#but i do still think that tolkien fandom really has a way of like wanting to explore aspects of the setting

[frodosrings]

calling all my lotr/hobbit fans and writers!

i would love to start a little thing inspired by my randomized ship wheel i did a bit ago….

so i present to you all:

The Tolkien Randomized Pair Writing Event!

are you a writer looking for some inspo? are you someone who has always wanted to write a fanfic but has never had the chance to? do you want to be involved in a fun tolkien fan project? then this is for you!

rules are as follows:

- you spin the “random pair” wheel (below) and you have to write something for the pair you land on. this can be a full-fledged fic, a oneshot, a list of headcanons, a one-liner, anything! if you want to write an 100k+ word fic, yes! do it! if you only want to share one headcanon, yes! do it!

- when you write something from the pair wheel, use the hashtag “#tolkienrandompairs” so we can all have them in the same place and peruse everyone’s writing!

- it does not have to be romantic, but, it absolutely can be too if that’s what you’re feeling! it can showcase hatred, an argument, a friendship, a goofy interaction, a modern au, a deep conversation, it can be about any popular trope we love, it can be absolutely anything you want, it just HAS to be about the pair you land on!

- you can absolutely spin the wheel more than once and write about as many duos as you please!! whether you spin it once or 100 times, just have fun!

- if you write something nsfw, PLEASE mark it as mature or make it very clear that it’s nsfw, as i want everyone to be able to participate and not have to see nsfw if they don’t want to/are minors

- additionally, ofc, if there are any trigger warnings in your writing, please make them clear!

- there is no time limit for this, even if you come across this post a year later and want to be involved, definitely be involved!

- yes, you can write multiple entries for the same pair if you are really having fun with them!

- you can absolutely substitute writing for some cool fanart :)

-there is no time limit for this event!! if it takes you a few weeks or months to prepare a fic, do not fret! i'd like to think we can keep this going for a long time!

- if you have any questions or need clarification, you can dm me or send an ask to my inbox :)

here is the wheel!

have fun! let the writing commence!

some additional notes below:

- you are more than welcome to carry this idea over to other fandoms! idea credits are always appreciated but not necessary!

-there are 378 different pairs on the wheel, so your pair will most likely only be landed on once! take advantage of it!

- i have only included tolkien pairs from the hobbit and the lotr movies, as i feel it is the most inclusive for the widest audience. so, silmarillion characters and characters which were in the lotr and hobbit books but NOT the movies are not included in this

- again, any silm fans are welcome to make a wheel of randomized silm characters!

- NO ship discourse or hate! if someone writes romantically about a pair you don’t ship yourself, allow us all to have fun! this is supposed to bring us together and at the very least is supposed to be a fun writing exercise!

- if you want to post your writing on other platforms like ao3, definitely do it! if your writing is posted on ao3, i would love if you still used the hashtag so that i am able to read what you write!

- be supportive of other peoples writing! leave nice comments, share your thoughts about the pair other people had, interact! let’s have fun!

- some of these pairs don’t exist in the same timeline, pretend they do! or, maybe you want to write about one thinking about/learning about the other, either way, disregard the fact that some might not genuinely ever interact lol!

- feel free to come back and use this wheel as many times as you want, for whatever you want :)

- yes, making this wheel DID take forever! but all worth it!

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

On Galadriel’s Whitewashing by the Fandom

Allow me to rant. Because at this point I really have to ask this: what show have you all been watching? Many say that Sauron deceives the audience, but it was actually Galadriel who deceived you all, really.

In Season 1 and Season 2, we saw Galadriel using others left and right, for her own ends (including Halbrand, Míriel, Adar, etc.). Her character introduction in Season 1, was her beating the sh*t out of some kids over a paper boat. Then, we saw her treating her companions’ lives as if they meant nothing to her. This alone should tell you something, but no, you wanted to see the “feminist hero” that never was. She was acting like... Sauron, when he ditched the humans on the raft. 

Nah, you think?

Throughout Season 1, she was arrogant, high on herself and downright offensive to pretty much every character she came across. She was constantly acting as if she was better than everyone else, and others were beneath her, because of her delusions of grandeur. She disobeys Gil-galad over and over again because she doesn’t truly recognize his authority. He’s younger than her, and in her mind she’s the one who should be High Queen of the Noldor, because she’s the only surviving child of High King Finarfin. She lied and manipulated others to her own ends... like Sauron.

When your ways of manipulation are more radical than Sauron’s.

Allow me to say this once more: “Rings of Power” has Tolkien experts to assist with the writings of the scripts. Christian doctrine and preaching is a huge deal on Tolkien’s work, and even if the show producers don’t see it or don’t recognize it, it’s still there because it’s inevitable, you can't work Tolkien without it.

What does this mean? Galadriel is not a hero. Pride and greed are not good traits in Tolkien lore. She’s not one of the “good guys”. Not yet, and she’ll only get worse before she gets better. She’s not a villain, either; she’s an anti-hero like Adar. Why do you all think Satan’s little helper Sauron got so interested in her, in the first place? 

When Sauron of all characters gives you the side-eye and tells you to chill and tone down your antagonistic behavior.

And was she deceived by Sauron or did she deceive herself? Because Elrond, as usual, is right, and that’s why he calls her out on her bullsh*t in Season 2: Galadriel wanted the lost king who could ride her to victory, to destroy Sauron and cover herself in glory, being worshipped by everyone on Middle-earth as its savior. She wanted to use Halbrand as a pawn in her big plan, and it’s mind blowing she actually fell in love with him. Does this ring any bells? It’s because it’s Sauron’s plan, too. They are alike. Everyone agrees, but doesn’t realize just how much.

You think they showed us these glorious shots of them for “good” reasons? This is the first of Mairon’s deceptions on Season 1, another step closer to evil and his old ways. This is them high on power and on themselves.

Gil-galad foresaw that Galadriel would bring back Sauron if her pursuit for him would to continue. That’s why he sent her back to Valinor, in the first place. Guess what? He was right. It was Galadriel’s actions that condemned Middle-earth to Sauron’s tyranny. In the legendarium, the Elves are also the ones to blame. And what consequences did she faced for this? Enduring Elrond in charge for two episodes until she went rogue? Or perhaps the Valar have already banished her, and the show failed to mention this. 

Preach it, brother!

Elrond was also the only character who could see through Sauron’s “rings of power” masterplan (must be that Melian’s Maia blood kicking in), until he was deceived himself, as well, and now he also thinks the rings are a good thing. Because these rings allowed the Elves to “cheat death” and stay where they don’t belong. “Rings of Power” made this point very clear in Season 1: the Southlanders don’t want the Elves on their lands, they are invaders.

