#JOURNEY TO MT. DOOM

[ohnogovno]

rings of power season 2 light spoilers. x reader fic ideas for the second season of rings of power, these are more concepts than fully fleshed out ideas, please feel free to use!

celebrimbor: you traveled with galadriel and halbrand in S1, you arrive at Eregion injured, celebrimbor is a good friend and is mortified to see you so injured, helps take care of you as the elvish rings are made (and after). also anything with fluff or him being affectionate. maybe you resided in Eregion for a long time before your travels with galadriel and celebrimbor was worried that he had missed his shot with you.

annatar: met you as halbrand, jealous of your closeness to celebrimbor in Eregion, tries to get your attention, maybe tells you stories of Valinor/ the Valar, etc. maybe when he “reveals himself” to you and celebrimbor he heals your wounds to even further prove he is who he says he is.

sauron: MORE YES HELLO, you were a fellow maiar who accompanied sauron on his journey with melkor/morgoth and escaped adar just in time to not be “killed” as sauron was long ago. you saw the light shoot into the sky and felt the ice grip the land, and you ran, knowing the uruk would be coming for you next (having at least equal blame for the uruks’ suffering). you ran across middle earth, moving from town to town before adars forces could find you. you end up in the final town that adar plunders before the numenorian forces arrive and you are reunited with your “king of the southlands”. halbrand thought adar had killed you long ago but this was a pleasant surprise, his queen was with him again. he takes you to eregion with galadriel and eventually reveals himself to celebrimbor, while you reveal yourself as another heavenly visitor.

adar: you were one of the first age elves taken by morgoth/melkor, before you were fully corrupted by morgoth or sauron, adar lets you go (or can’t bring himself to stop you from escaping). you spend time in lindon recovering, eventually travel with galadriel to help her look for sauron (while you look for adar). you reunite in the southlands before Mt. Doom erupts, he keeps you close to him in Mordor.

elrond: you and elrond were not so easily convinced to whole heartedly support the wearing of the elvish rings. he goes to you for comfort (when he was on the run or when he was back in Gil Galad’s trust). maybe he’s in Eregion when you come back injured from Mordor with halbrand and galadriel and he stays with you as you heal. maybe halbrand starts showing too much interest in you while in Eregion and elrond doesn’t like it one bit.

gil galad: (lord is this man tall, and all the close up’s on his hands are doing me no good) literally anything for gil galad. please.

nsfw ideas: you’ve taking a walk in the outskirts of the forest with one of the elves, you stumble upon a flower (s*x pollen).

[mayo-advance]

This has probably already been said, but they should do Dracula Daily but with Lord of the Rings. Email me on the day Frodo & Co go into the forest. Email me on the day Gandalf falls. Email me when the ring is dropped into Mt Doom. I just want a real time experience of how long this journey takes.

[herbirdglitter]

A fanfic concept: crack treated seriously, could be gigolas, but could not be

through a series of unfortunate events, Gimli and Legolas end up being the ones who have to take the ring to Mordor.

They saw what happened to Boromir, they don’t want to fall under the power of the ring, so working under the theory that if neither of them have the ring long enough to for it to take hold of them, they spend the entire journey tossing it back and forth to each other like they’re playing a game of catch.

They each develop very strong arm muscles whilst being steadily influenced by the close proximity of the ring. Other than that it kind of works.

They reach Mt Doom and as they chuck it back and forth, one is distracted by the other’s beauty (doesn’t lava create the prettiest lighting) and misses their catch. The ring goes over and middle earth is saved.

The two ring-bearers depart from middle earth in their canonical way

[voidsentprinces]

...its now been 5 years since Steven Universe ended, 5 since Supernatural ended. 7 since Adventure time, 9 since Gravity Falls and BBC's Sherlock, 11 since Korra ended, 17 since Aang's journey ended, 20 years since the Final Fantasy VII PS3 Tech Demo, and 22 since Frodo and Sam made it to Mt. Doom.

