," you inform him from the hallway, not slowing or turning around. You hear him scramble to get up, knock something over, and curse before he hurries in your direction.

He's lucky he's cute.

#writings of despair #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #oh look she finally wrote a sexy story #psychhh #*cackles* #keep in mind that this is pre-lotr movies #tolkien specifics are not common knowledge #even when you live with a nerd who probably rambles nonstop #i've been trying to read those books since 2001 and have never made it more than one chapter into the hobbit #were it not for the movies i'd know nothing #don't try to logic at me kids #this started as a 2 am joke in someone's askbox #and then it snowballed... or iceberged if you will #not me having to edit a thing because i kept writing and ended up contradicting my own ew-verse

[fragiledewdrop]

WHERE NOW THE HORSE AND THE RIDER-Aka how I just had a Tolkien related freak out on the train

I can't believe what just happened to me. As in, it's such a weird chain of events that it has left me a little dizzy.

I was reading "Les Nourritures Terrestres" by Gide, and I got to a point he cites parts of a poem which I liked very much. The notes informed me that it's a French translation of "an 8th century saxon elegy called 'The Wanderer' "

That intrigued me, and, being on a train with a lot of time to pass (plus being a little tired of reading in French), I took out my phone and searched for the poem.

I found it here. It's the lament of a warrior in exile who has lost his lord and mourns the joy and glory of a world that has now disappeared. I was enjoying it a lot.

And then I got to this point:

And my mouth actually dropped open, because what?

Are you telling me that the Lament for the Rohirrim, one of my favourite poems in LOTR, which I learnt by heart at 13 and later took care to learn in the original English, which I sing when I do the dishes and which routinely makes me cry, is Tolkien's translation of an 8th century Saxon elegy?

Well, the notes at the end of the page confirmed it:

"Tolkien's rendition is hard to resist" I bet it is. I love that professional philologists add notes to their work saying "yeah, by the way, this bit here? It's in your favourite fantasy novel, and I am kinda jealous of how well it was translated, but it's Tolkien, the man spoke Old English, what can you do? Carry on, xoxo"

I mean, I had gathered that the Tolkien poem played on themes used in medieval literature, but I had no idea it was based on an actual, specific text. That makes it a hundred times cooler!

Maybe it's common knowledge, but it was a delicious tidbit of good news to me. Especially since I wasn't expecting it in the least, so I was blindsided by it.

Cherry on top? I had ignored the Old English text, since I don't understand it, but at the end I gave it a cursory read , and the line "Alas for the splendor of the prince"? "Eala þeodnes þrym!"

Now, I have never studied Old English, but I know roughly how to pronounce it (what kind of Silmarillion fan would I be if I didn’t recognize the thorn?). þeodnes has to be where "Theoden" comes from, right?

Apparently yes. I googled the "Lament for the Rohirrim", and Tolkien Gathaway has a nice little parapraph in which they explain all this. I don't know why I had never read it before, but it was a lot more fun learning it as an unexpected detour from my French practice, not gonna lie.

Bottom line: Tolkien was a both a nerd and a genius and continues to make my life brighter, and this is one of those moments in which I am very happy I have spent years of my life learning languages.

Thanks for coming to my impromptu TedTalk.

#tolkien #lotr #rohirrim #rohan #theoden #meta #lotr meta #I feel like a kid at christmas #lament for the rohirrim #poetry

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

I see you very much as an expert on all things Rohirrim, so I bring to you this question, hoping I can pick your brain for info to use in my own fics (full disclosure). 😅

It seems to be a popular fanon that the Rohirrim/Riders of Rohan have tattoos, and that body art is a part of their culture. Do you have any thoughts or personal HCs about this that you're willing to share?

Thank you in advance! I appreciate you and your blog so much (if you didn't already know that).

Oh my goodness!!! I am so very honored to be thought of as a person who is knowledgeable about my beloved Rohirrim, and I hope very much that I can live up to that reputation. Thank you!!!

I’m not aware of any real textual evidence for body art among the Rohirrim, and the historical record in the medieval Anglo Saxon and Norse societies that Tolkien used as a reference for them seems to be disputed. But I absolutely understand and agree with the conventional wisdom that tattoos are a thing in Rohan. It just fits well with a warrior culture that has a wilder, dare-I-say more pagan aesthetic as compared to the smooth solemnity of Gondor or the formal elegance of the elves. And since they’re a culture that doesn’t document things in written words, pictorial representations such as tattoos and body art would be one way to fill that gap (along with their songs and oral traditions).

In my mind, tattoos in Rohan are common but basic—they’ve really only got the technology for the “stick and poke” method so the designs are kept simple because anything too elaborate is difficult to pull off well. They’re mostly in black line (using soot) but some have color using powder made from grinding up certain dried roots and plants.

Each village/community has its own distinctive tattoo motif that is worn by all of that community’s members. So you can tell just by looking at someone whether they’re from Upbourn (a fish because it’s a river town) or Dunharrow (mountain peaks since they’re in the White Mountains) or Everholt (a boar in honor of the wild boar that live in this part of the Firien Wood), etc. And soldiers also tend to share tattoo designs specific to their éored—getting your éored’s mark is a formal rite of passage for the younger members when they first get assigned to their company. These shared tattoo designs are important both for group cohesion and as a means of identifying fallen Rohirrim even if the deceased isn’t known to whoever finds the body.

Beyond these ritualized and practical functions, I do also like to think that there are some purely decorative tattoos among them as a means of personal expression and/or to help cover small scars that so many Rohirrim have from battle, riding accidents or other mishaps. Obviously horse-based designs would be very popular, as well as other flora and fauna of Rohan. But they’re a very sentimental people and so I think little emotional signifiers would also be very common (again, especially because they generally don’t have a means to pay tribute to beloved people/things in written form, this sort of symbol would serve the purpose of making some kind of record of those tributes).

In terms of specific people in my head canon: Éomer has a little simbelmynë blossom for each of the major figures in his life that he’s lost (forearm). Háma had a sun to remind him of his wife, who brought warmth and light to his life (shoulder). Théodred had stars in the shape of a particular constellation that is visible every year on his mother’s birthday (chest). Éowyn has a representation of her father’s sword (left wrist) and gets a quill (right wrist) to represent Faramir after they get married. (Faramir got a little running horse in her honor on his first trip to Rohan. He was glad he did it, but he never wants to sit through that again.)

Merry brought tattooing back to the Shire when he showed up with a tobacco pipe on his bicep (both for its association with Buckland and in tribute to Théoden, whose last words to Merry were about smoking together someday when peace was restored). Unsurprisingly, tattoos did not catch on with the other hobbits, but Merry remains very proud of it.

Anywayyyy…I hope that was in any way helpful! Thanks so much for asking!! I remain a huge fan and am so grateful to you for helping convince me to put some of my thoughts and stories out there vs keeping them all in the confines of my own Google drive!

#lord of the rings #lotr #tolkien #asks #answered asks #rohan #rohirrim #éomer #éowyn #háma #théodred #merry #faramir #lotr headcanon #tattoos

[minecraftbookshelf]

What does the word fae actually, specifically, mean in the marriage of the state AU? Because they’re not really a species, with faeries, elves, gnomes, and the deep folk all being fae/fae adjacent. Plus there doesn’t seem to be any fairy realm/feywild present in the AU, just the spring at most.

So like from a crystal cliffs, scientific perspective, what are they, what characterizes them, where do they come from?

Are faeries really animals at all or more creeperish (based on your creeper lore) or something else entirely? Can there be half faeries, with either elves or humans?

You’ve mentioned before they sort of dissolve when they die, so are they even totally physical, made of bones and fat and such?

What’s the deal with elves being half-fae, is there a biological-ish connection or decendantcy to/from faeries there? With half elves existing for sure, (hi gem) did humans and elves both from a common ancestor, or did one come from the other? Did the separation happen naturally, or was it like hybrids with the meddling of magic or spirits? (Or Aeor?) Are they maybe just totally unconnected, and being similar enough to have half elves just a handwavey/magic thing?

I love really getting into how fantasy world work and they’re history, so all of your Worldbuilding stuff has such a great hold over me, I love how deep you think into the day to day. I think that was the first period in this whole ask, lol. Sending a huge wall of vaguely related questions seems to be becoming a habit. Anyway, have a great day!

Hello! Sorry for the delay, IRL things kept happening!

And buckle up a bit because this is the one where the fact that I'm a massive Tolkien nerd really shows through, we're pulling heavily from the Silmarillion for this one. (Smajor did it first it is part of the canonical lore)

Also I have spent a long time (Since I was like, four years old. I was an extremely normal child and not autistic at all.) with a lot of versions and types of fairy tales, so I do sometimes forget exactly what knowledge of The Rules of the Genre people tend to be familiar with, so if something seems to be missing a few steps in the explanations please ask about it and I will do my best. Sometimes that might just be me pointing and being like "but that's the way it works" but I can try anyway XD

--

Basically, "Fae/Fae Adjacent" is both referring to a specific race, and is also the shorthand that I use to classify the Races That Came First. In Tolkien's work, you have the elves, who woke up an age before the first men. And by the time humanity even existed they'd had like, two wars and a massive migration. They are part of, I believe, the Second Theme of the Great Music, while men are part of the Third.

So when I say someone or a species is fae or kind of fae or any variation of that, it means that they are part of one of the races who have been on the Empires world longer, (several thousand years longer than the mortals) and share some of the characteristics of those races. (With one notable exception that I will get to)

These characteristics are mostly limited to longevity, of different flavors, and inherent abilities that would be classed as magical by mortals but that are usually very understated along the lines of having an exceptionally green thumb. I think I've said it in a previous post somewhere, maybe the Wool one, but Xornoth and Scott's elemental abilities are Very Unusual among elves and are a strong indication of the Divine meddling in their lives.

