#Gollum Tragedy

[theomenmedia]

Every Character From "The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King" Ranked From Most Loved To Most Hated

Celebrate 21 years of Middle-earth's end with our character love-hate list! From Frodo's courage to Denethor's despair, see where your favorites rank.

[velvet4510]

Here’s the thing.

Many Bagginshield shippers, especially in fics, focus on how Bilbo never got over Thorin, to the point where some describe Bilbo’s entire life as sad and empty and unfulfilled because of that loss.

Don’t get me wrong: I do agree that he suffered terrible loss and undeserved torment by the Ring. And the fact that he never married probably did have some connection to the memory of Thorin.

But, y’all, don’t forget or ignore the fact that, in Tolkien’s text, Bilbo does move on from grief and live the rest of his life well.

He does not become bitter from his pain. He retains his kind heart.

He is generous with his wealth, helping in every way he can the very community that ostracizes him.

He sees in Frodo a kindred spirit and takes it upon himself to be the parental figure that Frodo so badly needs as an orphan.

He and Frodo develop an uncle-nephew (really more like father-son) relationship built on trust, keeping no secrets from each other, to the level where he tells Frodo the truth about his encounter with Gollum. (And probably the truth about his feelings for Thorin, too.)

He and Frodo have so much fun, going for walks every day, studying the Elvish languages, and throwing big birthday parties to show the community a good time. It’s plain to see that caring for Frodo filled that massive void inside Bilbo, finally giving him someone to love and devote himself to looking after, after his first chance at that (albeit the first being a different kind of love) was taken from him.

He does not see himself as superior to the lower class despite his riches, and always treats the Gamgees with the utmost respect.

He teaches Sam to read and write.

He tells his story to the younger hobbits, inspiring more of them to want to learn more about the outside world and not be so sheltered and ignorant…an effort which ultimately saves Middle-earth because the Travelers learn from him to be curious and interested in the lands outside the Shire, and he inspires them daily, as they constantly say to themselves “if Bilbo could go there and back again despite great danger, so can we.”

He even learns to love having a tarnished reputation, ultimately taking advantage of being “mad” to play a fun prank.

When he is no longer at rest in the Shire, he gifts Frodo all his property which will ensure Frodo is set for life, and through all his passive aggressive gifts to his relatives, he gives the Gaffer genuinely useful items that he knows will help him, including ointment for creaky joints.

He gets a peaceful retirement among his Elven friends, which he spends writing his memoir so that future generations will know all about his lost friends.

And ultimately, he embraces the special gift of an exception from the Valar and rare permission to set foot in the Blessed Realm for one last adventure, where he will continue to look after his beloved nephew.

And the fact is, he never would’ve gotten any of these things if he’d stayed in Erebor. He would never have developed that special bond with Frodo - he may never have even met him - and consequently, Frodo may never have met Sam.

Yes, a lot of his life was lonely and somber. But much more of it, even after experiencing such a tragedy, was full of love and joy and fun and excitement. He became an invaluable caretaker and mentor to the next generation of hobbits, got a taste of fatherhood, passed on his expertise and his story, and spent his last years surrounded by friends and family.

Bilbo Baggins may have lost the love of his life, but he did not give up on life itself, and he lived a full one. Don’t forget that.

[anythingforstories]

Currently reading Lord of the Rings for the first time. Never seen the movies (I want to read the book first) and the majority of my LOTR knowledge comes through memes and spoilers on Tumblr analysis posts. I've made it through Fellowship of the Ring and am now in The Two Towers, specifically the chapter where Merry and Pippin meet Treebeard.

Thoughts and predictions at this point (contains spoilers, but it's been out since 1954, so deal with it):

-So I guess "They're taking the hobbits to Isengard" was Merry and Pippin? In which case, they did not end up taking the hobbits to Isengard. Pity.

-(No but really, I had thought that referred to Frodo and Sam because I think they're slaves at some point? IDK. Maybe they're slaves in Mordor. I shall have to wait and see.)

-I am happy that Merry and Pippin have had more page time and got to have a clever escape. I was beginning to wonder why they were there in the story. I do like them, though.

-I wonder if Treebeard is important?

-During the entire second half of Fellowship of the Ring, I was thinking, "Surely Legolas has a bigger role, based upon the number of fangirls?" I now see that he does have more page time, though still at this point, I feel his fangirls may have overinflated his role within the story. Perhaps he shall do more later, though. Still a cool dude, in any case, sleeping while walking and all that.

-Gandalf's defeat was less dramatic than I'd always imagined. Pretty sure he's not gone forever, based mostly upon memes and fanart. And also the fact that he seems to be rather too important to be gone this soon.

-I'd honestly anticipated a long redemption arc for Boromir. Based upon all the analysis I've seen about him, I had vaguely known he sacrificed himself for the hobbits, but didn't expect it to be this soon. Not sure how I feel about this. (I did cry, and then I cried again when Aragorn didn't reveal what he'd been up to to Legolas and Gimli. I didn't actually expect to cry while reading LOTR. But the tragedy hit hard.)

-I know there's gonna be a romance between an elf-lady and a man, but I'm not sure who with whom. I don't think there's been a single hint of that yet. Maybe I'm wrong.

-Pretty sure they're going to see the ocean?

-"I am no man!" (Or something along those lines. I hope that wasn't movie-original; I think I've seen pictures of that text in the books? But it sounds very epic.)

-Gollum is a persistent chap. I rather like him. I do, unfortunately, know his fate. My sisters watched the movies when they were little and that's one of the only things they can remember.

-It's definitely picked up compared to the first book! Unlike many people, though, I did read through all those pages of pure worldbuilding lore at the beginning. It was boring and yet delightful.

-I need a map. I'm borrowing a friend's version where there's all the books in one cover with lots of illustrations and such. There was a map of the Shire but not of everything. I could easily look it up online, but I'm stubborn and want to see if the book will have one at some point.

-Can't wait for Aragorn to come back as king. I assume this shall happen in Return of the King. It would make sense. He seems a good fit for the job.

-I would DEVOUR an anime of this series. Specifically, a book-accurate one.

-Sam is excellent.

-Lots of fantasy seems so much less original after reading LOTR :P

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

Tolkien Legendarium:

Understanding Tolkien Legendarium: A Mythology of its Own

Concerning the “Laws and Customs among the Eldar” chapter in “Morgoth’s Ring”

"Rings of Power" meta:

Galadriel/Frodo and Sauron/One Ring in "Rings of Power"

Has anyone noticed the similarities between Sauron and Gollum in “Rings of Power”?

What's the deal with Sauron and Elrond connection in Season 2?

Concerning Sauron

Sauron and his Demonic Facets in “Rings of Power” and Tolkien lore

What are Sauron’s powers in “Rings of Power”?

