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thevalleyisjolly · 2 years ago

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I tend to be extremely picky and judgmental about depictions of Elrond in Tolkien adaptations, in no small part because he’s my favourite character and I am, if nothing else, an Opinionated™ person. But, because he is my favourite, I feel like it’s only fair to the spirit of the character to try to be a little less judgmental and a lot more gracious. Therefore, here are things I like about the different Elronds of screen!

The Hobbit, 1977 (Rankin/Bass)

Absolutely iconic character design. I laughed my head off when I first watched this as a child, but looking back on it now, I kind of like it! Definitely not remotely anywhere near his canonical appearance, but I love the interpretation of a crown of stars, A+++ (even if it gives the impression that he’s suffering from a permanent concussion), and kudos to them for giving Elrond a beard! I am a big proponent of Elrond choosing to grow a beard, it’s one of my favourite headcanons. Hush Tolkien, he’s Peredhel, he can grow a beard if he wants to. I don’t remember anything about how his actual character was adapted because I was about 8 the one and only time I watched this film, but I gotta hand it to them, the character design is very creative and I do have a soft spot for 2D animation.

The Lord of the Rings, 1978 (Bakshi)

Alright, so he has a relatively small role and the character design definitely isn’t much to sneeze at, but damn, that voice! Like a warm knife through butter, but also something that makes you really get what a Voice of Power might sound like. “I will not touch it!” Props to André Morell, he really Went Off on the handful of lines he got.

The Lord of the Rings, 2001-2003 (Jackson)

Cards on the table, while these movies are my absolute favourite movies of all time, I’ve never liked what they did with Elrond’s character in relation to the Aragorn and Arwen storyline. However, I do get why they did it, and in the context of the story they’re telling, it works. He fills a specific role for the type of character journey that this film’s Aragorn is on, and if you judge that storyline on its own, independent of source material, it works for what it is - a reluctant hero who needs a strict mentor/parent figure to challenge him to really think about who he is, who he wants to be, and what he really wants. It’s not a creative decision that I personally would have made if I were on the production team, I’m not a fan at all of the decision to pursue this particular type of storyline, but spilled milk and all that.

Apart from the character’s changed role in the story, Hugo Weaving does a great job of portraying Elrond as someone’s who’s lived a long life, that famous “in his face was written the memory of many things both glad and sorrowful” descriptor. There’s a reason why “I was there, Gandalf. I was there 3000 years ago” has lasting power as a meme - his delivery of that line resonates with this weight and you just can’t forget it. Also, his face in ROTK during the coronation after he tells Arwen to go to Aragorn is heartbreaking and so good.

The Hobbit, 2012-2014 (Jackson)

This is my favourite on-screen Elrond thus far, so this will be more like a small essay. I say this wholeheartedly, Elrond in The Hobbit trilogy is the closest any screen adaptation has come thus far to capturing his character from the books. You got the “kind as summer” in his interactions and burgeoning friendship with Bilbo, you feel that warmth and the fondness in his interactions with Gandalf, the big hug of greeting and the gentle teasing and even how they can disagree with each other on pretty major issues but still walk side by side as friends.

You got the “wise as a wizard...venerable as a king of dwarves,” most evident in the plot scenes where he’s reading secret maps and participating in important councils, but also just in the way he moves around Rivendell with that measured self-assurance. Sure, his guests might be starting food fights, breaking furniture, or arguing with White Wizards about the necessity of investigating necromantic activity, but surprise Morgul blades aside, he never really loses his composure beyond a *deep sigh* or a mildly judgmental look of ‘Really?’ He’s not bothered by people showing him a lack of respect, and he’ll extend them hospitality all the same. Wise and venerable indeed.

They even got his flaws, and I’m pretty happy with the way they adapted that one line from the book, “he did not altogether approve of dwarves and their love of gold.” Not a great line, of course, and people are probably right in saying that Tolkien had not fully developed his idea of the character yet so it should be taken with a grain of salt, but I like that they kept him having reservations about the Quest, and translated it into something a little less racist (although the casual ableism still isn’t great) by making his disapproval more akin to “the eyes of the great are elsewhere” and so he fails to consider the personal significance of the Quest to the Company.

Because he’s heard of the history that Thorin’s family has with gold sickness, he’s concerned about messing with sleeping dragons, he’s suspicious of Gandalf’s motives for encouraging the quest because he views it as a level of geopolitical interference that none of them have a right to, and all these big overarching factors means he does not consider what the Quest means to the Dwarves, what Erebor means as a homeland forcibly snatched away in fire and blood. It’s a great way to have an organic character flaw, taking what are usually a person’s positive traits (wisdom and caution) and showing how they too can inform flawed decisions or perspectives under the right circumstances.

Also, possibly my favourite underrated element, but I love how much they incorporated “strong as a warrior." From that first entrance, riding back into Rivendell in full armour after destroying an Orc hunting pack, to the Battle of Dol Goldur, holy shit I could talk about that for ages. The sheer confidence of “You should have stayed dead,” the excellent battle choreography. He just impaled a Ringwraith through the spine, from behind! Watch closely, his fights never last more than two or three blows - he goes straight for what would be killing/KO blows on living creatures. He’s not here to duel or show off fancy sword skills, he’s here to eliminate the threat as quickly and efficiently as possible. And then of course, there’s that fantastic line, “Sauron must be hunted down and destroyed, once and for all.”

Love that for him, honestly, it’s what he deserves. Beyond the circles of the world, Lúthien is eating popcorn and cheering.

Rings of Power, 2022 (that one company, you know the one)

This is the only thing on the list that I haven’t watched at all so bear in mind that everything I’ve heard is secondhand, but I do have to say that I really like how they’re showing Elrond being good friends with Durin and the other Dwarves. He absolutely would! (that one line in The Hobbit aside) I’m still not planning on ever watching the show, but credit where credit is due, it’s very sweet to see them get along so warmly and enthusiastically in the gifsets.

#lotr #the hobbit #elrond #long post #fun side fact: according to tumblr's totally functional code; this is my 40000th post!#seems appropriate to mark a milestone with a post about my favourite blorbo #i haven't listened to any of the radio dramas so i couldn't comment on their elronds #i suppose i also haven't watched the tv show but the gifsets of his friendship with the dwarves are very sweet

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jiangwanyin · 3 years ago

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4, 8, 10! You can chose the character you'd prefer for each number, but it they have to be from Tolkien's universe.

oh thank you so much that's perfect!! 💌🌿🍵

4. shopping for formal wear with

fingon hands down!! okay i'm leaning very heavily on fanon here but he's FUN and he's got STYLE and i feel like we'd have a really good time and would end up choosing pretty quickly and then try a bunch of completely ridiculous clothes on too just for the hell of it and then go on to look at jewelry to go with what we bought and he would probably be super sweet and supportive and would motivate me to keep going when i inevitably lost my patience which is bound to happen sooner or later because generally i am not the biggest fan of clothes shopping

fingolfin i think? he'd probably be a lot more chill but i'm convinced he has a good sense of fashion too and i imagine him being very patient and helpful but also more practical and efficient which suits me just fine?

aragorn specifically post-coronation aragorn because i have a feeling his ranger look would get us kicked out of any shop that keeps formal wear, but otherwise he's patient, he's rational, he's good company. i don't think he knows or cares much about fashion but i don't doubt he actually has good taste and i just know he'd wait around for me to try on fifty different pretty suits and dresses

aredhel because i imagine her as both pretty chill and serious enough to get things done but also someone i'd genuinely enjoy hanging out with and although apart from when it comes to sundresses for the summer i rarely go for full white, my style for formal wear is definitely on the more reserved side too so we'd probably agree easily enough on which stores to go to and find clothes for each other that'd actually fit perfectly?