-

The Fae/Faeries who inhabit the Overgrown and are connected to the Spring, are the eldest surface-dwelling beings, and are the Actual Fae. They are most closely related to the Deep Folk, they just separated very early on and, as a species, they are incredibly responsive to environmental requirements and divergent evolution happened very quickly.

Fae are fully sentient. They are people, not animals, just Uncanny People.

The Overgrown and specifically the Spring's Grotto are a kind of Feywild. In that they are very heavily magical and tend to be difficult or impossible to find or navigate to anyone they don't want to be, and mortals in general. They don't tend to take up exactly the right amount of physical space they should. It's also kind of unclear if the fae have more of an influence over the environment or if it has an influence over them. (It's a little bit of both.) They tend to have a lot of variance, as individuals, though butterfly traits and cat traits are both fairly common, and Katherine specifically has both of those. These are less because of connections to said species and more environmental responses.

Some parts of the Overgrown are deliberately kept to be at least a little bit less hostile to visitors, mostly for diplomatic purposes, though visitors are rare for good reason.

(The other rulers, who tend to run in and out of Katherine's house with impunity, are something of an exception to this, and most of them have some level of magical connection to something or other that gives them at least a little bit of resistance or immunity to the surroundings. The primary exception to this is Fwhip, who has had to be extracted from Situations more than once by Gem or Katherine.)

There are also other Fae, besides the inhabitants of the Overgrown, the other three courts just have left. Whether that is just the geographical region or the specific plane of existence is fairly unclear. The Overgrown is home to the Spring Court, who are...not fully seelie or unseelie, though they tend towards seelie. (This does not mean they are truly friendly, or that they aren't dangerous)

-

Elves are younger than the Fae proper, though not by much. There used to be a lot more of them, covering the entire mountain range that Rivendell is only part of (this is totally not plot relevant at all :) ) and also some of what is now the edges of the Crystal Cliffs, the Grimlands, and the Spawn Lands. (Which would later become the place the first mortals woke up, thus its name and also status as a neutral location used for most meetings between empires.)

There were a few different peoples among the elves, though they have since been whittled down to two main surviving demographics, though the occasional traits do pop up from others from time to time. Both of these are mountain people, and are the ones that I shorthand as "owl elves" and "deer elves" or "mountaintop" and "lowlands and valleys" respectively, though these are simplifications and not entirely accurate tbh. They have two different, though related, languages. Xornoth and Scott are a mixture of both, which, while not super common in Rivendell, isn't unheard of either. Thus their wings and antlers combo.

Like the Fae, Elves as a species are fairly closely tied to and responsive to their environment, which is why despite the antlers and/or wings, they have a not undeserved reputation for stealth. (as opposed to the Fae, who do sometimes literally become part of the environment, Elves are just very good at blending into it.)

-

The Deep Folk, after they split off from the Fae and migrated under the surface, also evolved into a few different branches. Sirens are the one most well known to surface-dwellers, though there are few individuals left who can claim to be a full siren.

The Deep Folk intermingled with their mortal counterparts more than the land-based fae peoples, and so while the Sea Folk are for the most part mortal, some of them tend to be a little bit uncanny or have exceptionally long life-spans. This is incredibly normalized for them and the much stronger segregation between land fae and land mortals was a bit off-putting for a lot of the Sea Folk when they began interacting.

-

the Gnomes actually are not technically fae specifically because they are not native to this reality.

Shrub's description of her people and their own nature combined meant that she got classed as a fae race because she had enough in common, but she's not quite fae or mortal. The rules of their home dimension are a bit to the left of this worlds. The decision was mostly made based off of the depth of the connection that gnomes have with their environment, though as a rule they aren't especially long-lived or otherwise magical.

So Shrub isn't Fae, but they aren't Mortal either.

-

Allays and Vexes are about the same level of sentience as creepers. just less explosive. They grow from magic the same way creepers grow from the land. They're actually the same species, just different varieties.

--

The different Rates of Decay, for lack of a better phrasing have to do with the level of influence and connection to the environment. Also like, if Katherine, for example, were to die in the Spring Grotto, her body would basically disappear instantly; vs if she were to die in the End or the Nether, which are separate planes that are completely foreign to her Nature, her body would be perfectly preserved until it was returned to the Overworld. Even if it was thrown into the Void or the Lava Sea.

I think that answered most of the points? I would apologize for how long this is but I have a feeling you don't mind XD

If I did miss anything or if there are any follow up questions by all means ask them, whether in the notes, as a reblog, or my askbox.

Thank you, as always, for your asks. They are so much fun to answer!

#ask and it shall be answered #whoevenknowswhatshappening #rain rambles #marriage of state au #empires smp #empires s1 #long post is long #mos: asks #mos: ocean empire #mos: rivendell #mos: the overgrown #mos: the undergrove #mos: worldbuilding

[thetownsendsw]

So here’s a thing. People naming angels in like…D&D campaigns or whatever, often have them following classical Hebrew/angelology naming conventions, e.g. ending in “-el.” Except that particular root is specifically one of the names of the Abrahamic God. All those -el names translate from Hebrew as stuff like “Lion of God” “Fist of God” “Disapproving stare of God.” In all likelihood, this campaign or otherwise original fantasy world does not involve earth-born monotheistic traditions, given the cleric worships Ra and his fruity buddy is descended from Beelzebub.

Now, the Jews were not always monotheists themselves, and prior to that transition El was (aside from being the proper name of the deific patriarch) just a noun in their language that meant “a god”. Any old god, that one too. So you could just say that angle names are using it in that sense, but that would imply that the Celestial Language is functionally Hebrew, which, thanks to Tolkien, leads to some curious conclusions about Dwarves that you may not want to hold true in your world. (I jest, there are other reasons not to do this)

You could also chalk it up to translation convention, but where’s the fun in that?

Instead, what if you changed that so the name of an angel referred specifically to whichever got out of the pantheon it serves? Each god could get a monosyllabic epithet, (gods having multiple names and epithets was common in many ancient religions, fantasy writers just don’t do it to avoid confusion) appended to the name of any angel in their service. That way anyone with a passing knowledge of religion knows exactly who any angle they interact with answers to.

Let’s say Bahamut (the dnd dragon god, not the Persian whale) has the epithet “-Bal”, which even also kind of works in Hebrew! (you could also use “-Lut” if you want a deep cut in reference to the above mentioned whale) You could modify existing angle names: Gavribal, Rafebal, Uribal. Or make up your own to evoke Celestial or another dnd language might sound like (such as Draconic for the whale), either in official sources or just what you make up: Litrixbal, Thurirbal, Vivexbal.

You can also use this as a subtle way to expand on your world building! Use the names of the angels or devils featured in your story to imply the existence of forgotten or fallen gods. Hint that the cult leader is a false idol by his incorrect use of epithets. Add a layer of richness to character names by having them evoke the gods they or their parents worshipped.

Or don’t do any of that in a D&D game because your players will never catch on to such a small detail and it will be entirely for your own self gratification.

#dnd #d&d #worldbuilding #angel #celestial #language #word nerdery #gods #pantheon

[outofangband]

Love, love, love the birds worldbuilding in Himring.

I've actually been digging through links looking for birds that occupy Nan Elmoth and the surrounding area - Himlad, northern Estolad, the banks of the Celon.

Any thoughts about the flying critters living around there?

I’ll start with Himlad!

Flora, fauna, geography and environment masterlist

Himlad was a realm in Eastern Beleriand, bordered on the West by the river Aros and on the East, its tributary, Celon. It means ‘cool plain’ in Sindarin and was described simply as a cold region, likely due to its proximity to the March and thus to the Iron Mountains, the cold fronts of which extend throughout the surrounding regions. 

I have imagined it as a steppe environment with an ecology similar to Mongolia. We have little information on environment other than the description of cold but some speculation can be done due to the habitat and through looking at similar real habitats, mostly in Northern Europe and temperate parts of Asia as well as parts of North America which Tolkien was inspired by the prairies in (source: The Flora of Middle Earth)

As always I include world building notes at the end so it’s not just a list of species! And as always please consider the list incomplete! There are so so many birds and I often go back to add more. Feel free to request a more specific prompt to focus on or a more specific family of birds

In the plains and steppe: tawny pipit (migratory, traveling west in the winter), David’s snowfinch, brown accentor, Siberian stonechat (also found in shrubs), rosy starling, swan geese, steppe partridge, pallas’s sandgrouse, great bustard, common cuckoo (migratory), cornrail (migratory, avoids the more arid parts), bearded vulture, crested lark, golden eagle, steppe eagle, imperial eagle, grey faced buzzard, ring necked pheasant, hazel grouse, black grouse, blue rock thrush, common quail, horned owls, gray partridge, desert warbler

Roosting in the sparse trees and shrubs: Yellow browed bunting, common rosefinch, fieldfare, stock dove, common nightjar, little owl, pine bunting

River shores: snow bunting (migratory), red necked crane (migratory), greater painted snipe, osprey, coturnix quail, grey heron, hen harrier, white throated dipper, bank swallow

Other: fork-tailed swift (migratory, mainly aerial), white headed duck, house sparrow, brambling (migratory), song thrush (migratory), black billed caper, northern wren

World building notes:

-Hunting with eagles and other birds of prey is more common than in the other Fëanorian realms (though most utilize birds at least sometimes). Golden and steppe eagles are used primarily by Celegorm and his loyal servants; these are huge and beautiful birds whose use is in some ways a boast of the skill of their handlers

-Celegorm’s knowledge of the language of birds is highly utilized for the defensive and offensive projects of Himlad. Though his followers do not for the most part have this gift they are highly skilled in using tracks, traces and conditions to understand the presence of local birds and the implications thereof. They know what to make of the stray tail feathers of a steppe partridge versus the presence of molt. They know the difference between the tracks of

Of course this applies to other creatures besides birds but as this post is about birds…

-Grouse and quail are sometimes kept for meat and eggs though different species of quail then are kept by the Marchwardens of Doriath. Some of the species are brought from Estolad, Ossiriand or Western Beleriand. The birds are housed in large open pens with small nesting boxes. 