“I have many names”: Halbrand, the Repentant Mairon in “Rings of Power”

Of Sauron [Hypothetical] Redemption

Is Sauron a narcissist?

No, “Evil” doesn’t “love only itself” in Tolkien lore

Black Hand of Sauron in “Rings of Power”

Concerning Galadriel

Galadriel in Season 1-2 of “Rings of Power”: Valiant, Prideful and the Darkness Within

“some wounds that cannot be wholly cured”

What would happen if Galadriel joined Sauron?

Sauron x Galadriel (Tolkien nerd edition):

Could Saurondriel actually happen in Tolkien lore?

The Physicality of Sauron x Galadriel: Cosmic Connection and Physical Attraction

Of Lust and Sex on Tolkien lore: Sauron x Galadriel in “Rings of Power”

Of Sin and Sinners

Virgin Mary, Galadriel and Sauron x Galadriel in “Rings of Power”

Galadriel x Sauron: One Royal Couple to Rule Them All

Symbol Analysis

Freudian Symbolism: Sauron x Galadriel in Season 1 of "Rings of Power"

Freudian Symbolism: Sauron x Galadriel in Season 2 of "Rings of Power"

Season 1

The Tragedy of Haladriel - Part I

The Tragedy of Haladriel - Part II

Season 2

Sauron's Masterplan in Season 2

Halbrand vs. Sauron from Galadriel POV

"Elrond = Sauron in Adar's tent in 2x07" Theory:

Elrond's Arrival at Eregion in 2x07

Adar and Sauron Recognition in Season 2 (Halbrand/Elrond) and Saurondriel kiss

Megathread: All Clues concerning “Elrond = Sauron” in “Adar meeting/Kiss scene” (2x07) - Part I

Megathread: All Clues concerning “Elrond = Sauron” in “Adar meeting/Kiss scene” (2x07) - Part II

Elrond = Sauron (2x07): Melian of the Valar and Lúthien/Beren parallels

Wrapping-up the loose ends of “Elrond = Sauron” in 2x07 tent scene theory

Sauron and Galadriel scene in 2x08:

"Evil takes Root": The Temptation and Fall of Galadriel

A Darker and Sinister Interpretation of Sauron and Galadriel scene in “Rings of Power” (2x08)

Binding, Force Marriage and Free Will in Tolkien Legendarium

“Last Temptation” because “only blood can bind”

About Morgoth’s crown

What did Sauron meant by “Not All of It” in 2x08? - Sauron's visual and color code analysis

Sauron showing off how truly powerful he is in his fight with Galadriel (2x08)

Galadriel wanted to join Sauron, freely

Why did Galadriel jump off the cliff? #2

Nenya refusing to surrender itself to Sauron (2x08)

Season 3

Let’s talk 1x08 and 2x08 epilogues and how they set up next season

Let’s talk Saurondriel Season 3: Predictions

“Dark!Galadriel" needs to happen in “Rings of Power” Season 3

"The Demon" by Mikhail Lermontov, and parallels with Sauron x Galadriel (predictions for Season 3)

[rebomaxxing]

the actual tragedy of darth plagueis the wise is that he lived in a cave in a gollum-like situation. this guy looks like he catches live fish and eats them raw

[total-drama-brainrot]

Is Ezekiel one of your favs? You talk a LOT about him and pick that little feral farm boy apart several times over (love seeing dissections of him don’t get me wrong)

Not really. He's just interesting to think about.

Ezekiel’s character is probably the most tragic one out of the whole series; he enters the show incredibly naive and sheltered, gets eliminated first for parroting misogynistic views he obviously internalised from someone else (most likely an authority figure in his life, and given the nature of his incredibly isolated upbringing that's most certainly his dad) and is immediately universally disliked by the people around him.

He fundamentally changes himself to be (what he believes is) more appealing to the world at large, only to be faced with the same treatment.

And then he literally goes feral. Not even in a metaphorical sense - this kid goes full Gollum Mode and starts living underground with mutated gophers after throwing himself into an active volcano.

His whole story arc on the show is objectively a tragedy, which is free real estate for things like AUs and, in my case, character analysis.

What could he have done differently to prevent his fate? Why was he so hellbent on winning in World Tour to the point his body and mind started to decay?

Why he geen? 🟢

[moons-of-dewclan]

i dont really do a lot of asks even on anon, but i wanted to say how nice it is to see you interacting and being so encouraging of the stuff (comics/fanart/mods) your followers create!! 🫶🫶🫶 it definitely makes this feel like more than just a clangen blog!!! i hope the rest of your day/night goes well :]

WGUGHH I'M GLAD

not to get Deep and overshare on a dumb WC comic sideblog unprompted, but i used to be very self conscious about my art and ideas, and it made me really unjustly protective and weirdly gollum-ish. like 'no this is MY original idea, DON'T USE IT' style.. just the wwworst oh my god. SO, I OFTEN FEEL LIKE HGHH WHEN PEOPLE SAY I'M NICE BC BOY WAS I.. INCREDIBLY INSUFFERABLE ONCE UPON A TIME (also my ideas were nnnnot even original which adds to the tragedy of my raging highschool dropout era IOGNALKSND)

BUT AT THIS POINT, after some growth n healing and all that goofy stuff, i've swerved in the polar opposite direction which.. makes life much more enjoyable. ANYWAY THE MAIN POINT IS i think that, even tho it's not exactly anyone's responsibility, it's a really good and not-very-difficult-thing-to-do, to encourage others and help them get their stuff out there. and just.. Share ALSKDNKLASDN there is like virtually no reason this blog gets more attention than any others out there so i wanna be sure i at least try to give everyone an opportunity to get eyeballs on em. PLUS JUST ENCOURAGE PEOPLE. LEAVE NICE COMMENTS IT'S FREEEEE AND IT'LL MAKE SOMEONE'S DAY

[pyrrhiccomedy]

hi! you give great advice. i wanted to ask, if you're writing a long piece (eg novella, novel), how much of an outline, plot-wise, do you think is needed before diving into the first draft? and if you have any advice on creating the first draft when you have some characters, a broad 'vibe' but not much in the way of concrete plot (like, What Actually Happens), i'd be super grateful, thank you!

How much outlining you do is totally your personal preference. I don't really outline because I write very fast and my first draft essentially is me working out live what I want the outline of the second draft to be.

As for your central question here - I mean your plot should come from your characters, right? What do these people want, and why don't they have it? What can they do to get it? Who or what will try to stop them? What will be the repercussions of their actions?

Characters who drive stories should have something they want, and something they need. Kendall from Succession wants to be CEO of Waystar; he needs to stop trying to become his father, and embrace the people he loves as a reason to live. Those two things, separately and in combination, drive everything he does in the story. Sometimes one is ascendant over the other; sometimes it seems possible that he might get both. Ultimately, because Succession is a tragedy, he gets neither.