boromir if i was going specifically for a suit, i feel like we'd have a very good sort of brotherly time, he has expensive but practical taste and we'd probably have a laugh and maybe get a little competitive over who finds a good suit jacket first and always swap to see who it fits better and it'd be very chill but i also don't think he's particularly patient so i'd only commit to that if i had a specific shop or style in mind and knew i could choose easily because i think he'd probably want to get going soon once he found something good to wear and he'd be kind enough not to say so but i wouldn't want to be a burden

8. wake up handcuffed to

finrod solely because i love him with my entire heart and i'd trust him and i wouldn't mind hanging out with him even if we were in a bit of a tight spot because i know he'd get us out of whatever mess we're in the moment we found a way out, i just hope it'd have a happier ending than that time with beren did but assuming the circumstances weren't absolutely unbearable i think we'd find a way to actually enjoy it and pass the time discussing philosophy!

i'm actually surprising myself with this one too but maybe bilbo??? he turned out to be a pretty good burgler so i don't doubt he'd somehow manage to steal the keys to the handcuffs and we'd just sneak away

i'm of half a mind to say annatar because he's crafty and can shapeshift but unless he still needed me for some plot he's been manipulating me to help him see through he'd probably just shapeshift out of his handcuffs and leave me there to rot or would be the one who put me in handcuffs to begin with so probably not ideal??

maedhros because he's strong, smart, and strategic so he could probably get us out and he's patient enough, i don't think i'd want to get stuck anywhere with the rest of the fëanorians barring maglor, no matter how much i love them, and we all saw what happened at thangorodrim so even if he can't get us out i trust that fingon would come looking for him sooner or later

aragorn again i think? i'm sorry i'm biased he's been my favourite character since i was 10 but i genuinely think he'd be perfect for this too, again he's a very good problem solver and also good company to just hang out with and would probably keep me from worrying too much about the situation we're in!!

10. to cut and style my hair

ooh okay so the thing is i don't really style my hair like . at all, it's just sort of short and a mess and i like it that way but since i already have a sort of hobbit like haircut, my hair's just not quite as curly i'd definitely trust frodo or sam to cut it for me again and it doesn't even have to be neat or perfect?

but i suppose i'm also not entirely opposed to doing something more fancy with it for a change so i'd love a haircut and some more simple but elegant and pretty braiding by galadriel as well as an opportunity to have a chat with her also about philosophy

it's probably not his primary skill but i think faramir would do a decent job too since my haircut really isn't a big deal and he'd definitely be neat and attentive enough! also again he'd be amazing company.

going for a more fancy look here but i would love to see what melian would make of my hair? 👀 iii don't imagine maiar actually have to cut their hair but she's a good mum and surely knows how to do some really nice braiding so i think she'd do a great job and would probably make it look really shiny and pretty and put a bunch of flowers in it!

can i go with fingon again? i still stand by him having great style and he'd probably put jewelry in it and do all sorts of fancy braids aaand try out all kinds of different hair styles and we'd have an amazing time all around!

give me 5 characters to rank in a situation

#this is insanely long i'm sorry i got a little carried away but i had SO much fun thinking about this thank you again!!!!!#asks #sapphirecastles #long post

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warrioreowynofrohan · 4 years ago

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The Leithian Reread - Canto IV

I love the beginning of this canto, all the more so for how Lúthien’s dancing was inspired by Edith Tolkien dancing in a glade in England.

there flitting just before his feet

she gently chid with laughter sweet:

‘Come! dance now, Beren, dance with me!

For fain thy dancing I would see.

Come! thou must wood with nimbler feet...

his limbs were freed; his eyes alight

kindled with a new enchanted sight;

and to her dancing feet his feet

attuned went dancing free and fleet;

his laughter welled as from a spring

of music, and his voice would sing

as voices of those in Doriath...

And to strength the parallels, the moment of Edith’s dancing that Tolkien recalled was in 1917, not long after Tolkien returned from World War I. More than just the dancing itself, the full image of a man emerging from a hell of war that has consumed his friends to find a vision of beauty may be based on Tolkien’s own feelings.

Lúthien and Beren first meet each other for real at the beginning of spring, while the confrontation in Menegroth happens in the middle of summer. So they have had at least three or four months of nightly meetings by that time. While it’s certainly love at first sight, they have also had a decent amount of time to become well acquainted with each other.

A second thing that stands out about this canto is how much understated power there is in Doriath. It’s not displayed or flaunted so much as it is simply part of the realm and its people. Dairon casts a spell of silence upon the whole forest as a reaction to being lovelorn; in other stories this would be some phenomenal thing, some climax of a battle, but here’s it’s just a spurned suitor getting in a snit.

(The kind of song-associated magic we seen in the Leithian, from Daeron and Finrod and Lúthien, makes me wonder about Maglor. He’s named as an exceptional singer, but there is no mention of that ever being associated with this kind of enchantment. My own view is that what Men call ‘magic’ is bourne of an Elvish connection with the world that is far stronger than that of Men [Elves name them the Strangers for a reason]. The spirit and body of elves are also more tightly bound together than those of Men; I think that, for elves, doing evil impairs their connection to the world and reduces their ability to do things Men would regard as magical. We see an example of this far more starkly later in the Leithian, where Celegorm goes from having a unique ability to communicate with animals to being someone whom dogs specifically avoid and will not obey.)

As another illustration of how impressive Doriath is, in Menegroth we see that capturing light in gemstones is a technique known to the Sindar as well, and used to spectacular effect:

There a light

like day immortal and like night

of stars unclouded, shone and gleamed.

A vault of topless trees it seemed,

whose trunks of carven stone there stood

like towers of an enchanted wood

in magic fast forever bound,

bearing a roof whose branches wound

in endless tracery of green

lit by some leaf-imprisoned sheen

of moon and sun, and wrought of gems,

and each leaf hung on golden stems.

The creation of light-gems, then, is not something unique to the Noldor; it’s fairly common in the First Age. In addition to Doriath, it’s also mastered by the dwarves of Khazad-dûm, including capturing light in metal as well as gems (on silver necklaces they strung the flowering stars; on crowns they hung the dragon-fire; in twisted wire, they meshed the light of moon and sun - from Gimli’s song in LOTR). The Silmarils are unique and wondrous because the Treelight they contain has vanished from the world, but the concept of gems containing light is not rare in the time of The Silmarillion.

Continuing on to the plot! Thingol comes across very badly in this canto; in addition to the quest itself, he makes another attempt at using exact words (‘no blade nor chain his limbs shall mar’) to find a loophole that lets him imprison or execute Beren:

Yet captive bound by never a bar,

unchained, unfettered shalt thou be

in lightless labyrinth endlessly

that coils about my halls profound

by magic bewildered and enwound;

there wandering in hopelessness

though shalt learn the power of Elfinesse!

Beren does a splendid job of countering him, both in thus specific moment (‘What are thy mazes but a chain wherein the captive blind is slain? Twist not thy oaths, o elvish king, like faithless Morgoth!’) and in the more famous line in reaction to the Quest of the Silmaril (‘For little price do elven-kings theur daughters sell - for gems and rings and things of gold!’). But I think my favourite line of his here is his farewell to Lúthien, which manages to both be incredibly romantic and throw a tremendous amount of shade at Thingol’s issuing of a bride-price:

‘I will return, not thee to buy

with any jewel in Elfinesse,

but to find my love in loveliness,

a flower that grows beneath the sky.’

A pattern throughout the Leithian is that Beren is really very impressive when confronting elves. It’s only when dealing with powers on the level of Sauron and Morgoth that he’s out of his league, and really, who wouldn’t be?

