#// yes that is indeed a lotr reference...

[crownprinceknut]

Elaine and Gareth for the Arthurian ask game. Also, is the 'we just got a letter' tag a reference to Blues Clues? 💙

Elaine: What is one thing you could spend all day talking about?

So many things. I am, and always will be, a talker. But if I had to pick just one thing, it would probably be about fan works and how their structure compares and contrasts the source material.

Gareth: Which fictional character do you relate to most?

Oh, this is difficult. If you had asked me this a year or two ago it would have been easier. Though I think I go with Aragorn (LOTR). He embodies a lot of who and what I want to be

And yes, the 'we just got a letter' tag is indeed a Blue's Clues reference 💙🐾

[monstermaster13]

TftW: Were-Russell.

Nathan to Russell Brand tf/were-celeb theme.

The concept of people turning into animals has indeed been around for centuries, some say even more than that, the fact it is that is nothing new, werecreatures weren't anything new either - they were common and almost every country has one, you just have to look in a variety of unusual places in order to locate some of them.

That is where our hero comes in - Nathan or Monstermaster13 as he was referred to was not like others, far from it - he went with a more 'unique' approach, he went with the more satirical 'werecelebrity' gimmick, but hated it when people who bashed his work didn't get the joke. But the truth was that he wasn't the only one on DA who did the whole 'werecelebrity' gimmick despite nay-Sayers claiming that he was only the only one who did it, after all there were plenty of captions and stories with a theme almost like his.

Nathan always could relate more to the actual monster than the human characters in horror movies as he felt sorry for them and knew how they felt, after all - they couldn't help being what they were. He especially had a fondness for werecreatures, it started when he watched the Teen Wolf cartoon back in the 90's, he would go over to his best friends house and watch it on VHS.

Later on he discovered the movie the cartoon was based on in the late 2000's and became a huge fan of it, his interest in werecreatures came full circle with the introduction of Big Wolf On Campus. He loved that show to pieces and because of that show he developed a fascination with monsters, so much so that he went through several stages of wanting to be a monster.

When the live action version of the Grinch came out, he was obsessed with it and wanted to become a 'Grinch' himself. Which came true when he got bitten by Jim Carrey and became the Weregrinch known as Growler. When the LOTR movies came out, he went through a 'Hobbit' phase, and there were many more to follow.

However what he found to be the most fascinating part was that like with fellow werecreature Tyler, his transformations often varied and weren't just into one form, but often a different one every night.

What intrigued him more was that the transformations were sometimes influenced by whatever he was watching or listening to at the time or by things he did to influence the process. Like for example if he had just gotten back from a trip to the beach he would become an aquatic werecreature, or if he was watching a movie like Cat People he would become a werecat. He could control the changes as well, and he could direct them in the way he preferred as well.

But one night a transformation happened to him that shocked him to the core, it all started one night when he was in the living room watching MTV, something he hadn't done in years. He was watching a re-run of the 2008 VMA Awards, he remembered watching the commercials for it and liking them but he felt the RussellXBritney thing was kind of weird. He was also talking to his friend Joel on his Smartphone, posting various comments and photos.

"You know, I think that the women he's seen with are just pretending to like him."

"Oh, I don't know. I think Russell and Britney made an adorable OTP."

"Russell Brand's relationships with human females don't last long though."

"Oh? But what about KatyXRussell? Or Krussell as they call it?"

"Oh please, the two of them broke up in 2011-2012."

"But it wasn't his fault though."

"In my expert opinion it was. He was awful to her."

"That's not true!"

"Oh yes it is - depending on the source."

"I really do think he's not that bad though!"

"What you see in him is something I don't understand. Why if I was Russell Brand - I could have done so much better."

"Oh well, see ya buddy! Talk to you later, bye!"

He stopped for a while and turned his Smartphone off before continuing to watch the rest of the ceremony before heading into the kitchen to grab himself a biscuit, a slice of apple and a glass of lemon water, hitting pause on the DVR. He sat back down on the couch to watch the rest of it, hitting play as he did so.

As he continued watching, he noticed something very weird going on in the background, everything around him was changing including where he was sitting, it was all warping and altering - and within seconds he found himself backstage at the MTV 2008 VMAs, he looked around for a few minutes, feeling a little bit confused.

"Huh? Where am I? I'm at the MTV Vmas? But how?"

Indeed he was at the MTV 2008 Video Music Awards and from the looks of it he was standing on the stage where the host - Russell Brand, stood. He was slightly confused and puzzled as to how exactly he ended up there.

But he knew something weird was definitely going to happen and just as he was about to try and call his friend to inform him of where he was, it was time - he saw the full moon peering out from behind the clouds, which of course meant one thing…it was definitely time for his transformation.

As the moonlight shined through the windows, he began to feel rather strange and disorientated as eerie sensations jolted through his body - causing him to double over slightly. The sensations that were jolting through his body were giving him a mix of both pain and pleasure, that felt oddly soothing.

His transformation started with his black shirt and grey cardigan peeling away and reforming into a black leathery shirt and jacket as his torso and chest slimmed down along with his arms which were also growing longer. Silver chains wrapped themselves around his wrists as his skintone also changed.

"What the hell is going on?"

He looked down and saw his jeans also peeling away and losing color, before reforming and blackening to reform into a pair of black leather pants with a couple of chains wrapped around his belt, in the process he saw his slippersocks melting off before reforming and hardening into a pair of black boots.

Although it looked and seemed really painful, it was really quite tame - almost relaxing and intoxicating. He arched his back as it slimmed down as well, his legs also becoming longer and thinner as well.

His skintone lightened a bit, becoming a bit rugged in the process as his shoulders slimmed down and he elevated in height to 6'2, he didn't know what it was exactly in terms of his changes, but it was very entrancing and intoxicating.

"Mmm….this process is oddly soothing."

Even though he had no clue as to how this was happening to him, he was oddly enjoying it - it was a much more pleasant process than he thought it would be - he was entranced by his changing appearance, he felt that it was more natural to allow it to happen as his hair lengthened, growing longer and messier, cascading down a bit until it reached his shoulders a little - in the process it turned black and developed a wild looking backcombed style.

His eyes turned a darker shade of brown and widened as black eyeliner appeared around them, his eyebrows blackened and thickened, arching and giving him a more dangerous look - his forehead slightly enlarging as it became more pronounced, his nose narrowing a little and altering as his lips altered as well to match.

By this point the light yet rugged tone reached his face and neck as his neckline grew longer and thinner, the slight rugged tone becoming slightly visible facial hair as it grew around his jaw-line, giving him a very scruffy look too. At this point his features morphed and reshaped themselves, making him look more like Russell than his normal self.

Looking at his reflection from the other side of the Moon Man trophy, he saw Russell staring back at him, which startled him at first and mortified him a little but he didn't mind it all that much. He gasped a little as his voice changed, changing to match his appearance - altering to become Russell's voice complete with the Essex orientated British accent.

He had a bit of time to react before his transformation completed, Russell's mindset and personality taking over as he was finished transforming, he was now completely turned into Russell Brand.

"So…i'm Russell now? Hmmm…this may not be a bad thing after all. I do look rather glamorous in black."

The new Russell skipped up back onto the stage before carrying on with the ceremony, introducing the musical acts and making quips along the way - all the while getting rather used to his new self.

The man once known as Nathan was completely gone, he was Russell Brand, and like it or not - he was here to stay, and he knew that he was going to take the US by storm with this ceremony - Sure, he was going to make some new enemies - but to him it was all a new and exciting experience.

He hosted the ceremony all through the night and the ceremony proved itself to be the best VMAs celebration ever - so much so that he was called on to host the next year's one at all. When the show was over, he left the stage and decided to make one last call on his Smartphone - he received a response from Joel.

"I'm sorry if I said anything that may have offended you in anyway….it's just well…I was hoping you would understand Russell a bit more, I understand that not everyone likes him. But please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, after all - you're still my companion and close friend. But nonetheless I forgive you."

"You do?"

"Yes.."

"Hang on a second! What's going on here? Who is this speaking?"

"Why it's me!"

"But your voice…you sound like Russell!"

"Well…I can't explain that, it's complicated."

"Is it some kind of supernatural issue? Do you need my help?"

"No…that won't be necessary, I can handle this on my own. But thanks for the offer, talk to you later…good bye!"

Russell turned the Smartphone off and stalked off into the night, for even though the ceremony was over - the fun was far from over, as he knew there was more fun to be had. And he was right.

He spent the rest of the night as Russell but when the dawn came and morning arose, he was back to being Nathan, he awoke to find himself sleeping on the floor of his own apartment - with an elephant standing nearby and a Moon Man trophy on the table next to him. His Smartphone beeped once more as he got another call from Joel.

"Nathan? Is that you?"

"Yes…or at least I think so."

"What happened to you last night? I was worried about you, buddy."

"Welll…it's a long story."

"I tried to call you but Russell Brand answered it instead."

"About that…"

"And another thing…you didn't tell me that you got a pet elephant!"

"Oh, well… I just woke up to see him there."

"And…woah! Is that a Moon Man trophy you have there?"

"Uh..yeah!"

"Nice! By the way…how did you do manage to get Britney Spear's phone number?"

"I'm just a lucky guy I guess."

"Well, whatever it is and whatever you were doing last night, you must have had a lot of fun."

"You could say that."

"Well thank goodness you are safe, you know I would be lost without you."

"Don't you worry about me, I told you I could handle it."

"Well…when you're right, you're right."

"No hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings."

With that Nathan turned the Smartphone off and went to change into his night-clothes - he then decided to go and watch a bit more TV, the commercial for the 2008 MTV VMAs was on, and Russell was flirting with Britney.

As for what he did after, he crouched down and gave a rather sly smile as he morphed into Russell briefly, mimicking the end scene in Trilogy of Terror when Karen Black's character was possessed by the spirit of the Zuni doll.

Of course after doing so he morphed back to his normal self, luckily for him - Joel wasn't aware that his own close friend had undergone so many transformations each night and also it was good that he didn't realize that Russell actually was him, of course that was just one of many secrets that Nathan have that came to life at night, specifically on nights like this one.

Remember, when you have someone like Nathan for a friend - to always be on the lookout, for you may never know what secret he's got hidden away or what or who he'll turn into next when the night calls.

[moonrainbowfish]

Hey was wonder if I could get a LOTR/Hobbit matchup pls:)

I’m bi and gender fluid. I’m and introvert. Quiet around new people and people I don’t like. When I’m comfortable I’m quite loud and bubbly and I’m often referred to as the “child” of the group. I’m 5’4. Brown hair blue eyes thin. I love reading and watching movies/shows. I just started journaling and I’m rlly liking it. My style is academia and alt (Ik very different) I like witchcraft and I’m Norse pagan

Thank u 😊 can’t wait to see who u match me with!

I ship you with:

Thorin Oakenshield!