Don't try to overcomplicate this stuff. The simpler you can state the wants vs needs of your characters, the stronger the story will be. Ellen Ripley wants to escape the aliens: she needs to confront them. Han Solo wants to get rich without being tied down; he needs to find a family and a cause to give his life meaning. Gollum wants the ring; he needs to find his way back to humanity and connection. Elizabeth Bennet wants to find a husband who won't drag her down; she needs to get over herself, and admit she can be wrong.

Sometimes what a character wants and needs are in direct contradiction (sometimes we want things that are bad for us). Sometimes they go hand-in-hand. Figuring out how to reconcile the two shapes your character's inner journey. The easier that is, the less inner conflict a character will have. That's fine, too, like don't get the impression that I'm saying that more inner conflict is inherently better. It depends on the story you're trying to tell. Alien is not a weaker story because Ellen Ripley's want and need are highly compatible (by confronting the aliens, she does escape them). Ellen Ripley doesn't need a ton of inner conflict. She's dealing with enough outer conflict to keep the story going. But even Ripley's want/need aren't the same, and her transition from fleeing to fighting the aliens is still what shapes the story.

The point is that your characters want something, and they need something, and at the beginning of the story, they have neither. The story starts when they start trying to change that, and it ends when they succeed or fail.

[albiclalepsza]

I had been obsessed with Lord of The Rings before I ever saw it, ever since I can remember really. My sister was a big fan and she talked about it all the time, had multiple posters of the characters (the biggest one was of Gollum for some reason). She and her friend hunted down a whole set of lotr glasses that you could collect from somewhere. She had the coolest notebook I've ever seen that's burned into my memory, with sketches of different characters, locations and monsters in the background of every page.

When I was 5 my parents finally folded and let me watch it. It was even better than I thought it would be. I was terrified of the Uruk Hai and cried at the deaths of all the characters more out of fear than sadness but that first watch is still one of my favorite memories. When I went to school I dragged every friend I made into watching the trilogy with me (my sister got the extended trilogy on DVDs as soon as it came out, I still watch them from these discs). Some of them became as obsessed with it as I was. We played together pretending to be the characters, we tried to record our own movie (though we didn't get past the prologue) and we bought almost every video game from the franchise as soon as we could.

Last year we finally went to the trilogy marathon and saw the movies in the cinema. It was fantastic, and watching them with the same people who played pretend with me 14 years before felt absolutely special.

Throughout all of this Theoden was my favorite character. As a kid I loved his armor and sword and how cool he looked as he led the whole Rohirrim army into battle in Return of The King. Now I still love him for all these things of course. But he is also a tragic character, who lost his mind in the Saruman - induced haze, only to wake up and realize his son died. He is constantly in grief, all the while trying to save his people and everyone else. And he knows that he will not return, but he still goes to aid Gondor, the very kingdom that didn't help his when they needed it most.

Bernard Hill's performance is incredible. There are so many little moments that make this role work so well. My favorite is when he is debating whether to go to Helm's Deep. Gandalf advises him and as he does so, he puts his hand on the king's armrest and leans slightly to him, just as Grima did, and Theoden just glances at the hand and immediately is that much less trusting of his judgement. It's so subtle and I just love it. There is also that bit of absolute despair when he looks at the armies under Minas Tirith that disappears completely when he turns back to his soldiers. His quick moment of grief when he talks with Eowyn at the celebration in the third movie that completely throws the conversation off its rails. The look of tragedy when the fell beast descends upon him. His quick outburst at Aragorn when he suggests calling for Gondor that abruptly stops the moment he realizes that he let emotions out. His few scenes with Merry. Actually, I could probably list every scene of his in the trilogy if I didn't stop myself here.

Anyway, Bernard Hill pased away today. I have to admit that I haven't watched any other of his movies, but that one performance in Lord of The Rings is just so special to me. Thank you, Bernard Hill, for giving me my favorite part of my favorite trilogy. You will be missed.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring for the First Time in Fifteen Years

Hi, Hello, Welcome! The conceit of these posts is pretty self-explanatory. I read the Lord of the Rings for the first time at age 17, in the middle of my parent's divorce (it was messy, we're not going into any details). Needless to say, I remember pretty much nothing about that read, and I would like to give the books a fair shake of a re-read. That's what this is, and there will be spoilers throughout!

I usually do full-book reviews, but if ever I was going to do a chapter-by-chapter re-read, it would be for LotR. The rules are that I'm going in as blind as I possibly can (I have watched the movies and have absorbed like...a reasonable amount of lore from existing on the internet as a millennial) and I'm not doing any research beyond like, defining words for myself as I read. So here we go, and I hope you enjoy rereading with me! Let's talk "The Shadow of the Past."

Good LORD JRR Tolkien can lore dump when he wants to. This chapter was mainly lore dump, which is fine because it was at least interesting lore dump. I'm not a lore girly though, I'm a character girly, so let's go with "we got the One Ring's backstory, now let me talk about other characters because the Ring isn't one just yet."

This is going to sound initially harsh, but it is said with affection: Gandalf is 1000% the pedantic asshole professor who is way too into the Socratic method who you absolutely detest in undergrad but somehow his classes still end up sticking with you more than any other. You then get to understand this prof better as a master's student, and deeply love this prof as a PhD. That's literally the vibe I'm getting from his lecture to Frodo about finding some goddamn pity and compassion for the tragedy that is Smeagol and Gollum. Because it is VERY easy to judge and be critical in the abstract, which Frodo very much is, having never encountered Gollum, and Gandalf has spent time and effort tracking down Gollum with way more background knowledge with which to contextualize the layers of tragedy that Gollum personifies and affects. It's a big ask, to get people to abstract compassion (and do not come in here and argue with me about this, I live in 20-goddam-24, I know what I'm talking about), but Gandalf kind of doesn't let it go with Frodo until Frodo at least softens his position and is open to, if not at, compassion. I've been a student and I've been a teacher, and these conversations are hard from both directions, so kudos to Gandalf for sticking with it, and to Frodo for getting to a place where he was truly listening.

Especially after Gandalf just CASUALLY DROPS that Gollum literally ATE BABIES. I'm not even kidding, he just casually, in the midst of an infodump on Gollum's time tracking Bilbo after losing the Ring, says,

The woodsmen said that there was some new terror abroad, a ghost that drank blood. It climbed trees to find nests, it crept into holes to find young, it slipped through windows to find cradles.

AND THEN WE JUST CASUALLY MOVE ON LIKE BABY EATING ISN'T SOMETHING WE NEED TO ADDRESS HERE. I would like to address the baby eating, Gandalf!!!