An additional note on Thingol is the irony of him calling Beren ‘a stranger to both beech and oak’, given what I noted in the previous sections of the reread about Beren’s exceptional woodcraft and close connection with nature. It’s probable that some of those beeches and oaks are his close personal friends by this point! (I’m being literal. Treebeard mentions missing Doriath, and if he went there often it’s likely that there were a fair few Huorns there as well.)

As a final observation, it should be noted that Thingol has zero interest in actually getting a Silmaril; the entirety of his objective is to get rid of Beren (‘if hope there were that Beren should ever living fare to the Thousand Caves once more, I swear he should not ever have seen the air or light of heaven’s stars again’).

I like Melian’s line from The Silmarillion, which does not appear in the poetic version: ‘You have doomed either your daughter, or yourself.’ Either Beren fails in his errand (dies or is captured) and Lúthien dies of heartbreak; or he comes back with a Silmaril, which is disastrous for Doriath. But Thingol isn’t listening: he doesn’t acknowledge the strength and sincerity of Lúthien’s love for Beren, and so doesn’t believe he is doing her any lasting harm; and he never imagines the possibility that the Quest could succeed.

#tolkien #the silmarillion #the lay of leithian #beren and luthien #leithian reread #thingol #doriath #melian #beren #lúthien #maglor

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ncfan-1 · 3 years ago

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Writer tag game

I was tagged by @anghraine!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

621, though that’s going to jump to 623 once they do reveals on Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

3,253,336! To increase the moment I finally finish Under Observation!

3. What are you top 5 fics by kudos?

They’re all really, really old, which honestly kind of depresses me; nothing I’ve written since them has even touched the level of popularity they have, and I really do think the quality of my writing has improved a lot since then. Every time I sort my fics by kudos, I am reminded that I peaked in popularity back in 2014, and it’s all been downhill from there.

1. When the Truth Gets Out—the bog-standard ‘Gaang finds out how Zuko got his scar’ fic, 11,499 kudos. For real, I’m not sorry that this is my most popular fic, since I do think it’s good, even if it’s clunky by my present standards. I just keep waiting for something else to even remotely approach the level of popularity this fic has achieved, and nothing ever has.

2. Skin Deep—a companion to the above, a missing scene fic detailing Toph finding out Zuko has a scar on his face to start with, 9,888 kudos.

3. Little Lost Spirit—a Natsume Yuujinchou fic that I cannot for the life of me remember what it was about, as I first wrote it when I was in high school, 1,081 kudos.

4. On Forgiveness—a fic with Katara and Zuko talking about Zuko’s mom, 920 kudos.

5. Plans—a very short Mulan fic that I first wrote when I was in high school, 618 kudos.

4. Do you respond to fic or not?

I do try to, but a lot of the time I find that I don’t have the energy for it, even when the comments I get are very interesting and I would like to reply.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

For that, you’d probably have to go back to the literally hundreds of fics I never moved over from my Fanfiction.net account, since I was really in to writing gimdark fic when I was in high school. Of the fics that come to mind on my AO3 account, In the Shadows is the one that stands out the most, since Shizuka suffers her canon fate of dying while being totally disregarded by her family.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Again, I don’t really write fics specifically for them to have happy endings. I do like hopeful endings, or at least endings that involve the possibility of hope, since I’m not in high school anymore and grimdark does not appeal to me anymore. Probably The Festival of Shells, since it’s early enough on in the bliss of Valinor that there isn’t a shadow over anything.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

Very, very occasionally. I would definitely say that the weirdest (weird as in you would never think to mesh the two together) crossover I’ve ever written is the one where I transplanted characters from Natsume Yuujinchou into a setting very like that of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I’ve written for unpopular ships in the past, so yes. I got spammed with suicide baiting comments on all of my fics for a particular Naruto ship within the space of about fifteen minutes many years ago. I rolled my eyes and deleted the comments. I also got a rape threat when I was starting out on Fanfiction.net. Fun times.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Very, very, very occasionally. I really, really have to be in the mood for it, there are only a select few ships I can even bring myself to write it for, and the unifying experience is that all of it has been some flavor of dubcon, most of it with fantastical elements involved.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I seem to recall learning years ago that someone had copy-pasted a few dozen of my fics to Goodreads, or something like that. I definitely recall sending a ‘take them down right now�� letter to the site.

(@anghraine, they published yours on Amazon?!)

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have had a few of mine translated to Russian.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, I haven’t.

13. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I have several ships that I move away from and come back to like the tide coming in and out, but right now my biggest one is Aredhel/her freedom. Second is probably Finduilas x Maeglin.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Face to Face, augh. Everybody, say hello to the fic that inspired me to make my rule that I never, ever post a WIP before I have finished writing all of the chapters, because if there is anything I’ve learned about myself, it’s that I get discouraged when I don’t get a lot of feedback, even when it’s for something I know isn’t going to get a whole lot of attention, and it’s better to just finish the fic in its entirety before posting than to risk dropping the whole project and having its unfinished corpse haunt my dreams. Ahem.

15. What are your writing strengths?

I would say characterization and description.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Conflict, most likely. I sometimes hesitate in being as ‘mean,’ for lack of a better term, to characters as the situation really calls for being. I think I pull my punches with them more than I really should, sometimes.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

It can be handled well, but I think that I particularly should not do it, as I do not have a strong enough grasp of the languages my characters would be speaking to make it any better than completely cringeworthy.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

The first fandom I ever published fic for was Star Wars. The first fandom I ever wrote fic for, back when I was thirteen, was Teen Titans.

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

That varies a lot, but right now, I would say probably Saudade. I’m really proud of it, and I don’t think I’m wrong to be.

Tagging: whoever wants to do it

#Fic meme #Writing meme #Fanfic meme

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mcrmadness · 4 years ago

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"I’m not from the US” ask set: 4, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 22, 26 :) :)

Thanks! :) Here is the ask set if anyone wants to send more asks!!!

Sorry for taking so long with the answer, I got bit too excited and had a busy weekend so I’ve been writing this a little bit every day because I managed to make tired on each time because of the amount of text I’m apparently able to produce because I’m a proud Finn who loves their country a bit too much :D

4. favourite dish specific for your country?

Hmmm. This is interesting question, our cuisine reminds the German one a lot to begin with and I feel like it’s just so very... basic (like: potatoes and meat/sausages + milk products). There’s also many regional dishes that I haven’t eaten because I’m from the East Finland and those are popular in the West or so, and some of these sound really disgusting too. And I want to leave out desserts like mämmi or other foods like Karelain pies and focus on actualy dishes not... So I’d say my favorite is Karjalanpaisti aka the Karelian hot pot (UK)/Karelian stew (US) so it also has bit of Russian roots for it, too. It’s more common here in the East and I don’t know about other families, but that is what my mom makes as the main food for Christmas but sometimes she cooks it even if it wasn’t Christmas. So it’s just beef, pork and liver stew and eaten with potatoes. The broth also tastes sooooo good if you put butter on a rye bread and then dip the bread in the broth! I usually don’t eat the beed/pork pieces because I have to chew them for so long that they become so dry and lose all the taste, but I LOVE liver. And during the few past years my mom has bought local, organic Highland cow liver and made us our own stew without the beef/pork (unless beef is organic since I only eat organic meat) and omg, it’s just so good :D

And another one worth mentioning: fried vendace! It’s a small fresh water fish (’muikku’ in Finnish) and it’s a famous dish (’paistetut muikut’) especially here in Finnish Lakeland. These are always the highlight of the summer when the vendace/fish restaurants open and you get the summer’s first (and often the last too because of money lol) fried vendace meal from a restaurant :p

***

7. three words from your native language that you like the most?

- Niin kuin / Niiku / Niiko. This is a filler word, you can start a sentence with it or put it anywhere. It basically means the same as saying “like” in the middle of a sentence in English. Like, the way I’m doing now. It depends on the dialect which version one chooses to use, “niiko” is not typica for my dialect but I’ve adopted it to my speech anyway.