Kinda like you, Thorin also isn't the most talkactive with people he doesn't really know. Sometimes he's even rude to people and misjudges them at the start, like he did to Bilbo Baggins. But unlike Thorin you were never rude to him. Why yes, you both had a rocky beginning indeed, but didn't mean you couldn't be polite to eachother.

After all, Thorin simply wants the best for his fellow dwarrows, after having endured so much pain and loss. He's a good leader and has a brave heart. He would do anything for the people he loves, including you.

Thorin can also be incredibly stubborn, but I'm certain you will manage to keep your handsome dwarf in check.

After you two got closer to eachother, Thorin would love to know all about your knowledge of witchcraft, the books you're recently reading and your beliefs.

He's quite protective of you and would throw himself between you and any danger. Thorin really does care about you a lot and it didn't take much time before he finally started courting you.

[undercat-overdog]

Yesssss, I forgot how much Quendi and Eldar validates various linguistic and ethnic headcanons of mine:

The Sindar and Noldor looked alike:

In general the Sindar appear to have very closely resembled the Exiles, being dark-haired, strong and tall, but lithe. Indeed they could hardly be told apart except by their eyes; for the eyes of all the Elves that had dwelt in Aman impressed those of Middle-earth by their piercing brightness.

But I love this bit because we’re told that all three kindreds had a strong clan identity, yet also told that the Tatyar and Nelyar looked alike. So how are they distinguished? Language. Dialects. It’s never outright said, but if it’s dark and those two groups generally look alike, it’s the obvious way to distinguish. Elven ethnic identity caught up in language use? Yes please! Also very fun to come up with linguistic headcanons about dialectal features, and I love what you could do in Aman after Middle-earthians start returning with language politics.

The merging of the Noldor and Sindar in Beleriand and how they came to be regarded as one people:

Dúnedhil ‘West-elves’ (the reference being to the West of Middle-earth) was a term made to match Dúnedain ‘West-men’ (applied only to the Men of the Three Houses). But with the growing amalgamation, outside Doriath, of the Ñoldor and Sindar into one people using the Sindarin tongue as their daily speech, this soon became applied to both Ñoldor and Sindar. 

While the Ñoldor were still distinct and whenever it was desired to recall their difference of origin, they were usually called Ódhil (sg. Ódhel).

This is talking about the First Age, so I think it highly, highly likely that they merged further in later years. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think there’s a single reference to a people or group being called “Sindar” or “Noldor” in LotR, or third and second age writings, though there are some references to specific groups of the Sindar (who, for that matter, didn’t really view themselves as one people in Beleriand). There’s also places like Lindórinand/Lothlórien where the distinction - and conflict - is between the Silvan and the non-Silvan, the latter of whom would have originally been primarily Iathrim but after the War of the Elves and Sauron composed also of refugees from Eregion, who don’t seem otherwise distinguished as a group; Legolas, who counts himself as Silvan folk, views the Elves of Lothlórien as different from his folk. (Side note that Amdír seems to have gotten along just fine with Eregion and Khazad-dûm.) But the distinction in LotR between Elven (or Eldarin, rather; the Avari don’t appear) groups is that of Silvan/wood elf vs Dúnedhil/high elf. The folk of Lothlórien appear to fall in between, perhaps because of general cultural merging by the late Third Age or because it was a mixed polity.

(To be fair, there is some text in the essay that can be read otherwise re: ethnic identity, but it’s written from an Age of the Trees and First Age perspective, and if we’re told that the Sindar and Noldor have become one people in Beleriand?)

[anarchotolkienist]

Are the events of the LOTR set before the birth of Christ? Do you think Gandalf knew the big j man was on his way? How would Gandalf explain the trinity to hobbits?

Yes, they do. This is, I reckon, why we see absolutely no religion practiced by anyone in Arda, besides a very vague allusion to the Hobbits 'forgetting all they once knew of the Guardians', which I've assumed to refer to some ancient cult of the Valarin. Tolkien just couldn't stomach making his good Catholic boys Pagans.

And Gandalf might know of the Coming of the son of God, because he was witness to the Music of the Ainur, which as it contains within it the design of Illúvatar - presumably God - which would include Christ, we can only assume. With that said, it's hard to know just how literally they were shown events within the Music, or indeed to fit the theology of Middle Earth neatly into Christianity, at least not in an extremely obvious way (would the Unmarring of Arda be the Second Coming, or the Judgement? If so, it seems like they are given an earthly Paradise afterwards, which I don't believe is concordant with Catholic teachings on the matter - but I don't know what else it represents! Whatever it is it hasn't happened yet, because Arda is still clearly Marred, so it can't just be the Coming. Etc etc). Either way, these kinds of speculations are fun but to me are ultimately relatively meaningless within the context of what stories Tolkien is telling in his writings on Arda.

With that said, I don't think that Gandalf would get much of a word in edgewise because the Hobbits would pelt him with apples, or perhaps beg for fireworks, before he could get halfway to explaining how the Trinity can be both distinct, and one.

[wlfkssd]

Midnight Caller

based on the prompt ‘hvithelred + midnight / early morning hugs’ sent in by @issadoragreen <3

summary : after a rough week, and with hvitserk not answering his calls, aethelred (thel) visits the lothbrok house at midnight to see him.

warnings : smoking, brief mention of ragnar yelling at hvitserk, mentions of divorce and a bad impression of gimli from lotr. a little bit of angst, not much though.

pairing : hvitserk x aethelred. small appearances from alfred, rollo, ubbe. as well as a tiny flirtation between ubbe and thel. 

words : 2,380.

notes : aethelred is referred to as thel a lot in this fic. just because it’s a little more modern.

The dial tone continues in its monotony and Thel shakes his head, lowering the phone from his ear before he hangs it up again. He stares at the screen and his brows instinctively pull close and tight.

Why aren't you picking up, Hvitserk?

"Any luck?" Alfred, his younger brother, stands in the doorway. He looks anxious; hands buried so deep into the single, long pocket of the oversized, borrowed hoodie to keep him from picking at his fingers in worry.

"No. It just keeps ringing." Thel's defeated and to pretend otherwise would be idiotic. Perhaps Hvitserk doesn't want to talk to him. Perhaps he doesn't want to see him anymore. "I should go over there and see if he's alright."

"At this time of night? What would mum say?"

That's hardly a threat and they both know it. Life at home hasn't always been plain sailing, especially with Alfred's illness and the fact that it's clear he's the favourite. But Thel doesn't mind. Quite the contrary; sometimes that leaves him free to do just about whatever he likes without much fear of repercussions.

Still, this? Maybe his brother is right. It's no time to be showing up unannounced.

"You're right, Alfie." That garners a smile from Alfred - nickname having been with him, practically since birth - and he turns to leave for his own room just as the dial tone strikes back into life.

Some seconds pass, long and unnecessary in Thel's opinion. He can only imagine what the excuse will be.

"Hello?" Ubbe's voice is quiet, softer even than usual and something about it sends a tingling jolt straight up Thel's spine. They're best friends - more like brothers, really - but some things just can't be denied.

"Is Hvitserk alright? He's not answering his phone."

There's a silence and Thel hears the heavy sigh come through loud and clear. In fact, it's far too close to the receiver for comfort.

"Our father came home." Four short words that set the scene for the whole conversation and the coming night. So easily let out and yet their weight now holds itself in the space between the two boys. "He has a way of speaking that isn't always what you would call nice."

And that's putting it lightly. In truth, Ragnar had come home after three long years of globe-trotting and demanded to know which of his sons intended to take over their family business. It was sudden and off-putting and had ruined the last of everyone's Sunday night.

He'd barely spoken to Ivar, choosing instead to focus on Ubbe and Bjørn as his successors. And why not? They are the oldest of his sons. Why wouldn't they want to inherit his empire, his wealth, his standing in Scandinavian society?

Because, for one, Ubbe had told him, he was still in school and wanted very much to become something other than what had come before him. Bjørn had said much the same; giving details that he was going into business with their uncle Floki for a while.

That left Hvitserk and Sigurd and being faced with a father he hadn't seen for years, yelling into his face and asking if he's man enough, wasn't the ideal reunion.

It also explains exactly why none of the brothers have been at school for the past two days. Now Thel understands and his heart eases off its hammering just a little.

"Do you think Hvitserk would see me, if I came over there?"

For the first time in the conversation, Ubbe seems to relax. The sigh slips into something more amused and he hums, lowly. "I think so, yes. It's a shame you like him so much. I could use someone like you right now. Calling at midnight and asking to come over, just to see me."

Shame indeed. Were it not for the fact of Ubbe's younger brother's charm, Thel might have eventually fallen out of friendship and into love with him, instead. But both know it's not to be and there's a moment of comfortable silence.

"I'm on my way, then."

They hang up and Thel takes a deep breath, relieved that the sudden silence isn't anything he's done.

Dressing warmly, Thel makes his way down the stairs and out into the night with a single thought; how can he cheer up his boyfriend?

Several different ideas run through his mind as he walks the short distance from one house to the other. He could pick a flower from each of the gardens on the way and present them to Hvitserk. He could jog to the 24-hour corner shop and buy him some sweets or a large bag of popcorn. Or he could just bring himself and the space between his waiting arms that so perfectly encompasses the one he's chosen to show and give his heart to.

That sounds about right. Sappy as it is.

Coming to the Lothbrok house, Thel slows and considers his ways of entrance.

Knocking on the front door is definitely out. That's far too obvious, isn't it? Plus, he doesn't know who might be sleeping. There is a light on in the living room but the windows blinds are all the way down and disturbing whoever is inside might not end well. Especially if it's Ragnar.

As he's standing there, looking at the house, a throat clears and sends him almost out of his skin.

"Staring won't get you anywhere." Flame of a lighter flickers into life and, for a few seconds, the identity of the voice shows itself. Then it's gone. Thel stands his ground, though, relief filling his veins now instead of fear.

"And scaring the shit out of teenagers won't get you anywhere, either."

Tongue kisses teeth in a gesture of disappointment at the language and Rollo stands up, causing the lamp above the side door to come on, illuminating him. The sterile shade reminds Thel of a hospital.

"What are you doing here, Aethelred?" Rollo asks on the exhale of his cigarette, smoke blown in a steady stream as his eyes focus on the boy before him. "It's a little late for studying, isn't it?" His expression holds so much knowing.

"I'm here to see Hvitserk." And that's all the explanation he's going to give.

"So it's true then? The two of you-" Rollo cuts himself off as he takes another drag on the cigarette, which now looks as though it's due to be snubbed out any moment. He holds in the smoke to delay but lets it out as he comes closer, towering over Thel the way one does when he should be feared.

Flicking away the cigarette gives a single notion.

Threat.

Instead though, it's an embrace that passes between them. A hefty one in which Thel is lifted quite literally off of his feet. And a hearty laugh bellows uncaring from Rollo's chest, still rumbling as he lets go and claps both hands to the teen's shoulders, looking him over.