In truth, all of these characters are not only Sauron’s accomplices, but are feeding off his power, but they are acting as if they are the “good guys” here, and they need to save Middle-earth from the new Dark Lord. No wonder the Valar told them to f*ck off, and only sent a few helpers who didn’t even dealt with Sauron directly, even though they (being Maiar themselves) had the power to do that.

Long story, short: for the love of Eru, stop whitewashing Galadriel’s character, or believing her to be some sort of “Virgin Mary” nonsense type of character. Or if you actually think her behavior is somehow heroic I don’t even know what to tell you, honestly. Because it’s not suppose to be. And if you were upset with her “toning down” in Season 2, oh boy, I might have bad news for you.

We should appreciate Galadriel’s character for what it is; an anti-hero seeking redemption. She f*cks up a lot, is flawed, and makes huge mistakes, and that’s what will make her character arc feel earned and compelling. In that way, she’s the opposite of Sauron; as he falls into evil, she raises up to good; the Lady of Light and the Dark Lord. This is actually refreshing in the midst of so many boring-ass one-dimensional female characters we see nowadays, an ideal of perfection no one can relate to.

[neyafromfrance95]

Can I just say I kind of feel sorry for the writers because you can tell they conceived the show as revolving around Haladriel and they really don’t want to deal with the Celeborn issue so they play lip service while writing something completely different lol.

To be fair though Tolkien himself wasn’t interested in him or him and Galadriel as a pairing especially when you compare how he writes his epic romances. It really feels like he was put there so we can get Arwen pretty much. And then she leaves without him to Valinor while he’s left mourning her which 🤣.

But yeah as far as the show goes if they didn’t want fans to see Haladriel as romantic they would have shown her grieving Celeborn…instead of falling in love with her arch enemy. This is just my opinion though but you can’t say how much she loves and grieves Celeborn while showing the complete opposite on the show. There was a way to center the relationship between her and Sauron without it being framed as romantic/soulmates but they didn’t which tells you everything you need to know.

exactly!

even before trop, it has been believed that the only reason tolkien wrote celeb0rn was to somehow connect galadriel to arwen and elrond.

the initial plan was for gal to marry elrond, but tolkien wanted galadriel to be the leader in her own right (it is her main defining trait) and keep doing her own thing. he did not want her to be defined by her husband/child. if she was married to elrond, she would be known as elrond's wife/arwen's mother first. so he gave her a npc family in the background instead.

but even then, i'd say her relationship with elrond is still more important in the books. and in the movies, she even seems closer to gandalf, lmao. so i'd say it would be better to focus on her relationship with elrond and establish her friendship with gandalf rather than introduce a new love interest (bc yeah, even if it's not explicitly romantic, haladriel is romantically framed).

btw, don't even get me started about how everyone seems to forget about finrod??? the one galadriel misses, the real "third" between her and sauron, her "guiding light" IS FINROD! nenya symbolizes galadriel's desire for power = sauron and galadriel's light/wisdom she got from finrod! nenya was made by sauron's design and using finrod's dagger! it's like sauron and finrod's battle continues within galadriel.

i don't dislike celeb0rn, but i think it's crazy that he was created so that galadriel can't be reduced to the domestic role and yet certain segments of the fandom do that anyways - reduce her to being her npc family's wife/mother in the show that intends to explore other aspects of her story and identity!

and idk man, but i feel like tolkien must have had some ideas for sauron and galadriel. "he gropes ever to see me and my thought" feels very significant. and they mirror each other in several ways as well.

trop does a fantastic job at giving this dynamic context. galadriel's greatest desire is to possess power, sauron's greatest desire is to posses the light. it makes sense for them to have a push-pull dynamic that's both intimate and cosmic in its' essence. the perfect way to expand on all the little details connecting sauron and galadriel in the lore. and it's just a fascinating story on its' own!

it would be such a waste to discard this dynamic for the sake of introducing the character that was never supposed to be that important. especially considering that the writers seem to have the show conceived with haladriel as its' core in their minds.

[conundrumoftime]

no ACTUALLY ship and let ship. no, really. including Haladriel including Celeborn including everyone.

Checking on the Tumblr Haladriel tag this morning like the Troy-arriving-with-pizza gif...

Anyway: I left the following comment on someone's blog about this, and while I don't have any particular wish to fight with that person or reblog them in a way that might encourage anyone else to get into that, I do want to copy my comment here because 'ship and let ship' is something I do feel very, very strongly about:

I'm a Haladriel shipper who's been in this fandom since 2022 (you can see my 20+ Haladriel fics here if you want evidence of that: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eye_of_a_cat/works) and in Tolkien fandom on and off for many years before. I’m one of the shippers who was on the receiving end of a massive anti hate campaign over Haladriel during 2023-4, including repeated vicious suicide-baiting anon hate comments. I’m also a multishipper who talks about Celeborn too and writes fic about him as well. Can I please ask that you consider the old fandom adage of ‘ship and let ship’ on this one? I don’t care whether you like this fictional elf [ETA: Celeborn] or not - we all have different tastes - but when you start going after the shippers as people, calling us “probably antis masquerading as shippers”, telling us to “be honest” that we just hate Sauron x Galadriel (seriously, do you think I and fellow multishippers are writing all these Haladriel fics as some kind of elaborate undercover act?), setting yourself up as some judge of who counts as a Haladriel and who doesn’t - this is just unpleasant for everybody and makes the fandom a toxic, bitter space.  People have different tastes. People approach shipping in different ways. Fandom is a big wide world.  What I always ask people who hate Haladriel to do is mute the tag and live and let live when it comes to other people’s preferences, and don’t go after *people* because you don’t like their ship. Can you please consider doing the same for Celeborn?

I don't want endless discourse about this. I hate ship wars. I have a ton of messy unpleasant stuff happening in my real life right now and fandom - writing, fun, creativity - is such a welcome escape valve for me. I don't care who likes which elf or which ship, but ffs can we please leave each other in peace about it?

I am always happy to talk about any of my ships or the characters I like in more detail - at the drop of a hat in fact! - but for obvious reasons, I don't do this in a ship war context where I feel like someone's expecting me to 'prove' myself or justify why I'm allowed to like something. Because the point is that it doesn't matter why someone else likes something or whether or not you get its appeal - what matters is the ability to get along with each other anyway.

Some of my best fandom friends are people who don't like many of the things I like, and vice versa. One of my dearest fandom friends I've known for over 15 years has some ships that make me recoil in ARGH NO horror. And she doesn't like everything I'm into either! And we still get along fine, as people, because we know it's ships. It's fiction. It's not a referendum on us as people.