- Kylömä. This is a dialect word, typical for my dialect, it comes from the written word “kylmä” which means “cold”. Here in the East we like additional letters, especially vowels, so this often becomes “kylymä”. And when wanting to make it even more Savo dialect-ish, you say “kylömä”.

- Häh? / Täh? That’s right, German is not the only language with a word for the question mark mood - Finns also will say “hä???” when something goes over our heads. I think it comes from the word “mitä” which means “what”, which then has evolved into “mitäh” and from there to “täh” and finally to “häh?” But I’m not a linguist, it just sounds most logical for me like this. I also like other Finnish interjections and I wish I had similar words in English.

***

13. does your country (or family) have any specific superstitions or traditions that might seem strange to outsiders?

Finland isn’t really that superstitious anymore. Back in the day, before modern religions, Finland was very much superstitious and especially into magic a lot. And there were gods everywhere, if you saw a face in the tree, it could have been nothing else but the forest god. And what still playfully lives from these eras of magic and spells are the spells we’re talking about during Midsummer. Mostly they were about running around naked and doing random things like sleeping with flowers under your pillow in order to see your future parten in your dream, or do things in order to get good luck at future marriage. But I don’t know if anyone does those anymore, we just playfully joke about them every year.

Talking of Midsummer, I think I need to mention here our tradition about: drowning. That’s right, in Finland there’s always a number of people drowning during Midsummer because alcohol and swimming don’t go together but people still go swimming while they’re drunk and then accidents happen... So, whenever the Midsummer approaches, everyone is wishing for good weather so they can go out and have fun and get drunk with others (except for me because I’m an introverted teetotaler who hates people and heat waves lol) but at the same time we’re wishing for a bad weather so as little people would drown as possible. The better the weather, the more people will drown. But still if the weather is bad, it makes everyone angry because they wished for better weather but at least more lives are saved, then... So you can basically never win, as long as people will go swimming while drunk and forget to look after their friends (because they’re also too drunk to notice someone disappeared).

***

14. do you enjoy your country’s cinema and/or TV?

Not really. There only a few comedy shows that I really like - Kummeli being the ultimate best and I pretty much grew up with that show. I don’t like Finnish drama series nor movies because I just can’t stand the acted Finnish. It sounds the same as normal spoken language too but I just can SEE from the people they are acting and it gets on my nerves so much. Plus Finland loves melancholy so we can’t even have police series without it being about human relations instead of investigating stuff and people are just constantly lying, angry at each other and crying 24/7. I don’t like that sort of negativity at all, it makes me just angry myself.

Plus Finland only has like 5 different actors that are in every goddamned show and movie, and then we also have just like 3 different people who are hosts in radios and tv shows and like... why??? Kinda tired of seeing the same faces everywhere all the time!

But I have to mention that a few good movies have come from Finland during the past couple of years: Tom of Finland is actually a great movie and it’s great for anyone interested in the LGBT+ history (especially the gay community’s) too as it tells about this Finnish artist whose drawings have inspired many today’s praised LGBT+ icons too. I don’t know if you can find it with foreign subtitles or so yet as it’s mainly spoken in Finnish. The same director also made a movie about Tolkien, this one is entirely in English (apart from a few pseudo-Finnish words here and there because Finnish inspired Tolkien a lot in real life too) but it was a good movie anyway.

***

15. a saying, joke, or hermetic meme that only people from your country will get?

Well, in Finland we have this phenomenon called “Suomi mainittu, torilla tavataan!” aka we get so excited everytime Finland is mentioned anywhere even a little so everyone gotta “meet” at a market place to celebrate it. It literally means “Finland mentioned, let’s meet at the market place!” No matter what is the original language of where the mention is, and it doesn’t matter if we don’t understand the language, if we can clearly tell it’s about Finland, we need to leave a comment in Finnish and go crazy about it because our lil country was noticed somewhere finally.

And here’s an extra one:

Source. Write “Finnish bus stop” on Google and you get tens of these photos. We really love our personal space.

***

16. which stereotype about your country you hate the most and which one you somewhat agree with?

I don’t know if we have any wrong stereotypes? I even tried googling this and I agreed with every single one of them? :D But I googled a little bit more and apparently people tend to see Finns as very rude because of our introverted and emotionless nature and I have to disagree with this one. Yes we’re introverted (but still extroverts exist too, I myself am an ambivert) and especially our monotonous language can make us seem very emotionless as well, but the “rudeness” comes from the fact we show our respect by not paying too much attention to others. We even run away from people we know if I we happen to see them in a supermarket and they didn’t see us yet, we’re ust shy! :D I’m also pretty sure that the dark, Finnish sense of humour (we’re the kings of dank memes btw) can also often go way over other people’s heads and what we meant as a deadpan dark humour can seem like something very offending to those who have gotten used to a very different and more light-hearted humour.

Finns can seem very pessimistic. I was once watching a video, because I’m learning German, about how different the people of Berlin are to other Germans and they have this very similar “attitude” to things as people from Nordic Countries too: instead of saying “oh that’s a great one” we tend to say “well it could be worse”, but we mean exactly the same with this.

Finns are also very humble and we just HATE bragging and we don’t like it at all if someone else is bragging about themselves, which is why especially Americans easily get our nerves. We even have a saying that goes “self praise stinks” because no one likes someone who loves themselves too loudly. That’s why we find it hard to take in compliments and instead of a “Oh thank you!” you get something like “Oh that was nothing, really, not a big deal at all...” but on the inside we’re very flattered, just too shy to show our true feelings.

I guess this answers to the both aspects of this question!

***

19. do you like your country’s flag and/or emblem? what about the national anthem?

The flag is a white one with a blue cross and yeah it’s nice. It looks calm and it’s just... simple. At least I don’t have trouble remembering which color is which unlike with all those flags with two or more stripes. I legit cannot remember in which order they go in which countries’ flags and whether a country as horizontal or vertical stripes. So at least that is nice, otherwise I probably wouldn’t be able to draw the Finnish flag either. I associate the colors with Finland because they’ve always been there so I couldn’t even imagine a different kind of flag at all.

The emblem then is a yellow lion on a red background, with some swords. And flowers because... why the heck not? No but I honestly have no clue why it’s a lion. There’s never been lions in Finland? Other than in zoos and our biggest wild cat species is lynx so... why a lion? (I clearly have to do some googling here.)

The national anthem is a bit boring one and I don’t know if I’ve ever even read the full lyrics. At least I never could memorize them... but I guess it sounds like... Finland.

***

22. what makes you proud about your country? what makes you ashamed?

I’m proud about lots of things. There’s many things Finland has done right and what other countries should really learn from, e.g. how to deal with homelessness. And how a democratic country actually works. And how cops should actually be like - there’s more racism from other agencies than from the police in Finland, and withing the past 20 years only 7 people have died from polices’ bullets and they were occassions where these people were going to harm other people or themselves. And every time a police uses their gun, that will be investigated thoroughly to see if anything was done wrong there and if it looks like there was no right to use the gun, there will be consequences.

There’s also lots of things that cannot really compared to the other European countries, like the laws about animals, for example. I eat organic meat that comes from Finland because it’s nothing like the meat industry in other places in Europe (I think all Nordic Countries are a lot like Finland with this). An ex-friend once tried to convince me of why also organic meat is bad and animals get treated badly but this person did not understand that you can’t send me photos from farms in another European country far from Finland because it is so far from how things are in Finland to begin with. Our animal right laws are a lot stricter than anywhere else in the Europe and I really trust the agriculture of Finland and there are no big secrets, most farmers also have voluntarily signed up to a website that shows their vet checkup results etc. publicly, which is great because it means they care about the animals too and not just about making money. (Of course Finland is not perfect and occassionally farms with terrible animal healthcare issues are found and there’s still lots of things where we could improve, but I’m saying that, at the moment, animals in Finland [and Nordic Countries] do have a lot better rights and lives than anywhere else in Europe or even in the World we have only a small portition of the problems that are present in other European countries’ intensive farming habits on a daily basis.)