-There are also domestic species of chicken, peacock and quail like birds that are kept for similar reasons. Hybrid species, sometimes with native species, occur naturally and through planned breeding projects during the Long Peacd

-The camouflage of steppe creatures including birds is often used in the fashion of Himlad’s soldiers.

-The various sections of archers among the army and scouts are distinguished by varying types of feathers used in their arrows. For example, Swan goose feather is used for the scouts that patrol the borders and rivers, swift feathers are used among the smaller more specialized groups and golden eagle feathers are reserved for the archers who will be first in the lines of offensive movements.

-Game birds are hunted for meat though all parts are used. Bird bones are actually highly utilized by the host of Himlad, in jewelry and headwear as well as whistles and other tools.

As always please feel free to ask more!

#the silmarillion #beleriand #Himlad #fëanorians #Celegorm #musing and meta

[thecreaturecodex]

Ponaturi

Image © Traci Shepherd, accessed at Arcane Beasts and Critters here

[We are on the last leg of the World Tour, visiting this time Oceania. I've done a fair number of Australian monsters through the years, and I do want to do at least one or two more. But I'm going to be paying more attention to the cultures of places I haven't done many monsters with before, like the various islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, as well as larger land masses like New Guinea or Aotearoa/New Zealand. The ponaturi is a Maori monster. English sources usually refer to it as a goblin in the sense of "otherworldly humanoid; malevolent", but I was inspired by this art to make it a goblin in the post-Tolkien sense as well. The connection to necromancy is from the story of Rata specifically.]

Ponaturi CR 2 CE Humanoid (goblinoid) This humanoid is rather shorter than a man, with sallow slimy skin and enormous red eyes. Its hands and feet are webbed, and it carries a spear and a strange bone fetish.

The ponaturi are amphibious goblinoids. Sunlight is lethal to them, so they remain below the waves during the day, and emerge from the water to raid coastal communities at night. They have a taste for fresh fruits and vegetables, which are highly exotic to them, but still happily kill anyone who gets in their way. Ponaturi have a talent for necromancy, which they hone using totems created from the bones of other humanoids. A ponaturi cannot make a bone totem with bones freely given; only the act of stealing the bones prepares them for the ritual of attunement.

Of the various species of goblinoids, ponaturi are perhaps the most magically gifted, and they embrace magic in their culture. Their leaders are typically spellcasters and may be sorcerers, clerics or oracles. Powers of death, water and darkness are favored. Wizards are rare not because of any taboo against reading (as is common in goblins), but because ink and paper are poor materials to use underwater. Those ponaturi wizards that do exist etch their spells on coral, shell or bone. The ability to command and create undead creatures is seen as a mark of high prestige, and the most influential ponaturi often have a retinue of zombies or skeletons acting as their minions.

A ponaturi stands about four feet tall. Their skin tones range from the yellows and greens common to goblinkind to more human-like hues, and they notably have hair on their heads.

Ponaturi             CR 2 XP 600 CE Medium humanoid (aquatic, goblinoid) Init +2; Senses darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision, Perception +6 Defense AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural) hp 18 (4d8) Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +1; +2 vs. necromancy, undead Defensive Abilities deep diver, grave touched, negative energy affinity; Weakness vulnerability to sunlight Offense Speed 30 ft., swim 40 ft. Melee spear +4 (1d8+1), bite -1 (1d4) or bite +4 (1d4+1) Ranged javelin +5 (1d6+1) Spell-like Abilities CL 5th, concentration+6 (+10 casting defensively) 3/day—chill touch (DC 13), doom (DC 13), ray of enfeeblement (DC 13) Statistics Str 12, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 13 Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 17 Feats Combat Casting, Dodge Skills Knowledge (arcana) +2, Perception +6, Spellcraft +2, Stealth +7, Swim +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Stealth Languages Common, Goblin SQ amphibious, bone fetish Ecology Environment aquatic Organization solitary, band (2-6), squad (7-12 plus 1 2nd-4th level spellcaster) or clan (24-240 plus 1 2nd-4th level spellcaster per 10 individuals and 1-4 5th-9th level spellcasters) Treasure standard (spear, 3 javelins, other treasure) Special Abilities Bone Fetish (Su) A ponaturi carries a fetish made from humanoid bones that is attuned to them specifically. A ponaturi with a bone fetish gains a +1 to its caster level and spell save DCs for all spells and spell-like abilities of the necromancy school. This bonus is included in the statistics above. If a ponaturi’s fetish is destroyed or stolen, it can craft a new one with an 8 hour ritual. Deep Diver (Ex) A ponaturi is immune to cold and pressure damage from water depth. Grave Touched (Ex) A ponaturi gains a +2 racial modifier to saving throws against all necromancy spells and the supernatural or extraordinary abilities of the undead. Vulnerability to Sunlight (Ex) A ponaturi takes 1 point of Constitution damage each round it is in direct sunlight.

#ponaturi #maori mythology #new zealand #aotearoa #world tour #pathfinder 1e

[hirazuki]

I said I wasn’t going to do the thing, but, eventually, inevitably, (and I’m sure you’re all shocked) I did the thing. My curiosity is insatiable and will be the death of me.

Thoughts under the cut!

Okay, we’re going to bullet list this shit, because otherwise it’s just going to be a stream of consciousness nightmare.

Rights

So, first off. The decision to deal with content that they can’t talk about or show continues to baffle me. In what world can you successfully tell a story which is one hundred percent reliant on the setup (i.e., events and characters that preceded it)... that you can’t touch because of copyright??? Name dropping silmarils and Feanor and Gondolin or whatever the fuck, randomly, isn’t going to magically glue things together and make it work; it’s just going to irritate the people who are watching who have knowledge of the Legendarium, and simply utterly confuse everyone else. I still maintain that, had they wanted to play around in Middle-Earth, they should have just created a completely original story, populated with completely original characters, with a canon character popping in for a cameo here and there as Easter eggs for funsies. 

Adaptation

No adaptation is going to be exactly like the source material except some incredibly rare gems of anime, almost always produced by Studio Bones, so I don’t think most of us going in really expected to experience The-Silmarillion-On-Screen. But I feel like the audience expecting a good story -- even if the story breaks from canon -- is like. not irrational. The bar is so low. I would have been sufficiently placated with a good story. Not even an exceptional one; just something with solid characters, a sensible plot, and a sense of adventure a la Tolkien. Something, even, in just the spirit of Tolkien. That’s it. Apparently, that’s too much to ask for lmao.

Story

I have... So. Many. Questions. Primarily about the reasoning behind a lot of this junk. Buckle in.

That was the most bizarre and cursory retelling of the events of the Years of the Trees and the First Age. Imagine Feanor getting left out just like that XDD

Why are we sailing into Valinor????? Galadriel herself, specifically, rejected the pardon of the Valar twice; she was like, nope, I’m good, not going back. Why would Gil-galad force her to go? Why does Gil-galad have any kind of power, political or otherwise, over her, she has her own realm to rule?? Why isn’t she in that realm, with her husband and daughter? I don’t get the motivations behind anything here.

Jumping off of a ship that close to Aman... thinking she’s going to swim back to Endor? That’s so dumb I can’t even.

Why are the elves fading in the Second Age??????? 

Don’t even get me started on the mithril shit. What is this, a drug? Are you going to compound it into pills, take twice daily with food? Wtf?? Fine dwarven mithril, direct from Khazad-dum, my friends, was not some kind of new, unheard of, miracle substance; it existed prior to this Age, and was also found in Numenor and Aman. Yes, Khazad-dum had the monopoly on it in Middle-Earth, but it was common knowledge and the whole reason the Noldor settled in Ost-in-Edhil was because of that mithril, and wanting to trade with the dwarves for it to use it in their crafts. It was no secret.

... the lost silmaril, are you fucking kidding me. All three are accounted for! Is this a fourth silmaril? Why is it in a tree?? Why is this random apocryphal elf battling with a balrog like this, why is Glorfindel being cannibalized again?? This poor dude, can’t catch a break in any adaptation from people tearing his role in any Age apart and handing it out to other characters. Also, mithril is a precious metal that, yes, is extremely valuable and unique, but it’s just. a. metal. Not some spooky supernatural thing. Ugh.

Why oh why is Galadriel in Numenor lmao. Wtf even is this timeline. Why are Numenoreans anti-elf and why is their primary concern the job market??? Why are they trying to sail into the West pre-Zigur?? Why are the palantiri lost before the island sinks? What the fuuuuuuck. 

Why does Elendil have a third child???

[side note: I’ve seen multiple articles calling Mairon Melkor’s “son” and I just XD I feel like like both parties would have so much to say about that. Like. So much. ANYWAY]

I liked Arondir enough, up until the moment he called the tiny human settlement made of stone and wood in the wide open plain the most “defensible” spot. Bro. There... there is nothing defensible about this. The entire segment of the battle against the orcs, actually, was very painful to experience, in terms of strategy (or rather, the lack thereof). People’s actions and decisions made absolutely no sense. Except for Waldreg; yeah, me too, buddy.

(Incidentally, why did an entire fort come crumbling down as a result of some rope???? Perhaps I missed something; oh wait! I must have, it was too fucking dark to see anything properly in the first place!)

Also, why is Bronwyn wearing that blue when no one else is? Expensive blue dye? Spaghetti strap dress? It’s like a really cheap game of pick out the Important Character amongst this rabble. 