"You're both terrible at hiding things, you know. Anyone with eyes can see your affection for each other." Maybe in the dark it's easier for him to say things like this; the veil of night covering all manner of distress at discussing affairs of the heart. Lagertha and Siggy have both torn him apart in their own ways but love spreads just as much as anything else. "Now," he sniffs and clears his throat, squeezing one of Thel's shoulders. "Do you need help getting into his window?"

"What?" What, indeed. Thel blinks up at Rollo, brows coming together as they had earlier over the screen of his mobile phone. "I was going to use the front door." He lies and hopes it's convincing.

It isn't.

"Nonsense. You English need to have more adventure." Rollo observes, all the while leading Thel towards the overhang beneath Hvitserk's bedroom window.

They come to stand, looking up at it together. From on the ground, it doesn't seem too daunting but Thel isn't keen on breaking a bone when he's got a big game at the end of the week.

"You expect me to climb up there?" Thel shakes his head, wishing he had asked Ubbe to wait up and let him in. Better than risking life and limb for the sake of adventure. In fact, he's sure Hvitserk would prefer he arrive in once piece and upset Ragnar than show up and immediately have to spend the next day and a half in the hospital with him because he fell.

"Come on. I'll help you."

Bending at the knees, Rollo widens his stance and lays his hands palms up in front of him, interlocking his fingers. He gestures for Thel to come closer with a jerk of his chin. Silently his eyes say he'll never forgive Thel if he doesn't find the courage to at least try it.

"Oh, fine. Fine." Thel huffs and, putting one hand firmly on Rollo's shoulder, he lifts a foot and places it into the waiting hands. One swift motion sees him launched up and onto the overhang. No problem whatsoever.

Rollo gives him a thumbs up for good luck and disappears, presumably to smoke some more.

Then it's just a glass pane that separates him from the one he loves. It feels strange to think, let alone to say, especially given that each of them is so young but, apparently, when you know, you know. And he knows.

Crawling on his hands and knees, uncaring as to the scuff to his black jeans, Thel gets close enough to see his own breath fog up the window and he pauses to peer inside. One hand cups over his eyes, blocking out the light of a nearby streetlamp.

Hvitserk is on his bed, curled around his blanket. One leg on top, one beneath. He wears only a pair of bottoms - Thel's, he notices. They're a loose fit and black and the pull strings are frayed from years of play and fretting. They're old but, somehow, Hvitserk makes them new. He makes everything new; vibrant.

The catch is unlocked so he doesn't even have to struggle with it before he's pushing up the window and slipping through. Hvitserk would say he's like Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible but that's difficult to believe.

Cool air moves the curtains and breathes life into what is otherwise a morbidly still room. Hvitserk's mobile phone lays dormant on his bed, placed in the concave created by his rounded position. As though he just watched Thel calling and calling and chose to ignore it.

No.

Maybe he couldn't bring himself to answer. Shock does strange things to people. Aethelred's own parents almost divorced when his father found out Alfred wasn't his. But they worked through things, eventually. So he's all-too-aware of just how debilitating that emotion can be.

"Hvitserk?" Thel whispers into the dark. It's the softest he's ever spoken and thinks, perhaps, he didn't actually make any sound at all. So, he tries again, not wanting to startle Hvitserk too much if he wakes.

"Mmm?" The noise is an obvious sign of exhaustion and Hvitserk doesn't turn over, immediately. He clearly thinks it's one of his brothers; come to disturb what little sleep he's managed these past few days. "What is it, Ubbe?"

Chancing the gesture, Thel sits on the side of the bed and tentatively lowers a hand onto Hvitserk's exposed shoulder. "It isn't Ubbe. It's me."

"Hello... me." For the first time in days, Hvitserk smiles. His eyes are still closed but that simple touch to his shoulder - naked skin prickling at it - is enough to lift his spirits from even the deepest of depths. "How did you-?"

"Your window was unhooked. I've told you about leaving it that way. Strangers could get in." The hand moves from bare skin to sandy braids and Thel's long fingers gently sweep through, earning him a contented sigh.

A contented sigh that precedes Hvitserk's eyes opening heavily. He blinks, adjusting to the light. "Did you climb up here?" His brows furrow at the thought and he turns over fully now, onto his back. The side of Thel's face that is visible looks to be smiling but it's hard to tell.

"Your uncle tossed me." Doing his best impression of Gimli, Thel ducks his face and laughs. It's almost silent but the moment is one of utter closeness, despite the humour, and after a minute, even that dies away, leaving nothing but the gaze of a sad boy looking into the face of the one he knows can rescue him.

Abruptly, Hvitserk embraces Aethelred's waist; not sitting fully but no longer laying as still and placid as he had been.

"I'm sorry I didn't answer you before. My father-" The very fact that Hvitserk buries his face tells them both all they need to know about the life of that conversation. It needs to be cut short.

"Ubbe told me everything. So you don't have to explain."

It isn't made clear exactly what it is Hvitserk has to do but by the way Thel directs him steadily with a hand at the back of his neck, the other having moved now from soft hair to rubbing at the space between his shoulder blades, and kisses him, it doesn't appear to be anything too taxing. Just be kissed. Even he can manage that now.

For a long moment, there's nothing in the world but them and it's blissful. All the heavy decisions in their futures and all the things they've done wrong in the past just melt into nothing. They're living for the moment.

Lips leave their tender mark on one another as Thel pulls away, briefly, nose bumping Hvitserk's, along with a touch of their foreheads to bring about the signal of parting. Not that it lasts long. Tiredly, Hvitserk shuffles further towards the wall, letting the blanket tangle itself even tighter into his legs and Thel kicks off his shoes and strips down to his shorts.

As they get comfortable, skin presses against bed-warmed skin; the soft, downy hair of Thel's soft tummy tickling the small of Hvitserk's back. Naturally, a groping hand reaches and finds an arm to pull over and a hand to hold in the darkness. The same lips, too, now part and breathe as one, chests rising and falling together.

"Will you stay until I fall asleep?" The question comes around a yawn and Hvitserk hugs Thel closer to him, looking back briefly and offering himself up for another kiss. Aethelred gives it, freely, leaning in for a series of small, affectionate pecks. Each brings about a satisfied sigh.

"I will stay until you fall asleep."

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

for the quiet night in ask: how did Grima make his way into your heart? And why do you ship him with Eomer? I've been meaning to inquire about this for long hehe (also I love your theme! think this is the first time I see it)

I am so sorry, you’re getting an ESSAY. 

I’ve been wanting to talk about my Grima feels FOR SO LONG. 

HE SNAKED HIS WAY INTO MY HEART. 

Um, tl;dr I have a soft spot for the bad guys who clearly have a complicated history with those they are opposing and I think Eomer/Grima have a fun opposites-attract dynamic and I love a good redemption story. 

I don’t touch on literacy and Grima in this because that’s strictly the films and it’s worthy of it’s own post entirely. 

-

I’m trying to think best how to break this all out, because it gets a bit long and rambly. I’m using both book and films for this, as a note. Since I tend to mash up different aspects of those Grima’s in my head, give the guy some eyebrows, and call it a day. 

So, first off, his history. Now, we don’t really have anything to go on in canon here. All we know, in both book and film, is that Grima “was once a man of Rohan” (ROTK). In the book, Gandalf says: “This here, is a snake. To slay it [Grima] would be just. But it was not always as it is now. Once it was a man, and it did you service in its fashion.” 

Grima evidently has served Rohan for some years at this point. We know that Theoden’s enchantment/possession began three years prior to TTT. In the books there is no possession. Theoden’s enchantment relies on the powers of words and their suggestions. Something Tolkien was well aware of carrying great weight and import in Anglo-Saxon culture. You tell a man he is old and infirm, he will become old and infirm. 

I understand why Jackson went the possession route - explaining Anglo-Saxon engagement with galdorcraeft/witchcraft and the power of words etc. and how that influenced the development of Rohan in the span of like 7 minutes of screen time wasn’t happening. Possession works for the same purpose, but in a language the modern audience is familiar with - especially in visual mediums. Grima is circa 40 when TTT happens, same age as Boromir for reference. So, let’s say he’s been an advisor for 10/12 years at this point. He has therefore been a good servant of the king longer than he’s been a traitor. 

Hence, the outreach. And, in Brad Dourif’s wonderful acting, Grima’s clear desire to go home to his king. In the book it’s more subtle. Grima chucks the palantir out the window at Orthanc and it’s stated that he wasn’t sure who he was aiming for, Saruman or Gandalf, because he couldn’t decide who he hated more. 

Honestly? Legit. I would also hate the guy who reduced me to “it” pronouns. But maybe that’s my gender identity stuff playing up ;) 

(Granted, in the full quote Gandalf reverts back to “he”, for context. And I’ve said this before, in another post, that it makes sense for Gandalf and as a writer, I agree with Tolkien’s decisions for that scene.)

Now, for some speculation. Not that I haven’t spilled a tonne already. MORE SPECULATION. This time bringing you long term effects of bullying and never having loving relationships modelled for you! Because LOTR, at the end of the day, is all about trauma and how maybe not to deal with it. 

So - motives. 

We know Saruman’s motives. Indeed, he tells them to us in FOTRK: “[to] have power, power to order all things as we will, for that good which only the Wise can see” and to achieve “the high and ultimate purpose: Knowledge, Rule, Order; all the things that we have so far striven in vain to accomplish, hindered rather than helped by our weak or idle friends.”

Great. Super straight forward. And from the man’s own mouth. 

Grima’s though, always come to us second hand. In the books it’s Gandalf telling us (Gandalf can mind read, so yes, maybe he is accurate). In the films, it’s Eomer guestimating. 

But Grima never actually tells us, himself, what his motives are. 

(a quick aside: if some dude is shoving me up against a pole and threatening me, and I hear someone walking by, of course I’m going to look over at them and it by no means indicates my desire to shag that person. Now, of course, we know from other scenes this is the case. I’m just saying. It’s natural to look over at the person walking by while you’re being jumped by the Third Marshal of the Mark who is twice your size. anyway.) 

So what are his driving forces for treason? What made him go to this point of no return then keep going even when people offered him a way back. 

It is important to note that his treason required him to forswear his oath to his liege lord. I don’t know how to convey what a big deal that would have been, in modern terms. But it would have been huge. Forswearing/reneging on oaths was a massive cultural taboo in Anglo-saxon [AS] England (and general, early medieval Europe). 

And, as Rohan is based on AS England (I forget if Tolkien was cagey about this. He was sometimes a dumb shit and coy about things so was like “noooo it’s not STRICTLY AS England….but it’s clearly AS England with more horses and a light dusting of vikings and the Danelaw”), we can assume it carried as much weight for them as it did for the historical people. 

(Indeed, it’s implied, if not directly stated, in the text what a big deal oath breaking is. Don’t say “oath breaking” too loud or the Silmarillion fandom will come out of the woodwork)

The big takeaway: BIG DEAL TO FORSWEAR YOUR OATH. 

And he did it! Which is why I don’t buy the “it was because of Eowyn and like some nice jewels.” You don’t betray your country, you don’t forswear your oath to your king, simply because you’re hot on the king’s niece and Saruman might give you a raise. 