I don't care if people like Celeborn or not - he is a made-up elf, he is not real. I don't care if people like Haladriel or not - non-book-canon ships and EtL ships aren't for everyone. But the fans who like these things are real people who should be allowed to do our thing in peace.

[crownedwithstars]

Anyone who has followed me for some time knows that I like to complain about the treatment of women in fiction, and particularly in headcanons and fanon that treats a female character in a more venomous - and dare I say it, misogynistic - way than canon ever did. There are multiple instances of this in the Silm, but I think Indis is one of the female characters who gets done dirty most often.

The funny thing is, you see it often disguised as "giving her nuance", or as criticism. But when you look at what is presented as said nuance or criticism, and then consider what Tolkien actually wrote about Indis, too often these things have little to nothing to do with one another. In fact, "nuance" appears to mean making the female character more responsible for a male character's bad actions than she actually is.

I don't mean to say that you can't dislike Indis or that it's inherently misogynistic to do so. But it's good to realise the existence of internalised misogyny and how that impacts the way you expect a woman to behave - and if you're criticising her chiefly because her interests and actions are in conflict with those of a male character, it may be useful to examine that criticism more closely.

Some of the things I've seen Indis accused of are: she is creepily obsessed with Finwë (as if unrequited feelings for someone unavailable aren't a common enough phenomenon), her motive is (improper) sexual interest in him which may in fact be predatory, she bears more responsibility for Finwë's actions than he himself does, she actively schemes to make sure Míriel will stay dead so that she can have her man (even though she doesn't get involved with Finwë until after Míriel has declared her desire to remain dead and the Valar have given permission to Finwë to remarry), she may have used some magical means to enchant Finwë, she hates her step-son and is an abusive step-mother to him, and actually she's so terrible that Fëanor's downspiral is more her fault than the literal Satan figure's (who is in text explicitly stated to be responsible for the fact). Fëanor is also presented in the terms of modern understanding of mental health as if these could possibly apply (and as if we had enough information to diagnose him), and his issues are in large part designated to Indis and her actions.

Tolkien didn't really write that much about Indis - certainly not enough for most of the said criticism of her to be more than conjecture. What little he does say about her paints a picture of a person of sweet and joyous temperament who's not embittered in a situation that could have made her deeply unhappy. You can argue that she's selfish or at least inconsiderate of Fëanor - nevermind the fact that Finwë is bent on remarrying and would probably have done it with or without her - but the other way to see the situation is that she thinks she's doing a good thing for them both, helping a man move on and giving a motherless child a new caregiver. Obviously, Fëanor does not want that (although it would explain a lot about their relationship in a way that does align with canon without making one or both of them a bad person: Indis hopes to be a mother to him in a genuinely well-intentioned way, but he feels she's trying to replace his birth mother, and resents her because she's not Míriel). But nothing in the situation indicates that Indis herself has bad intentions, and it's not her or his fault that it doesn't work out. Sometimes it's just not anybody's fault. We don't even know what Fëanor's first reaction is upon learning that Finwë means to remarry: we only know that he does not love Indis or her children and that he moves out of his father's household while still young. It doesn't imply the degree of resentment applied to this situation by fandom.

The idea of Indis wanting to comfort both father and son is also conjecture of course, but it's no less so than any of the ideas listed above where she's presented as an unsympathetic, wanton schemer, and it certainly is no less plausible. Indis is a rather blatant example of how in too much media, women are allowed only two roles: either she's Madonna, or she's a whore, and this is determined by a male perspective. Indis clearly falls into the latter category as a woman whose chastity, obedience and willingness to self-sacrifice do not bend for the male favourite.

If you judge Indis, at least judge her fairly.

[mithrilhearts]

Yes, I'm alive, and I have a lot to say.

It's been a while (for me anyway), and currently I am taking a different approach to my life—what makes me happy? The start of this year has been hard for me mentally, and had it not been for a select few, I probably wouldn't be here right now. January was a very scary time in my life, to put it simply...

That said, it's given me a lot of time to sit and reflect on what I want in my life and who I want in my life, with many things to consider.

I'm engaging with new hobbies to help keep my mind at bay and to venture into new business opportunities and expand what I already do. I'm getting into creating things like soap, body scrubs, candles, etc., which has been a lot of research and fun planning. I'm very excited to keep doing these things and see where it takes me—I plan to open an online shop very soon for this!

I'm keeping myself busy—I'm playing games, I'm still writing fanfic (albeit a lot slower and more infrequently), and I'm focusing on my job(s) as best as I can. I'm taking life day by day and trying to find things to look forward to, even when things seem very bleak.

Now, what does 2025 bring?

I'm going to the Shinedown concert this summer, which has me over the moon excited! I've planned a week off from work in July as well to recharge and hopefully get myself out there even more with other little local events (festivals, farmer's markets, anything to get me out and about). I'm also scheduled to get a new tattoo next month, one that has a lot of meaning and can join my otherwise "Tolkien Arm" to kind of break up the theme a bit—some Amaryllis flowers!

Fanfic has ultimately been tossed to the backseat of my life, and I am not sure how it will play out in the future. I love writing, and I love the source materials from which I've written and participated in, but a lot of that enjoyment for actual "FANDOM" kind of went down the drain a long time ago with drama and whatnot that simply didn't need to happen.

I am going to take an indefinite hiatus from Tumblr and other socials of a similar vein. I have made some incredible friendships along the way through my fandom journey, even if some of them have fizzled out due to changes in interest or other fandom-related nonsense as mentioned above. It doesn't really need a second thought from me anymore. I can't regret the friendships or the morals I stood behind, but I also can't sit and linger on the "what if" or "why" something is or isn't happening. It's been a lot of thinking on my side, but I want to focus on my life outside of the internet (I want a positive mental health space, and unfortunately, fandom just doesn't give me that luxury).

Taking a step back from online life and focusing on myself has made an astronomical difference in my mood, so I’m going to keep up with that for now. I appreciate those of you who have been super supportive during this time when I've been struggling to figure out how to live. Thank you so much for reaching out, especially early on; I apologize for that concerning post I had dropped in January, talking about self-harm. I'm still alive, and I'm doing SO MUCH BETTER already.

For now, this is goodbye, but keep your eyes peeled on AO3 because I'm still posting fic, though as stated above, much slower than before.

I won't be checking Tumblr too much from here on out, but I'll give it a peek just in case now and again. 💖

Thank you for the support over the years, and remember, it will be sunny one day.