Despite not addressing the baby eating though, there was some interesting new information in the Gollum infodump that I understand why it got cut from the movies, but I was low-key fascinated. Smeagol was specifically noted to be interested in roots. Gandalf framed that like literal tree and mountain roots, but this is Tolkien we're talking about. Roots have a metric ton of metaphorical meanings too, and the fact that Smeagol was interested in the origins of things, in where they came from, in what made them as they are, is both deeply ironic and deeply interesting. I kind of hope we do more with that, since becoming Gollum is like ouroborosing roots; Smeagol's interest in Gollum is deeply self-reflexive, which might also be how we end up with that bifurcated personality thing. I dunno, but that would be really cool to follow up on.

I also deeply appreciated Frodo's "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK" reaction to realizing that Gandalf had let him keep the One Ring for so long. Notably, Gandalf kind of doesn't explicitly apologize for putting Frodo at risk, but he does acknowledge that yes, yes he made a choice, took a risk, and put Frodo in some level of danger. I suppose we'll take it, even as we acknowledge that yes, Gandalf was working with imperfect, incomplete information. We do the best we can with what we know at the time, or something. And if it took 20-odd years to figure all of this out (which makes sense for the kind of field and archival work required here), then y'know what, better late than never.

That said, Gandalf also kind of...LIGHTLY SKATES OVER the fact that even just possessing the Ring and doing nothing with it for 20 years has affected Frodo. He's not aging. He can't cast it away. He's already caught. Right at the beginning, in CHAPTER TWO of this massive trilogy, it's not a matter of preventing Frodo from being caught by the ring. It's a matter of how long Frodo can resist. He was doomed before anyone knew, concretely, that there was a problem. And jaysus, if that isn't how you tee up a tragedy, I don't even know how you do that. Maybe there wasn't a good reason for Gandalf to say that to Frodo, maybe it would have hurt more than it helped, but I do kind of think PERHAPS YOU MIGHT POINT THIS OUT???

I get the sense that I'm going to be very back-and-forth on book Gandalf...this is going to be an interesting thing to watch develop as I keep reading.

In addition to Gandalf's "Backstory Via The Socratic Method 101" course, we also get some additional Samwise Gamgee in this chapter. Saying "I adore this hobbit and he should be protected at all costs" is not new or even interesting, so let's take a different tack. In the films, Sam's excitement for going to see the elves is...ungrounded. It's a thing about him that we just accept. I deeply relate to and adore the sense we get of why and how the elves thing comes about in the book:

He believed he had once seen and Elf in the woods, and still hoped to see more one day. Of all the legends that he had heard in his early years such fragments of tales and half-remembered stories about the Elves as the hobbits knew, had always moved him most deeply.

This might seem ungrounded, but it's deeply aware of how stories work. Sam knows that the hobbits don't have the extent of Elven lore that exists, but he knows that there is a magic and a power in even the fragments they have, and that captured his imagination to such an extent that a yearning to see, to understand, to know that magic, was born in his heart. That grounds Sam in stories just as much as Frodo is grounded in stories, and more than that, Sam WANTS the magic to be real in a way that Frodo, primed on all the tragedy by Gandalf, I don't actually think does. Frodo is "I wish it need not have happened in my time," but Sam is "Me go and see the Elves and all."

That "and all" at the end is particularly poignant, because if Sam knows some of the stories of the elves, I have to imagine a few tragic tales survived along with the magical ones, so Sam isn't going starry-eyed into this as a bumblefuck gardener from nowhere. There's an acceptance there of the magic that encompasses all that magic offers, both good and bad. Yeah, I'm probably over-reading into this, but I support it at least a little with the fact that at the beginning of the chapter, we're with Sam when the hobbits down the pub are talking about strange beings and creatures and *foreshadowing the ents*. Sam knows that the stories tell of more than just elves, but for him, that wonder is enough to warrant everything else. No, I am not taking criticism (constructive or otherwise) at this time.

Other than a wee shoutout to the legendary "Mad Baggins"--and let's be real, if history must become myth and myth must become legend, I want Mad Baggins to stay alive and not be forgotten--that's about all I have for this chapter. Professor Gandalf shows up to school Frodo and kick his ass out the door, and Sam gets to go see the elves. We'll pick up again next time with chapter 3.

[hussyknee]

Giving 10 Things That Never Happened a second go. On Chapter 11 and it's fairly engaging, even if it's no Boyfriend Material. But I'm honestly more invested in the love story between Jonathan and Sam's adorable ugly cat.

Cat-specific spoilers ahead.

When we meet Gollum:

As soon as Gollum hears the door open, he lies down on the floor next to his bowl and starts making how-could-it-have-come-to-this-terrible-tragedy noises. Which is bollocks because I’d left him plenty of food while I was away and, actually, he eats better than I do on account of how I got him gourmet cat food once, just to help him settle in, and now the bugger refuses to eat anything else.

This is exactly the Terror Trio. Our tom Kaha is basically a garbage disposal but I was very careful about feeding the kittens because they were dumped barely weaned and now Their Highnesses won't eat anything that isn't prepared on purpose for them to their exact specifications.

Gollum starts rubbing himself all over Jonathan’s legs. Jonathan looks down in a bit of a panic. "What’s it doing?" "Scent marking. He owns you now." "He does not." "You’ll have to take that up with him." Jonathan shakes his leg very gently but realises he probably doesn’t want to punt my cat across the room. “Can you make it stop?" "Liking you?” I ask. “Give him time. He’ll work it out." “Sam”—he does his best to sound forceful even though there’s a cat glommed onto his shin—“you’re not amusing. You’re just annoying. Now please move the cat." I get up and move the cat. At least, I try to but he’s not having it. The moment I pull him away from Jonathan he starts making these sad why-must-you-ruin-my-life sounds. Jonathan glares at me over a ball of feline tragedy. “What…what’s wrong with him?" "I think you’ve hurt his feelings.” I hold Gollum out and he hangs there like a wet dishcloth. “You see? Look at his little face." Jonathan does, in fact, look at his little face. Then he looks at my little face and I’m not sure which of them he likes less. Actually, I can’t read his expression at all. Very occasionally—when he’s not shouting or interfering in things that don’t concern him—he’s almost a good-looking man. If you like ’em sour and interesting. Which I didn’t think I did. He pulls back suddenly. “This is ridiculous. I have work to do." Then he turns and strides off to his study and Gollum, showing a worrying lack of taste for a creature I thought I could trust, runs right after him.

Clearly Jonathan makes up for his personality with his animal magnetism.