[valar-did-me-wrong]

So this convo by @mai-komagata & @illegalcerebral about how JCB could also be a Harfoot, made me pause & think about the probability of it happening. Which then lead me to look up on the history of Hobbits a little & I think I've got a Tinfoil Hat Theory for the Harfoot & Gandalf storylines in Season 3!

Imo we're gonna meet the Fallohide hobbits & Gandalf is going to visit Greenwood in S3!!

(I know atleast 10 other people have already speculated about Gandalf in Greenwood for S3, this is just my own tin foil hat attempt at the same!! So let's goooooooo 🫣)

So according to the lore, there were 3 tribes of Hobbits & by S2 we've met two of them the Stoors & the Harfoots..

Now the show seems to have given a lot of lore Harfoot traits, like burrow digging to the Stoors of the show for some reason.. maybe as a way to make Harfoots a migrating community & use it as a call back to the Wandering Days of hobbit history from the lore since season 1..

And seeing as neither the Stoors nor the Harfoots in the show seem to have facial hair or an adventurous side as a whole community, I think these are the traits they're planning to give the Fallohides who we might meet this season!

Maybe on the journey back towards the Harfoots, the Stoors & our girls (Noppy & Co) for some reason will meet the Fallohides?!?

Now what I could gleam from the maps in the show, the lore & the path of Harfoot migration according to this Nerdist article, the position of most major players by the end of S2 seems to be this:

N is where Noppy & Co are leaving from (seeing as there were no rivers or water sources all through Gandalf + Noppy's journey in S2) also the Dark Wizard is also somewhere here

H is where the Harfoots migrate about usually

And T is where Theo & Kemen are in S2E8 along with U which is Adar's Uruk colony in Mordor (now orphaned :c)

C is Cirdan in Lindon or Grey Havens, wherever you want him to be & E is where all our elves are after leaving Eregion (RIP)

Sau is where Sauron is supposed to be wreaking havoc rn

I am guessing, Noppy & co will follow the Migration song & trace their steps back to Rhovanion & then follow the migration trail to try & reach the Harfoots.

Now with all the Numenorian deforestation, Mt. Doom eruption & Uruk spread near Mordor, it would mean the Harfoots probably won't be able to survive in this area anymore, so they must go West or North now.

So probably following the migration trail will be fruitless for Noppy & co now and atp maybe they might find some sign or clue left behind by the Harfoots for them, to hint where they must be going.

This can be a pretty nice point to introduce Noppy & co. to the community of Fallohides & explore them a little like they did with the Stoors in S2.. maybe somewhere on the banks of Anduin, seeing as Anduin & it's river valley is mentioned by name in hobbit history often

Now seeing as Noppy & Co are going to travel west from Rhun, Gandalf probably won't follow the same path (after that emotional goodbye, unless they wanna throw a Poppy reappearance at us again) so Gandalf probably is going to go North West towards Greenwood & bring Oropher & Thranduil into the show!

:D

*gently removes the tinfoil hat & bows*

[isolarya]

blame my sleep deprivation fuelled brain for this

so what if I did that epic the musical + hermitcraft life series thing but like I added lotr au to it because why not at this point

because its epic and not iliad and odyssey it either starts right before or a little after grian (frodo and odysseus apparently) drops the one ring (the sacred mending book and also an infant) into mt hels (mt doom/troy)

the main story is basically “what if I made the last couple of chapters in return of the king into a years-long journey that was arguably more difficult than the quest itself (because I care not for canon) and bullied the characters relentlessly odyssey style”

yes everyone dies because epic the musical do you know me to write happy endings /j (ironically most of my posted works are fluff atm)

no I have no concept for any characters except grian who is only there because idk how to write other characters

also because I'm me I've named half the places in lotr with hermitcraft and hermitcract adjacent references anyways so who knows maybe knowing the canon isn't even going to be necessary

will I actually write this? idk it's turning out to be strangely comedic which is not what I expected but worse comes to worse I'll just kill lotr au from this

okay sorry for whatever this weirdly long post is, its 3am I am absolutely not thinking straight

[merlions]

This is specifically re: journeys which are undertaken by a physical body outside of a vehicle - obviously in Left Hand of Darkness they were using sleds, etc, but in all of these they weren't traveling by enclosed powered vehicle like car or space craft, and their physical bodies were very much involved in the travel, as well as the danger of the slow degeneration of flesh and mind by the journey (the main danger not being like a spaceship blowing up or being shot at).