And, as a liege man to Theoden, he was part of Theoden’s household so would have eaten, worked with, lived with everyone else in the household (Eomer, until he becomes Third Marshal; Eowyn; Hama; Theoden’s guards etc.) 

So, you live with these people, eat with them, drink with them, spend all your time with them, for circa 10 years then you do a bunk and betray them? Something happened. I suspect it was years and years of things happening. 

Overall, I think it to be a combination of things. As is usually the case for these sorts of crimes. In this case, a nice mix of fear, desperation, greed, resentment, anger and desire. 

Fear/Desperation: So, to Grima’s mind the world is ending. Why wouldn’t he think this? Hell, even the Wisest and the Fairest (i.e. wizards & elves) think it’s ending. Why wouldn’t this poor bloke from some small country nearby to Mordor not think it an existential threat to an unimaginable degree? 

Grima is sat here in Rohan looking at Mordor going "oh fuck" then who are the leaders left? Denethor (slightly bonkers) and Theoden (past his prime and lacklustre, like his father and grandfather). 

This is not a man with a strong moral fiber. Or...any moral fiber, let’s be real. He does not have the fortitude to stick it out through hopeless situations. And it would have been hopeless to his eyes. And those around him (see: Eomer’s do not trust to hope… Sure Saruman was a problem, but he wasn’t just talking about the white wizard).  

Gandalf’s plan, which none of these people were ever wholly aware of, was a goddamn Hail Mary pass and it worked. Barely, but it did. NO ONE had reason to believe it would, though. And those are people in the know. Not someone like Grima who has no fucking clue what Gandalf et al is up to. He sees Gandalf then like … Nazgul torture him on the planes of Rohan (Unfinished Tales). He sees Gandalf then bad things happen. 

Lathspell indeed. 

Greed & Desire: I don’t think I need to go into these ones too much. They’re pretty self explanatory. Grima and Black Phillip hung out and the goat asked Grima if he wanted to live deliciously and Grima, like any normal person, said: um, yes please? Also, Eowyn was around being badass, beautiful and untouchable. 

Resentment/Anger: Alright, more probing in the dark. I suspect, for one reason or another (and these reasons would vary depending if you’re looking at books or movies), he was someone who was always treated as other/differently, teased, picked on, isolated, overlooked, doesn’t measure up to Rohan’s military ideal of masculinity. All of which creates an underlying resentment issue.

And nothing festers quite like resentment. 

On top of that, I also suspect he was always told he was a snake/untrustworthy/not worthy etc. and if you're told something enough, and you don't have anything or anyone else telling you the opposite, there is a strong chance you become that thing.

It's a chicken and egg: the face you wear to the world tells the world how to treat you; the world tells you what you are and that is how you shape your face.

THEN you add in Saruman. Who is clearly, in the text, abusive. Which, if there were any inferiority/bullied etc. issues that are informing Grima’s actions, Saruman is just going to amplify it. 

“You are a traitor because you’re a snake, and you’re a snake because you’re spineless, weak, nothing more than a creature that crawls on its stomach on the ground. Snakes are bad, evil things. Which is all you’ve ever been. Barely deserving of the good treatment I give you etc.” <-- all of which is basically a summary of what Saruman has been saying to him for a few years at this point (in the book, it’s only tangentially implied in the movies). 

So Grima sort of morphed himself into what he believed himself to be, fuelled by that perversity resentment causes: Oh you think I’m a snake? I’ll be the best goddamn most poisonous snake you ever did see. Just watch me. 

He is trapped in this situation. A hutch to trammel some wild thing in. 

Which leads me to an interesting point that I think gets lost sometimes: Narratively, he and Eowyn are similar in what they are experiencing. Isolation, being overlooked, misunderstood/misrepresented, don't fit into societal roles and expectations etc. They just go in very different directions in how they respond to it.

I think that's why, in the film, it was smart to have her give pause and listen to him because what he's saying resonates. He is, in some ways, speaking as much for himself as her. But then, of course, he's also just trying to shit disturb and make mischief so of course, at the end of the day, any sympathy he is attempting to convey is laced with poison.

I do wonder, too, if he's the first person to see her fear and her frustrations and acknowledges them out loud. Which is powerful. To have someone see you. Damn shame it's Grima. Still, Eowyn (in the film) paused and listened for a reason.

-

A brief aside on my idle, ill founded thoughts on gender and Rohan: 

One of the reasons I think Eowyn and Grima go in diverging directions, is that Eowyn is performing masculinity, in her society's accepted interpretation of it. Masculinity, in Middle Earth, is clearly the norm. And in Rohan, it’s a very particular iteration of military-focused masculinity that is idealized (you can bet, men who killed like 10 orcs were awarded places in court above Grima who served as advisor for like ten years but hasn’t killed an orc ever).

Eowyn’s desire to live/perform this more masculine ideal caters to the subconscious thing of “Masculinity is Natural Neutral Ideal” so of course you would want to be more like A Man. Whereas Grima is the opposite, not performing masculinity according to Rohan's accepted view of it.

And gods, in Anglo-Saxon culture (therefore, Rohan’s, most likely. I see no evidence to the contrary) is that a difficult position to find yourself in. Back in AS England, being called argr, unmanly, or to be accused of ergri, unmanliness, was one of the worst insults you could throw at a man (indeed, some laws said you could kill a man in retaliation for calling you such things). I would bet my shirt that people used such insults about Grima in this world. Which is all kinds of messed up.

-

Now, my interest in him is my general love for a good redemption arc for the most hopeless of characters. It’s why I struggle to call Boromir’s arc, when he’s written as living, a redemption arc. Because I don’t know he has much to redeem himself for. In his own mind, sure, yes, but externally? Not in my view, at least. He has things he’s done wrong and needs to make amends for. But that’s different from redemption.

Grima, on the other hand, is one whose walk-back from evil would be a full on redemption arc. And I like it because he’s not nice, he’s not pleasant. He will never be nice or pleasant or cheerful. But learning how to love and be a good person doesn’t require niceness. 

Saruman could be plenty nice. Sauron could be plenty nice. Look what they turned out to be.

And in my writing, I do hope I’m treading that line between creating an understanding of who Grima is without Kylo-Ren-ing him. Or, woobiefying him, as the old parlance was. That’s the line I’m really aiming for. I want people to not hate him. I want them to understand him. Oh, still condemn him, still judge him, disagree with him, acknowledge and know he did bad things and isn’t a nice person. But the end game is to add some understanding and nuance.

Shades of grey.

Also I’m a sucker for challenging redemptions.

--

Why Eomer/Grima? 

Because I am an agent of chaos. 

More seriously, I was never overly taken with the Grima/Eowyn approach, personally, which is obviously popular (um...within the Grima world), and closer to canon. There are some beautifully written fics and art out there for the two of them, so if you’re into that. The creators in that nook of fandom are top notch.

I always liked the drastic opposite of Grima and Eomer. As I noted above, Grima and Eowyn are two sides of the same coin. Both bitter and resentful and trapped. And that’s a lot of fun to play with, and i get it. But for me, I love a good strong contrast of personalities in my pairings. (If that uh … isn’t readily apparent.)

I think both Eomer and Grima would have a lot to teach each other and in some really interesting ways that neither would expect. I can see both getting under each other’s skin in that way where you’re sort of always thinking about them.

Grima is also someone who has had very little love in his life (I suspect he wants it, he just doesn’t know how to give or receive it). Eomer is someone who has lost a lot of people (parents, quasi-uncle for a few years there. I think it’s why he’s so controlling over Eowyn. Didn’t want to lose her). And I think there’s something in there where they could help each other grow. But I’m a sucker for some beauty to be there, in the end. Some hope.

Mostly, though, I think it boils down to their dynamic and the angst potential. Eomer is this brash, forthright, fiery third marshal of the mark who may or may not think things through. Big of heart, dumb of ass. Then there’s Grima who is quiet and reserved, cynical, critical, always has a plan or five, gets by via his wits etc. Lots of fun potential there. 

[laila-rk]

Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit

I will admit I went into Jojo Rabbit with reluctance and in an already bad mood. I was planning on watching Little Women which I was very excited for but didn't make it in time, so it kind of felt like 'settling' for another film already. When the film began I was annoyed when the blatant rip-off Moonrise Kingdom aesthetic that I had expected from the trailer came to fruition. I don't personally see why a director would desire to rip off another's aesthetic and how they could be so conspicuous about it, but hey ho. So the entire first forty minutes or so I will admit I spent sitting in my seat silently pissed off and trying to talk myself out of my terrible mood. The film did nothing to assist me in this task. I ended up actually having to tell myself to try to see the film from a child's perspective, because frankly I don't see how anyone beyond the age of about ten could really take much from this film. Other cinema goers didn't seem to have the same issue — seemingly every person in the theatre was in hysterics at all the really badly written, juvenile script/ jokes. I despair.

Where to begin really? Rebel Wilson manages to be unfunny throughout, with every line seeming to be delivered with too much surrounding silence as if in anticipation of audience laughter. It felt like Pitch Perfect and all the jokes fell flat. The lead boy (Roman Griffin Davis) is strangely angered throughout, without any real impetus. I don't assign any blame to the twelve year old actor for this, rather the script and character writing was really badly done. Sam Rockwell, though one of the better performers, seems to be a tacked on character with no real point beyond serving as a vague father-figure to fatherless Jojo and as a precautionary "not all Nazis were bad people" add on. Scarlett Johansson I frankly felt sorry for throughout.

Jojo is a young member of the Hitler Youth. He is sufficiently indoctrinated but is small and cowardly. Some older Nazi boys tell him to kill a rabbit and when he can't do it, they call him rabbit as a joke. But Jojo confides in his imaginary friend, Hitler, who tells him it's okay because he would have his people be comprised of all 'animals' so to speak — the courage of a panther, the cunning of a fox, something something... you know, because Hitler was well into diversity. None of this matters though, because where the film is set up initially at the Hitler Youth training camp, and we feel as though we are in for a long slog of trying not to detect Wes Anderson's Fort Lebanon in this camp, the film bizarrely turns into another film when it randomly changes its mind and decides to set itself largely in the boy's home. It feels very much like the opening is from another movie and just stitched on the beginning.

Actually, despite the Wes-rip off, I would've preferred it to remain at Not-Camp-Ivanhoe, because what it turns into is Boy in the Striped Pyjamas meets Tracy Beaker. It has all the cheap tactlessness of a BBC film, including cheap looking costumes and predictable cinematography. There's a bit where Johansson tells Jojo (her son) that love feels like butterflies and soon after we get a camera pan down to Jojo's stomach where, yes, cgi butterflies reside. It felt like that bit where you go inside Tracy Beaker's head and see her 'famous' mum stepping out of a limo. It was embarrassing to watch.