I’ll bet you anything that the inspiration for the Stranger was that one instance when Olorin came back as Gandalf the White, and it took him a moment and an interaction with Aragorn to ground himself and remember his previous life, and they were like, let’s take that and put it on steroids -- i.e., we’re gonna make him not remember how to use his limbs, how to use words, he’s gonna be mute and dumb until the final episode until SUDDENLY he can speak in elaborate sentences and riddles >.> If this is how the Valar send their Maiar to Middle-Earth, they are even bigger jackasses than I have always considered them to be lmao. He is a MAIA, why would he show up naked and then wear rags????? Like, this is a perfect example of what I mean when I say that they disrespect the characters; it’s so demeaning. Hobo!Olorin; for fuck’s sake.

I can’t with the balrog, y’all, it’s literally one rock wall separating them, they clearly were trying to making this suspenseful and dramatic but it falls so very flat because it’s not even that deep. 

Love that the Numenoreans just landed in the exact spot where one (1) tiny human village in all of the southern portion of Middle-Earth is under attack, and they were able to immediately go to their rescue. They didn’t even try; no runner, no messenger, no finding some hapless soul in a field to direct them where to go. It’s so bad.

Orodruin has an on/off switch, guys! Too bad Mairon forgot to turn it off when he moved back in, in the Third Age, would have saved himself a lot of trouble if there had been no active lava to throw the ring in XDDD Jesus X_X

Pyroclastic flow, you can survive it, believe it. My god. 

Celeborn name-dropping was so very random. Seven episodes in, suddenly she remembers she has a husband! Time spent looking for Sauron: 200+ years. Time spent looking for missing husband: ... zero? She was on her way into the West without ever looking for him and the reason she turned back around is because she felt her work here was still unfinished, not, “oh maybe I should look for my husband and daughter”? Also, we just have to rip off Luthien and Beren, huh. 

Mordor to Lindon in six days!!!!!!!! What are those horses on, I want some too XD (it’s like... 800-ish miles, in a direct line, not accounting for mountain ranges and ravines and the like, where you’d have to find a way around. Even considering that elven steeds are super-horses -- so let’s say they can do 40 miles/day -- and pretend they don’t need to use roads and can fly over insurmountable passes, that should still be a journey of no less than 20 days; it’s across the entire fucking continent).

Sure, yeah, he’s a Maia so obviously a “mortal wound” isn’t gonna kill him, so he made the journey just fine. But she didn’t know that, yet she pushed the journey until he was visibly falling off his horse; callous, much??? What a bitch :D

Galadriel, in favor of ringmaking?????? Celebrimbor being proud and fond of his Feanorian blood (in public, to a complete stranger, no less)? Who are these people HELP.

WHY ARE WE GIVING TYELPE’S STORYLINE TO HER HASN’T SHE GIRLBOSSED ENOUGH

Fuck the 9 and the 5, I guess? The whole point is that they were made before... not after... because otherwise the subjugation wouldn’t woooooork. Oof.

Wow. 400+ years of living together, working together, and all the entanglements that brings, reduced to... what was it? 3 weeks? 3 months? I want. to. cry.

I just. Who looks at the Silmarillion and goes, “you know what this could use? MORE DRAMA.” Like, everyone is more than dramatic enough without adding a whole bunch of new dynamics in established relationships lmao.

I think that’s my main complaint, actually. First/Second Age is already essentially a family soap opera, but RoP has injected so much melodrama into it that it makes it completely tasteless. They’re changing not only major plot points but character dynamics and relationships... for what? To what end?? What is the purpose??? It’s certainly not effective story-telling, that’s for sure.

OH I forgot the harfoot storyline. Well. That goes to show what I think about it lmao. I get the sentiment behind it but the execution is so poorly done, it just doesn’t do it for me at all. It was just so piece-meal and shoddy and random -- what was even the point of the three sorcerers?? 

Dialogue

It’s just so bad. There’s the purple prose that runs circles around itself trying to make itself sound deep and Tolkien-ish, but is ultimately empty and means nothing (”why does a rock sink but a ship doesn’t” are you fucking kidding me, with word-smithing like that no wonder Mairon sang you into the ground and you deserve it). There’s the forced call-backs to the text/movies (”follow your nose,” “a gift,” etc.) that are shoved in there for Nostalgia and Relevance and feel awfully out of place. And then, my favorites: the really dumb one-liners that completely break whatever meagre atmosphere the series managed to set (“knife-ears” -- what is this, Dragon Age?! “the elves will take your jobs” -- like, really bro? are you serious?? “I’m good” -- ouch, that was so unspeakably cringe). 

The single exception is Adar’s dialogue; idk if someone different was writing him and his storyline or what, but this is way more like Tolkien. And, sadly, seeing that they can write like this, makes the rest of the series even worse. 

Also the choices of when/where to use Quenya vs. Sindarin... I’m so confused.

Costuming

...... what. the. fuck. Like, all of it, really, but the armor is especially... unfortunate. It’s just so poor, in concept and execution. I was wondering why the layers of mail were moving so weirdly, but at first I didn’t believe it when someone said that the mail worn under the breastplate, bracers and pauldrons by the Numenoreans is actually just the armor design printed onto long-sleeved shirts. Looking at it more closely since then... I really think they’re right, which is just yikes. I’m usually extremely forgiving in this department if the plot and tone are right, especially if it is a low-budget production (have y’all seen the costumes from Voyage of the Unicorn?? One of my favorite tv series. No joke. 100% adore the costuming too, as it fits the vibe and everything is clearly done just for the joy of it). But knowing they spent $60 million per episode, and it still turned out like this? That’s just gross. (And apparently the person who did the costuming is the same person who did the costumes for Crimson Peak, which I haven’t watched but the costumes are incredible... what a waste of her talent).

Also, the hair loss. Yes. Absolutely. It 100% detracts from the image, sorry. And I’m not talking only about the elves. The dwarven women got the short end of the stick, too. 

It’s the presentation, primarily, what the costuming does for the presentation of the characters (or what it doesn’t do, in this case). Galadriel should not have to pull her hair back and expose her ears in order for people to identify her as an elf; she should be ethereal and faerie and otherworldly and immediately distinguishable from those around her, as all elves should. Everyone is just so. bogged down in the mortal muck. It’s so disappointing. If you look at cast photos from the LotR and Hobbit movies, the difference between the cast in costume and the cast wearing their day to day clothing is like a punch to the face; here, everyone looks like they stepped off of the street and onto the set :/

Again, the exception seems to be Adar. He’s by far the most Tolkien-looking of all the characters, and definitely gives off First Age survivor vibes even from just the way he looks, and I really don’t understand why they chose to not to let a similar aesthetic guide the appearance of the rest of the elven cast. It’s baffling.

Casting

XDDDD 

I mean. I don’t even know what to say. A good portion of why everyone looks so ugly is absolutely the costuming and makeup work and I do think that even just longer hair would improve them a great deal, but there are certain characters that have been so horribly mis-cast, namely Elrond, Gil-galad and Celebrimbor. They just don’t vibe as the characters. And, speaking as a complete non-shipper, if Tyelpe looked like that, I firmly believe that Mairon would have skipped Ost-in-Edhil altogether; he’d have taken one look and been like, yeah, no thanks, I’ll pass. Like, why does he look like he’s about to croak??? This is supposed to be the elves at the height of their power in Eregion! And he’s Feanor’s grandson, he’s not that old!!! He was only two-thousand something years old when he died!!! Galadriel has a couple of centuries on him at least. (My most heartfelt sympathies to the Silvergifting folks, btw; Tyelpe did not become a banner for this utter nonsense).

I really enjoyed the idea of Disa and Arondir. Truly. And the actors did give it their all, which is really the only thing saving their characters, in my opinion. But I do think that they were done a disservice as well, in being associated with the rest of this. I’m all for diverse casting (though, can’t help but note the lack of Asian representation in a series that is patting itself on the back for diversity), but aside from these two, everyone else was just... very token-ish. Caricature-ish, to the point of being insulting. What was with the accents from Rhun??? As someone from the part of the world that that was inspired by, I was cringing. I honestly don’t know if I’ll be able to watch season 2 if Rhun is going to be a big focus and they insist on presenting it like this. Idk, the casting choices definitely gave off the vibe of Representation™ for the sake of Brownie Points instead of actually being inclusive, and it left such a bad taste in my mouth. I know they’re gonna drag Khamul into this mess, I know it, but I’m fervently wishing him a very I-hope-you-don’t-get-included

Music

There are some good moments, a couple of bars that woke me up here and there, but ultimately forgettable. It’s not awful, but it is terribly mediocre, and from a composer whose other work I have enjoyed, that’s just really very sad (I guess this series brought out the worst in everyone???)

Galadriel

Where to fucking start

She’s really just a very painful example of people, yet again, thinking “Strong female character” means unlikable bitch who is in everyone’s face and listens to no one because she is StRonK.

Ugh. Commander who has no respect from her men? Who doesn’t even bother to work with her men?

Yes, obviously she’s younger in the Second Age than the Third Age, no. shit. She’s not who the Fellowship meets in Lothlorien, not yet, she’s still growing into that person. Obviously she has serious scars from the First Age and before. She participated in the First Kinslaying. She was called Nerwen, and regularly participated in athletic feats. She crossed the Helcaraxe. She refused the Valar’s pardon twice. She fought and she lost so much. But just because you want to portray her as younger, as angry or vengeful or whatever (which is fine! she was!) does not mean that she is a brat or that she is inelegant or that she is dumber than a brick. 

She picks a quarrel with everyone she speaks to. “You have not seen what I’ve seen” -- to Elrond. Elrond. His father became a star and his mother became a bird and he never saw either one again and he was taken in and raised by the very people who slaughtered his kin (multiple times, I might add; two separate instances), and then his only brother, his twin, chose the life of a Man instead of an elf and then died. Like. lady; please. She would never, ever be so crass.