Sorry I couldn't type out Ursula K. Le Guin's full name due to the character limit :/

The origin of this was just me going like "which isnt a lot but it's weird it happened 5 times!" meme, but then was like actually that maybe IS a lot, and then considered: Damn. The unstaunchable yearning one experiences for the raw primal psychosexual bonds built between travelers who are trapped together (or trapped with the memory of a recently deceased loved one, or both) in deadly, miserable, relentless forward motion by circumstance....but are the harsh environment and profound changes to self worth it?? Slash GREAT litmus test for that whole "you say you like summer better but do you actually, or are you just upset it's winter" debate, with side flavors of Dry VS Humid, Volcano And Big Spider and, of course, Very Very Loud

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Getting back to Marmion! Some bits of context for the last few days’ posts.

A palmer was sort of a continual pilgrim, who spent a period of time travelling to holy sights and praying. The greatest holy sight of all was Jerusalem, where the palmer in the poem has in fact been, along with a huge list of other holy sights, from Mt. Ararat where Noah’s Arc reputedly came to rest after the Flood, to Mt. Sinai, to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and in England Durham and Canterbury among others.

I think (I am not sure) palmer paid for their travels in part by donations from pious people, who might want the palmer to pray for them at some shrine. Marmion himself expresses a more lighthearted picture of palmers in general -

I love such holy ramblers; still

They know to charm a weary hill,

With song, romance, or lay:

Some jovial tale, or glee, or jest,

Some lying legend, at the least,

They bring to cheer the way.”

- and that may not be unrealistic for a category of people that could have included the medieval equivalent of a tourist with a GoFundMe. But this palmer is not of that kind - he’s haggard and gloomy, and kind of disturbing with his nighttime mutterings. But Marmion chooses to accept him as a guide all the same, and the next morning the whole group departs.

The first canto (The Castle) ended, we switch scenes and characters for the second (The Convent), to a boat travelling north, up the eastern coast of England, from Whitby to the island of Lindisfarne (also called St. Cuthbert’s Isle) with a group of nuns aboard. Now, where has Lindisfarne been mentioned in the previous canto? In the bit about Marmion’s former page:

That boy thou thought’st so goodly fair,

He might not brook the Northern air.

More of his fate if thou wouldst learn,

I left him sick in Lindisfarne:

The voyage is both a little scary and exciting for the nuns, who don’t get out much. Many of the castles the pass, like Warkworth and Dunstanburgh and Bamburgh, are ones you can still see on the Northumberland coast today.

But two of the group in particular are not having fun: the abbess (chief nun), who is not named, and the novice (i.e., has not yet taken vows and become a nun) Clare. Clare joined the convent recently after the loss of the man she loved, and in order to escape an unwelcome suitor who is trying to marry her in order to get at her property.

She was betrothed to one now dead,

Or worse, who had dishonoured fled.

Her kinsmen bade her give her hand

To one who loved her for her land;

Herself, almost heart-broken now,

Was bent to take the vestal vow,

And shroud, within Saint Hilda’s gloom,

Her blasted hopes and withered bloom.

On top of these griefs, there’s been an attempt to murder her, and the people who attempted it are now prisoners in Lindisfarne awaiting trial:

And jealousy, by dark intrigue,

With sordid avarice in league,

Had practised with their bowl and knife

Against the mourner’s harmless life.

This crime was charged ’gainst those who lay

Prisoned in Cuthbert’s islet grey.

Moving back a bit to yesterday’s entry, this is why the abbess of Whitby is going on this journey: to sit in judgement on these attempted murderers.

Sad was this voyage to the dame;

Summoned to Lindisfarne, she came,

There, with Saint Cuthbert’s Abbot old,

And Tynemouth’s Prioress, to hold

A chapter of Saint Benedict,

For inquisition stern and strict,

On two apostates from the faith,

And, if need were, to doom to death.