-- Mithrilhearts (aka Maeve, aka Razzy - lordoftherazzles)

[lesbiansforboromir]

maybe it sounds like a weird ask, but do you think that Rings of Power may change something about the general perception of LOTR? Maybe i am just frustrated with Amazon and Warner Bros owning the rights to lotr so we can do nothing but sit down and see macro corporations doing whatever the fuck they want to with the story (instead of leaving it to us fans) but i was wondering. I am curious about your opinion bc you're positive about some aspects of ROP while critical about others

I mean, to be blunt, being at the whim of macro corporations is simply the fate of popular media. Like lotr was never going to be left to the fans, and to be frank if you consider the breadth of opinion that makes up what a 'lotr fan' is then I do not want that either.

And to add to that, the people making both RoP and the Warner Bros films claim to be fans themselves, and I believe them for the most part. What constitutes a 'fan' of a piece of work is already very diverse, but with Tolkien the spectrum of people within the fandom is uniquely massive in perspective, politics, canon interpretation and desires. And everyone was always going to do whatever they wanted with the story.

If you or I had the reigns of a massive tolkien production that we thought was both true to the books whilst being good television, I guaruntee you we would still be recieving a cacophonous wave of hatred towards it for 'spitting on Tolkien's grave' and 'betraying the fans' somehow. The disparate, esoteric and timeline sensitive nature of 'tolkien canon' simply creates this kind of environment. Well, along with the elitist culture within the fandom ofc.

But to answer your original question; I actually have quite a bit of hope that RoP will change people's perspectives on Tolkien. Firstly it's adapting a story completely other from LotR, which is probably the first knowledge a lot of people have that those kinds of stories exist in middle-earth. And the story's themes are very incongruent with the kind of... over-analysed and simplified general understanding of Tolkien's works as 'about friendship and hope'. It is visually distinct from the Warner Bros films and has broadened the character archetypes 'allowed' to appear in a tolkien production. Like we (I) have had some really gruelling years of the WB films dominating the Tolkien landscape but with every release of a new video game or show that isn't calling back to the films the gateway opens up for more willingness to try something new.

It's genuinely so sad that the Gollum game did so badly, I was really excited for that fresh artistic flair, but I think it still helped in the same way. Hell even WotR being animated helps in this regard. If things that are not WB LotR or the Hobbit can be made successfully then it broadens both our perception of 'what tolkien is' AND diversifies the kinds of creatives drawn to the fandom which will hopefully thereby diversify the kinds of adaptations we get and knock WB off it's monopoly of Tolkien in the public imagination.

[inthehouseoffinwe]

I feel like the whole "Elwing jumping out with the silmaril due to trauma" explanation doesn't really answer the question about why she and Earendil seemed to just "turn the page" with their kids when they got to Valinor. It's strange to me that when meeting with the Valar and giving them something very important like the silmaril, they didn't try to leverage their position and secure/negotate something for their kids (at least verifying if they're dead or alive, getting an affirmation they'll be safe, or trying to retrieve them) from the gods. It's like they just decided there's nothing more to do here, got immortality, and never looked back since beating Morgoth is the only important issue now. Maybe this is just a narrative hole resulting from Tolkein trying to keep things brief, but it gives me the striking impression that they chose ultimately chose each other over their own kids.

Hey! Thanks for sending this!

I’ll admit, I’m not totally clear with what happened post arrival to Valinor but I do agree. It could explain the initial jump but everything after? Ehhh.

I know they were worried about the twins. But their actions don’t really… show that.

I guess my only thought is they didn’t expect to never come back (a bit of a weak argument imo, it’s pretty clear Valinor is a one way trip) and barely got the Valar to agree to do something in Beleriand. I won’t get into how messed up it is the Valar waited for a stolen silmaril before even considering to help, but maybe because of that they didn’t want to push their luck?

But I also know 99.9% of parents still… would. Or they’d at least ensure their kids were safe. If Elwing’s so traumatised by the SoF, you’d think this is the first thing she does. It took time for the Valar to decide, long enough to get over the initial stress and start demanding, even if it was done through Eärendil.

Even if we say they only thought of Morgoth. I’d think to say ‘hey I got you this thing, now make sure my kids survive your war against our enemy.’

I don’t think it was Tolkien’s intention, and this is partly because he’s brushing over large swathes of plot. But the way things went and nothing really mentioning they thought of their children or regretted what happened to their people doesn’t do any favours. It also follows a very Beren and Luthien trend of ‘choosing each other against the world’ (and dooming everyone else in the process.) Which doesn’t help either.

And this leads to my issues with Eärendil x Elwing in general.

They remind me of every single couple who weren’t ready for marriage, rushing into it with this romanticised idea, and having no idea what to do after. Add kids to the mix and it’s a recipe for disaster. They love them, yes, but they don’t know what to do with them when things go wrong.

Especially in this case where Elwing should be expected to rule when her husband’s away, considering he’s gone so often and for so long. If she was so traumatised and young, why let her get into a marriage which would result in so many responsibilities?

The whole ‘but they were in love!’ thing has always annoyed me across every fandom I’ve been in 😂 It seems so selfish to condemn an entire people to an unfit ruler because you’re in love. It’s selfish to bring in a weak leader when there’s war constantly at your doorstep. This goes for both Eärendil and Elwing.

Ok sure. This case it was the sons of Fëanor. But what would she have done if Morgoth launched an attack? Can anyone honestly tell me she’d know how to direct and lead people to relative safety? It’s a pretty basic demand from a ruler in as bad a situation as they were in.

You don’t bring a traumatised woman, or even ignoring that, you don’t bring a young inexperienced woman, who won’t be able to think clearly or make good decisions when put under pressure.

And if you know you’re traumatised and/or inexperienced you don’t agree to the position.

[marta-bee]

This story from @eilinelsghost really and truly blew me away. I don't want to say too much for risk of spoiling it (for he that breaks a thing to see how it works, etc. etc.), but by way of summary, it involves Finarfin and Finrod being reunited after Finrod's death and re-incarnation, and it is every bit as intense as a fic would need to be to do that moment really, really well.

I mean: damn.

Aside from that, I think it's pretty well known in these parts that my two big fandoms are Tolkien and Sherlock Holmes. What I've maybe made less obvious is I relate to these fandoms in pretty different ways, and this fic helped me understand why.

Tolkien is the one fandom I've ever really felt driven to write for, though I don't read it much these days. Whereas Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock especially, I love to read but feel so little drive to actually write in. And I think it's because with Sherlock, there are these great fun characters and so many people still writing in this really accessible, relaxing writing style. Also, canon really did do quite a few of us Johnlockers horribly wrong. Slipping back into that world is like slipping into a warm bath at the end of a long day. But there's not this metaphysical grist the way there is with the Silmarillion especially, and the way my brain works, there's nothing to work out the same way.