They make her so naive, so stupid -- simply because otherwise the plot as they have written it would not be able to unfold, because the choices she makes to move the plot along are dumb as fuck -- and it is infuriating.

She says shit like “sometimes you have to trust in the design of the powers that be” -- is this the same person who left literal paradise because she wanted a realm of her own to rule and didn’t want to be subservient and beholden to greater powers, and wanted to determine her life for herself?

She is such a child. Elendil compares her to his teenage children. His mortal, teenage children. That’s... not a good look lmao.

Also, don’t get me started on her swordsmanship. All the combat choreography is dismal, but especially the sequence of her “teaching” in Numenor is very painful to me, as a swordsman. Oy.

Elrond & Celebrimbor

Why is Elrond a dwarf friend (: Why isn’t Celebrimbor the dwarf friend (: (: (: Where is Narvi (: (: (: (: The doors, what doors, oh the doors of Moria, the doors that were specifically crafted by an elf and a dwarf (those being Celebrimbor and Narvi) and stand testament to their friendship, those doors? Bleh.

WHY ARE WE HAVING ELROND SWEAR AN OATH

WHY ARE OATHS BEING PASSED OFF AS NOT A BIG DEAL I’m pretty sure there’s an entire story somewhere about how serious an oath can be...

Why are things (oaths, silmarils) that were resolved in the First Age and left behind in the First Age, being dredged up again here????? I want to scream.

Ah, yes, Galadriel, the one who took in a just-orphaned Elrond. Fuck Maglor, I guess???? He didn’t single-parent two orphans in the face of the Oath to be disrespected like this.

I just. I don’t understand how Celebrimbor can NOT be the focus of a show called RINGS OF POWER. His importance has been relegated to a footnote. It would be like Feanor being a side character in a show called SILMARILS. It’s absurd.

Elrond’s relationship with Galadriel is. so weird. It’s got such a weird vibe. They’re not comrades-in-arms. They’re not friends, not like buddy-buddy. They’re related in three separate ways if I recall correctly; they’re cousins through two different lines, and then -- more importantly -- she’s his mother-in-law. Why is he treating her like a sibling????

Gil-galad

Oh, Ereinion. Last High King of the Elves and Retainer of Long Locks ;_; The harpers will sing even more sadly of him now, I guess. Why does he look like a disgraced Roman governor out of Asterix who fell out of favor in the capital and is living out his days in discontent in the provinces? He somehow escaped the great shearing, but still looks awful  minor nitpick, given everything else going on, but why is his hair black? he’s one of the few characters whose hair-color we explicitly know  More pressingly, why does he act like it?? Fair and free realm my ass, they’re drowning in angst here and Annatar hasn’t even shown up yet lmao. Does someone on the team have a personal dislike for him? Tolkien was sparse on details, sure, and the First and Second Ages were absolutely rife with politics, but there is no reason to make him a smarmy, conniving politician and an idiot to boot.  

Mairon

My boy, my love, the very personification of perfectionism and obsessive-compulsive tendencies and creative license, embodiment of the themes of the artistic struggle, of creation and destruction as two sides of the same coin, independence and freedom and binding and subjugation wrapped up all in one complex fiery being... I’m gonna need a whole separate post for you. My grief knows no bounds, my tears are innumerable T____T

There’s a lot more I can say, and I know there’s a lot I left out, but my hands and brain are tired now lol. 

tl;dr Tbh I would have been content with a show about random OCs in Middle-Earth, rather than whatever they’re trying to do by twisting the plot like this. Like, keep the storyline with Arondir and Bronwyn (but just... make their actions and dialogue have common sense lmao), navigate elf/human relations in the Second Age through them. Keep Adar and the nuanced interpretation of Orcs and explore the original creation of Orcs, and how a mutilated elf from the First Age deals with survival like that. Hell, throw in Celebrian (who is mentioned by name in the Appendices; as is Glorfindel, incidentally) since we’re screwing with the timeline anyway -- you want a canon, strong, female protagonist? Here you go! We barely have any info on her, other than the bare bones -- create away! Incorporate her kidnapping by orcs, her torture, have her meet Adar, create moral conflict that way. Pepper in some Elrond and some Galadriel on the fringes, for a popularity boost, since we apparently need them for a Middle-Earth show to matter. Ta-da, boom, done. 

It could have been good, y’all. 

#the best thing i can say about this series is that it gave me the final no-fucks-given push to finally cosplay my boy #and to seriously sit down and work at some silm art #i've enjoyed silmarillion/first and second age fanart and fanfic my whole life but have never contributed myself because #i always felt that anything i made wouldn't be good enough #well #anything i put out can't possibly be worse than this lmao #should i tag this? #meh i'll tag it why not #in case people want to blacklist my sorrowful ramblings #anti rop #anti rings of power #(okay y'all i tried doing the conscientious thing and strictly tagging it as anti only but the way this site uses tags these days #is against me #no matter what i try it insists on putting it in the main tag so #apologies. i tried. i tried a million variations. just keep scrolling if it's not your cup of tea)

[mmikmmik2]

thinking about who from Middle Earth or the Marvel universe or DC universe would be iconic enough to be a reasonable Persona. I think if you’re doing a “personal” Persona for a specific character you can do deeper cuts, like Madame from Three Musketeers, and mythological Personae also have more leeway imo if they were a powerful cultural figure in the past even if they aren’t really common knowledge nowadays. But like, for Lord of the Rings or something, I think you gotta go with the most basic normie characters, the ones some random non-fan could recognize and relatively accurately describe in one sentence, not the ones that are the most interesting or important in the source material. So, Gandalf, Superman, Batman, Spider-Man for sure… who else? I feel like you could reasonably include Legolas or maybe even Elrond or Galadriel as the representative for “Tolkien elves” as a whole. The Joker, Wolverine, maybe Robin, maybe Bilbo, definitely Gollum as one of those sad little early game Personae like Slime… Lois Lane? Aragorn? Venom? Honestly I could be way off base here idk

#dangan ronpa/persona crossover series where one of those wretched kids has The Joker as their persona

[kimyoonmiauthor]

“BuT AlL of MiDdlE EarTh wAs WhITE. Tolkien would be ‘rolLiNg in HiS grAve’“

So, if you haven’t heard white proud boys purist Tolkien fans are up in arms over Rings of Power having PoCs in it, because it’s “not historically accurate to European history” (hahaha), and “Tolkien’s intentions”. So I thought I would do a run down on basic European history and Tolkien’s intentions to refute this and the other complaints, plus launch some really valid criticism about the show that’s not about race at all that these fanboys are totally missing because they really didn’t do any of the reading on Tolkien or actual European history.

Yeah, some of you won’t read my profile, but most of this is pulled from my knowledge of European history, Anthropology, and general World building geekery, which is my hidden degree. (I concentrated a ton of classes around this)

PoCs in European history:

For reference, I’m only going to loosely reference real European history since I don’t have a textbook word count to write this out with. This is more a dump and you look it up moment. If you’re not willing to look it up, don’t refute it.

This is rough, but not exact chronological order.

-Beaker People (granted this wasn’t remembered in Tolkien’s time period, but we’re operating on “real” European history.) They brought agriculture to Europe and as soon as about 5000 years ago, the majority of people in Europe were dark-skinned in Southern Europe. White skin likely started with Sami people. White skin only became more common about 4,000 years ago in Southern Europe. In Northern Europe, it’s about 6,000-5000 years ago. With first white skinned people about 8,000 years ago.

(Making it easier, pulling easy-to-read source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/feb/07/first-modern-britons-dark-black-skin-cheddar-man-dna-analysis-reveals

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2018/february/the-beaker-people-a-new-population-for-ancient-britain.html)

Under this specifically: The Cheddar Man: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/cheddar-man-mesolithic-britain-blue-eyed-boy.html

- Early Jews in Europe. Jews weren’t rebranded white until a *lot* later in history. But going over that is cumbersome. Early Jews were from Western Asia.

- Rromani who came from Northwestern India, and were nomadic. (In the show Harfoot is kinda based on Rromani and they are Rromani-coded in many ways). BTW, Roma are the largest group of Rromani, but not all Rromani are Roma. The G-word is a slur.

(Image from: https://www.livescience.com/40652-facts-about-roma-romani-gypsies.html)

- Mongols via the Mongolian Invasion, who changed the food habits of Europeans (particularly on meat-eating) and imported from Persia (now Iran) distillation of wine and spirits. (They also brought distillation to East Asia and Russia too).

- Islamic Empire in Al Andalus (Southern Spain) and later the Moors that came there. Al Andalus brought Renaissance to Europe. Gothic Architecture--that’s them. The pointed arches are something they brought. Love Poetry/courtly love, modern medicine, Scientific method, astronomy (astrology somewhat), algebra, sciences, formal academies, etc. They collected from India, so brought eh Zero from India, decimals from China, etc. (BTW, Automatons still blow my mind)

- Crusades brought in Northern Africans.

- Slavery from Western Africa brought in black people in Tudor times.

- Colonization of the Americas brought in Indigenous people, though not ethically done. Such as Pocahontas, who went to England to negotiate treaties, etc.

- Outside of this, there were stone masons brought for building castles from Western Asia and Northern Africa. This is covered by Ruth Goodman in the documentary about Guédelon Castle, who explicitly cites this to be the case.

- Math was invented by Egyptians, Congo people, Babylonians and Sumerians--none of which are in Europe.

- Arches is West Asia-ish, not Europe.

- Metal work, is likely started in Africa. (Most likely North Eastern)

- Spoons started in Africa.

- knives start in Africa.

- Strawberries (mentioned in the show, BTW) is New World, and BTW, I think Tolkien would be against it given his writings on food. He was particular about it. While the strawberry was cultivated in Roman times the varietal used today was cultivated first by the Mapuche and Huilliche Indians of Chile cultivated the female strawberry species until 1551, and the formal domestication of the strawberry in Europe, as we know it, is not until the 18th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry

- Blueberries are also New World: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueberry, having the cultivated origin in North America, though they naturally occurred in Europe.

