#but that's unrelated to the book in question

[elkian]

Got LOTR on tape to listen to on my commute, partly because of current events, and good LORD Mr. Jirt never in his life was in the vicinity of fucking around.

Like, the description of the Ring and what it does to people maps so closely to real world problems, right now. The greed and selfishness of those who covet it, the fact that it will always destroy them in service to itself...

What really got me was Gandalf's comment about how those who use it "would not die. They would not grow or gain life," and like, it really puts me in mind of billionaire power grabs and pathetic attempts at appearing important, taking over projects doomed to fail due to their interference, and so much more. Especially that latter part: they don't grow, and they don't gain life. Bilbo left because he was feeling stretched - faded, scraped thin. This is seated in metaphor, but it's easy to see similarities with rich fucks like EM or JKR who've become parodies of themselves, self-perpetuating caricatures who can never produce anything new, only steal and plagiarize and self-refer.

(A friend of mine has told me about the Silmarrillion, and I think it came up in the Hobbit - it's very interesting to me that in this setting, evil and the inability to create anything new are explicitly intertwined so often. Evil is plagiarism, theft, machine generation, uncredited parody, etc.)

It's also fascinating to me how the Ring seizes people: the fact that Bilbo was able to give it up at all is, textually, a genuinely heroic act. Gandalf refuses offers of it and begs the Bagginses to not do that again, because even he is not immune to temptation and he knows his own power does not need to be amplified. He's wise enough to see the ruin that would unfold.

And then the bit with Saruman? "Only one hand can wear it at a time," good god.

This is Jirt saying that evil means cannot produce good results. That some acts, some tools, are so steeped in blood and cruelty and ruin, that you cannot "use it for good", because using it is evil. There's a lot of literature on objects being inherently morally neutral, and I definitely think this is a subject that requires engaging one's brain, but it kind of a rare narrative in my experience. (Completely unrelated side note, the older I get, the more I question my US Education's conclusion that dropping nuclear bombs on civilian targets (including testing sites with Indigenous populations, which my history class incidentally blipped over, somehow,) was "necessary". That's completely unrelated to the matter at hand. Anyways.)

And when this narrative does come up, I tend to see it from NRA types - people with a very particular flavor of agenda. It's important to remember that Tolkein had an agenda, too, even unconsciously - it's impossible to create something untouched by one's experiences and personal bias - but, at least for me, this is a pretty unfamiliar narrative and kind of exciting for it.

Anyways, the bit with Saruman fucking stings because that is happening irl right now in this very country, people we previously thought to be fairly intelligent, perceptive, and on our side deciding they want to "join the winning team". The dismissal of Radagast's importance by him after Gandalf went "hey wait you have the potential to help right now, in small but vital ways", puts me in mind of how current political figures are dismissive of "hippy dippy environmentalist tree-huggers" (hippies, who famously resisted a military draft and protested the Vietnam war,). Radagast doesn't need to come in swinging a sword to be important - and I like that Gandalf recognizes that he is important. I've been talking about it but I've been reading James Bradley's book "Deep Water", which goes into a lot of a directions about how the ocean is innately connected to basically everything. It's a fascinating, engaging read that really helped me conceptualize a lot about nature and my connection to it.

Environmentalists, biologists, scientists - these people are important, their work is important. I'm reminded of people critizing that headline about marine biologists putting shrimp on a treadmill, and, like, the results of that study may never affect me personally but that doesn't make it pointless. I went searching and the study is about water quality and how that affects crustaceans' health. The water in the ocean will eventually become water in the clouds which will become rain which will become groundwater which, eventually, I am going to drink. If there's a high level of, say, mercury in the ocean and it starts affecting shrimps' health (or microplastics, or whatever else), studies like this are important. It also affects predators (a lot of things accumulate in the body higher up the food chain, and eating carnivores or ominvores will increase the chance of that affecting you), which affect other marine life, and so on and so forth.

And those studies often reveal, as mentioned, the effects of pollution and worse - the consequences of lawmaker mismanagement, bribery, oil drilling, cut funding, and so much more.

Scientists and researchers are liable to produce proof that those in power have done wrong. No wonder the first move is to discredit them.

(I can't find it, but there was a post on here a bit back about how the One Ring turning its user invisible isn't a mistaken relay of Hobbit power but rather because the first thing evil in power desires is complete immunity to accountability.)

Anyways, Radagast is literally going to have the animals report to him which really hammers this one home.