Lindisfarne is a tidal island: at low tide it is a peninsula that can be reached from the mainland across mudflats, but at high tide it is an island.

The tide did now its floodmark gain,

And girdled in the saint’s domain:

For, with the flow and ebb, its style

Varies from continent to isle;

As the ship reaches Lindisfarne, the nuns of Whitby on the ship sing a hymn, and the nons and monks of Lindisfarne sing one in return.

[the-sky-queen]

So I came up with something positively evil for Sonic and the Lord of the Rings.

On Weathertop during the Nazgûl attack, Sonic gets stabbed by the Witch King, but in the leg instead of the shoulder like Frodo. The wound is healed as much as it can be in Rivendell, but it continues to affect Sonic. For the rest of journey to Mordor, Sonic has to use a walking stick/crutch. Can you imagine? Fastest thing in the Shire now struggles to walk.

The pain in Sonic’s leg is bearable, but it flares up whenever a Ringwraith is nearby and it gets worse the closer they get to Mordor. Puts a whole new perspective on why Sonic can't walk by the time they're at Mt. Doom.

Once the Ring is destroyed, the whole thing becomes manageable again. Sonic only needs to use a cane sometimes, but he can't run nearly as fast as he used to. And the pain always returns on the anniversary of Weathertop.

[kariachi]

Sorry still on shit. Given The One Ring-

Kevin wouldn't make it to Rivendell. Too many crevices and cracks for the Ring to sink itself into, he wouldn't last

Ben and Max would not make it to Mordor. The Ring would take full advantage of Ben's burning need to help people, and while Max doesn't have that same bonedeep drive there's plenty of other fault-lines in him it could seep into, like the one the Validuses fell in

Gwen would get further, I think, she might make it to Mordor, but not to Mt Doom. Same as her cousin, though to a lesser extent, that need to help would be a wonderful start point for the Ring

Rook I think would make it to Mordor, but I don't know that he would be able to reach Mt Doom, or throw the Ring in the fire if he did. He might, but I think it's more likely if he did get that far that he would succumb at the end of the journey

[lamaison]

It’s sunny today, which means I can’t play P5 until sunset because it’s too hard to see the screen/dark environments and I don’t have solid shades on the windows behind the tv. So I’ve been watching tv and I just made lunch. I’m going to let it settle for a bit before I try walking on the treadmill again.

I figured out that I can manually add my distance walked to the Apple health app, which syncs with an app called Fantasy Hike. It tracks your distance walked with Frodo’s journey from the Shire to Mt Doom. I thought it would be a fun way to track my exercise.

[stardust-in-my-mind-blog]

libraries and officers

I told my son today that I was

basically sending out emails to people

asking them to like me enough to give me money

and I told him this meant that I might be

just a little bit emotional because even though

I don't really care about what strangers think of me

sometimes being rejected still hurts my feelings

and I told him it might mean I cry sometimes

during this process and I might need him to

tell me a little more that he loves me

and I'm the best mom ever just for now

but that it won't be forever

and he said maybe I'd get lucky

and get the first job I applied for

and I told him that was a great thought

and I'd keep it in mind but I'm ready

to feel whatever I feel and go a little crazy

but the crazy won't last forever

and sometimes a bitch has to be crazy

so we got ourselves some expectations

and if I am unpredictable he's not going to worry

he's knows I tell a pretty reliable story

thought he did show up as a police officer today

and it was so cute watching him get into

the uniform that is actually very intricate

and well made and I love that he's still into that

even at seven and he's wearing half of it

to the library because some of the parts

and that heavy jacket aren't appropriate there

it came with this siren that I told him honestly

that I don't at all think he'd be able to resist

not playing or showing the first kid he sees

and he agreed with me and reluctantly put it away

I didn't have it in me to face any rejection

when I was figuring out social situations

and grieving the loss of the life I knew

and why I wanted and missing parts

and not missing parts and being mad

but I did manage to build up a fragile

sort of sanity and now it's time to

radically destroy that with a new journey

that my poor nervous system or ego

or subconscious of even post broken heart

believes is essentially the quest of mt. doom

even if it's logically not my experience is very different

but we got this and I got this and all

ten thousand angels better figure out how to get this

because if I'm going to be limitless

I need to step into that energy of getting it

and business is actually way less complicated

than all this personal shit I've been shifting through

or at least I'm going to keep telling myself that

but I have some old messes to clean up

and we've had the rest and repair

but it's time to join the professional realms

whatever the fuck that means to me

who is me now and also me then

but first it's time to go

to the enchanted forest

with my son and get all kinds of things

to read tonight since we live

right by the library

you always find what

you need there

[chelwongaudio]