And writing is hard. It takes me months often as not, and while I love being on the other side of a good story-telling, the getting-there process is quite grueling. Even the wordcrafting, the turns-of-phrase, I really love writing a character that demands that and whose character demands it. Mycroft, maybe. Denethor, certainly. But more and more, with Sherlock stories, the kind of stories I feel like I should be writing there just don't seem to spring naturally from the canon.

Then I read this gem and got a glimpse of what I was yearning for. It's the archaic language, I think, and the way that other-ness just really, really serves the theme I think the author is aiming for. It's gloriously told on its own, but it's also not (to borrow a line from Hitchhiker's Guide) not just some guys, you know? It's almost like Finrod and Finarfin are characters almost (but not quite) elevated to archetypes so we can play around with what it means to be reembodied in Arda Marred, in a way a philosophical treatise never quite could.

Doesn't mean the story itself doesn't pack a punch. This is plunge the dagger in and twist it around while you're in there why don't you? level angst, and I do mean that as the best compliment.

As I said: damn.

To the extent I'm in a place to make New Year's resolutions, I'd say this makes me want to reread the Silm and maybe write some Tolkien fic of my own again. That wanting is the highest compliment I can muster. Whether I can actually do that is an open question (I'm both tired and very busy with RL), but the desire is real.

Seriously, Silmarillion fans, if you've gotten this far and are still reading me please go and read the thing. For a oneshot especially, it packed an utterly ridiculous amount of wallop.

Sherlockians, don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. But sometimes, game just has to take a moment to recognize game.

[callipraxia]

I was just asked to share a favorite writing tip, and as I wrote, it sort of organically expanded from the realm of writing tips I have received and into the realm of writing tips I’ve worked out for myself. I cut most of that from the original response because it wasn’t really what was being asked, but for anyone who might find it helpful - here are six notes on writing from someone who’s been doing it for twenty-something years and has no Agenda, financial or academic, to steer me much astray from confession of my actual practices:

Tip #1: my favorite writing tip I ever got from an outside source is (paraphrasing) “if you want to write like Tolkien, the key isn’t to stick a bunch of dwarves and elves in a low-medieval setting. The key is to write about subjects that you love as much as Professor Tolkien loved Northern European languages and mythology and the pre-Industrial English countryside and Catholic theology and etc.” It isn’t the details of what creatures you have in there that gives something that particular engaging quality that will carry it through and overrule a lot of its inevitable flaws - it is, instead, a subtle, difficult-to-define sort of energy the work will have that, as far as I can tell (and I’ve tried, many times, with concepts and projects that just didn’t work out), cannot be faked.

Tip #2: Based on my own experience as it applies to Tip #1, start trying to figure out what your interests are as early as possible and never stop looking even once you think you’ve found them. There’s a plethora of low-to-no-cost, low-to-no-commitment ways to pick up at least the basics of topics you know nothing about***, so give something a try every now and then, you might surprise yourself. For another personal anecdote, I grew up with the firm belief that physics was something I would a) find really boring and b) not be smart enough to get even the vaguest grasp on no matter how hard I worked, and that even trying was therefore probably a waste of time. I still can’t do the math and would probably flunk any real exams, but physics writing, obtained from the public library’s New Arrivals section, has ended up being one of the richest sources for my writing that I’ve ever encountered.

Tip #3: if you truly can’t find a subject in the world you find yourself especially interested in, that’s probably either the depression or the after effects of bad educational experiences talking. Or both - both is always an option. Start addressing that stuff and the world will most likely become a much more interesting place and you will most likely become a much more interesting writer.

Tip #4: if you find yourself with a sort of author crush, with someone (including other fan authors!) whose work you really, really admire, and you desperately want to be like them when you grow up - find out what they read and read it, too. This doesn’t work 100% of the time, but it is often a productive exercise; the reason I tend to include so many footnotes in my fics is because I’ve benefited so much from other people who left footnotes with reading recommendations or trivia explanations on their fics.

Tip #5, the Big One: Combine multiple things you are geeking out about into one story. The best writing I probably ever did began with how certain characters were represented in three different fanfics in two different fandoms. The presentation of Character A from Franchise 1 in two fics reminded me, in ways she normally wouldn’t, of the presentation of Character B from one fic from Franchise 2. I also just really liked Character C and thought it might be fun to introduce some elements of Character D to him and then see what happened, so I isolated some of the things I liked about those characterizations and combined a character trait or two from each in order to form two ‘new’ basic characters who would form the ‘center’ of the story. I then ran them both through additional filters: the first filter was some specific other interests (ornithology and tea culture) I happened to have, and then the second was the general impressions I’d gotten of family lives and dynamics from reading a couple of blogs for several years****. And then I topped this concoction off by dusting it lightly with references to and elements from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and an old Cage the Elephant song. Yeah. Other sources of musical inspiration have included, but are far, far from limited to, songs from Breaking Benjamin, Foster the People, Hozier, Lana del Rey, The Mountain Goats, The Offspring, and The Smashing Pumpkins. Even I kind of roll my eyes at that list, but hey, if it works, it works.

Tip #6: Don’t get the wrong idea from Tip #5 - I don’t recommend approaching stories or subjects with the aim of finding something to combine with something else in mind. The example I gave coalesced in my head over the course of several years before I ever put any of it into writing. The ideas will form in their own time, and I think the best thing to do is to just absorb as much enjoyable media and neat information as you can and then let your brain gradually do its own thing in its own time. It’s frustrating, but trying to think of things to jam together for a story or character idea on purpose doesn’t work nearly as well in my experience - maybe it can be pulled off for a one-off, preferably one that is a direct homage to or parody of the original, but when it comes to longer-term and more nuanced stuff, it’s rare for a deliberately sought out mash-up to ever quite get that Certain Something that I talked about back in Tip #1.

*** I can only really speak for the U.S. here, but with that caveat - I cannot overstate the utility of public library resources like inter-library loan and Friends of the Library bag sales, along with the contents of the library itself and particularly the New Arrivals sections if one is fortunate enough to be within reasonable driving distance of an even moderately well-stocked public library. If they’ve got a subscription to something like JSTOR or another academic database, so much the better, though you can find a surprising amount of information just through free articles and excerpts on JSTOR at least. The website and app Coursera also has a modest but useful collection of free courses, some of which are designed to be completed in as little as two days, and the similar website/app edX has quite a few classes where you can access the materials freely enough and just won’t get credit toward any professional certificates unless you pay them. I’ve done some studies also through Modern States, which is completely free as far as I remember and aimed at preparing people for exams that could, in theory, allow someone to test out of their freshman year of college or university. I have the very vague impression that Khan Academy sometimes gets mixed reviews, but I’ve found it a useful resource before. I’m sure this list also only just scratches the surface of what’s out there, too, since these are just resources I’ve personally used.