Also, very interesting that before the Saruman summons, Gandalf tells Frodo to gather his resources and both he and Frodo admit that Frodo isn't the smartest or strongest, but Gandalf assures him that Frodo can do this thing nonetheless (the tales of the hobbits so frequently are about humble regular people accomplishing great things and I love it). Pretty much immediately moving in to see how Saruman, the brilliant and wise, has decided to change his colors and join Sauron, feels very pointed. Jirt is setting up a narrative here, a heroic journey, and has basically said "you know Frodo is going to accomplish great things, even against people even Gandalf considers powerful" and it's really interesting.

Also, just, the hobbits continue to be great. And I love that Gandalf's response to Frodo's announcement is, "yes, you must go; yes, you must do the difficult thing; and yes, it will be a hard road. But you don't need to do it alone."

I've heard that Tolkein denied that his experiences as a soldier affected/directed the narrative, and I know that evidence to the contrary is woven in nonetheless, so I can't say for sure how intentional everything is, but there are some exceeding good and relevant points in here and I've barely started.

It frustrates me to think about, because fantasy is an undervalued genre; that magic equates whimsy and whimsy equates pointlessness, that because it could never happen then it doesn't really matter. J.R.R. Tolkein is making some extremely good points about fascism and how to resist it, and some people will never accept that because fantasy - even incredibly popular and renowned fantasy - is for entertainment and nothing else.

Edit: oh yeah and I definitely paid attention to Gandalf and Frodo talking about Gollum. I've seen the Jackson movies (I know some stuff was changed or dropped) so I have an idea of how Gandalf's prediction is going to turn out. But I'm also paying attention to how Gandalf talks to Frodo about mercy. It's interesting.

[black-rose-irl]

You know what's kinda fucked up?

Having your cutesy book about Christmas time saints feature a story about three girls in danger of being sold to a brothel because of their father's debts. (St. Nicolas, whose myth of saving those 3 girls from being forced into prostitution by giving them money has turned into the story of Santa Claus)

I mean, it's accurate to the supposed story, but also, looking back at it, it was kind of a fucked up thing to have your kid (like 8 or 9) read out loud to your other children (6 or younger), when you're trying to learn where your names came from.

[suntails]

[sharing/rb appreciated 💛]

my silver artbook is FINISHED and will open for preorders on 8/31 at 12pm EST!! it's been almost 3 months of work and i'm so excited to finally be able to share all the art i've worked on, PLUS a small bonus charm!

if u know silver fans,,, tell them

[giantkillerjack]

Uh-oh! You are like, SOOO awkward!!

You're so awkward that it is occasionally mildly uncomfortable for people!

You're so awkward that sometimes people are confused by you and then there are awkward silences!

You're so awkward ...... that ultimately no one is harmed!!

Oh damn!!! What a vile crime you have committed! What an unforgivable thing it is to make a fellow human briefly confused!

Why, if *I* were ever briefly confused and kind of uncomfortable as a result, I'd be devastated.... by the absolute net zero change in my happiness and health! - From which I might never recover!! Yes indeed! No punishment can ever be enough for you!!

So you better absolutely hate yourself for it.

Better be SO MEAN to yourself about every single missed social cue so you don't forget your horrible crime! Meaner than you'd ever dream of being to someone else for the same thing! This is YOUR responsibility!

You need to show the world that you KNOW you are bad by punishing yourself constantly! After all, think of all the people who BENEFIT from you punishing yourself! - No, really! Think about it! Think about who benefits from your pain.

Think of alllllll the definitely-good people that your definitely-necessary self-torment definitely helps! I mean, you can't just cut off their definitely-life-sustaining supply of your suffering, right?? Sure, everyone else has a breaking point, but you're probably the only person in human history who doesn't, right? Best not to question it probably. Sure, it's a symptom that billions of people with trauma have had, but who knows? You could be a one-in-seven-billion exception. Anything's possible!

Instead, better just accept that idea that bullies carry like guns in holsters - the idea that people who have trouble with social cues deserve to suffer. Better carry on the burden they placed on you until you drop. Aid the cause of the callous by enforcing shame and suffering upon yourself extra hard; try your best to do their work for them. They're very busy.

Better not recognize that you need patience and kindness to heal from your trauma. Better not find out that it was trauma rather than personal weakness filling your head with self-hating thoughts. Better not find out it wasn't your fault.

Better not find out that awkwardness is not inherently harmful or unkind, and, in fact, the people who act like it is *are the ones enacting harm and being cruel.*

Better not get righteously angry when you realize just how much unnecessary damage this has done to you. After all, if you get mad, you might realize you deserve better. You might even feel brave enough to DEMAND better! You might build boundaries that keep you safe! You might make other people think they deserve to feel safe too! And we obviously can't be having that, so...

Better not show yourself even a little kindness a little bit at a time.

Better not make a habit out of it after all that practice.

Better not get confident.