I have dental through Mass health

I USED to have delta dental, but only for a short time. Not since 5 years ago.

Chapter 1: The Problem

I went to the dentist. Somehow no cavities despite tooth pain.

Dentist contacts me later saying MA health won't pay them because Delta Dental is listed as my primary provider. I tell them I had this problem with a previous dentist too. I somehow resolved that I THINK. I remember it being a pain but I can't remember how I resolved it. Also I left that dentist because he was weird. Needless to say though I had to get my new dentist paid though.

Chapter 2: Herculean Trials

Whenever I do phone calls like these, I do it lying in bed because it is one of my most taxing tasks. I call Masshealth which has notoriously long hold times. After about 20 minutes of tinny hold music that poorly loops with intermittent automated voice messages of what I can do with my insurance, I get through. I say hey please pay my dentist, I do not have Delta Dental!

Customer service rep tries to process something. I believe it to be resolved and go about my day.

Sometime later, my dentist reaches out again, very politely, we still can't get paid. Hmm.

I call again after an even longer holdtime asking about it but apparently they cannot fix this from their end. They asked if I had called my provider which I hadn't yet, so regrettably I hang up and call my provider.

I call The Provider Company, who is my health insurance. This was an expectedly unfruitful call because they don't provide my dental. After a short hold time with different worse music, I get the expected nothing.

I go BACK to Masshealth and back in hold purgatory. 30 minutes later of the same 20 second loop-that-does-not-loop I explain to the new rep what happened.

I am transferred to the dental department which is a wasteland. There's different music that is slightly better because it loops better kind of. I ask them to fix it. For some reason dental has no ability to mark who is listed as my providers. The main branch should though. Before I can say anything I am sent BACK to the Shadowrealm (main branch customer service hold) I literally gasp "wait no don't!" but it is too late. I am back in limbo.

I feel my soul shriveling. I'm in bed, slightly sweaty and uncomfortable. I feel weak. Lost. Like I've been riding an empty subway to nowhere, taking transfers that sends me in circles.

About 30 more minutes pass by before another rep receives me. I tell them what just happened and that the dental branch can't do anything. This rep redirects me to a 3rd branch of which I cannot recall the name for my brain has been desolved to mushrot. Back to hold. A new song. A short transfer. I am put in contact with a new representative. This branch CAN resolve this problem. However to do so they need documentation of termination from my other Delta Dental. I'm reached the gate of my destination but I lack the key. My quest continues as I lie in a wasteland not unlike Frodo at the foot of Mt. Doom, too weary to carry on. But I am companionless in this journey. I've been on the phone for approximately 2.5 hours. I put my phone down for I am too tired to carry on for now.

Chapter 3: A Failed Fetch Quest

Another day when I am less worn down by the wait of the world and poorly looping jazz music, I muster the time and strength to Be An Adult and call Delta Dental. The hold time is minimal. The music is forgettable, which beats Actively Bad. My customer service representative is friendly and capable. It's looking doable. She looks into my file on call. Unfortunately it too was beyond her power. Because I was registered through Mass Health Connector, Delta Dental who was my insurance, somehow does not have documentation of when my coverage was severed. My rep apologizes. She feels my agony as I am thrusted back into the pits. I wail like Jesse Pinkman screaming "he can't keep getting away with this!" But my foe is not an evil which can be killed. It is worse.