- Grains came from Western Asia--all of them, which allowed the domestication of other things, like strawberries, carrots, etc. The earliest staple from food historian’s thought was marsh reeds in Europe, which take a long time to prepare. Brussel sprouts, BTW, are 100% European in origin. (In the cabbage/Broccoli family, which is also found outside of Europe)

-Marigolds (mentioned third episode with the Harfoot) are Mexico and Guatemala in origin, imported in the 16th century:

- Humans started in Eastern Africa by best guess.

- Horses is Asia, likely. Central Asia, though disputed on which culture came first: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botai_culture https://www.statelinetack.com/blog/the-history-of-horseback-riding/1595/

- Boats were invented by Phoenicians--who were not European.

If we’re getting later in history....

- Jane Austen discusses slavery during the Regency period. And Belle is roughly from the same time period (Movie about a black woman, who was a granddaughter of an Abolitionist judge based on historical figures).

- British occupation of India and Pakistan brought in Indians. One of the servants of Queen Victoria was an Indian man. She also had a black goddaughter.

- The Suffrage movement also included women of color, though rather erased from history.

- British colonization of Jamaica also brought in more black people.  (Granted after Tolkien)

So the idea that looking at this map of Europe and Africa, no black people or PoCs would be in Europe is ridiculous, because Europe had a forcefield around it that prevented people from coming in. People always travel. I mean Queen Cleopatra, anyone? Anyone? She traveled from Egypt to Rome.

Homo Erectus made it all the way to China without airplanes, boats, horses, and suddenly Homo Sapiens sapiens can’t travel to Europe, just across a lake? That’s not realistic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_Man

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2150253-gene-study-shows-human-skin-tone-has-varied-for-900000-years/

https://www.quora.com/If-all-humans-belong-to-the-same-race-when-did-they-start-to-have-different-colours/answer/Walter-Smyth

But Tolkien WAS FOR WHITE PURITY:

https://www.good.is/articles/jrr-rolkien-nazi-letter

He hated the Nazis and if you read that article:

“Privately, according to “1937 The Hobbit or There and Back Again," Tolkien told Unwin he hated Nazi “race-doctrine" as “wholly pernicious and unscientific." He added he had many Jewish friends and was considering abandoning the idea of a German translation altogether.”

So no, he was not for “race purity”

I mean look at this burn:

25 July 1938 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford Dear Sirs, Thank you for your letter. I regret that I am not clear as to what you intend by arisch. I am not of Aryan extraction: that is Indo-Iranian; as far as I am aware none of my ancestors spoke Hindustani, Persian, Gypsy, or any related dialects. But if I am to understand that you are enquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people. My great-great-grandfather came to England in the eighteenth century from Germany: the main part of my descent is therefore purely English, and I am an English subject — which should be sufficient. I have been accustomed, nonetheless, to regard my German name with pride, and continued to do so throughout the period of the late regrettable war, in which I served in the English army. I cannot, however, forbear to comment that if impertinent and irrelevant inquiries of this sort are to become the rule in matters of literature, then the time is not far distant when a German name will no longer be a source of pride. Your enquiry is doubtless made in order to comply with the laws of your own country, but that this should be held to apply to the subjects of another state would be improper, even if it had (as it has not) any bearing whatsoever on the merits of my work or its sustainability for publication, of which you appear to have satisfied yourselves without reference to my Abstammung. I trust you will find this reply satisfactory, and remain yours faithfully, J. R. R. Tolkien

He also hated Hitler, a whole ton (and as cited in the article had a bunch of Jewish friends):

“I have in this War a burning private grudge—which would probably make me a better soldier at 49 than I was at 22: against that ruddy little ignoramus Adolf Hitler (for the odd thing about demonic inspiration and impetus is that it in no way enhances the purely intellectual stature: it chiefly affects the mere will). Ruining, perverting, misapplying, and making for ever accursed, that noble northern spirit, a supreme contribution to Europe, which I have ever loved, and tried to present in its true light.”--J.R.R. Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/325144-i-have-in-this-war-a-burning-private-grudge-which-would

He also called Hitler a “Mongrel”:

https://www.facebook.com/GOODHQ/posts/jrr-tolkien-hated-nazi-race-doctrine-and-no-problem-telling-his-german-publishin/10157470976163059/

BTW, some suggest Moriquendi had dark skin.

Tolkien also refuted all claims of racial purity during his lifetime about his world:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien_and_race

So, no, he would hate you for acting like an incel neo-nazi.

In addition he often tried to update his worldbuilding to fit “science” seen here (BTW, this is the Victorian Literary movement called “realism”):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_World_version_of_the_Silmarillion

Since he wanted a round world, PoCs are required for it. Closer to the equator you would get PoCs. Plus it would screw over the Nazis really well to have all this info on humanoid populations. And I think he’d be for that. Despite the fantasy, he still liked the idea of rooting it in science and history, if you look into his writings (particularly about the foodstuffs)

I should note that CS Lewis, who was his friend and often had writerly disputes with him, was for a flat world model, which is probably some of the influence on the flat world idea.

BTW, I kinda like in a symmetry of mythology take, the idea that Valinor would be sucked into another realm in order to make the world round, which would solve a lot of his issues with making a round world. It fits a lot with the whole Valhala, Anglo-saxon, etc mythos he based it on.

And about the Harfoot in the show:

As I said, coded Rromani.

But Black Dwarves, caves, etc and auto-white skin

People forget that Inuit exist? (If not Rromani)

(Image from Encyclopedia Britannica) Where do they live? Far more North than the Latitude this is set.

If you’re arguing that Dwarves “need to be all white” then you should be arguing they are all albino https://www.insidescience.org/news/albino-sharks-deep), and more like mole people or naked molerats. But they have really good eyesight throughout LoTR, so apparently they aren’t “adapted” to the caves.

So that means they are getting all the essential vitamins in those caves, which has a tree and several green plants in Rings of Power.

They must be eating something similar to seal blubber or maybe the bones of fish and animals.

If that’s the case, such that they haven’t lost all their pigmentation, as in the case of Albino sharks, cited, then having a black dwarf isn’t far-fetched. As noted, the majority of the human population for quite some time was black, considering homo sapiens sapiens are 200,000 years old.

So humanoid creatures with an argued similar biology as they are trying to pull here, would stand to reason being black in a cave isn’t a disadvantage at all. And notice it took a few thousand years of agriculture for white skin even to be more common in Southern Europe.

The “realism” vs. fantasy--real problems.

Because they are going on about “realistic” but only harping on PoCs, I thought I would point out the more pressing world building issues they should have picked up on if they had any knowledge of actual European history and the whys of it all. Icing on the cake?

- In the middle of an icestorm, acting like a fighter, and hasn’t tied up her hair?

Loosely the clothes are somewhere between Preraphaelite, which is Victorian Imagination of clothes and 12th century clothing:

Actual 12th century clothing.

But you’ll notice in the real ones, the hair isn’t down like in the Victorian imagination of the Medieval period. The proper way was to cover ones hair. (Mostly to keep dirt off of it.)

Joan of Arc also cut her hair first thing: https://www.history.com/news/7-surprising-facts-about-joan-of-arc

So Galadriel with her hair down fighting people like she has it, would be a death sentence waiting for her. It would get caught in the chainmail hood, frozen to things, and blow around. It would get her killed. I don’t think Tolkien would be in favor of the impractical. It should be braided at least or put into a bun and probably covered, as shown above. Edit: They fixed this in Episode 6, by finally giving Galadriel a braid, BUT I was honestly thinking something more like this: https://www.howcast.com/videos/500081-how-to-do-a-heidi-braid-braid-hairstyles

Or a viking battle braid. https://therighthairstyles.com/viking-braid-tutorial/

- The clothes aren’t designed for horse riding:

*sighs* Elves in LoTR habitually rode horses. Tolkien has large swaths about this.

And traveling in a robe like that in a distance like this:

No way that robe would stay that clean. It’s impractical. Often Kings through modern time would switch robes for riding. Riding in that clothing would be cumbersome. It doesn’t split in the right places, and it drags and it would collect dirt like no one’s business.

I don’t think that Tolkien, who went on and on about horses, would be in favor of clothes you can’t use for horse-riding when clearly horses are present. I mean even the Preraphaelite painting is more practical for horse riding than these clothes.

Yes, hand wavium with magic, but why not use an eagle or show that they magically appeared there (Which BTW, is a cheap effect) instead of the slow progress on the board? (Horses are expensive?) Still, the clothes need to be good for horseriding. Also, horses are not cars, so they’d probably have to stop along the way if it exceeds about 20 km. (’cause Tolkien is British), so the clothes would have to be changed. Note: Kinda fixed this later. A little. Starting in Episode 5, but I still  think the clothing should keep in mind horses. Horses show up in episode 6, but are kinda mentioned before then.

Geography issues:

There is nothing on this part of the map which would make Middle Earth temperate in climate.

You see, the reason Europe gets to have agriculture besides the Beaker people is because there is the Gulf Stream, which throws all that warm water from the Gulf onto Europe. Without it, Europe would be, as my Geography teacher liked to say, “Siberia” And as he said, if you keep melting those icecaps, Europe will turn into Siberia’s climate, with really hot summers and really cold winters.

This isn’t part of Tolkien’s original map, so it’s not on him, but if we’re going by “realism” and “real history” and OMG, PoCs in Europe, shouldn’t the fact that Middle Earth be a barren wasteland without matching continent concern any of that crowd (yes, I know, white purists don’t really care about “real history” even when spouting it.)