And from here we get to what makes me ashamed: our justice system. It’s way too easy on people! I mean, our “lifetime” is not lifetime, every goddamned murderer will get to walk free after a decade or so, sometimes a lot earlier if they are behaving nice, and we have already had so many cases where someone has got out and then killed yet another person. But for some reason we just can’t keep murderers behind the bars because apparently Finland believes that sociopaths won’t kill ever again if they behave nice in the jail (which btw are more like hotels here). And what about rapists, child abusers and other assholes? Oh, no jailtime, fine is fine!!! Or maybe in parole but nah, why bother put them behind the bars :) And despite the great animal rights laws, the consequences in animal rights crimes are nonexistent. You might get fined and they can forbid you from ever owning an animal again, but absolutely no one is supervising this. There’s so many animal hoarder/abuser cases where animals have been taken away and they’ve been fined and told that they are not allowed to keep animals anymore, and it won’t take too long until they again have a house full of animals, or they are again charged for animal abuse. And nothing ever changes.

But I’m also really ashamed of those loud asshats who keep shouting their right-wing views. What especially gets on my nerves is that when ever a transgender person is mentioned, these people just can’t keep their mouths shut but they just have to be there in the comments saying how... okay I don’t even bother saying what they say, you all know what transphobics say so all that bullshit and it just annoys me so much because I KNOW they are doing that on purpose to be provocative but I so wish I had some huge mallet I could beat sensibility in their heads but I also know they will never change their minds because they’ve already decided to think like that and they want to just upset others with their opinions. I just hope everyone would walk away from them because if no one answers for them, I’m sure they would stop eventually because no one bothers to continue bullying if there’s no one around to bully anymore.

***

26. does your nationality get portrayed in Hollywood/American media? what do you think about the portrayal?

Very rarely. Usually it’s another “torilla tavataan” moment if Finland is mentioned in an American TV as it’s so rare, and usually then everyone will know about it even if they wouldn’t be interested in the media. Usually there’s been a Finnish person or a person with Finnish roots making that media whenever it gets mentioned (e.g. Iron Sky was made by a Finnish team). But usually it’s rather annoying because of course Russia is always mentioned everywhere and sometimes even Sweden! But Finland? Neverheard. Which probably is the reason because most Americans have never even heard of Finland and they have absolutely no clue where that is and if that is even a real place.

More often Finland is linked to Santa Claus but even then they get it wrong because Americans believe Santa comes from the North Pole and the North Pole is not in Finland (and Santa comes from Finland and not from the North Pole :D). And one common belief is also that there’s polar bears in Finland. No, there is none. Just regular Eurasian brown bears but no polar bears.

#lokigodof #mcrmadness' random stuff #ask games #finland #finnish #long post

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oertendahlii · 4 years ago

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So a while ago I was tagged by the wonderful @stolligaseptember to answer these 10 questions and then come up with 10 new ones. 1. What’s the worst household chore? Vacuuming, I think, it’s tiresome and most importantly, it scares my cats. Oh, and the sound is terribly disturbing to listen to when someone else does it.

2. Three books you think everyone should read? Oh no, this is tough! People have so different taste, the books I enjoy wouldn’t fit everyone. So I think three books I think everyone should read would be quite scientific ones about things I find important. Although I have at least one such book in mind, lets not go there…

So, instead, here’s three books I think everyone who has a similar taste in books as I should give a go (they’re all very lovely): ”Time stops for no mouse” by Michael Hoeye, the first book in The Hermux Tantamoq Adventures about Hermux, a watchmaker mouse who becomes a detective (it’s for children, but it’s really, really lovely), ”The Hobbit” (J.R.R Tolkien) and ”Britt-Marie was here” (Fredrik Backman). (Or, pretty much any book by Astrid Lindgren, I can’t really pick).

3. Even if you’re a terrible baker, what’s your go-to baking choice? Well, if I’ve got plenty of time for baking it’s buns! When there’s less time, then maybe pie (summer and autumn), chocolate balls or kladdkaka (sticky chocolate cake). But mostly I just ask my sister or mother if there’s anything special they want, honestly. If I didn’t save it for special occations, cake might have been my go-to choice, because I think planning out, preparing and putting together a cake is my favourite kind of baking.

4. Any favorite candy? Not really actually, not a clear favourite at least. What I’m craving really changes from day to day, and sometimes depends on mood, weather and situation. But chocolate is almost always right.

5. What’s the first thing you do in the morning? Drink water. Or turn of my alarms if I wake up before all of them has gone off.

6. Is there a story behind your name? If not, what does your name mean? I don’t know if it counts as a story, but what I know is that my mom wanted me and my siblings to have more "international" names, rather than common swedish names. Other than that, I guess she just liked it.

7. Favorite song right now? I don’t have one right now, haven’t for quite some time. But considering the fact that pretty much the entire thing is sung, may I say the musical ”Ingvar!”? (thanks for the suggestion, SVT Play, I love it!). That’s pretty much what I’ve been listening to the past days (together with a bit of Kristina från Duvemåla and other musicals).

On a side note: Ingvar! will be avaible on SVT Play (x) for some months, watch it peeps, it’s amazing! It’s in swedish though. Who could have guessed that a musical about Ingvar Kamprad and IKEA would be so very catchy. And just look at this:

I love the shelf, dynamite and meatball costumes. I only knew of Anders Ekborg and Daniel Engman before watching this, but all the performers are amazing. 8. Best compliment that you’ve ever received? This isn’t the best one, I know that much, but I don’t remember anything else right now, so: last year I worked with pulled sugar for the first (and so far only) time to do a bow for a cake to a friend’s birthday party, and for a split-second someone though it was real, that was fun!

9. If you could spend the day with any historical person of your choice, who would it be? Someone important to the field of conservation biology and/or ecology and/or environmental science I think. Probably Rachel Carson, I mean Silent Spring was revolutionary and so, so important, both considering the use of pesticides but also for raising awareness about nature’s vulnerability to human intervention.

10. Are you a prisoner of planet earth? I’d say it sometimes feels like planet earth is a prisoner of the human race. (I didn’t get the reference so I googled it and I’ve never heard of the ”prison earth” idea before, if that’s even what you’re after. But no, I don’t think I am). Here’s my questions: 1. Favourite mineral or rock, if you have one, if not: birthstone? 2. What was the last movie or tv show/series you watched and what did you think about it? 3. Favourite jam? 4. Do you prefer deciduous or coniferous forests? Or another kind of forest? 5. Is there any song/movie/tv show that reminds you of a time in your life that you miss sometimes? 6. Do you prefer restaurants or cafés, and why? 7. What would be the perfect picture (for you) for your birth month in a calendar? 8. Favourite instrument to listen to? 9. Have you got any favourite motivational quote(s) or lyrics? If not, any other quote(s) you like? 10. A language you wish you were fluent in?