**** One of these was a LiveJournal, to give you some idea of how long ago this was…The other, in the category of “less obvious places to look,” was a collection of tea-tasting logs from a website called steepster; some users use/at least used to use their logs as a sort of journal/social media as well as a place to review teas, and some of those people are really good writers. Haven’t been to steepster in a while, though, should probably peek in sometime to see if it and/or any of my favorite loggers are still around….

[brynnmclean]

WIP Wednesday

Thank you to @rain-sleet-snow and @zingsthings for the tags! I'm too tired to tag anyone specific, so if you're reading this and want to participate, please consider yourself tagged by me!

Something something, you can take the fic writer temporarily out of hair obsessed Tolkien fandom, but you can't take the hair obsession out of the fic writer? Is it obvious how desperate I personally am for a haircut??? Well, in any case, I'm making myself laugh:

Senua stares at Thórgestr as if she has never seen him before. "You really did dream of Druth?" Thórgestr shrugs, unsettled. But it's not as if he can catch what he has already said and cram the words back into his mouth. "You're not the only one who hears and sees things beyond the veil, though now I think it is only when I dream." She leans forward with an intensity that he tries not to flinch away from. There's a ray of hope emanating from her that he is afraid he'll douse. "What else have you dreamed? Tell me." If he had any words to describe the dreams to her, all the pieces that he remembers from feverish nightmares and all of the layers of his guilt about the past and his fear of the future even in visions where a ghost reached out to help him—"I don't know where to start," he admits, and then in an obvious bid for more time, he points to the items she still has in her hands. "What is that you brought in here?" Senua blinks at him, briefly looking perplexed before she makes a face and shows him clearly what she has: soap, shears, a comb, a razor. She taps the side of her head above her ear, a faint smile flickering at the corners of her mouth. "It's for you. I've seen you grimace whenever you wash your hair in the mornings, so I wondered if you might want to change it to how it was before? The sides and back. If you don't want to keep growing it in for winter." Thórgestr can't stop himself from groaning. "I do hate it like this. Have I been that obvious?" Senua's smile deepens. "Maybe only to me and Fargrímr." She hesitates then, chewing on her lower lip. "I can help you, if you'd like." Heat flares inside him, desire clashing with discomfort. He can't let himself think too hard about her hands on him, running through his hair, moving him how she needs to. This isn't a necessary thing—not like her steadying him or helping with his wounds, or even reaching out to him in the night, searching for comfort and warmth. There is also the fact that he would want it all fixed properly, clean lines all the way around, and if he tried to complete the task all at once on his own, he might—no, he will become too tired. If he thinks about that too hard, frustration will sink fangs in him. Senua rises to her feet and brings those tools over to the table, fetches the bucket of water and a basin while he wrestles with himself. "If you tell me about your dreams, I'll fix your hair." Well. He won't have to look her in the eye then while he talks. Maybe that will be a relief for both of them. Maybe it will be easier to unravel all the tangled threads of his thoughts, discover the patterns, and then follow them like a map marking out to where he needs to be.

[fatcatlittlebox]

I see so much discourse on X about Celeborn and as a multi shipper it's quite annoying. I don't think people realize that Haladriel isn't going anywhere. In fact, when you compare all the established canon couple fanworks against all the protagonist/antagonist (even anti-heros) fanworks in ALL SERIES/BOOKS/SHOWS/ETC TO EVER EXIST, there will always be more of the latter simply because of 2 reasons: the what if's to be explored and the forbidden aspect of it. I wish ppl would calm down. I also find it silly when I see my own mutuals dunk on Haladriel over the 'toxic' aspects and it bothers me too since I like both ships. Unlike Celedriel, you guys can take a Sauron & Galadriel relationship (in all sense of the word, not just in a pairing context) and take it in ANY direction you want, with enough creativity. You can write them as friends in an AU, or even before they became known by their names (like her meeting Mairon before he became Sauron). You can write S1 and S2 (even 3-5) divergence fics, redemption arcs, dystopia fics, crack fics, dead doves, or even fluff (like off-stage AU where they're not enemies off screen). Heck, since you guys got the mind palace thing, and with her growth over the ages, you can even find ways to make non-AU fluff/hurt&comfort (maybe when they're both tired of this endless fight of the ages because it's a stalemate and he wants to repent but he can't due to Morgoth's corruption and he knows it?). Haladriel has a cosmic connection, and I think this implies that even if one of them dies, it will still exist somehow even when they pass into the Undying lands. Haladriels don't understand how much advantage they have with being portrayed by actors with amazing chemistry, an established and growing fanbase, an entire season without any kind of background conflict that takes the focus away from them as their relationship was explored and developed, having it all: UST, 'acquaintances fighting alongside each other to become friends' and the 'friends-to almost?-to enemies' aspect, and there are even Tolkien's writings that confirm he is capable of redemption. I've even seen well-written fan theories on ways that he can redeem himself too. It's like star-crossed lovers baked into every kind of trope that ppl like to explore. Really, I don't understand how it's not obvious enough. Yes, she ends up with Celeborn, and they are happily married and their relationship is secure and comfy. I know that may sound boring to some, but that's why I like Haladriel too, because their relationship isn't confined to only one narrative, unlike Tolkien's works. Yes, you can argue that Haladriel has a doomship narrative because they don't end up together, but the appeal of doomships is that you can DO so much with it in fanon, even completely reverse it (as I've seen in fanfics already). If you tried to do something similar with an established canon ship where they are supposed to be happily married, it doesn't make much sense, unless it's for angst. Celeborn is just a humble normal elf and he doesn't have any that. He just trying to vibe, support Galadriel, and not piss anyone off lol. And I say all of that as a pro-Celeborn fan lol. Sorry for this long rant, I just wish they would leave my poor silver clam alone ;_; and for fans to stop fighting.

I agree 💯 with all of this. That’s why I can happily digest all forms of haladriel. Modern AU, canon divergence, coffee shop fluff, Sauron redemption arc, socially awkward Mairon. All of it. And thank peanut butter and bagels the fanfic writers in this fandom are bar none some of the best fucking writers I have ever read. We are so lucky.

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

I have no problem of being accused of “whitewashing” Sauron’s character because the majority of the “Rings of Power” fandom doesn’t really understand what he is, anyway.

Sauron is not a human nor a symbolically human character (like the Elves, who are meant to represent the intellectual and artistic-driven humans on Tolkien legendarium). Charlie Vickers already said, using different words, that the fandom can’t really atribute human-like feelings (or characteristics) onto his character, and he’s absolutely correct. Because he’s not playing a human.