Especially if you can't first wipe out every trace of awkward. (And you probably never will. Because people who experience absolute social certainty at all times tend to be insufferable assholes that enforce the status quo. And you just don't have the stock portfolio for that.)

Better not be confident and awkward because then you might confuse and delight people

- you might accidentally end up making other people feel less shame for their social difficulties

- you might make isolated, traumatized, and shy people feel like they deserve to be included in social situations

- you might even make them feel they can be themselves around you

- you might start loving the effect you have on a room

- you might enjoy conversations more

- you might forgive yourself and bounce back from shame more easily and frequently

- you might come to enjoy some of those moments of harmless confusion you cause because NOBODY expects the Confident Awkward, and that can genuinely be an advantage in social situations

- you might stop apologizing so much.

- you might find that socializing is like a video game: it requires practice but also a safe space for it to be fun and positive.

Or if you can't become assertive and confident, better not remain awkward and shy and quiet, and then love and forgive yourself anyway!

Why, it would be carnage!!

In either scenario, you run the risk of finding out that it's not your fault that safe spaces full of kind people can be really hard to find, create, and nurture. You could end up building a skillset that helps you do those things if you're not careful!

If you start giving yourself even the tiniest amount of grace at a time, you will find that you've accessed a gateway drug with extreme long-term side effects:

- You might realize that it was never your fault that it took so long to like yourself.

- You might realize that you were always worth talking to, even when you didn't like yourself and communication felt impossibly difficult.

- You might realize that you'll still be worth talking to even if communication becomes harder as you age and/or experience disability.

- You might come to know that you deserve to be heard even on bad days when words come slow and blurry.

You might discover that you were always deserving of kindness, first and foremost from yourself.

So. As you can see, it's FAR too much of a risk to start granting your awkward self free pardons for your many heinous and harmless crimes. Better to just leave it there.

[nobodysdaydreams]

Giving a complicated tragic childhood backstory to your favorite character is all fun and games, until you realize you need to account for how old all the other adult characters would have been at the time and realize that scenes that would work perfectly if one character was twenty three and the other was fourteen stop working when you need other characters who are played by adult actors clearly younger than they are to be in college at the same time so your story beats line up thematically.

[boydykedevo]

I really like how at a certain point the curious george tv show stopped being about a monkey and started being about a very hairy little boy

[marinecorvid]

blorbos from my brain

[markantonys]

so funny when people say "well, obviously min is the only one rand can have a long-term relationship with post-canon since she doesn't have any other obligations" as if they cannot even conceive of the idea of rand being the househusband to his breadwinner wife/wives rather than the reverse. like there is literally nothing stopping him from just moving into the caemlyn palace and being elayne and aviendha's sugar baby. and as far as i can remember there was never any indication within the books that elayne would be expected to make a political marriage, that's just an assumption some readers make based on their own preconceptions of royal characters. (morgase's marriage to taringail was to smooth the throne's transition from mantear to trakand, but elayne already has 2 thrones and 2 heirs secure - and, on the latter subject, the books never hinted that her having kids while unmarried would in any way make them not be considered legitimate heirs, so there's really no reason at all why she would NEED to get married.)

"but rand wants to get away from it all, he can't have a relationship with a high-profile public figure who's obligated to stay in caemlyn" okay then they can keep their relationship discreet! and rand can travel by himself in his free time! and bring back nice presents to his family! and lest this be thought a Min Hate Post, min can move into the palace and be their sugar baby too! they can all be together, it's fine! there's really no reason why all 4 lifestyles can't ultimately be compatible long term! i mean, assuming min is able to get out of the seanchan's clutches.........which, somehow, people never seem to think is as big of an obstacle to Being Rand's Endgame as the fact that elayne and aviendha have jobs.

[trans-leek-cookie]

IM GONNA LOSE IT

[redheadedbrunette]

Any headcannons on the hale sisters? Or any of the spy school characters?

they're both incredibly jealous each other for the upbringing they got. trixie is jealous that erica got to be a part of the family legacy and be a hale in a way that, even if she were allowed to start training as a spy, she would never get to be. erica is jealous of trixie because she gets to forge her own identity outside of the spy business. because even though she's good at espionage and doesn't want that sense of identity taken away, she wishes that it could have been a choice, and more and more she's realizing the toll that it takes on her personal relationships and is wondering if it's really worth it.

erica was homeschooled for the entirety of her time leading up to her entrance at the academy, aside from the two weeks she attended second grade when trixie started kindergarten. it was around the time catherine and alexander's marriage was starting to fray at the edges, and they were hoping that if both girls were going to school, then catherine could spend more time working around the world because she felt obliged to stay at home with them when they were young. it went kind of horribly, and while erica herself didn't get into any fights (because she had been warned explicitly not to hurt any of her classmates), it was going pretty bad for her socially speaking and trixie had received no such warnings and was completely willing to release all of her feral energy and bite seven year olds who were being mean to her big sister. erica was pulled out almost right away and went back to homeschooling, and after her suspension was over, trixie went back and finished the year and started going to boarding school the next year. meanwhile, erica was just taken around with catherine most of the time and dropped back with alexander when catherine went on more involved missions and just did her schoolwork there.