Jojo falls in love with a Jewish girl, which feels like an unnecessary thread of the story, partly because it seems to be assuming the audience is also in the Hitler Youth and needs teaching that Jewish people do not in fact have horns and hang upside down like bats — actual line from the film— and partly because the girl is established as a stand-in for Jojo's dead sister. So that's weird.

Scarlett Johansson has to try to carry a scene off in which she impersonates Jojo's father who is said to be fighting in the war and has been absent for two years, therefore suspected as a deserter. Johansson awkwardly smears her face with ash from the fireplace and with this 'beard', begins to mimic Jojo's dad in such a way as to paint him as some kind of angry drunk, or rather just a stereotype of a 40s German father? We aren't sure. There's a lot of horrible awkward dancing in this scene and throughout, because Jojo's mum equates dancing to freedom and... well, that's about as profound as the film manages to get. The scene is really hard to watch and it just feels like the camera remains too long on an actress who isn't totally convinced of her role, and who could blame her really when the script is so embarrassingly flimsy?

The Hitler character, played by director Taika Waititi, has his moments. The performance is flamboyant and self-deprecating which does make for the occasional funny moment, in particular a part where he feigns confusion at public perception of himself as a 'psycho' as if he has no idea why this would be. The problem is that this should have been woven throughout and actually the film strays from this character too much in favour of following the Jewish girl who Jojo's mother has been hiding. This doesn't work because for some unknown reason, the girl is made to be frankly a smug brat. I'm not sure if this was in some kind of attempt to imbue the character with some form of liberation (she immediately grabs the Nazi boy and physically shoves him around a lot). It doesn't really come across as liberated though, if anything it makes it hard to empathise with the character as she behaves like a robot. She just comes across as an unbearable character who seems to have literally zero gratitude for the person who has been hiding and feeding her. That's not to say the Jewish character doesn't have EVERYTHING to be angry about, but human nature does dictate that one might be a little more emotionally nuanced and experience small moments of joy when everything else is bad. Instead, Elsa is perpetually angry to the point of essentially bullying the German child who is far younger and smaller than herself. This might make sense if she was even awarded some kind of emotional liberation at the end beyond her predictable escape when the war ends, but all she is permitted to do is another stupid dance on the doorstep (signifying Jojo's mother's idea of freedom, not even her own).

The film's redeeming quality is actually the performance by Archi Yates as Yorki, unfortunately perpetually referred to as 'the fat kid', as if that's a funny enough line to repeat throughout. His performance is naive (the actor is eleven years old), but it works because his timing is great and he delivers the lines as if he is familiar with the intended style of comedy; he actually delivers his lines with wit, where all the adult actors around him fail. He also seems to speak with a British accent where everyone else flits between a half baked German accent and their own real accent, which in between seems to fall into some kind of Welsh accent. Just do the German accent properly or don't bother with it! A scene in which Stephen Merchant arrives as Gestapo begins with a lot of 'Heil Hitlers' and ends with Merchant seeming to forget what he's doing and falling into his usual west country voice.

I don't have much else to write about this film because it's not enjoyable to bang on about the bad qualities of a movie and I do think there is something to be said for the director/writer's bravery in making a film about Hitler as a boy's imaginary friend.

I think the film would've been better off with less of a comedy vibe and by following in real earnest the experience of a member of the Hitler Youth; what his psyche would've been. Unfortunately the film is too babyish for any adult (Dukes at Komedia crowd notwithstanding), which means it is really only funny to kids, and I'm not sure what it does for a child without real prior knowledge of Hitler's Germany. The termination of the boy's friendship with Adolf manifests in his literally kicking Adolf out the window and telling him to 'fuck off', but actually this doesn't do much to negate the established charm/ charisma of the Hitler character. You don't ever really get that sense of revenge or satisfaction at Hitler's expense, if anything you feel a bit sorry for the neurotic clown incarnation of Adolf, who after all is a figment of the boy's imagination. I don't demand any kind of moral lesson from art, but it would seem that this film would be obligated to contain one, and yet it remains dubious as to what it even is... are we allowed to like this Hitler character? Are we even happy when he's gone? Wasn't he the only funny thing about the film?

The movie ends with the Rainer Maria Rilke quote “Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. / Just keep going. No feeling is final.” Which left me with the final reflection that indeed I did have to let this film happen to me and was rewarded with the beauty of the final credits rolling and the liberating sensation of being able to leave the cinema to go get pizza.

Sadly this film immediately goes to the bottom of my Oscars nomination list (nominated for Best Picture. Ouch!). Interesting to note that Ra Vincent of LOTR/ The Hobbit fame (anyone else watch all those making ofs?) did the production design for this film. At least his name in the credits left me with some feeling of warmth towards it.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Ah, i have lotta readers already equating my story to certain contemporan political moves like consumerism and blah blah( like Orwell Animal Farm or War of the worlds were, which were indeed allegories) despite its heavy scif fi and fantasy elements, while my story can be considered political fiction and I do make reference to such stuff, but is not that deep. I know Tolkien hated people equating his Lotr with the WW2. Should I just go with the flow and let people believe what is not?

Readers Reading Between the Lines

There’s absolutely nothing readers love to do more than to read between the lines. Yes, quite often in fiction there are deeper things at play, but so often people get it wrong. Sometimes, a red curtain is just a red curtain, and not actually a metaphor for how society views the menstrual cycle.

Unfortunately, there’s absolutely no way you can prevent readers from inferring whatever they want from the material that you give them. This is why I tell people not to sweat it when readers start shipping two characters who don’t belong together--there’s nothing you can do about it, and at the end of the day, their interpretation doesn’t really hurt you.

If you have a writing blog or have the opportunity to be interviewed somewhere, you could certainly address the fact that people sometimes see deeper meaning in your story, but honestly I wouldn’t worry too much about it. :)

————————————————————————————————- Have a question? My inbox is always open, but make sure to check through my FAQ and post master lists first to see if I’ve already answered a similar question. :)

[jaimetheexplorer]

The Long Denial

I can’t help but feel that there is a lot of denial doing the rounds at the moment about the fact that the living won against the AotD and the Long Night is over. 

Partly, I understand why. I was, maybe not sure, but seriously contemplating the possibility that this season would cover time jumps spanning a long time, possibly years, given the fact that the first Long Night lasted allegedly a generation. I was expecting the motivation and underlying mythology behind the NK and the WWs to be more sophisticated and complex than “they are evil ice zombies who want to destroy humanity” (although, granted, I think there might still be something afoot there in terms of them having been created as weapons of mass destruction by the CotF in the first place - could there be a parallel with dragons here, where dragons are the “fire” equivalent of the CotF’s WWs to the Targaryens?). So it can be hard to discard years or even decades of theories, when they all seemed to make perfect sense, and maybe, some of them even more sense than what we got. I had some of my own too. 

Maybe the books will do it in a more extensive and satisfying way than concentrating it all into the NK, but it’s entirely possible that even in the books the WWs are essentially just (a more sophisticated version of ) Death coming for the living. And if the main role of the NK and the WWs *was* to be mainly just a symbol of Death coming to get the living that forced warring factions to unite against a common threat, and all those theories were really overthinking, I don’t see how this episode was so terrible in wrapping that storyline up. 

1) While in this particular season the threat was confronted and defeated in one episode, people seem to forget that this isn’t the first time we see Jon and company face the NK and his army. We had several encounters that begun way back in season 1 and 2 with the Night’s Watch plot and became increasingly bigger with Hardhome and Beyond the Wall. This was the biggest, final showdown between the living and the dead. It took literally eight seasons of preparation to manage to get someone close enough to the Night King to kill him in the right spot. It wasn’t exactly an easy feat. Maybe they could have had the battle stretch across several episodes, instead of one, but the outcome would have hardly been *that* different in the end. The buildup had been done already across the seasons.

2) Logistically speaking, it makes sense for it to end here: this was the strongest and most prepared the living were ever going to be. They were lacking Cersei’s armies, but they had everybody else and two dragons. If the Night King had won here, the survivors scrambled for a retreat south, with more and more holds falling and the AotD gaining more and more soldiers as a consequence, yes, it would have been cool to see King’s Landing and Cersei being affected as well, but the plausibility of the living winning would have been even lower and the sense of a Deus Ex Machina cop-out to defeat the Night King even bigger than people currently feel about Arya.  So I’m sure that, eventually, some (maybe different) people would have been disappointed just the same.

3) Saying “the story was always about X” doesn’t really mean anything, because that’s a personal opinion. For some people it’s about the WWs, for some people it’s about the throne, for some people it’s about power more generally, for some people it’s about legends and prophecies, for some people it’s about Jon and Daenerys... Nobody gets to decide what it is truly, ultimately about, other than the writers themselves. And my feeling is that, to them, it’s about all of these things, not one single thing being more important than the other. Which leads me to...

4) GRRM has complained in the past about not liking the fact that Tolkien glossed over the nitty gritty issues of how exactly Arargorn was going to rule after they defeated Sauron. There’s a good chance that at least part, if not all, of “A Dream of Spring” (if it ever sees the light of day), will be GRRM’s “fix it LotR fanfic” dealing with that aspect of the story. That’s why it wouldn’t surprise me if the second half of the season is indeed about human politics and what do people choose to do after surviving such a threat, just as the question before was about what they choose to do when facing it. I feel like there was an expectation that the War for the Dawn was going to last for most of the season, leaving only the final episode to wrap up the human side of things in a very classic fantasy style, with all the surviving heroes having learned the value of cooperation when facing this apocalyptic threat and therefore able to settle the issues they warred over for years fairly easily, because all the problematic characters were killed off (Cersei, Euron, the Night King). GRRM’s has always been about subverting the style and tropes of classic fantasy, so I would be more shocked had this gone down the classic path of “all the good guys put aside their issues after surviving” than what we seem to be getting. 

5) The story itself has warned us about prophecy since the very beginning. That they’re not straightforward, that they’re not reliable, that they can come bite people in the ass, that they can drive people to terrible actions. I think the biggest point of the prophecies in the story is to provide motive and motivation for characters more than actual predictions of where things are going to go. Azor Ahai motivated Melisandre, Stannis and Rhaegar. Maggy’s motivated Cersei. And maybe there is a certain degree of truth to them, and maybe some of their interpretations will still pan out (one interpretation of Azor Ahai and Lightbringer was that it referred to Jon and the Night’s Watch, for example - which can still fit with what went down, since Jon was single-handedly responsible for bringing together all the people, armies and force necessary to create the situation that allowed Arya to strike that final blow). But given the warnings, it is kind of naive to expect them to play out to a T, and deliver the most predictable outcome.