Charlie talked about this in the context of Sauron’s cosmic connection to Galadriel in “Rings of Power”, and almost everyone nods in agreement, but then makes the mistake of projecting human-like onto Sauron (narcissism, psychopath, sociopath, whatever it may be).

Sauron/Mairon is a Maia, which is the equivalent of a demigod or an angel in Tolkien legendarium; a servant to a Vala, the Gods or archangels of the lore. He was created by Eru Ilúvatar, so he’s divine in nature, a higher being, at the beginning. He chooses to side with Melkor/Morgoth (the Devil of the legendarium); he becomes a fallen angel, a demon. He’s not longer a “higher being” per say because, in Catholic-Christian tradition, demons operate on the lower frequencies of existence.

I would even argue that Tolkien wrote Sauron as more of an idea, than an actual character. With this being the reason why we don’t have much dialogue from him throughout the legendarium. Of course, “Rings of Power” needs to adapt this to the best of their possibilities, and I think they are doing a great job with Sauron’s character, and it’s also clear Charlie Vickers has done his homework on the character.

I still see a bit of hesitation on Charlie’s part on elaborating on Sauron in his interviews, which is very common among actors who have to play villains or “supervillains”. He doesn’t want to sound like he’s justifying his actions or making Sauron look sympathetic. But Charlie, like all actors, understands his character motivations better than anyone. And the show is trying to make the audience understand it, as well, but this usually flies over peoples’ heads who are accusing the show of making Sauron “relatable” in some way or even make you cheer for him or whatever.

This could be the case if he was a human character, but he isn’t. He’s a spiritual being, a supernatural creature, a demon. Us, humans, can’t never relate to him, no matter how many spins folks try to make on it. He operates in a total different level. And that’s why I hate with a burning passion these takes of him having “evil” human-like characteristics or mental disorders. To me, this is completely missing the point of Sauron’s character.

Of course he feels entitled to rule Middle-earth; he helped create the place alongside the other Valar and Maiar at the beginning of time. He literally shaped the world he seeks to dominate; his qualities are imprinted on it (this being the reason why he has true immortality and can’t never be destroyed for real, by the way). Of course he sees himself above Men, Elves and Dwarves, because he literally is. Tolkien wrote him that way.

Would you call the Christian/Jewish/Islamic God, Odin, Zeus, and all the others God of worldwide mythology “psychopaths” or “narcissists”? Probably not because they are Gods, and Gods are, in general, assh*les and d*cks.

Even in Tolkien legendarium, who drew inspiration from several mythological sources, Eru Ilúvatar sinks an entire island, killing everyone in it, because Men wanted to achieve immortality. Is he a “psychopath” too? Tolkien tells us that Eru is the supreme authority on his legendarium, the ultimate good, because he symbolizes the Christian God; and during the Second age He’s very much like the Old Testament God, a punisher, more than the modern “God the Father”, and Númenor is the Atlantis myth.

I’m not really a fan of the phrasing of Sauron seeing other characters like insects, but it’s a way to put it. Precisely because he’s a demigod, who’ll aspire to become an actual God. And that’s probably his biggest sin in the legendarium, alongside with betraying Eru Ilúvatar (God) for Melkor (Satan). On the Third Age, Sauron becomes a “incarnation of evil” and a “spirit of malice and hatred”, like Tolkien tells us. But he’s not “absolute evil” because Tolkien doesn’t believe in such a thing. I already talked about this in here.

In “Rings of Power”, it seems the “not wholly evil” bit is related to his connection with Galadriel. His true intentions/feelings towards her are yet to be revealed to the audience. Why does Sauron want to bind himself to Galadriel so badly? We had this plot in two seasons already.

The simplest explanation is that Sauron wants to harvest her light for himself, but he could easily find the same light in every other Elf who was born during the Years of the Trees in Valinor, because the light of the Two Trees also shines on them. Even Celebrimbor had the same light, and Sauron never had the intention of binding them together. So, indeed, what makes Galadriel different? Because he was willing to share his power with her, too.

All of this is very theological, but it is what it is. Don’t shoot the messenger. We can’t really analyze Tolkien legendarium without the heavy religious Catholic-Christian inspiration, because that’s the core of the mythology Tolkien created. It’s really inevitable if we want to understand it.

Anyway, you can think of Second Age Sauron as a sort of “Dracula on steroids”. I think that’s the closest comparison I can find. Because Dracula is also demonic character, but he’s not a “fallen angel” like Sauron. I wouldn’t exactly compare him with representations of Satan/Devil/Lucifer on pop culture, because that’s Melkor.

Then we have character arcs, and even Sauron has one in Tolkien legendarium: Sauron starts “Rings of Power” in his repentance era (Halbrand); then we have Annatar or “Sauron the reformer” who wants to rebuild Middle-earth with good intentions; then the “King of Men” when he starts to get carried away with pride and power; until he returns to his role as Morgoth’s secretary/representative, at the end of the Second age; he gets defeated. When he returns in the Third Age (the version most fans are familiar with from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the Peter Jackson adaptations), he claims to be Morgoth come again, and this is the evilest he has even been, a “second incarnation of evil” like Tolkien describes him.

[readychilledwine]

do you ever feel awkward writing for Eris? I saw your poll about doing an SJM bad guys week, so I'm guessing not.

Warning - This is going to become SJM critical. Please know I am not anti any of these characters. I am, however, critical of SJM as a long-time fantasy reader.

You answered your own question in your ask there, friend.

I do not have issues writing for Eris. The main issue the fandom has with him is the situation with Mor, and here's my stance on that:

We have an issue with the timeline around this incident, so I will make my judgement call when SJM does her eventual retcon and fixes it.

We know Eris is younger than Mor and Rhys, who are around the same age. Mor was sold to Autumn as Eris's bride at the tender age of 17. When Helion is giving us his gorgeous monolog talking about his love for Momma Autumn, we find out that she and Beron were married young and had barely been married for two decades around the start of the first war. Meaning Eris was around 19 at the time.

This passage from Rhys is a little hazy and unclear, but from how I and several other people took it, he was around 28 at the start of that war, meaning Mor was also around 27 to 28. That makes Mor at least 8 to 9 years older than Eris. Meaning, he potentially was a LITERAL child when he and Mor were engaged. He would have been around the age of 7 to 9 and already had the mindset to fear Beron.

This where I am going to look SJM critical. She is great at a few things, creating plotholes by retconing, and fucking up timelines due to her retconing.