I tag: @aprilskyforever @triplestaff @liljakonvalj and anyone who want to do it (oh and you, if you wanna do it again September) :)

#kako blev taggad #stolligaseptember #aprilskyforever #triplestaff #liljakonvalj

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dukeofriven · 5 years ago

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Re-Reading Good Omens After Fifteen-Plus Years: A Review

[I a so sorry I didn’t get a chance to finish it before the show dropped the way i wanted - I had to bow out of Tumblr for most of the last few weeks to focus on a project. Bugger bugger bugger. Here it is now, later that I would have liked. Apologies, gentle readers. Spoilers, obviously for the whole book] I last read Good Omens some fifteen to seventeen years ago for probably the tenth or even twentieth time. I read it a lot. In the heady days of... I want to say grade ten?... no book seemed smarter, wiser, made me laugh more, and me feel smarter for having read it. I think my order of operations was all the Discworld books (up to, or just before, Night Watch) -> Good Omens -> Sandman, with the later changing how I understood the nature of story itself (but that’s for another day.) I suspect that Good Omens, along with The West Wing, Tolkien, and The Golden Compass, along with an enormous Colonial Chip on my shoulder (and a pretentious stick up the ass) eventually led me to becoming a Classicist after a brief and dreadful dalliance with the theatre. At the very least it certainly helped. So, what do I know think of Good Omens, a book I once read at least ten times (probably more) back when I re-read favourite books the way other people breathed often? (i.e. with constant regularity) Well, it’s not bad. It is not a bad book. It’s just not a great book. It’s not a terribly… cohesive book. It reads exactly like the kind of book that might get written if you and a fellow writer swapped a floppy disc back and forth in the mail a bunch of times adding bits as you went. Which, of course, is exactly what it is. The things I remember about the book remain as good as I remember them being - which is a shame because all the really good bits I remember about the book are, with a few exceptions, in the first half (Death still incorrectly says Revelations instead of Revelation in the second half like I remember. He’s still wrong, and it’s still weird given that the right name is in the book earlier more than once.) Everything goes rapidly downhill the moment Armageddon actually kicks off... something of a problem in a book about Armageddon whose entire second half is Armageddon. I remember Aziraphale and Crowley being great together. What I didn’t remember is that they spend most of the book apart, a crime because they’re at their best bouncing off one-another and far weaker solo, especially Crowley who really only has Hastur to talk to and he’s not a great conversationalist. If I could ditch Crowley Drives Really Hard and swap it for A&C Do Shit Together I would. I remember Newt and Anathema becoming a couple. What I didn’t remember is that they are entirely superfluous to the narrative, as are the prophecies of Agnes Nutter herself. I kept trying to remember why it is that Newt and Anathema needed to be at the military base - turns out they don’t. Newt doesn’t even stop the countdown, that’s all Adam willing it otherwise. N&A then wander over to the main group and just kind of stand around. The only purpose of the prophecies is to give Aziraphale an idea of where Adam is. That’s it. This is extremely frustrating because Anathema talks about how working-out prophecies has allowed her family to triumph down the ages, and it sets Agnes up as someone who was executed for being a truth teller - for being an other - even though one day her prophecies would be so important for the world. But they're not! Their one tangible impact on the plot is to have Aziraphale make a phone call that he immediately hangs up. the prophecies only document the end of the world, they are irrelevent to the aversion of the End Times, which feels like one of several moments where the book Is Making A Point About Human Nature And Reader Expectations but is undone by my old friend lousy framing. Toy cannot position someone as having “they know not what they do” importance and then just not follow-through on that. There is, I think, a sense in the book that What It’s All About is quiet humanism: that the story isn’t really about Armageddon, but the smaller human stories that happened around it: Newt and Anathema falling in... love, I guess? Mindy Newt: Homer Anathema, What’s wrong? Homer Anathema: Like you don’t know! We’re going to have sex! Mindy Newt:: Oh … We don’t have to. Homer Anathema: Yes we do! The cookie Book told me so

Or Shadwell and Madame Tracey. And that’s great - that’s a great theme. But the book fails to pull it off - largely, I think because once Armageddon kicks off it loses the human dimension its trying to argue is important for keeping the planet grounded, not because its trying to make that point, but because the authors get so distracted by writing a bunch of crazy Armageddon stuff that the actual important work - like fleshing-out characters and their stories properly - goes away in the hurly-burly of Important Shit Going down.

Take Adam. Adam lacks any real sense of interiority and wears his heart on his sleeve, which makes the will-he, won’t-he nature of Armageddon on which the whole book rests have... well, zero weight. Will Adam give in to his more evil nature? No. Of course he won’t. It’s not even a case of “of course he won’t ‘cause I know how stories go don’t I ain’t I clever” - it’s that Adam has no evil nature. None at all. A bit of child-like self-absorption , but that’s it. The book climaxes with Aziraphale realizing that the AntiChrist won’t pick sides because he is neither entirely Good or Evil - he is Just A Human, and therefore kind of both. The book has done a great job showing that duality of humanity: Mr. young, for example, isn’t a bad man. Nor is he a good one. He’s an average man, with all sorts of awful little prejudices and thought patterns, but equally enough basic decency that nobody could call him a monster anymore than a saint. So often in the book people do Bad Things without being depraved lunatics - they just get caught up in the churning mediocrity of life, what Arendt dubbed the ‘banality of evil’ after the Eichmann trial. The telemarketers aren’t child killers, and they don’t deserve their (frankly sickening and brutal) deaths - but every day they hurt people in small, irritating, vexing ways, perpetuating some horrid not because they’re nightmares but because it’s just their job. Again, that’s great. That’s why the first part of the book is the strongest: it’s full of the kinds of humanity you don’t normally see in literature outside of the Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B. Desperately ordinary people - the real kind of ordinary, not the ordinary that tends to turn into anime heroes. But Adam isn’t ordinary. Not remotely. The book says this again and again, calling him a young Adonis, alluding to his unearthy Luciferian beauty, to his passions, to his commanding voice, to his leadership skills. His friends adore him, and for all that they might get argumentative with him the sheer god-like weight of his Presence cannot be ignored. So when Aziraphale explains:

"He was left alone! He grew up human! He's not Evil Incarnate or Good Incarnate, he's just… a human incarnate.”

My response is a rather limp “Um, well... no. No he’s not.”

“Aha!” I hear you cry. “The book’s not saying he’s ordinary, it’s saying he’s the embodiment of humanity: all their vices and virtues are amplified within him, and that’s why he has superhuman powers.” To which i reply that yeah, it’s certainly what the book is insisting in the case. But it’s not demonstrated within the text. I said above Adam lacks interiority: what you see is what you get. And what you get has zero amplification of evil. Adam seems like a genuinely good kid - in fact he is such a good kid that the book actually makes a point of commenting on how he is basically living in a parodic homage of a Boy’s Own Adventure novel. If Jack Trent, Frank Hardy, Tom Swift, and half the cast of Aladdin Paperbacks‘ first decade of publishing rolled up in a clown car and asked Adam if he wanted to hang, he’d fit right in. And they’re all painfully decent people. Adam status as a “troublemaker” - that is, even the vaguest implication that he is capable of “mischief” - is undermined by the book highlighting that the kind of people who complain about that sort of thing are Doddering Tory Blowhards like R. P. Taylor who wouldn’t know fun if it dressed like Margaret Thatcher and dry-humped their legs. For Adam to be the incarnation of humanity there has to be a sense that he is more human than human - that his capacity for good and his capacity for evil are so great that with him him the form of gestalt of pure humanity. But that’s rubbish. Because Adam does nothing the book seems to think is worthy of meaningful censure, or at least nothing that literally any child might do as well (like ruining his sisters dress while dunking her in the water). If the best the book can do to balance out Adam’s Local Boy Heroically Saves Summer Camp And Solves The Mystery Of The Puzzle Riddle Enigma is that well he’s kind of inward facing like every other 12 year old then, well... that really takes the wind out of the book’s big summating point. The same kind of language that gets used about Adam feel like you could copy past it into a Discworld book to describe Carrot Ironfoundersson.