BTW, some people lose their minds to find that agriculture+the Gulf Stream made them white. Downright angry. ‘cause then white people aren’t necessary in world building. But anything to piss off the white purists.

I should be clear, I’m willing to let these details go, and do hand wavium in my head, but really, if they are thinking Middle Earth is “real” history, shouldn’t they be more concerned about these three things than some scattered PoCs, most of which are not named? Five, first episode +2 second episode (only one of the two named). But no~ black people are “taking over” because of ~5 blacks in the first and +2 in the second. (And one of the two is on screen for less than a second--blink and you miss them). And I’m thinking, wait until they find out about the stone masons, Moors, Mongols, and West Asians in Europe. And Rromani.

Conclusion:

The thing is the majority of the people complaining are racists who want Europe to be a white haven of whiteness going back 10,000 years. They don’t really care that much about reality, in the end, and are basically doing the work of Hitler going on about White Purity of Europe and using Tolkien’s name in vain. But look, Tolkien was against that. He HATED Hitler. Hated him. Was willing to say so and have a hit put out against him. Was willing to give up German pub rights to hate Nazis. And Tolkien actively fought in his lifetime against Middle Earth being race-framed into being about white purity.

So I don’t get that.

#Rings of Power #black elves #black humans #JRR Tolkien #PoC Europeans #European history #black dwarves

[princeescaluswords]

It’s always interested me, that there are these two responses in fandom (not the only two, but these two are what interests me) where there’s one side who think people with critiques and criticisms should keep them to themselves so as to not ruin the fun. And then there’s this other side, who only want to critique and criticize based on superficial and usually bigoted aspects.

I see it w/ the new LotR show, and it’s fascinating. Some who are going hard on hating the show for casting people of color, and in particular black actors, but also those who are enraged by actors not having the right hair length or they aren’t pretty enough or what have you. And then you see people lumping those views with legitimate criticism of the writing and effects, or just a/mazon, because it’s all just ‘ruining the fun’.

It’s exhausting and pathetic.

Whenever I see people attack an adaptation for making a change that's influenced by modern cultural trends, I want to ask them a simple question:

Have you ever read Moby Dick?

Published in 1851, Herman Melville's story of obsession, whaling, and the struggle between humanity and nature (including their own natures) is considered a classic of United States literature. It can be a challenging read, of course. I found it hard for me because interwoven throughout the narrative are chapters on cetology -- the study of whales. These includes discourses on ecology, commercial fishing, among various other topics. The last chapter has the protagonist of the novel discussing the representation of whales in art.

I wasn't a fan, but I kept an open mind. Upon investigation, there are different analyses of the purpose those cetology chapters serve. I came to think of it as a means by which Melville drew his readers into the work by providing them with the information that his fictional characters would already have. He needed to do this because, after all, there wasn't a Wikipedia back then and there were very, very few public libraries. Most people wanting to read his story wouldn't have access to an exhaustive knowledge of whales and whaling.

Regardless of the reason behind his choices, very little of those chapters have made it into any of the adaptations I have seen, and I don't remember anyone complaining about it. I propose that it is because it's been recognized that the original novel and the movies and the mini-series were intended for different audiences. What worked for the book buyer in 1851 wouldn't work for the television viewer in 2011. This seems like common sense.

I hope you see where I'm going with this. United States culture has evolved to the point where we understand, as an audience, that we've excluded non-white characters from narratives or placed them in very specific roles which often contradict the very themes of the story we're reading. As the audience has evolved, so must the adaptations, and while we don't want to change the emotional and narrative centers of the story, changing details to reflect that evolution seems, to me, very similar to leaving the cetology chapters out.

In Tolkien's descriptions of elves, how long was their hair? I'm pretty sure that Tolkien didn't bother to talk about it that much, because that wasn't really his point about them. Jackson, in his adaption, went for a certain aesthetic for his characters because he was telling a visual story and wanted to highlight the differences between the race of elves and others, something Tolkien did but not with hair length. So when this new series doesn't make everyone's hair the same length as Jackson's movie, does that mean they've betrayed the spirit of the original work? It's hard to see how -- elves and men and dwarves are still different creatures, but they represent this through different means.

It's the same process with characters of color. Tolkien lived among a very privileged culture which didn't spend much time thinking about race and representation. Would he really be upset that the heroic Arondir or Princess Disa were played by black people? I think he would be more interested in how these characters embodied his visions of elves and dwarves, which they do -- in my opinion -- very well. Would he be upset that the orcs following Adar no longer adhere to a dark color scheme or that the Southlanders are racially diverse? I don't think so. The orcs are still perversions of the elves, twisted by evil, and the essential changeability of men -- their curse and their blessing -- remains the same. The themes present in the Lord of the the Rings are still present: a rejection of totalitarianism, rampaging capitalism, and rootless modernism. I think he'd be pleased with these new stories set in his world and barely notice the aesthetic changes that drive others to distraction.

This modern resistance comes, I believe, from how people remember reading the Lord of the Rings or watching Jackson's movies and taking possession of them by integrating them into their experiences. It's "ruining their fun" as you put it because part of the fun is that the Lord of the Rings belongs to them. They should be able to enjoy it in the way they enjoyed it twenty years ago or forty years ago, like dragons perched on a hoard.

But the story doesn't belong to them. The new adaptation is not made in 2001 but in 2021. The audience has changed even since the beginning of the millennium, and change always encounters resistance. Storytellers are no longer content to exclude parts of the general population, and that's uncomfortable to some people. So, instead of understanding that Moby Dick adaptations don't need the cetology chapters anymore, they rage against the "woke" (a term so distorted that it's lost all meaning) like a greedy Sackville-Baggins upset that they won't get to keep Bag End or a Denethor afraid of the return of the king and what that means.

#lord of the rings #fandom racism #fandom criticism #moby dick #arondir #princess disa

[ultimate-word-tournament]

second most spoken is what i meant yea.

also i don't think a lot of people actually know tolkien made fully-developed conlangs

i think most people's exposure to his work is mostly just the the lord of the rings/the hobbit series, more specifically their movies and games, which don't really do much with them i don't think (full disclaimer though i only played the lego adaptations and that's it so i could be completely wrong)

Oh, alright! I don't really know how common of knowledge it is, I kinda just figured based on his overall popularity that that would make them more recognizable. But thanks for clarifying that!

[doberbutts]

is Rings of Power at all watchable if you aren't familiar with tolkien's works? i unfortunately haven't had the time to read them but with all the bullshit going on i kind of want to give it a watch to spite racists and give a tiny bit of pushback against a boycott that shouldn't be around.

Hmm. That's hard for me to say because of how deeply entrenched I am, I can't really rate it "with fresh eyes" because I already know the canon plot. The original stuff not so much but the stuff directly from the books? Yeah I've read it a billion times it's not new to me.

I think at minimum you'd have to have watched the PJ movies or at least read LOTR, one or both of those. The rest is either explained within the show or hopefully will be. But I think going in completely blind would be hard to follow. Some things are hard even for those who do claim to have knowledge, like the complaints I've seen regarding Galadriel's/general elf treatment of humans and dwarves (um... this is the age where it's still weird if an elf plays nicely with non-elves, or even elves outside of their specific clan) or why the Harfoots are significant (proto-Hobbits!) or who Morgoth/Melkor is (same person different name, the actual big bad of the entire universe and Sauron is literally just a fraction of the problem that this dude was). Some of these character relationships will be hard to parse for why it's significant these two people are talking to each other. But like, again, to even have a baseline understanding of what I've just said, you'd have to at least have watched the movies.

This is a common gripe I have that every adaption or entry should stand on it's own, that you shouldn't need to go back to the source materialin order to understand a story beat in the adaption. That being said, so few adaptions actually do this, so it can be really hard to find. IMO when an adaption is made, the source material should *provide further context and more detail* perhaps, but scenes from the adaption shouldn't be completely unable to be understood without having read the source.

[lesbiansforboromir]

Continuing on with my showcase of Things Tolkien Just Casually Made Canon In His Fun Book That Have Absolutely Mindblowing Implications But He Never Had To Deal With Them So Now I Have Too;

So... Gondor... in it’s ‘’’’decline’’’’ (🙄) has skill in healing ALL SICKNESS THAT MORTAL MEN ARE SUBJECT TOO in middle earth. So that means, at the very least, that Gondor has knowledge of and ways to treat EVERY single illness humans can get. That’s from the common cold to... aneurysms...  autoimmune diseases... parasites... nutrient deficiencies... brain tumors... non-specific seizures... CANCER! #GondorCuredCancer I McFucking guess. Does Gondor have a cure for CFS? Master craftsmen who build wheelchairs, prosthetics, external?? clockwork pacemakers??? Gotta go insane again, farewell <3

#IT'S ABOUT LOSS IN THE FACE OF TRYING SO UNIMAGINABLY HARD!!! #text post #tolkien #lotr #lord of the rings #gondor #erran vs tolkien #tolkien meta

[seasteading]

so you're missing a plot

over the course of my 3+ years on writeblr and some time on writing twitter, i’ve noticed that a lot of people can come up with characters and worldbuilding, but then get stuck on creating a compelling plot around those characters. so, here are a few tips that have helped me, and that i hope will help you too!

note: this will apply mostly to fantasy and sci fi, since that's what i write and what tends to have more plot-heavy storylines. 

these are also all my opinions! you don’t have to listen to any of this—all of these are tips that i’ve used in my own experience, and what works for me won’t necessarily work for you.

tone

this is one of the first things you want to decide. even within the same genre, you’re going to have a lot of variety in tone and atmosphere. the kind of plot that works for a fun fantasy adventure romp might feel odd and out of place for a darker fantasy with an emphasis on political intrigue. to figure out what kind of tone works best for your wip in particular, you want to look back at your characters. writing is a massive investment of time and energy, so you want to go in a direction that’s actually interesting to you. this is the very first step, and will help you decide what direction you end up going, and will most importantly give you a hint towards what ending will best suit the story you’re trying to tell. if you go with a more lighthearted tone, then suddenly having a tragic ending won’t make any sense since it’s the equivalent of a bait-and-switch. the same applies for having a darker tone—a happily ever after where everyone lives and gets therapy won’t necessarily fit. 