Jonathan’s in his study working and Gollum’s in the study with Jonathan. And that’s, well, I mean, I don’t really like weekends at the best of times but at least I’ve got my cat. But now I’m concussed, and I’m bored and I’m alone and my fucking cat has dumped me for my fucking boss. Which really stings because he’s a wanker. Plus, I’m meant to be doing this whole thing where I get him to see me as a person so he won’t just fire me once I’m medically cleared, and it’ll be really hard to do that if I never speak to him. Which I can’t. Because he’s shut up in his study. With my fucking cat. So I get up, go into the study, give Gollum—who’s sitting on Jonathan’s lap as happy as can be—a look of absolute betrayal and tell Jonathan I’m going for a walk. “Jonathan,” I say, “I’m going for a walk.” He doesn’t even look up from his laptop. “You are not.” “I think I am. My feet are going one in front of the other and everything.” At last he deigns to swivel his chair around. With Gollum right there he looks like an actual supervillain.

Already a power couple!

Turns out, going to a supermarket is like wiping your arse. You mostly do it alone so assume everyone does it the same way you do, but there’s actually a surprising amount of variation. I think I picked up my habits from my mam. She’d go in with a good sense of what she was after but mostly she’d wander up and down, looking for bargains and that. Jonathan seems to have got his habits from movies about people escaping from prisoner of war camps in World War II. Plan the whole thing in advance, stay close, don’t talk, don’t get distracted, and get out as fast as you can. I put up with this for all of two minutes while Jonathan berates me for dithering. "What are your thoughts on parsnips?” “I thought they went downhill after their third album. What do you mean, what are my thoughts on parsnips? I don’t have thoughts on parsnips. Who has time to have thoughts on parsnips?”

But then...

I find him in pets looking at cat treats. And when he spots me, he gets this expression on his face like I caught him with porn.

He's already in love! But he doesn't know how to express his feelings!

“You told me to be quick.” “Yes, but I didn’t think you’d listen.” He’s holding one of those cat toys that’s a stick with a mouse on a string. Teasers, I think they call them. And the idea of Jonathan Forest dangling a mouse in front of Gollum is a funny mix of endearing, bizarre, and a little bit terrifying. Clearly, he wants to buy it but doesn’t want to admit he wants to buy it, so I take it out of his hand and put it in the trolley.

He turns to Gollum when all the world is against him.

Finally he settles on, “I don’t have time for this. Just stay out of my business.” And then he scoops up Gollum, who settles against his shoulder like a smug ugly baby who’s decided to abandon the person who brought it home from the baby shelter, and they both storm off into the office. ... The timer goes on the oven, and while the chicken’s resting I transfer everything to the kitchen island and lay it all out so it looks kind of rustic, then I yell through to Jonathan that everything’s ready. “I’ll take it in here,” he yells back. Like fuck he will. I storm through to the study and I must have gone faster than he expected because he’s sitting there cuddling Gollum very much not doing any work. He makes a desperate attempt to look busy but all that does is dump Gollum onto his lap, where he steps on the Windows key and opens the calculator.

I've decided this book is actually The Adventures of Gollum The Cat and His Grumpy New Friend (ft. Whatever's Going On With Him and Daddy That Sometimes Involves Chicken).

I'm at the point where Sam's threatening to go home if Jonathan doesn't start being less of a dick, but I'm fairly certain Jonathan only wants him to stay because he doesn't want to be parted from the cat. Relatable, honestly.

[la-pheacienne]

So I'm reading lotr and I'm watching the soviet adaptation of war and peace at the same time and last night I dreamed of Gollum and a dying Andrei locked up in a room having a conversation about the beauty of nature and the tragedy of death.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

chiaki, thoughts on concord?

Okay, now this is a real tragedy, because Concord is symbolic of just how difficult it is to be a gamer in this day and age.

2024 has been a year full of disappointments. Most recently, the $15 million budgeted Borderlands movie made only $18.5 million at the box office. Considering that doesn't even pay for the marketing expenses, it's a catastrophe.

Undoubtedly, it's a bad film, but in the realm of video games, we currently have a failure named "Concord." And it's surprising to me that people even remember this game, despite it's recency.

Now, for the record, what I'm about to say is something that makes me genuinely sad. Like...ACTUALLY really sad. So...bear with me.

For those who are unaware, Concord was a generic hero shooter that was released less than 30 days ago, similar to Overwatch or Valorant. Except it had a five-times slower pace, it combined all the worst aspects of earlier hero shooters. The game's movement was really slow; it felt like you're playing on a treadmill. The gameplay was excruciatingly slow and annoying; it seemed as though you're trapped in a slow-motion Zack Snyder movie.

The game was really generic, but it was neither terrible nor unplayable. But at the same time it wasn't really unique, and if someone enjoys this genre of game, there are at least fifty more that are superior. The fact that Concord costed $40 rather than being free to play, like the majority of other multiplayer shooters, is what made it especially foolish. It was destined to fail from the beginning, and today it only managed to launch with a little over 650 users on Steam.

To put that in context, more people played some of the worst failures in gaming history when they first launched. Redfall and even Babylon's Fall, which was such a failure that it was removed from Steam, had more players than Concord had. Compared to Lord of the Rings: Gollum, another huge failure that forced its studio to close, Concord had only a little bit more players.

Now, you must have noticed by now that I've been talking about this game in the past tense, and there's a reason for that. Concord was such a massive failure, that the servers were shut down two weeks after its launch, with all sold copies being refunded. That is a HUGE FAIL.

Concord was a big-budget game that must have cost millions to produce, but nobody wanted to play it. Although I don't personally have strong feelings on the matter, I do find it puzzling how these games are approved in the first place. Everyone sighed in agreement when they saw the first trailer, which made it obvious that this was another hero shooter in an already crowded industry. It's difficult to determine who this game is intended for, especially considering that even fans of hero shooters won't rush into a $40 game when there are more enjoyable free options, like Fortnite, or Overwatch 2.

It's unbelievable that this disaster was released considering how predictable it was. Even then, it didn't make sense to invest in a game that is sure to fail, even if it appeared to be a desperate attempt to recover part of the production costs. It's unfortunate since I have no doubt that brilliant developers worked on this out of necessity rather than choice. Seemingly, they attempted to make another hero shooter, believing it would be a simple victory, but they didn't realize that no one wants to see more of them, especially not for forty bucks.

I HATE being negative. I hate being negative more than I hate anything else in the world. But this is a flop that's hard not to laugh at, which is why I wanted to talk about it. I don't see why anyone would pay such a high price for this when there are better free options available, despite the fact that it has largely great reviews.

Considering how poorly Concord performed, especially for a high-budget game, is astounding. The majority of games, including the most popular ones, never start with fewer than a thousand players. I felt compelled to address this as it's uncommon for a game to fail so miserably.

[etaindelaserna]

Hello again....Do you mind if I ask your top 5 (or top 10) favorite moments from any media that you love (can books, anime/manga, tv series, movies, games, etc)? Thanks if you want to answer. Sorry if I ask too much or if I accidentally send this ask twice.....