So when, as happens. the book shows Adam coming Into his power and talk about Remaking The World, we don’t have to think he will and that all is lost - we know how to read stories, we’re not idiots. But we should at least have a passing moment of worry that he could had the circumstances been slightly different - that he, poised on the edge of good and evil, could go either way were it not for the redemptive power of his ordinary human upbringing keeping him ground. Which, I think is safe to say, is the conclusion the book puts forward. But there is no ‘could.’ Of course he won’t - there’s no tension there at all. The book kills it stone dead, in fact, when it notes that:

Seems to me it ought to be rolled up and started all over again," said Adam. That hadn't sounded like Adam's voice.

and

Adam wasn't listening, at least to any voices outside his own head.

Adam is described as basically being possessed - at the most critical point of Armageddon, when the AntiChrist is placed to make a choice not even between Good and Evil but between The Harbinger Theological Inevitability and Sod All That Let’s Just Keep Living Because I’m A Human it is no choice at all because Theological inevitable is distinctly described as being separate from who Adam is. Which is dreadful! Adam is American Dennis the Menace - he sometimes get Into Mischief and Breaks A Vase or Ruins A Garden but he’ll still hang out being a friend to a lonely old coot - when he ought to be much closer to the British Dennis the Menace - an monster of a child who spent most of his seventy years of existence essentially bullying gay kids (”softies”) but also, now and again, when the moon’s aligned, showed a Heart of Gold under his menacing exterior. Adam didn’t need to be BritDennis, but he damn well needed some kind of edge to him - a REAL edge, not ‘well he can be bossy’ or ‘he had devilment in his eyes’ or ‘he could be thoughtless.’ Adam needed to have scenes of him being a little shithead: not killing pets, but at least being spiteful or snide or capable of sin. In To Kill A Mockingbird Jem destroys Mrs. Dubose's flowers in a fit of pique. That’s something. Adam? Nothing. So there’s nothing to hang the tension on, and any time to book has any anxiety about Adam’s moral character it rings hollow, because Adam is fundamentally decent and good and nothing so much as feints at the idea that any part of him might be otherwise.

Plus, to bring it back to the prophecies being useless, Adam gets upset about the state of the world because he borrows some of Anathema’s Save The Wales magazines, which he would never have been able to do had the Book not made her go to Tadfield in the first place. Now the book has a certain “Butterfly Flaps Its Wings” mindset - sometimes it’s the little things that put big things and motion.

But it’s muddled, because it implies that Armageddon is nothing but a last-minute whim of a mercurial child: which is great for when the plot of your book is a deconstruction of the idea of Inevitability, but a bit rubbish when the OTHER major theme of your book is that human evil is in ordinary narrow-mindedness. The idea of a story where everything builds up to Armageddon - but Armageddon fails to arrive like an eschatological Godot, (leaving everyone standing around a bit puzzled) is a great theme for an ironic novel. But it clashes again and again with the theme of the book’s first half- that humanity is more creatively terrible and kindly virtuous than any devil and or angel could hope to be. The corollary of that ought to be that when Armageddon arrives it is precisely because of that human fallibility. Having all this build up and have it massively fizzle out can work, when written right - The Real Treasure Was The Friendships You Made is always funny when handled correctly. But Good omens builds up to things and drops them half a dozen times in the finale, which ends up not seemingly like comedic point but an inability by two authors to "bring the story home” and tie any of their threads together. I mean take the actual act of Armageddon itself: when Adam starts making the world go doo-lally, we keeping hearing reports of the world getting more agitated: we can see the shape of Armageddon begin to emerge, but because we’re still clever buggers and have read our Eliot we know that what’s likely to break the world isn’t going to be bang but a whimper: General John Amerioman gets off the phone agitated by a telemarketers, years at his secretary until she cries so she forgets to inform him that President McSmith called and because he didn’t call her back the President fails to get the advice she needs and makes a foolish error that pisses-over the Russian president who is then gets petty about something else and on down the line until a series of understandable but critical failures of empathy - don’t yell at your secretary, don’t cold-call people about duct cleaning - sets the table for the nuclear. That Adam stops it is because he shares that same fallibility and knows that punishing humanity for it as a requirement for Divine Inevitability would be unconscionable. But when Armageddon arrives, humanity has literal dick-all to do with it. We get this lovely buildup with the Four Horsemen the entire book - Revelation says they will be present at the Day of judgement so its time to get the band back together. The narrative of the book fixates of the Four Horseman’s ride to the airbase, with the understanding that once they arrive Armageddon will begin because everyone is congregating on that place at this time. So the Four Horseman arrive and... and the disguise themselves as some generals to get on the base, they break into a computer vault, and then... Jesus, War personally fucks with a computer and then Pollution personally corrodes the counter measure systems with Death and Famine stand around and watch (so much bloody standing around watching the plot happen in the part of the book) them do it, at which point all the nuke silos all over the world open up and countdown begins. What. THE FUCK? Humanity is irrelevant to the end of the world, exception in the broadest sense where they had these destructive weapons in the first place. But they also had extensive security systems that the book notes are really good until Two Supernatural Beings Broke In And Destroyed Them. There is no human element in Armageddon: all that chatter on the radio about rising tensions and increased stress? Meaningless. The book’s whole point about evil lurking in the hearts of every ordinary person - that really anyone is capable of being good or evil on a given day, and that one angry secretary is as capable of starting the end times because of a telemarketer as any raving dictator with their finger on the button? Irrelevant. As much as War and Pollution are said to be mere embodiments of humanity’s failings, existing solely in ‘THE MINDS OF MAN” (baffling in and of itself had Pestilence not been swapped-out for Pollution, because lets be honest that would have meant waving a hand at everything from the Black Death to AIDS and calling its source moral failing which what the fuck, T&N?), they’re all actually characters with agency and personality and will. Which means within the context of what’s happening Armageddon is caused by two characters going out of their way to FORCE it to happen.

(It’s! Shit! The book right here? Shit. All the keen oft-comedic insight as to the nature of the human condition is throw away in this moment. A book that seems so devoted to making a reader think seriously about complacency, about letting evil slip on by because its not wearing a big scary mask (and god how prescient that seems in times like these - how horrible correct it was that we were complacency in the 80s and the 90s and didn’t notice the evil rising all around us), drops the ball here and doesn’t require humanity for its climax.

"I don't see what's so triflic about creating people as people and then gettin' upset 'cos they act like people," said Adam severely. "Anyway, if you stopped tellin' people it's all sorted out after they're dead, they might try sorting it all out while they're alive.”

That’s a great sentiment, Adam. Only nobody is this moment is cross about people acting like people because nobody had - the world nearly ended because some Non-people willingly broke shit. Also, in the context of the novel - it being détente and glasnost and the Tear Down This Wall speech and Zhao Ziyang making reforms in China and on and on - as far as anyone could tell people WERE working it out. The book notes this explicitly, in fact:

“...reports available to us would seem to, uh, indicate an increase in international tensions that would have undoubtedly been viewed as impossible this time last week when, er, everyone seemed to be getting on so nicely.”

Again: Armageddon isn’t caused by people. So when Adam tells Heaven that if they just back off people might be able to sort things out for themselves, well... they seemed to have been doing just that, book.You yourself said so. And the end times were brought about by non-human actors.)