Now, could there be a twist where in episode 5 suddenly we find out that, actually, that was a false victory and the WWs, or a new Night King or Queen are still a threat to contend with? Maybe. I’m not ruling anything out. But I would also find it kind of implausible at this point and, frankly, rather clunky writing. You don’t spend millions and months to film the biggest battle in cinema history only to go “haha, kidding! this actually didn’t count and now they have to do it all over again!”. You don’t build an entire episode around the big, unforeseen twist that it’s actually Arya that delivers the final blow that saves humanity, only to take it back later and have predictable hero Jon be the one that ultimately, truly saves it from that same enemy. You don’t build up the Night King as the main antagonist north of the wall only to then go “actually, you know what? there’s another Night King*** now that you never heard of before!”. If that’s the route they’d be going down, they’d better have a REALLY good explanation and some pretty powerful reveals, or it will come across just as a story that didn’t have the courage to stand by its decisions and eventually knew it had to gave into delivering what the audience at large expected. It would have been a better look NOT to pull out this “Arya kills the NK and the Long Night is over in episode 3″ in the first place than it would be to cop-out of it later. 

***I do have a half baked suspicion about that scene where the Night King throws an ice dagger/spear at Daenerys when she’s trying to fly away on Drogon after she attempted to dracarys the shit out of the NK. Was that a throwaway scene where he was just trying to kill her and failed, or was that spear capable of potentially turning Dany into his Night Queen? I suspect the former is the most likely explanation, but who knows. 

[englishgeek82-blog]

Great Scott! Is Back to the Future the best film trilogy ever?

I was watching the Back to the Future films recently, and it dawned on me that I'd forgotten just how brilliantly enjoyable the trilogy is. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I started to wonder if it just might be the best film trilogy ever made. I know it wouldn’t be first choice for a lot of people, but I thought that nevertheless, it might be worth comparing it to some of the other standard choices to see how it measures up. The major issue of course, is how you define “best”. I’m looking at the films as a collective whole, the overall story and effect of the entire narrative. I’m not judging it on solitary acting performances, or even the depth and development of the major characters, but rather how enjoyable and convincing the story is, and how easy the films make it for the viewer to enter and accept the premise of their world. For instance, the Back to the Future trilogy is about as unrealistic as any films could ever be. But so are Lord of the Rings, Terminator, Star Wars and The Matrix. The Bourne films and the Godfather films have a more realistic feel to them, although I’m not sure anyone would really defend them as being 100% true to life if placed under oath, so let’s remember that suspension of disbelief is an important part of any film experience. But what counts is that once you are inside that world, that the films stay true to it. This is a glaring error in the Matrix trilogy, which seems to make its own rules up as it goes along. The Indiana Jones trilogy seems to suffer the same problem, with Temple of Doom really never making up its mind as to what kind of film it wants to be, and consequently ending up as not much of a film at all. Plus, of course, there’s a fourth film in that particular trilogy but I’m being polite and not mentioning it.

I’m also judging the films as a trilogy, not as single films. Die Hard is an incredibly brilliant film, but the trilogy of which it is a part is not. There’s a fourth AND fifth entry in that trilogy, but I’m being polite and not mentioning them. The same goes for The Godfather, The Empire Strikes Back, and The Matrix. I’m also not counting “unofficial trilogies”, like Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet, Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge. Plenty to recommend in all those films, and they have been lumped together by Luhrmann, but as far as I’m concerned, it simply doesn’t count. Even Kevin Smith’s films in the View Askewniverse aren’t going to be counted in this, largely because there are more than 3 of them anyway, and second of all because the films are completely different stories linked tenuously together by supporting characters and locations, which doesn’t quite cut the mustard, and so they too, do not count.

The reason they don’t count is that unofficial trilogies aren’t telling the same story, and so you can’t have sly little references to the other movies therein. One of the many things that impress me about the BTTF trilogy is the self-referential nature of the films, which is common in a lot of sequels and trilogies, but rarely as subtle as it is here. Even the way Marty crosses the road when finding himself in a new time zone by the clock tower is consistent, not to mention the supporting characters such as the Statler family’s horse/car business, and the Texaco filling station, shown in the first two films and referenced in the third. This is one of the cleverest techniques in this trilogy and makes the films feel all the more familiar and makes repeat viewings all the more rewarding.

Now, obviously I realise that when it comes to epic genius in terms of acting and directing, the films may not be up there with The Godfather. That being said, Godfather III is notably poorer than the other two, and it could be argued that it's not even thematically consistent, which I don't think you can say about BTTF. The first two Godfather films are undoubtedly cinematic masterpieces, (though on a recent viewing I was surprised at how the first one has aged) but they certainly don’t have any of the feel-good factor of the Future films. You don’t just channel surf, spot Godfather II and decide to watch it for a laugh – like so many other classics, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind, to name but a few, you have to make a decision to sit down and watch it. This is all well and good, but it’s a solitary journey. It’s a rewarding one too, but you could never sit down with friends at a party and play those films and expect the humour levels in the room not to nose-dive. Al Pacino is incredible, in all three films, and Brando still sends shivers down the spine in the original, not to mention the more-than-able supporting cast who ply their trade with such style alongside them. But the story and cast of Godfather III seems completely out of kilter with the tone of the original two, and this was commented on heavily by critics. I personally think the third film has much in its corner, another fine performance by Pacino, a fitting conclusion to the epic story of Michael Corleone and Andy Garcia’s impressive turn as the young hot-headed Vincent. But there’s no denying that it stumbles through some very tenuous plot lines and is over-populated with characters that completely fail to enhance the story. Finally, Sofia Coppola, although she is not as bad as everyone says, is still bad. The Godfather is so hugely different from Back to the Future that it’s almost pointless to even hold them up under the same light, but for a trilogy that I would pick to watch when I was at a loose end and wanted cheering up, there is no doubt that I would dive for the Delorean every time.

I also know that in terms of Sci-Fi influence and impact, the films are not up there with the original Star Wars films. And the Star Wars films hold the aces in some areas too. For instance, Biff and the other Tannens are effective villains for their genre of film, but they’re more pantomime than would be allowed in a film that took itself seriously. Darth Vader, on the other hand, is a truly great villain, especially when his story is further revealed and his tragedy brought to the fore. As heroes go, Luke Skywalker certainly undergoes a more immense journey of personal development than Marty McFly, but he doesn’t have Marty’s quick wit and he’s a whiny little so-and-so, a trait that he obviously picked up from his father, if the god-forsaken and indeed critically-forsaken, and indeed audience-forsaken prequels are anything to go by. As for things that are wrong with the films, there’s very little – especially with the first two films, but by the time of Return of the Jedi, the Ewok storyline grates on even the most sympathetic fan. Once you compare the original three to the prequels, the originals look like genuine masterpieces, but then once you compare the home video my grandmother shot of my 10th birthday to the Star Wars prequels, you get the same result. And once you start to bring in the storylines of the prequels, the rule about staying true to the world that you have asked the viewer to enter goes flying out of the window like a drop-kicked Ewok. The prequels are truly three of cinema’s great horrors in my opinion, and sadly because they are prequels, their very existence adversely affects the original films. Incidentally, and strangely, even though the insinuations of incest are much greater in BTTF, and in fact both sets of films contain exactly the same amount of screen-time for blood relatives kissing each other, it’s much more unsettling in Star Wars than it is in Back to the Future.

So, we arrive at this century’s most titanic Sci-fi achievement (if you ask some people) - Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy? Batman Begins is one of my favourite films of all time, with Christian Bale’s performance so impressive that I thought I’d never see a better turn in a Batman film, until Heath Ledger’s incredible Joker burned itself into all our minds. I remember thinking  If the third Nolan/Bale film was even half as good as the two that precede it, I would find it almost impossible to pick holes in it. Fortunately, it wasn’t. I wanted to like The Dark Knight Rises, I really did – and I did like it, but it was not the conclusion to the story for which I was hoping. Bat Bale’s growl whenever he speaks (which seemed like a good character move on Bale’s part in the first film) is irritating at best by the end of two hours plus of The Dark Knight and another two hours plus of The Dark Knight Rises. Tom Hardy’s Bane is menacing in appearance, but a big softie deep down and also speaks through his (ostentatious, to put it lightly) space mask in a way that makes him sound like the Head Boy of a southern private school who is addressing his prefects via a home-made walkie-talkie. There are also plot holes so massive in both TDK and TDKR that you could quite comfortably drive a DeLorean through them. The plot hole accusation is also true of the BTTF films, but since they never took themselves too seriously anyway, you could argue that the minutiae of time travel physics don’t matter as much as the overall effect of having a really good laugh.

The Back to the Future trilogy might not be considered as impressive, visually, as the Lord of the Rings films, but if you look at the standard of visual effects against the era in which the films were made, I think there’s a fine argument to be made that BTTF was hugely impressive. The LOTR films have been received incredibly well, and have plenty to recommend them, although they're all 16 hours long and if you don't like that particular genre, you'll be asleep before you see your first hobbit. And yes, I know they won a million Oscars, but that doesn’t always equal sheer enjoyment. Titanic won Best Picture because it looked nice, but was it really the best film of that year? Here are some films that didn’t win Best Picture at the Oscars, just for fun.

Citizen Kane, 12 Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, Dr Strangelove, Bonnie & Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cabaret, The Exorcist, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, Taxi Driver, Star Wars, Apocalypse Now, Raging Bull, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Goodfellas, Dangerous Liaisons, Born on the 4th of July, My Left Foot, JFK, A Few Good Men, The Fugitive, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, LA Confidential, Saving Private Ryan, The Green Mile, The Sixth Sense, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hudson Hawk. All masterpieces.

For action and adventure, it's possible that the Back To The Future films don't compare with the Indiana Jones films; although they have more than their fair share, they admittedly are not as action-oriented as the Indy films. Sadly, following the below-average-but-probably-still-better-than-Temple-of-Doom “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, that trilogy has also been unnecessarily tampered with. Even if it hadn’t been, (or if Crystal Skull had been really good), the fact remains that Temple of Doom is pretty naff compared to the other two original movies. I’m not sure any adventure film will ever rival The Last Crusade, because that film pretty much has everything you could ever want from an action movie. Nazis being crap? Check. Exotic Locations? Check. Sean Connery? Check. Harrison Ford? Check. Biblical epic-ness? Check. And finally, Alison Doody...check. So, on its own, yes I would concede that Last Crusade is a better film than any of the BTTF flicks – but only just. As a trilogy though, our survey still comes back with a big X.

For Biblical allegory, although not for mind bending “ooh, makes you think”-ness (which isn’t really a thing, I just made it up) – the films don’t compare with the Matrix trilogy, but then unlike the Matrix trilogy, the second two BTTF films aren’t redolent of the Chernobyl aftermath. The first Matrix film is a really good (not great) film, with a really good (not great) idea behind it. As a standalone piece of cinema, it must rank as an important contribution to the art. However, the sequels are so mind-bendingly awful and lost in tracts of their own self-righteousness that really the whole concept is ruined and the brilliance of the first film is lost.