Chapter 4: A New Hope

Because life is busy and I am disabled, I had to take time away from this singular problem. I had more pressing issues, such as moving. Today I receive a text from my dentist saying I have to reschedule because my appointment is too close to July 4th I suppose. As if the stars had aligned, I also had in my to do today to call Mass Health Connector, as well as Progressive, and Disabilities benefits provider. There is virtually no hold time. My customer service rep even asked my pronouns!! Very good start.

After 26 minutes with 4 holds it seems I will be sent a Physical Letter (key item) in the mail which should arrive in 7-10 business days. Could the end be in sight?

Now I gotta see why my car insurance is getting jacked up post move.

[kormacleod]

A short story I wrote a number of years ago!

I sit herein this merry tavern flagon of ale in my hand and a plate of salted pork on my table.

but I have not a care for any of it. I sit as if I am a dull wit slack jawed and dreamy eyed.

My mind wrought with restlessness. A kings man I may be and a sword and hammer do I swing in his name.

but as of late I find my heart only half in my art. every fall of my hammer upon steel and every swing of my sword

is lackluster. for even in my wakefull dreams I see her. firey hair like the coals of a well stoked forge.

eyes that shine like the setting sun. And a smile that brightens a room like a just opened chest full of gold.

never before have I been so bewitched. and to top it off its a dwarf that has stolen my heart and now hordes it away

like a ingot begotten of the mines of moria. be damned this merriement all around me it makes my thoughts waver when

all I want to see in my mind is her. I am not sure when hobbits started leaving the shire but there is an entire table

of them next to me singing and laughing about some green dragon. what nonesense. come to think of it I have not seen

this tavern so lively in many a year. folk of these parts tend to not create fellowships among themselves if they dont have to.

ahh bags! where was I? Ahh my fair dwarven maiden I know not her name but her hearty laugh filled my heart with joy.

What I wouldnt give for her to pledge her ax to my aid. It was rare enough to see a dwarf in these parts let alone one of such

beauty and standing. I have no doubt I would have to slay 100 orks to even turn her eye. I would do it I tell you. I would climb to

the hights of MT. Doom or brave a journey through the ENT filled forests If it meant a chance to hold that firey main to my chest

and hear the rythmic sounds of her snoring...oh come on everybody knows dwarves snore....I am sure that coming from her it would

sound sweeter than the minstrel whom sits in this very tavern playing a happy tune upom her harp and winning the hearts of the drunkards.

I can not help but think this ale would be sweeter and this pork more tender with a fine maiden such as her on my arm.....whats this> screaming and

terror in the streets...hhmmm enough daydreaming for now....thats strange the hobbits are hiding under the table...I wonder why.

[rainbow-demoness]

I think everyone does do this, it's a core part of human cognition, the ability to take seriously something we know not to be true in another reference frame. Some of us just can't relate to it being applied to religion and origin stories for things that physically exist. But we do it for fiction, we do it when we're considering other viewpoints or being diplomatic, and we do it for mathematics.

For the general public, I can't do much better than imagining being raised in a fandom. Your parents, when they have to simplify something in explaining to child you, will do so in terms of the work the fandom is centered around. Imagine e.g. having yearly rituals from when you were very young, all related to Frodo's journey to Mt. Doom. If I were to tell you elves are short, stout, forgetful, and often marry Hobbits for their superior cooking, you are going to object because that makes no sense with the yearly Feast of Elven Hospitality, or with the origins of the "lembas" bread everyone takes with them when they make their Arduous Journey to the nearest volcano.

For mathematicians: go out in nature and find me a real number. I've reasoned about them extensively, they are the closure of the rational numbers (find me those while you're at it) under the taking of limits. Our technology is built on the calculus that assumes their existence. They're not real. A single random real number would contain more information than fits in the universe. Each of them is an infinity (though a vanishing percentage of them is nicely compressible to a finite representation), and the set of real numbers is an infinity of infinities. The Long Line, Cantor's Diagonal, Hilbert's Hotel, none of them exist. And yet we know their properties, and they are important to our culture, our history, and our work. They are real within their context.

There’s a difference between something being spiritually or culturally true and something being literally true and a lot of people who don’t live with this kind of belief system can’t seem to wrap their heads around it or they seem to think that people who function like that can’t tell the difference between fiction and reality.