worldbuilding

worldbuilding is important of course, but it doesn’t need to be completely developed before you start coming up with a plot. in fact, you should try to avoid dumping all of your time into worldbuilding, and instead get the basics down before moving onto the plot. i’m sorry to say it, but you’re not tolkien. you will never be tolkien, and you don’t have to aspire to be like him either. you don’t want to write yourself into a plothole because something in your worldbuilding ends up conflicting with the story, so generally it’s good to have a little bit of wiggle room. sometimes you also run into a situation where the plot itself inspires an important piece of worldbuilding that makes the story richer and more interesting. your worldbuilding is there to enrich your plot and inform your character motivations, not the other way around. however, you do want to establish any rules your world has before getting into the plot, since breaking them can itself become a driving factor in characters and their arcs. this is especially common in fantasy, where a frequent premise lies in the fact that everybody can’t use magic while the protagonist can, or the other way around. this isn’t a plot quite yet, but it can be a good starting point.

character driven vs. plot driven

you will also need to decide the main focus of your story. character-driven writing is common in literary fiction and shorter works, and it’s focused specifically on the internal conflict within characters, as well as their thoughts and personal arcs. few external events are going to happen in character-driven stories, which tend towards more towards slice-of-life where not much really happens but you’re still invested due to the characters. plot-driven writing puts emphasis on (you guessed it!) the plot, and this is a lot more common for longer works. the two can and do certainly overlap, but most works tend to lean a bit more one way or the other, and you can determine this by asking whether you’re more interested in the characters as people or in what happens to them. 

motivation

so now that you have an idea of the direction you want to go, how do you actually come up with your plot? no matter if your story is character driven or plot driven, you still need compelling characters, and one way to find your plot is to look at their motivations. every one of your characters should have something they want to achieve or to obtain. your character’s want is going to be their main driving motivation. something is wrong in their life—if it wasn’t, then you wouldn’t be writing this story—and they think that obtaining what they want will fix it. this can be a macguffin-style quest for an object/place/person, the desire to climb the social ladder, solving the mystery behind a disappearance, etc. at this point, i would recommend taking a look at media with similar character motivations to yours and dissecting them to see what works and what doesn’t. you want to be genre-savvy and know what tropes are common to the type of story you’re telling.

gay is not a plot

repeat after me. gay is not a plot. gay is not a plot. gay is not a plot. there should be something to your wip’s plot other than “they’re gay, what more do you need?” (see this post). a romance isn’t going to be interesting if the characters aren’t interesting on their own, and that requires them to actually have their own motivations which (see motivation) themselves create the basis for a plot! in that same vein, having representation shouldn’t function as your plot or your primary selling point. representation should be a given, and making that the only descriptor for your work essentially boils down your characters to just their marginalization.

retellings

i know retellings of fairytales, myths, and shakespeare’s plays have gotten really popular, especially as of late. retellings are a great starting point since they already give you a base off which to work with, and instead of having to come up with all of your concepts from scratch, it becomes a question of putting your own spin on them. these tend to require some knowledge of the genre and common tropes, which you should have regardless of whether you’re writing a retelling or not. here, instead of having characters and a world first and a plot second, you’re working backwards from an existing work to reinterpret the characters and world surrounding a common plot. the important thing to note is that just because you have a starting point doesn’t mean that your work is done—i’d recommend researching other variations of the story you’re retelling and cataloguing similarities and differences, what works and what doesn’t, and moving things around/restructuring them depending on the changes you yourself want to make in your retelling.

prompts

i actually wouldn’t recommend relying on generators and prompt lists for your plots, since they tend to be extremely vague and difficult to get invested in, since you weren’t the one to come up with them. prompts can be really good for sparking inspiration, though, and once you get an idea for a few scenes, you can build off of them to figure out what circumstances lead to each one and what the pivot points are. prompts are a useful tool, but shouldn’t be used as the basis for your entire story.

final thoughts

if you’re here that means you’ve made it to the end of this behemoth of a post, and hopefully something here was helpful! at this point you should be able to find a premise, but it’s important to note that a premise is not a plot. here is where the real work begins—interweaving your characters and worldbuilding with your storyline, figuring out if there are any holes in your cast or if there are a few darlings you need to cryogenically freeze for now. you don’t need to fill in all of your plotholes; that’s a problem for when you actually have a draft down and more material to work with. for now, focus on creating a storyline that’s interesting to you. most importantly, don’t try to force it. you don’t want to treat a plot as a trope checklist, but instead let it come naturally so it actually fits the story your characters are made to tell.

#long post #anyway #r.writing #writeblr #writeblr advice #again take all of this with a grain of salt AHSDFKJLHASF

[warrioreowynofrohan]

The Lord of the Rings as a Sequel to The Silmarillion (Part 2)

Second piece relating to Tolkien’s statement that “[The Lord of the Rings] is not really a sequel to The Hobbit, but to The Silmarillion.” (First piece is here.)

One of the ways in which The Lord of the Rings can be understood in light of a sequel to The Silmarillion is the way in which so many of its characters serve as bright mirrors to the characters in the Silm, making the right decisions where the others made wrong ones. In some cases this is not intentional on the parts of the characters, simply a symbolic mirroring; but on the parts of Elrond and Galadriel it is very much intentional, learning from their predecessors’ mistakes.

While Elrond is - as many others in famdom have pointed out - a positive mirror of many, many other characters within his biological and adoptive family tree, and has learned from their mistakes (e.g., opposition to oaths in Fellowship of the Ring; lack of possessiveness over family heirlooms in The Hobbit), one in particular stands out: he is who Thingol should have been. In all the instances where Thingol made wrong decisions, Elrond makes right ones. Thingol held himself aloof from most of the non-Sindar of Beleriand, and even from some of the Sindar[1]; to Men and Noldor (okay, it’s fair to qualify that: non-Finarfinian Noldor) alike, Doriath remained an enigma. Elrond in Rivendell actively welcomes any travellers who come, and provides help, shelter, and advice, to the point where it’s widely known as the Last Homely House before the Misty Mountains. There couldn’t be a stronger contrast to Doriath (literal translation: fenced land). Thingol, for most of his reign, deliberately wanted to keep Men out of Doriath; Elrond actively fostered many generations of the Dunedain (and got much better results than was the case with Thingol’s foster-son, perhaps because they were being raised in an environment that was welcoming towards their Mannish heritage rather than hostile or alienating towards it). While Beleriand suffers from a lack or coordination and cooperation, and Doriath does nothing to rectify this, the Council of Elrond provides the groundwork, planning, and discussion that leads to the defeat of Sauron. And, of course, Elrond allows Arwen to choose to marry Aragorn and does not stand in their way.

Galadriel (whose realm, in contrast to Elrond, has a lot in common with Doriath - a queen who’s easily the most powerful enemy of Sauron; isolation from many other realms; an equivalent to the Girdle of Melian; advice and foresight, like Melian’s, despite her insistance that she’s not providing it) likewise shows signs of having learned from the errors of both her Doriathrin and Fëanorian kin. Read what you will into the symbolism of her actively endorsing Aragorn’s relationship with Arwen by giving him an enchanted gemstone. And of her making what is, in effect, a diluted Silmaril in the form of the Phial and giving that away as well. Her refusal of the Ring and the dominion it would bring is, in effect, the final refusal of Fëanor’s stated aim of dominion over Middle-earth. The Fëanorian parallels or anti-parallels are made even stronger by the Mirror of Galadriel, which functions in many ways similar to a palantír. (Realizing that both the Phial and the Mirtor are specifically made using water gives me a better understanding of what makes the Ring of Water the suitable one for her; and in effect she is using Celebrimbor’s gift to continue his work, in using Fëanor’s legacy in a way that benefits others). Given how much Galadriel has lived through and learned, there is little doubt that many of these parallels are intentional on her part. They are likely also intentional on Tolkien’s, who compares and contrasts her with Fëanor in some of the supplementary material.

Aragorn (as noted in the “you, but successful” meme) has certain parallels with Túrin (in addition to the obvious one with Beren): fostered in an elf-kingdom, spends much of his life in exile travelling to different places and fighting evil, has a certain dose of arrogance (note his posturing over Andúril in Rohan), personal enemy of a dark lord. The descriptions of their appearances seem very similar as well. But the contrasts are what makes the difference. Túrin warps the fabric of any place he goes (besides Doriath) into his own likeness: Dor-Cuarthol, Nargothrond, Hithlum, Brethil, all end up shaped and defined by what Túrin thinks is best. Aragorn travels to places, lives in them, and learns from them; in his earlier days in Gondor he leaves after he becomes too prominent as Thorongil, rather than using his prestige as a pathway to the throne; the time isn’t right. He doesn’t focus solely on fighting as Túrin does; he goes off on a lengthy wild-goose-chase after Gollum at Gandalf’s request. When given the choice between accompanying the Ringbearer or going to Gondor to fight, he chooses neither, but instead to throw all his energy into rescuing two hobbits, because (based on his knowledge) the hobbits have no other chance. (Obviously he has the benefit of not being cursed; if he were Túrin, this choice would inevitably have turned out badly.) When he does directly and deliberately pick a fight with Sauron, it’s as a distraction, not with the goal of defeating him through military strength.

[1] The Northern Sindar of Hithlum and elsewhere; discussed in The Peoples of Middle-earth.

#tolkien #the silmarillion #the lord of the rings #elrond #galadriel #rivendell #lothlorien #aragorn #aragorn x arwen #túrin