Pirates of the Caribbean is probably the closest set of films in terms of the general style, some wacky characters, good old fashioned escapade fun and some funky special effects and pretty far-out plot lines. BUT, the films are long, especially the completely directionless third one. This is nothing compared to the fact that Orlando Bloom AND Keira Knightley “act” in all three films. Now, Keira Knightley is a strangely alluring actress, despite her funny mouth, and in the last decade she has proven some admirable acting chops, but here her wooden stylings are not to my tastes, and for the schoolboy crush factor, she’s certainly no Lea Thompson. As for Orlando Bloom, well, I’m really not a fan. Yes, you could argue that Jack Sparrow is a better single character than any in the BTTF films, and Johnny Depp a more accomplished actor than any of the “Future” cast, but that on its own isn’t enough to rescue it. Also, by the third film, Depp has disappeared so far up his own Black Pearl that the character doesn’t have any of its original charm anymore.

For hard hitting pace and action and gritty realism with intrigue and espionage, it definitely doesn't come close to the Bourne trilogy, and I can't really think of anything bad to say about that one. It’s different, for sure, but the Bourne trilogy actually reminds me of the BTTF films in more than one way. For instance, there’s no single performance in any of the three films that truly stands out. Brian Cox is excellent, as always, as are Joan Allen and Matt Damon, but none of them put in an Oscar-winning turn. This is a good thing, in my opinion, because the films don’t demand it. The story and action is enough. Like BTTF, the cast are brilliant in their roles, but none of them dominate the screen and take away from the rest of the film, like Heath Ledger does in The Dark Knight. When he’s not on screen, all you can think is that you wish he was. This is not the case in the Bourne films, where no single character is so crucial that you can’t live without them. The films are not made for fun, and have little humour in them, and so there is no comparison there, but they stay thematically consistent and tell a story that stays completely true to the world it inhabits. If I had to pick a fault, it would be that the non-linear style of the end of the second film and start of the third is hugely confusing, but then I could hardly deny that certain parts of the third BTTF film could have been trimmed, so let’s not get too close into criticising brilliant trilogies.

Other notable trilogies could include:

·       Die Hard (except there's 4 of them now, and the second one is rubbish)

·       Home Alone (only joking. The first two are good though.)

·       Jurassic Park (maybe if the third one had had some effort put into it by anyone associated with it, director, actors, etc)

·       Evil Dead (first one, brilliant – other two, I’m not sure)

·       Spiderman (Hmmm, the first two are superb. But any trilogy that includes that pointless “Emo Spidey” section of Spiderman 3 doesn’t deserve a place at this table. I mean, seriously, what the HELL were they thinking? It’s a bad film without that, but that absolutely nails its coffin permanently shut.)

·       Terminator (third one rubbish, and there’s a fourth one now anyway)

There are also other film trilogies of course, like High School Musical, Matrix, X-Men, Mission: Impossible, Ace Ventura (yes, they made a third), Austin Powers, Mighty Ducks, Beverly Hills Cop, Blade, The Ocean’s films, Robocop, Rush Hour, Scream, Spy Kids, Transporter, Ice Age, I Know What You Did Last Summer, etc but all of these are discounted for either being a) completely terrible or b) let down by at least one entry in the set.

So, this is obviously a gigantically subjective theme, and a very subjective blog – and I’m fine with that, and I hope that everyone has different ideas about what constitutes the perfect film trilogy. After all, all of the above is only my opinion. But, fellow film lovers, let me ask you this - if someone sat you down and said "Right, you've got to watch an entire trilogy all the way through for pure enjoyment," is there a better choice than Back to the Future?

[promin-blog]

The New Shadow – Morgoth and Human Sacrifice?

Regarding Tolkien's unfinished story The New Shadow, Christopher Tolkien wrote: "it will never be known what Borlas found in his dark and silent house, nor what part Saelon was playing and what his intentions were."

I offer my (textually-backed up) speculations on the possible development of The New Shadow. Also, I discuss some of the philosophical implication of this story and its thematic connections with (or better said ‘fractalic reiterations’ of) other parts of Tolkien's opus, mainly the Ainulindalë.

The New Shadow was published for the first time in HoME 12. It is unfinished and has two fairly short fragments that don't differ greatly in content.

For those less familiar with this story, I will give a quick recap. It takes place during the Forth Age, in Gondor, during the reign of Aragon’s son, Eldarion. Borlas, an old man, is sitting in his garden with Saelon, a young man who is a friend of his son.

While sitting there they have a discussion on the nature of Evil in the world, or more precisely, on both the re-appearing nature of this Evil:

 ‘Deep indeed run the roots of Evil,' said Borlas, 'and the black sap is strong in them. That tree will never be slain. Let men hew it as often as they may, it will thrust up shoots again as soon as they turn aside. (HoME 12)

 and it's omnipresence:

 For a man may have a garden with strong walls, Saelon, and yet find no peace or content there. There are some enemies that such walls will not keep out; for his garden is only part of a guarded realm after all. It is to the walls of the realm that he must look for his real defence.

Both of those ‘characteristics’ can be traced back to the Music of the Ainur and Melkor’s discords, which the story actually insinuates by mentioning the Great Theme:

I do not doubt that many of those we spoke of would use words as solemn as yours, and speak reverently of the Great Theme and such things - in your presence.

as well as the discords of Melkor, and Eru creatively ‘overgrowing' them:

My judgement as one of them you know already. The evils of the world were not at first in the great Theme, but entered with the discords of Melkor. Men did not come with these discords; they entered afterwards as a new thing direct from Eru, the One, and therefore they are called His children

It seems that the new identifiable spurt from this ‘tree of Evil’, that is, Melkor’s discords which are both “nowhere absent” (HoME 10, p422, while talking about ‘the Melkor-ingredient’ in matter) and reiterating, is someone named Herumor:

'Why!' said Saelon. 'We have hardly begun. It was not of your orchard, nor your apples, nor of me, that you were thinking when you spoke of the re-arising of the dark tree. What you were thinking of, Master Borlas, I can guess nonetheless. I have eyes and ears, and other senses, Master.' (…) 'You have heard then the name?' With hardly more than breath he formed it. 'Of Herumor?'

 Borlas's and Saelon's discussion could be considered as a kind of an reenactment of the Music on the micro-level, with Borlas and Saelon offering their arguments 'one atop of the other', like in a singing duel. Saelon is even "humming softly” during their discussion.

Plotwise, Saelon insinuates that he is in some way in contact with Herumor and/or those dissatisfied with the way things are in Gondor after ‘the King’ (meaning Aragorn) has died. We are led to believe by Saelon that these men make Herumor's following. Saelon offers Borlas to come with him tonight if the wants to 'learn more'.

Let's now take a look at what Tolkien said about the plot of The New Shadow:

I did begin a story placed about 100 years after the Downfall [of Sauron], but it proved both sinister and depressing. Since we are dealing with Men it is inevitable that we should be concerned with the most regrettable feature of their nature: their quick satiety with good. So that the people of Gondor in times of peace, justice and prosperity, would become discontented and restless - while the dynasts descended from Aragorn would become just kings and governors - like Denethor or worse. I found that even so early there was an outcrop of revolutionary plots, about a centre of secret Satanistic religion; while Gondorian boys were playing at being Orcs and going round doing damage." (HoME 12)

My speculations:

1) Herumor and his 'cult' are practicing human sacrifice, which would make them ‘satanists’, by Tolkien’s definition. Morgoth accepting human sacrifice as the proper way of worship goes back to the Tale of Adanel:

Then in fear lest he (Morgoth) should hear them and punish us all, we slew them (those who spoke against worshiping Morgoth), if we could; and those that fled we hunted; and if any were caught, our masters, his friends, commanded that they should be taken to the House and there done to death by fire. That pleased him greatly, his friends said; and indeed for a while it seemed that our afflictions were lightened. (HoME 10)

2) Herumor would turn out to be a Sauron-type evil leader, but human, claiming to be Sauron reincarnated, like Sauron claimed to be Morgoth reincarnated, after the fall of his master:

"At least in the Elder Days, and before he was bereft of his lord and fell into the folly of imitating him, and endeavoring to become himself supreme Lord of Middle-earth." (HoME 10)

The connection with Sauron could also be deduced from the title of the story - The New Shadow. Throughout LOTR Sauron is referred to as ‘the Shadow’, and the chapter of Fellowship in which Sauron is for the first time mentioned in LOTR is titled ‘The Shadow of the Past’. Sauron is even mentioned as ‘the Shadow’ in-story, by Saelon:

I do not mean of wild men only, or those who grew "under the Shadow", as they say.

Why do I think Herumor is human, and not Sauron returned?

There are two reasons why. Firstly, if Sauron (or Morgoth) was to return in this story, Tolkien would not, according to C.Tolkien, talk in this way:

‘I could have written a "thriller" about the plot and its discovery and overthrow - but it would be just that. Not worth doing.' (HoME 12)

The second, stronger, reason is this:

Sauron was a problem that Men had to deal with finally: the first of the many concentrations of Evil into definite power-points that they would have to combat as it was also the last of those in "mythological" personalized (but non-human) form.' (HoME10)

Sauron was the last ‘non-human power-point of Evil’ Men would fight against. From that follows that Herumor must be a human Evil power-point.

In accordance with the Sauron-model, Herumor would probably be presiding over human sacrifices in a manner of an ‘evil priest’, like Sauron did in Númenor (therefore we definitely have here also some shades of the Akallabêth).

3) Borlas gets sacrificed, or more probably, almost gets sacrificed 

Why Borlas would not join Saelon, you ask? Perhaps Borlas would turn out to be a Morgoth worshiper, in the end. I don’t think so, and there are two reasons for that: the first one is that Borlas held fast to his arguments in his philosophical discussion with Saelon and the second one is that Saelon is described in very sinister tones, treats Borlas with almost open contempt and has a grudge against the old man because Borlas berated him when he and some other boys picked unripe fruit to play with.

Just look at Saelon talking about that presumably very humiliating event and how he wants Borlas to have a taste of the ‘Orc-work’:

It was a mistake, Master Borlas. For I had heard tales of the Orcs and their doings, but I had not been interested till then. You turned my mind to them. I grew out of petty thefts (my father was not too easy), but I did not forget the Orcs. I began to feel hatred and think of the sweetness of revenge. We played at Orcs, I and my friends, and sometimes I thought: "Shall I gather my band and go and cut down his trees? Then he will think that the Orcs have really returned.”

Saelon would not want to work together with Borlas. He still wants revenge for the perceived mistreatment. Even Borlas picks up on this one:

(...) there was something disquieting in the young man's tone, something that made him wonder whether deep down, as deep as the roots of the dark trees, the childish resentment did not still linger. Yes, even in the heart of Saelon, the friend of his own son, and the young man who had in the last few years shown him much kindness in his loneliness. At any rate he resolved to say no more of his own thoughts to him.

No, Saelon probably doesn’t want to convert Borlas to Morgoth worship. But an old man would surely make an easy victim for a human sacrifice. Moreover, Borlas would make a very appropriate victim, since he is an ‘orthodox’ believer, in a sense, like those first human sacrifices made to Morgoth in The Tale of Adanel had been. And like the Faithful of Numenor, who were also deemed by Sauron as 'appropriate' human sacrifices.