Hello! Don't worry! I'm always appreciative when I see one of your asks pop up. So. Here. We. Go. As always in no particular order:

Gandalf talks to Frodo in Moria about Gollum (The Fellowship of the Ring)

There is something about that dialogue that always struck me as true, as something that touches our very essence. Not passing judgment too hastly, but also that our life is full of opportunities and each day we are confronted with the question what to do with this day. Nothing is lost. It just hasn't happened yet. We can choose whether we want to succeed or fail, whether we want to be good or bad.

Naruto confronts Zabuza about Haku (Naruto)

That moment never fails to make me tear up. Until that moment I didn't even consider Zabuza to be capable of having emotions but Naruto tore his armor away and revealed the deep connection he shared with Haku. I felt sad watching them die and yet it taught me and Naruto a lot about the shinobi lifestyle.

The truth about Itachi is revealed (Naruto)

Yeah, that one was a shock. I always wanted to believe that there was more to Itachi's story other than that he killed his whole clan because he "wanted to test his strength". Especially because he always tried to avoid a fight with Konoha shinobis and definitely didn't seem keen on killing them. But that Itachi sacrificed everything except Sasuke for the village -- that was a punch.

Luffy fights Arlong for Nami (One Piece)

Everything came together in that moment. I knew from the moment Nami couldn't let Zoro drown that something was up and when Arlong showed her that he will never ever let her or her village go, her desperation and fragility accumulated into pure epicness: asking Luffy to help her, Luffy trusting her with his hat and the boys just ready to beat the shit out of Arlong and his crew.

Theoden's speech at the Pelennor Fields (Return of the King)

Goosebumps. Every single time. The words. The music. Everything that leads up to it was pure desperation and then the riders arrive and god damn it. They came. They showed up to fight against the evils of Mordor. I was 13 when I saw this scene for the first time and I wanted to ride with them into battle.

Mufasa's ghost (The Lion King)

Mufasa's death must be something that has been ingrained into every millenials DNA. Just thinking about this scene, the music, Mufasa's desperation to save his son, his face when Scar betrays him, Simba's fear and sadness when he discovers that his father is dead ... it's a tragedy that speaks to one of our deepest fears: the loss of a parent or a loved one. And then ... he comes back to guide Simba, to remind him of his responsibility. It hits home.

Jon Snow's resurrection (Game of Thrones)

Jon was easily one of my favourite characters of the show. When he was killed I didn't want to accept it. It just wasn't possible that this was the end. This was all it amounted to: dead, because he did the right thing. Just like Ned and Robb. So when he was brought back to life I felt alive, too. It gave me hope that after all this something good would come out of it ... but yeah, then season 7 and 8 happened.

Vader saves Luke from the Emperor (The Return of the Jedi)

Another moment that just touched something within me. Luke's love for his father made him turn back to the light side. I've known Star Wars since I can remember but it still makes me cheer. It restores hope.

Morgain brings Arthur to Avalon (The Mists of Avalon)

I always felt that Arthur and Morgain were meant to be, but destiny made them half siblings. And when after all their hardships and years of separation, even after Morgain tried to dethrone Arthur and after he killed Mordred, she still seeked him out, only to find him mortally wounded from the battle -- and Arthur accepted her, was glad to see her one last time and asked her to bring him to Avalon. I felt the tragedy and sadness of their story. I also always felt that Arthur truly loved Morgain but knew that it could never be. So her kidness at the end, promising him, that she wasn't going to leave again, was at least some closure for me.

Harry learns the real truth about Sirius (The Prisoner of Azkaban)

This twist, that Sirius wasn't the one who betrayed Liliy and James, was such a surprise. But what sold the moment for me was the relief Harry felt when after years of abuse and neglect by the Dursleys, he would be able to live with Sirius. I loved that moment. It was so easy to imagine how happy Harry must have felt in that moment.

[beyonddarkness]

Hello. As a watcher of a few drama series as well as a reader, I like how you noticed Easter eggs from season 1. Me personally, I follow character development as well as Easter eggs. (Not saying you don't.) For example, following Disa's development in season 1, one can conclude that she is a character who will fall under Sauron's influence going forward, which also, reinforces lore regarding the dwarves and hoarding. Interesting how the showrunners reinforce that she will get corrupted.

I want to add that if I go by Easter eggs alone and ignore character development, Bronwyn will be under his influence, as celebrimbor and Galadriel were, and Ar-Pharazon. However, since they will all know who he is this season, based on her character development, and not just Easter eggs, when she learns who he is, I see her leading a faction against him. Also she isn't in the lore so I wonder how much she will be a focus going forward, whereas Disa might be more likely effected.

I agree! And you bring up a very interesting topic.

I love how we can predict each character's story arc and development. The potential (and assured) tragedies and triumphs make for an enriching analytical experience. It often saddens me that not all of the characters we love will have happy endings. For example, you have beloved characters like Isildur, who dies tragically, being ensnared by the Ring. We know how vulnerable Eärien is to certain influences, so her looking into the Palantir in episode 8 does not bode well, considering Sauron can communicate through Palantiri. Theo also has an extremely dismal path ahead of him.

The Stranger is a little less predictable, and we might think it's obvious that he'll end up being good (he probably will), but there are a few indications in interviews that it's not set in stone yet, despite him saying, "I am good."

So, in Season 1 alone, every character has a pretty solid foundation from which we can predict the direction of their development, and it's really fun to talk about. You brought up Bronwyn and Disa, so let's talk a bit about them.

-------------------------------

Finrod's metaphor is the template we can use to determine the ending of an arc.

"Do you know why a ship floats, and a stone cannot? Because the stone sees only downward. The darkness of the water is vast and irresistible. The ship feels the darkness, as well, striving moment by moment to master her and pull her under. But the ship has a secret. For, unlike the stone, her gaze is not downward, but up, fixed upon the light that guides her, whispering of grander things than Darkness ever knew." (TROP: A Shadow of the Past)

This was used even for Gollum, whose ending was nigh certain from the beginning, although he was technically redeemable.

"He was interested in roots and beginnings; he dived into deep pools; he burrowed under trees and growing plants; he tunnelled into green mounds; and he ceased to look up at the hill-tops, or the leaves of trees, or the flowers opening in the air: his head and his eyes were downward." (FOTR: The Shadow of the Past)

-------------------------------

DISA

There's a lot here. I agree that she will be deceived by Sauron. I love her, but she is walking a very tight rope.

It is difficult to drive the point home without talking extensively about mithril, but I am in the middle of explaining all of the mithril stuff on my blog, so my thinking will be exposed soon.

Sauron can plant certain words in the mind, so that the speakers believe it came from their own thoughts. For example, Isildur, Gollum, and Bilbo independently describe the One Ring as being "Precious." Celebrimbor talks about "the key that unlocked the dam," "power over flesh," and a "power of the unseen world," without knowing that those are Sauron's words. Then, he continues to use words that Sauron has used before (as he fidgets with the mithril).