Let's say she retcons to correct that issue. We still know Eris is younger than Mor by a year or two. So, let's say he was 15 to 16. At 15 to 16 years old, I want you to think about what you would have done in this situation:

You are a young prince or princess. Your father is a known abuser and racist. You all have just found out your betrothed has sullied themselves with a person your father considers below all of you, and you know it was done to get out of a marriage she did not want to be in. You and your men find her on the border of your father's court, beaten and with a nail in her womb. Here are your options:

1. You take her back to your father, the known racist and abuser. Thus making her, in reality, his problem. You have witnessed how your father likes to handle his problems. You also know he's angry and embarrassed this female made the choice to sleep with a lesser born bastard Illyrian over marry his high fae princeling.

2. You cannot risk touching her, so leave her somewhere her friends can find her without risking her or them having to enter Autumn. This will allow her to go home, where she is safe, and heal.

In both scenarios, Eris could not win. He either took Mor to his father and risked her death and was blamed for that, or he left her knowing her friends were more than likely coming and be blamed for that as well. He was now the villain in Mor's story regardless of what actions he took, and he was that villain as a teen. A literal child. As a child he picked to allow Morrigan life. To allow her to live without being trapped the way he and his mother are.

Eris, in theory, made a selfless choice. He made the choice to damn himself and his reputation for the sake of Mor and as he says, it cost him..

As for me being willing to write other SJM bad guys-

It is perfectly normal and acceptable in every other fandom to be attracted to the bad guys and to write dark fanfiction about them. You see it all time in Tolkien, Harry Potter, and (grossly since they are all children) it has resurged in the Percy Jackson fandom. Please have several seats and let me, and the several other people who are excited for it, enjoy my little story about Pollux, my reader, and his heavy cock that sways to and fro.

It's also, as someone pumping out the amount of content I am right now, really nice to get to write a dark fic with a villain here and there for a change of pace, so thank you to everyone who is supportive and open to me doing that.

[cilil]

feel free to ignore if this is too personal a question, but i’m curious- what does the username cilil mean / why did you choose it?

Heh! Good question, anon, I'm actually surprised nobody asked that yet (not on here at least), so let me tell you a fun little story.

cilil - or Cílil, if we want to be grammatically correct - is technically just that: A name. It's Sindarin and means "renewal" (cîl - renewal plus feminine suffix -il).

Since I know some have been wondering about this, I want to take the opportunity to add that Sindarin c is always pronounced [k], so it's "kilil", not church Latin style "silil"; though don't worry about it, since it's just my username and the latter version sounds like "seal-il" I don't get my panties in a twist about it or anything :D

I made the name Cílil many years ago, years before I showed up here or talked to anyone in the Tolkien fandom. It was supposed to be given to a Maia who is wandering Middle-earth on her own to experience life and be part of creation, unaligned with both the good and evil Ainur - just on her own and serving no Vala.

At the time, however, I didn't really "do the OC thing" - not trying to be shady or act like I'm "better" of course, I've grown to love OCs, have a few of my own and support them, as you all know. It was just what my modus operandi and level of comfort was at the time; I still had cringe culture to kill, plus being in other fandoms and whatnot, so the idea was shelved for the time being.

Then, years later, I came back to the Silmarillion fandom and it suddenly occurred to me that the username(s) I was using at the time were rather specific to my old fandom that I wished to leave behind. To make matters worse, I had just joined a Discord server and was now sitting in front of my laptop, mildly panicking like "girl think quickly now and rename yourself before people know you under a name you no longer want".

Cílil was the first that came to mind. And I liked it - not just the sound of it, but also because it was so fitting. Renewal. That was exactly what I was doing. Closing a chapter, going somewhere else, beginning a new one, starting from scratch (most notably this blog). It was poetic in a way. And so I took it. Just put it in lower case because I liked that aesthetically and some sites like Tumblr and AO3 don't allow the í, so there.

As for the Maia whose name I stole, I also kind of stole the whole persona to turn it into a sort of bit for me to play, this funny little meta side joke that I am a Maia who's hanging out with the mortals in Middle-earth and spilling all the tea and sharing all the stories I collected over the years. It's just a thing I do with all my online personae for shits and gigs and running gags with friends, pretending I'm part of the universe in question in some silly (dare I say sill-il? :P) way.

The character, though I never introduced them on this blog, has since been revamped, remade, remixed, remastered and most importantly renamed, but they keep "Cílil" as one of the many alternate names they were given in Middle-earth, just as a sort of easter egg. They would've required a Quenyan name as a default anyway, so that all worked out nicely.

So yeah. This is the lore of Cílil/cílil/cilil. Hope you all enjoyed the ancient lore :)

[sindar-princeling]

just passing by to say that i love reading your takes about the rop episodes! i really dislike the show but i wish people could just have civil conversations about its real flaws instead of just spewing racist crap like i'm seeing a lot of purists doing. since the show came out it seems to me that you have to love the show and excuse every single thing it does because the bigots hate it or else you're a bigot too. idk it makes me not want to engage with the fandom that much

yeah especially new tolkien-related content always makes you remember how many racist pieces of shit treat every racist trope he wrote like actual word of god, because they suddenly start crawling out of every corner of the internet :// and I'm just here like. I just want to not enjoy a mediocre show in peace and see what they're doing to my favourite fictional world.

(I am of course aware that this situation is not about me - a white as raw bread dough central european - this is only my personal annoyance)

(ESPECIALLY since the show the racists hate so much for the cardinal sin of *checks notes* having a black elf in it.............. has actually already contained some really racist tropes (rhun will never be free of the racism present in the original text, it seems)! not to mention amazon mainly cast POC as their original characters (arondir, disa, some harfoots, miriel being the only exception i can think of rn) in a move that I imagine was meant to not piss off the racists too much, because there's still money to be milked out of them. amazon don't think we didn't notice your spinelessness)

.......ANYWAY, I'm sorry for derailing this so much, rop asks always make me ramble

I'm really glad you're enjoying my posts! I dislike the show but I try not to be an Angry Internet Person about it, mostly for my own peace of mind but also not to spew bile on yalls dashes - I just don't want my blog that I have for fun to be such a place. So I'm really happy that someone like you who wants to see civil conversations about it feels that they can do so here, it really means a lot to hear!!

it's the same reason why I don't really go to the main tag - many people like the show, they enjoy the aspects I don't - and I know going into the tag is pointless, I'll just be disagreeing with most of the posts I see. the most sensible thing I can do while criticising the show is add the 'rop critical' tag so those people have a way of knowing that my opinions won't interest them either, and just... live and let live, you know.

(and leave the longest, most cathartic rants for one of my very best friends, who actually wants to listen to me 😂)