Even Borlas seems to think he might end up sacrificed because of his beliefs:

And yet - why invite me to go with him? Not to convert old Borlas! Useless. Useless to try: no one would hope to win over a man who remembered the Evil of old, however far off.

What is also interesting here is that we have some justification for Borlas tolerating Saelon’s insolent tone throughout their discussion - “the young man (...) in the last few years (has) shown him much kindness in his loneliness”, much like Melkor did in Valinor, for some fifty years (see Annals of Aman in HoME 10, p106), after his own humiliation ‘at the feet of Manwë ’:

But fair-seeming were all the words and deeds of Melkor in that time, and both the Valar and the Eldar had profit from his aid and counsel, if they sought it (...) it seemed to Manwë that the evil of Melkor was cured. (Silmarillion)

I dare say that we get a glimpse at Melkor’s ‘psychology’ through these Saelon’s words:

Even then you were not content to let ill alone: to deter me with a beating, or to strengthen your fences. No. You were grieved and wanted to improve me. You had me into your house and talked to me.

Well, Manwë certainly took Melkor into his house and wanted to improve him. And Melkor definitely saw this as a humiliation and wanted revenge for this ‘slight’.

So, that is why Saelon gives off a sinister vibe - he is Melkor under the magnifying glass - that is, some of the previous ‘mythological’ events (like ‘the song of the Ainur’ or ‘the unchaining of Melkor’) get reiterated on the smaller level in The New Shadow, also shedding some ‘new light’ onto those past mythological events, fleshing them out, so to say, furthering our understanding of them.

EDIT: @feanorus-rex : Yeah, I didn't really address the actual cliffhanger, lol, that is, I didn't try to identify the 'intruder' in Borlas's house. But I don't think anything really crucial was about to happen at that point of the story.

Remember, it is already established at that point that Borlas is really shaken by his conversation with Saelon:

For some while after Saelon had gone Borlas stood still, covering his eyes and resting his brow against the cool bark of a tree beside the path. As he stood he searched back in his mind to discover how this strange and alarming conversation had begun.

It even takes some time for him to recover and get back to the house. I think that his mind is somewhat susceptible to play tricks on him at that point, so that he, kind of, convinces himself that he actually smells that ‘old Evil’, the Orcs:

Suddenly he smelt it, or so it seemed, though it came as it were from within outwards to the sense: he smelt the old Evil and knew it for what it was.

He also becomes afraid that he might end up dead himself:

He was to be lured to some place where he could disappear, like the Shipmen?

However, he does find the doors of his house open. If the doors weren't forced open, it might be his son, Berelach, that came home. But I think that the real danger was supposed to come a little later, at full dark, when Saelon returns. I was more intrigued by where Saelon might take Borlas.

[ungoliantschilde]

Does your tumblr name come from LOTR? Mother of Shelob, might have been Silmarillion, I ferget. Just curious, thx... Love the lighting/mood/atmosphere in your work.

Yes, it is indeed a reference to the giant spider that was the mother of all of the spiders from the Hobbit and LOTR.

Ungoliant is an elvish word that means “Devourer of Light”. She got that name after she and Melkor attacked the Elves before they came to Middle Earth, and she ate one of the Silmarils in the process.

Compared to Shelob, Ungoliant was proportionately as big as you and I are compared to a normal sized spider.

Frankly, it is a username I came up with when I was like 19, and the “Childe” part of the name is a reference to the fact that I used to play Vampire: the Masquerade. But, I have a lot of people following my blog now, and it is as good a username as any.

And thanks for the compliment on my artwork!

[fic-dreamin]

YES, you should buy this! Great new layout. A must buy. The revised book seems to be much better at putting the information together so you can grasp all of its great concepts faster. I love the new style and system they have introduced in The One Ring RPG. I am an old AD&D 2nd Edition player, haven't played paper and pencil in many years. Got some of the old group grinding through a whole new world, creating new stories, built on the fellowships inside the game. Great to build and develop interesting characters, not just min max power hungry destructoids on a kill loot cycle. Well done. I can not wait to get my hands on the Rivendell book and most excited for The Adventurer’s Companion! Go to Amazon

Best Middle Earth Game There Is The One Ring is by far the best RPG game set in Middle Earth. The game is faithful to Tolkien's works and has been carefully researched to get the detail and 'feel' right. Building powerful characters and amassing treasure is secondary to interacting with people and the environment, which the authors flesh out in rich and loving detail. The game is set in northern Middle Earth in the region east of the Misty Mountains (although supplementary texts expand the geographic range) after the Battle of Five Armies. Even though characters do not participate in the momentous events of the Hobbit or the War of the Ring, the Shadow of Sauron hangs over the setting and the players. Indeed, more than any battle or quest, the most important challenge characters face is the struggle to maintain hope against the encroaching Shadow. Those that fail descend into madness. Think Boromir at the end of the Fellowship of the Ring. This game may not be for people who want detailed and gritty combat sequences. The game is light on rules - combat and treasure are both abstract compared to other RPGs - which makes it easy to learn and play. Rules for success and failure in any given activity are streamlined by assigning skill levels to a dozen or so traits. The outcome of an action is determined using a single dice rolling system that employs a twelve sided die and a number of six sided dice equal to the player's skill level. Resolutions are easy and quick. As a result, story telling, not a lot of rule-bound dice rolling, remains the focus. We are in the middle of our first adventure, one I made myself, and everyone loves the system and their characters. Go to Amazon

Great book for the rpg or just as a reference for LOTR fans I love the One Ring RPG. This book is amazing just as color while reading LOTR but it adds such depth to a role playing experience. I am a huge fan of this series. Everything is top notch. The RPG is one of the most immersive I have ever played. Go to Amazon

Gandalf Would Be Proud. It's difficult to make any reference to Tolkien without taking into account the magnitude of influence he has had on fantasy and literary development. To even attempt making an RPG capable of living up to his incredible lore is bold and historically futile. The One Ring, however, is not only an extremely loyal, and lovingly crafted envisioning of Tolkien's work, but it also stands to be one of the single most effective RPG's ever created. Go to Amazon

Accuracy at its finest! Excellent! Provides a book-accurate portrayal of the lands of Eriador at the time of the Hobbit. Provides numerous unique monsters, rules for creating high Elven characters, magical treasure, and hooks for adventures. It is an essential resource for anyone looking to roleplay Middle Earth the way Tolkien designed it. Go to Amazon

Fantastic Game! Beautiful, atmospheric, simple and fast to play, captures the feel of Tolkien's Middle-earth like no other games (I also have MERP and The Lord of the Rings RPG). One of the best RPGs available in our day and age. Fantastic game. Go to Amazon

This is an excellent book that is a must not only for those ... This is an excellent book that is a must not only for those who play The One Ring, but for any who role-play in Middle Earth or are interested in another perspective on the Rangers of the North. The detail on Rivendell is also measured and effective. I thoroughly recommend this book. Go to Amazon

Five Stars Simply the best Middle Earth RPG to date. Go to Amazon

For the love of Ilúvatar play this game! Great for Gamers & Tolkien Scholars Middle-earth as Tolkien wrote it! Clearly the best Middle Earth RPG out there. Enjoyable. Masterpiece Two new classes, High Elf and Ranger as well ... Great game for a lord of the rings fan The book itself is awesome - good looking and well written A lot of fun and very well written...

[fic-dreamin]

This is The One Ring Incredibly well designed and produced game system, which captures the tone of Tolkien's works much better than other Middle-earth rpgs have done. However the caveat is that to enjoy this game properly, you'll need an experienced, talented Narrator (DM) who is adept at Tolkien lore and the ability to weave narratives on the fly, filling in gaps where the dice results take him/her. There's a bit more 'ambiguity' to this system than other popular rpgs, relying on the Narrator be a talented storyteller, and to be familiar with the canon and tone of Tolkien's works. That said, the book (and other supplements) give you an enormous amount of well-researched material. And the artwork and presentation is top tier. Go to Amazon

YES, you should buy this! Great new layout. A must buy. The revised book seems to be much better at putting the information together so you can grasp all of its great concepts faster. I love the new style and system they have introduced in The One Ring RPG. I am an old AD&D 2nd Edition player, haven't played paper and pencil in many years. Got some of the old group grinding through a whole new world, creating new stories, built on the fellowships inside the game. Great to build and develop interesting characters, not just min max power hungry destructoids on a kill loot cycle. Well done. I can not wait to get my hands on the Rivendell book and most excited for The Adventurer’s Companion! Go to Amazon

Best Middle Earth Game There Is The One Ring is by far the best RPG game set in Middle Earth. The game is faithful to Tolkien's works and has been carefully researched to get the detail and 'feel' right. Building powerful characters and amassing treasure is secondary to interacting with people and the environment, which the authors flesh out in rich and loving detail. The game is set in northern Middle Earth in the region east of the Misty Mountains (although supplementary texts expand the geographic range) after the Battle of Five Armies. Even though characters do not participate in the momentous events of the Hobbit or the War of the Ring, the Shadow of Sauron hangs over the setting and the players. Indeed, more than any battle or quest, the most important challenge characters face is the struggle to maintain hope against the encroaching Shadow. Those that fail descend into madness. Think Boromir at the end of the Fellowship of the Ring. This game may not be for people who want detailed and gritty combat sequences. The game is light on rules - combat and treasure are both abstract compared to other RPGs - which makes it easy to learn and play. Rules for success and failure in any given activity are streamlined by assigning skill levels to a dozen or so traits. The outcome of an action is determined using a single dice rolling system that employs a twelve sided die and a number of six sided dice equal to the player's skill level. Resolutions are easy and quick. As a result, story telling, not a lot of rule-bound dice rolling, remains the focus. We are in the middle of our first adventure, one I made myself, and everyone loves the system and their characters. Go to Amazon

Great book for the rpg or just as a reference for LOTR fans I love the One Ring RPG. This book is amazing just as color while reading LOTR but it adds such depth to a role playing experience. I am a huge fan of this series. Everything is top notch. The RPG is one of the most immersive I have ever played. Go to Amazon

Gandalf Would Be Proud. It's difficult to make any reference to Tolkien without taking into account the magnitude of influence he has had on fantasy and literary development. To even attempt making an RPG capable of living up to his incredible lore is bold and historically futile. The One Ring, however, is not only an extremely loyal, and lovingly crafted envisioning of Tolkien's work, but it also stands to be one of the single most effective RPG's ever created. Go to Amazon

Accuracy at its finest! Excellent! Provides a book-accurate portrayal of the lands of Eriador at the time of the Hobbit. Provides numerous unique monsters, rules for creating high Elven characters, magical treasure, and hooks for adventures. It is an essential resource for anyone looking to roleplay Middle Earth the way Tolkien designed it. Go to Amazon

Five Stars For the love of Ilúvatar play this game! Great for Gamers & Tolkien Scholars Middle-earth as Tolkien wrote it! Clearly the best Middle Earth RPG out there. Enjoyable. Fantastic Game! Masterpiece Two new classes, High Elf and Ranger as well ... Great game for a lord of the rings fan