(1x08): Galadriel: "Those words. 'Power over flesh.' Where did you hear them?" Celebrimbor: "I... I was conferring with my smiths, I think. I... No, I believe those are my words." G: "Was Halbrand with you?" C: "What's it matter? It's over."

(1x02): Galadriel: "Your home. Where was it?" Sauron: "What's it matter? It's ashes now."

So, when Elrond turns to Disa and says...

"Go towards goodness."

...we are left with a very important question:

Will she?

Depends. Is her gaze up or down? Is she whispering the same things that Darkness whispers, or is she "whispering of grander things than Darkness ever knew?"

In episode 7, her true motivations are brought to light. She's not evil, but she is treading some dangerous territory. After Dúrin says that he failed Elrond, and it's his fault that the Elves must flee, Disa gives a very unnerving monologue:

"No. No, it isn't. [...] It's your father's. He's grown too old, too suspicious, his mind too feeble, his eyes too dim to see that no matter how many crests he hurls to the floor, one day this will be your kingdom—Dúrin IV's. Not your brother's. Not some other Dwarf-lord's. Yours. And mine. And together, we will rule this mountain and all others before our time is done."

Pause.

Now, I don't know about you, but that just raises a ton of exclamation points in my head. Do the highlighted words sound familiar?

"Against your enemy. And mine." "Together, we can save this Middle-earth." ["Save, or rule?"]

Disa is so intent on gathering mithril, that she doesn't recognize the nature of what she's saying.

She seems to genuinely care about Elrond, and the idea that he and his people will become extinct if they don't leave Middle-earth is probably distressing, especially since the Dwarves have a supposed means of saving them, and Dúrin III isn't helping.

However.

In retrospect, the apparent dependency the Elves have on mithril seems almost like an excuse for her.

Disa: "Lice-bearded, uncaring, old fool!" Dúrin: "What if he's right?" Disa: "You're not thinking of letting this happen!" Dúrin: "What choice do we have?" Disa: "You said the other Dwarf-lords were open to the proposal. If we reopen the mine ourselves, prove to them there's a safe way to gather mithril, perhaps they'd make him listen. Perhaps we could force your father's hand" (1x07).

She never mentions Elrond, or the Elves.

Also, who really likes to use Force?

"But he ruled rather by force and fear, if they might avail" (The Silmarillion: Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age).

"Supposing that's the trouble. Supposing we've been using too much force" (1x08).

But what connection could she possibly have to mithril? Why does she want it so badly?

She was the first one to find it. In episode 4, Dúrin tells Elrond, "Disa detected it during a routine gold-seaming."

The remainder of her monologue is the most revealing.

"That mithril belongs to us—to you and me. And together, one day, we are going to dig."

Keep in mind that Elrond has just been cast out of Khazad-dûm, and Dúrin and Disa believe there is no stopping the Elves from leaving Middle-earth. The only race they are concerned about now is the Dwarves. Yet, Disa is still set on obtaining mithril, and she no longer has the excuse that it's to save the entire Elven race. She emphasizes "to you and me," as if to say, "Forget the Elves. Now, it's ours."

All of this sets Disa up to be extremely vulnerable to Sauron's intriguing suggestions, if/when he comes to Khazad-dûm. I think we can compare her to Celebrimbor in a lot of ways. She's a smith, like Celebrimbor (and Sauron), and wants to make the Dwarven people prosper. But excessive ambition can lead to pride, and...

"Humility has saved entire kingdoms the proud have all but led to ruin" (Galadriel, 1x06).

-------------------------------

BRONWYN

We can end on a happy note.

Like Disa, Bronwyn can also be compared to Celebrimbor in some ways. Celebrimbor is an artificer, who wants to bring beauty to Middle-earth, and Bronwyn is a healer (which is what Sauron claims he wants to be). However, she is much more humble, with little ambition but for the welfare of her son and neighbors. She also has Arondir to help her in moments of despair, like in episode 5.

This season, she seemed to be very defensive of Halbrand, understandably so. Leading the Men of the Southlands was "a burden [she] never sought to take up," so having the Promised King finally appear was a tremendous relief. She did everything she could to heal his wound in episode 7 and asked Galadriel what to do with him when it continued to fester. She did not hesitate to gather provisions for the ride to Eregion, and was the first to say, "Strength to the King."

But despite her fidelity to Sauron's kingly guise, I think we can be assured that she will perceive the peril sooner or later. Let's repeat the same question as before:

Will she go towards goodness?

Depends. Is her gaze up or down? Is she whispering the same things that Darkness whispers, or is she "whispering of grander things than Darkness ever knew?"

Answer:

Theo: "Do you remember when I was little, when I used to have bad dreams?" Bronwyn: "I remember." Theo: "Do you remember what you used to say, when you would hold me in the dark?" Bronwyn: [nods] Theo: "Would you say it to me, now?" Bronwyn: "In the end, this shadow is but a small and passing thing. There is light and high beauty, forever beyond its reach. Find the light, and the shadow will not find you" (1x06).

By the time everyone knows who Sauron is (after the One Ring is forged), I can picture a dynamic like the one in Númenor between the Faithful and the Kingsmen. Bronwyn and Arondir's standing might be similar to Míriel and Elendil's. Judging by this scary piece of foreshadowing, Sauron will probably try to seduce Bronwyn in some manner. Charlie knew what he was doing when he made this face:

(note Arondir and Galadriel looming in the background lol)

Arondir would obviously NOT be too happy about that, and in episode 7, we can already see many hints of his distrust. Considering that Sauron injured himself with a wound that needed Elvish medicine (which probably required some sorcery), I wonder if Arondir witnessed something. (I can make another post on this, later.)

In any case, I don't think Bronwyn will be 'conquered.'

The lyrics of Plea to the Rocks solidly point towards where her arc is going.

Amanya fírië, alcarinquë-anyalie Nolwa mahtar Koivierya queluva rië aurenna quel-kala Laure Envinyataina Órerya siluva elerrína Kardalyaron minty-oialë Blessed death, glorious memory Brave soldier Her life will fade only upon the day light fades Golden light Renewed, her heart will shine, crowned with stars Deed of your people, remembered forever

Her death will probably be like Morwen's (Túrin's mother), in The Silmarillion:

"But Morwen said: 'Almost. I am spent. I shall go with the sun. [...]' But Húrin did not answer, and they sat beside the stone, and did not speak again; and when the sun went down Morwen sighed and clasped his hand, and was still; and Húrin knew that she had died. He looked down at her in the twilight and it seemed to him that the lines of grief and cruel hardship were smoothed away. 'She was not conquered,' he said; and he closed her eyes, and sat unmoving beside her as the night drew down" (Of the Ruin of Doriath).