[aroace-number-eight]

Read this post over again and honestly the LL series really feels like one of those rare exceptions where canon is dead and we take the parts we like from it, because the whole narrative is a dumpster fire that progressively gets worse the longer it gets, so we choose to change that and act like a majority of things never happened

I mean we took a fatphobic womanizer and decided he actually respects women and is sometimes in a gay relationship with the guy he canonically bullies without being fatphobic

[wutaijiemei]

i wonder how all the furious fans who characterized sam endgame as equivalent to sookie ending up with some rando felt about the true blood ending. truly too funny for words

[gloriousmonsters]

me @ myself: I don't care that you're on a Turn of the Screw kick right now for some reason, do NOT look up the wiki for H/aunting of Bl.y Manor. you KNOW you have a massive grudge against '''haunting of hill house'''. you KNOW that whatever it is you're not going to like it

me:

me: i'm going to look up tHoBM

me one episode list read later:

[liesonthefloordramatically]

Heart attack up your sleeve You can make me believe That I will grow from the ground After you burn me down

[iamthedukeofurl]

Scott Pilgrim is, I think, the best example I can think of for establishing a setting's Nonsense Limit. The setting's Nonsense Limit isn't quite "How high-fantasy is this". It's mostly a question of presentation, to what degree does the audience feel that they know the rules the world operates by, such that they are primed to accept a random new element being introduced. A setting with a Nonsense Limit of 0 is, like, an everyday story. Something larger than life, but theoretically taking place in our world, like your standard spy thriller action movie has a limit of 1. Some sort of hidden world urban fantasy with wizards and stuff operating in secret has a nonsense limit around 3 or 4. A Superhero setting, presenting an alternate version of our world, is a 5 or 6. High fantasy comes in around a 7 or so, "Oh yeah, Wizards exist and they can do crazy stuff" is pretty commonly accepted. Scott Pilgrim comes in at a 10. If you read the Scott Pilgrim book, it starts off looking like a purely mundane slice of life. The first hint at the fantastical is Ramona appearing repeatedly in Scott's Dreams, and then later showing up in real life. When we finally get an explanation, it's this:

Apparently Subspace Highways are a thing? And they go through people's heads? And Ramona treats this like it's obscure, but not secret knowledge. Ramona doesn't think she's doing anything weird here. At this point, it's not clear if Scott is accepting Ramona's explanation or not, things kind of move on as mundane as ever until their Date, when Ramona takes Scott through subspace, and he doesn't act like his world was just blown open or anything, although I guess that could have been a metaphor. there's a couple other moments, but everything with Ramona could be a metaphor, or Scott not recognizing what's going on. Maybe Ramona is uniquely fantastical in this otherwise normal world. And then, this happens

Suddenly, a fantastical element (A shitty local indie band finishing their set with a song that knocks out most of the audience) is introduced unrelated to Ramona, and undeniably literal. We see the crowd knocked out by Crash and The Boys. but the story doesn't linger on the implications of that, the whole point of that sequence is to raise the Nonsense Level, such that you accept it when This happens

Matthew Patel comes flying down onto the stage, Scott, who until this point is presented as a terrible person and a loser, but otherwise is extremely ordinary, proceeds to flawlessly block and counter him before doing a 64-hit air juggle combo. Scott's friends treat this like Scott is showing off a mildly interesting party trick, like being really good at darts. The establish that Scott is the "Best Fighter in the Province", not only are street-fighter battles a thing, Scott is Very Good at it, but they're so unimportant that being the best fighter in the province doesn't make Scott NOT a loser. So when Matthew Patel shows off his magic powers and then explodes into a pile of coins, we've established "Oh, this is how silly the setting gets". It's not about establishing the RULES of the setting so much as it is about establishing a lack of rules. Scott's skill at street-fighter battles doesn't translate to any sort of social prestige. Ramona can access Subspace Highways and she uses it to do a basic delivery job. It doesn't make sense and it's clear that it's not supposed to. So later on, when Todd Ingram starts throwing around telekinesis, and the explanation we're given is "He's a Vegan" , you're already so primed by the mixture of weirdness and mundanity that rather than trying to incorporate this new knowledge into any sort of coherent setting ruleset, you just go "Ah, yeah, Vegans".