[mask131]

Fantasy read-list: B-1.5

Next in our series of articles detailing fantasy works, is one from André-François Ruaud, covering Shakespeare, his work, and his work’s great influence over the fantasy genre. Given I already talked about Shakespeare’s work proper in my main post, here I will detail the list of work influenced by or shaped thanks to Shakespeare in the fantasy world.

# We will begin with one of the most straightforward and oldest Shakespeare retellings there are: Tales from Shakespeare, by the Lamb couple (Charles and Mary). This book was actually a retelling of Shakespeare’s plays, aimed at young children (for example it removed all sexual references, omitted many subplots, removed some plays deemed too historical for kids to understand), and a massive success, still in print today. Even though today’s kids find this book a bit hard to read… Because it was written in the beginning of the 19th century, and does an effort to keep as much of Shakespeare’s quite outdated language, in an effort of faithfulness.

# Rudyard Kipling’s Puck of Pook’s Hill. In this collection of short stories, Puck (from A Midsummer Night’s Dream) summons different characters from various parts of English history so they can tell their fantastical tales to two children…

# Caliban’s Hour, by Tad Williams. 20 years after the events of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, Miranda is imprisoned by a vengeful Caliban who wishes to kill her… but not before she hears the story of his life, the reason of his wrath, the truth behind his curse, and his true relationships to the sorcerers Prospero and Sycorax, putting the events of “The Tempest” under a new light.

# Not a book, but a movie this time: Prospero’s Book by Peter Greenaway. An avant-garde and very stylistic retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest as a complex story where Prospero preparing his revenge and Shakespeare preparing his play become one and the same…

# Elizabeth Willey’s A Sorcerer and a Gentleman, a fantasy novel about various fictional countries being threatened by a possible open-war, resulting of the centuries-old conflict between Avril, “usurper emperor”, and his sorcerous brother, Prospero.

# Roger Zelazny’s major fantasy series, The Chronicles of Amber, heavily reference the plays of Shakespeare, borrowing names, places and sentences from the playwright’s work (Oberon, “To sleep, perchance to dream…”, the forest of Arden, “Ill-met by moonlight”, Osric, “Good night, sweet Prince”…). Ruaud also mentions in his article Zelzany’s work “A Night in the Lonesome October”, even though to my knowledge there is no actual overtly Shakespearian theme in it? (I guess it might be a mistake due to the French title having been translated as “A Mid-october night’s dream”.

# Ruaud doesn’t talk about Macbeth’s influence over Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings (despite it being very famous – the defeat of the Witch-King and the march of the Ents both being influenced by Shakespeare’s tragedy), but he mentions how Gollum can remind one of Caliban, while Prospero was a model for the “archetypal wizard” of which Gandalf and Saruman are two prominent examples. [Personal note: From what I gathered, despite Tolkien referencing Shakespeare, he did not like his works at all, in fact most of the time Tolkien referenced Shakespeare not out of an “homage” but to “correct” what he felt was poorly used - as with how the march of the Ents is meant for Tolkien to get over his disappointment at Macbeth’s not having actual trees walking).

# Ruaud also mentions among the example of “archetypal wizards” inherited from Prospero, Belgarath, the main sorcerer of The Belgariad by the Eddings couple. From the Belgariad universe, Ruaud points out that the character of Silk is actually part of a tradition in fantasy of the “clownish member of the hero’s party”, that can date back to Touchstone from As you like it. 

# Ruaud suggests that the character of Ariel from The Tempest was an inspiration for Neil Gaiman’s Islington in Neverwhere (I cannot check this, because I know barely anything about Neverwhere, though I do plan on reading it one day).

# Ruaud, of course, also mentions Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters, a fantastical and hilarious parody of Shakespeare’s Macbeth (and additional plays) inside the humoristic fantasy universe of the Discworld series. I will personally add another book, which is actually the second sequel to Wyrd Sisters (between it and this one, there is Witches Abroad, which is a fairytale parody) – Lords and Ladies, a darkly funny deconstruction of both Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Tolkien’s elves, inspired by traditional British fairy folklore (and which went on to influence the view of what people call “the true fae”).

# S.P. Somtow’s Riverrun Trilogy. I have to admit I forgot why Ruaud mentioned it among the Shakespearian influenced work – I didn’t take my notes when reading the article. But it is in the list, so…

# Ruaud claims that the archetype of the “fantasy inn”, actually comes from Shakespeare. The Prancing Pony from The Lord of the Rings, The Silver Eel from Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Pratchett’s The Broken (then Mended) Drum from Discworld, the inn from Beagle’s The Innkeeper’s Song… According to Ruaud all those fantasy inns are inheriting from the inn in which most of Shakespeare’s Henry V takes place. Ruaud also mentions two authors that both deconstruct the “fantasy inn” archetype: Neil Gaiman, with the Sandman’s arc Worlds’s End (see below), and before him Poul Anderson with his Shakespeare-rewriting novel A Midsummer Tempest.

# While appearing on the list of the works deconstructing the “fantasy inn” archetype, Anderson’s A Midsummer Tempest deserves its own place in the list, being a fantasy novel where all of the events of Shakespeare’s play happened simultaneously, during the era of Cromwell and Charles I – A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest unfolding simultaneously between the English Civil War and the Industrial Revolution.

# Sarah A. Hoyt’s Ill-Met by Moonlight. A fantasy story retelling William Shakespeare’s life under the influence of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Young William Shakespeare discovers his wife and daughter were taken away by elves in their fairyland, and to get them back he will have to deal himself with the descendants of the legendary fairy rulers Oberon and Titania.

# Not a book, but a literary and highly praised comic that can be read as a book – the famous Sandman series by fantasy author Neil Gaiman. The comic was heavily influenced by Shakespeare’s plays, and actively references them several times. The issue “Men of Good Fortune” has the main character, the titular Sandman, lord of dreams, sleep and nightmares, meet a young William Shakespeare and make a deal with him to provide the playwright inspiration… This sets up the next Shakespearian issue, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, an homage, deconstruction, meta-retelling of Shakespeare’s play. And to conclude it all – “The Tempest”, the very last issue of the series, which invites the reader to take a second look at the final arcs of the story under the light of Shakespeare’s play.

# To conclude this long list, let’s have one French name around here. Fabrice Colin’s work, “Or not to be”. A Shakespeare-obsessed amnesiac young man is released from a mental institution after his mother forced him there due to a suicide attempt. Attempting to rediscover and puzzle back his past, he goes on a visit of England, tracking down William Shakespeare’s own life path, through a narration oscillating between pure imagination and schizophrenic madness… Until he stumbles upon a mysterious village he saw many times in his dreams and that does not appear on any map: Fayrwood, whose surroundings seem haunted by Pan himself…