So Adam and his friends confront the Horseman and “defeat” them through some last minute cosplay. Why? No clue. The imagery is great but I don’t know why they do it - the Four Horseman are heralds of the end times, and perhaps its chorus, but now they’re villains that need to be defeated I guess (even though Adam fixes what they did with a wave of his hand anyway). Newt and Anathema arrive on the scene because Agnes Nutter told them to, and they get to the computer, and now maybe poor bumbling Newt is going to have to fix a computer when he’s only ever broken them while Anathema... stands there Jesus God... except... except Adam waves his hand and fixes the computer making Newt’s presence irrelevent. Well, still, more book to go, maybe they can pull something good out of this. Armageddon may have fizzled out, but it’s still The Day of Judgement and the Last Battle. Newt and Anathema might not have fixed the computer, but the are here at the airbase, and they make the most of it by doing nothing, providing nothing, and being needed for nothing. Shadwell and Madame Tracey are there - Shadwell is the vessel for Aziraphale, and once he’s out he stands at the sides with A&C and prepares to march with them on the combined hordes of hell and heaven. Except that that doesn’t matter because Adam makes a gesture and gives a nice speech that’s sadly unrelated to to the world as described by Good Omens up to this point, and the Hordes of Heaven and Hell shuffle their feet and decided to go home for a bit to have a good long think about some things ha ha ha how droll. And the Then, oh no, SUDDENLY Satan himself appears - I guess its time to take our issues to upper management, surely Godot- I mean God - will come to and - oh, nope, Adam waved his hand again and its just Mr. Young in his shitty car (that really should have been a Wasabi what the heck, T&N?). It’s anti-climatic. I don’t mean from a standpoint of dramatic irony, I mean everything falls apart in the book as the story comes to a screeching halt. Here you have a reasonable collection of painfully ordinary people (hella white and straight people, but its 1990 we’re not terribly woke yet) - not Generals, not Presidents or Prime Ministers, not Corporate Titans or Dictators or anyone “Important” - just ordinary people present at the End of the World. And what is it in the ineffable plan that requires all these people’s presence at the End Times? Nothing really. Just think about this for a moment. Think about what OUGHT to have happened here. Not a battle, not a fight, not a war - we know from Endgame how disappointing it is to have to sit through a big dumb set piece battle that nobody seems to want: boring slog. No, what OUGHT to have happened is the power of humanity: that these ordinary nobodies come together and halt the end times, make the Legions of Heaven & Hell see - if not reason - then at least reconsider what’s happening, or even confront Satan himself not with the virtue of Saints but simply because they have what made Aziraphale and Crowley fall in love with the Earth the way they did: the charm of humanity. If an angel and a demon can both be redeemed by the love of humanity’s virtues and vices, its deeps and faults, then why couldn’t Satan himself do the same? Well, because Adam fixed everything with a few hand waves and a pissy speech so that’s all that solved. nobody but him needed to be there - not even A&C, who just end up commenting on the action while standing around like everyone else. It’s barmy. No wonder my brain erased it, choosing to remember the book at its best when it was still scaled to humanity. The book ends up having failed to make any of its points stick - the ordinary evil men do has nothing to do with Armageddon so its probably not something we should be terrible concern about - that just us loveable old humans doing as humans do. We learn that if Heaven and hell just stepped back and let people talk things out maybe the world would get better - but that was the case at the start of the book (prologue notwithstanding), and nothing that happened in the book adjusted that in any way.It has a point to make about the unfairness of Moral duality in Theology - except that Adam is parodically virtuous and contains no real evil so.. yeah, Good is great, actually, what was the point you were making, book? The book has a point to make about the value of ordinary people: if you need someone to stand around and observe shit get ordinary people, they’re great last standing around and not meaningfully doing anything.

And don’t even get me started on things like Anathema’s passivity. Look at her character: she passively lives her life by the prophecies until the day after the End Times Newt says ‘hey do you want to be a descendent for the rest of your life’ and Anathema has an epiphany - Oh, No, I Don’t, I Want to Live my Own life On Its Own Terms - and then they burn the sequel Agatha wrote instead of following it. But that’s… aaargh, Jesus, so many problems with that. The moment of epiphany is meaningless because if Agnes-The-Prophet (who would presumably have known that her manuscript was to be burnt) hadn’t sent it, Anathema was free anyways and would have had to live her life as such regardless. You could argue ‘but this way it becomes an active choice rather than a passive acquiescence to something she can’t change’ but the problem is that her decision isn’t rooted in anything except a comment Newt makes. Nothing happened to Anathema that has in any way affected her relationship to Agnes Nutter or her life as a decedent: in the book Anathema talks a lot about prophecies, lends a kid some magazine, boinks a guy who crashed his car, takes him to a military base, does nothing while watching the world end, goes home and boinks the guy again, and then has her memories of a large portion of the last day or so erased by the Anti-Christ. So when Newt asks ‘do you want to be a professional decedent all your life” why would she say “no”? She’s spent her life devoted to the prophecies, even become a watch as some kind of career, and what sense do we have in the story that she is dissatisfied with that? The only disappointment we get is that she’s kind of let down by Newt being not terribly handsome - but that’s Newt’s issue, not Agnes’. The book wants Anathema to realize that she is now ‘free” of living by prophecy - but she doesn’t ever give the sense that she feels imprisoned by prophecy. She seems to feel like its a mark of distinction, and nothing over the last day - even the shit she can’t remember - has done anything to change that. There’s a version of this story where Anathema repeatedly demonstrates that she feels powerless in life: that all her choices were chosen for her, even something as outré as becoming a witch, and so when Newt asks her that question she looks back over the events of the last few days - or even her life - and makes the decision to say ‘no’ as a natural extension of her recent experiences. In this version of the book she and Newt would have to have actively made choices at the airbase of their own free will in contradiction of what Agnes said MUST and WILL happen, and because they did that things are better than Agnes said they would be.

But that doesn’t happen, and instead we get the version where Anathema burns the sequel because Newt’s in her life now and having a man to point out the obvious is what all women need. That’s not what the book is trying to say but this-time-round that’s how it read to me. If Newt had had to run up to London for a couple days and she got the manuscript in the mail she would have kept it, because why wouldn’t she?

(Gosh, Newt. One last point: I hated Newt. Maybe ‘schlubbly ordinary dope who gets the girl’ was revolutionary in 1990 but thirty years of pathetic nerd heroes getting the girl have left me only able to focus on the pathetic. He gets to be the the Jen to Anathema’s Kira - a completely useless dolt who gets lead around by a capable woman who knows everything and has all the skills but he still gets to be The Hero because, well, he’s the dude. He gets to bumble around the missile computers at the climax at the book, framed as a hero while Agetha stands there and pleads with him to fix things. He spends his time getting horny for Anathema and thinking sadboy ‘maybe I’ll get to touch a girl for once’ crap - which made my skin crawl oh sweet Jesus. Basically just fuck that guy and his whiny Pitiful Loser Nerd attitude.)

Look, when the book is good, it is SO GOOD. “Shadwell hated all Southerners and, by inference, was standing at the North Pole” is one of the great lines of literature. Famine and the dieting meals that kill you? Genius. The individual prophecies of Agnes? Wonderful. Shadwell seeing her in a vision (which, alas, comes to nothing because Shadwell having a change of heart about witches comes to nothing really)? Poignant. The Hell’s Angels? Wonderous. The incredible, perfect, oh god I adore is so much defence of the virtues of Rural English life at its best - full of foibles, yes, painfully human, yes, liable to contain shitty old Tories who put people into power who’ll plow it all under for suburbs, yes - but yet, at the same time, wonderful, too. Worth preserving. Worth fighting for. yes yes a thousand times yes let’s seeing a song about it:

youtube

Sure, some of the stuff hasn’t aged well (there’s a bit abut First Nations people that comes to mind), but most of it has - and some of it as bold for its time as it remains now. I frequently found myself thinking “this book is much too complicated for Tumblr” - the Tumblr world of Good or Bad doesn’t really have room for Shadwell, the indiscriminate racist with the heart of gold. Parts like that had me shaking with laughter - I can still recite whole scenes to you with manic glee. But the ending is a mess. It’s bad, actually - just outright bad. The book starts great. It ends terribly. It’s a crushing disappointment to go back too - and when I heard the story on the show was going to be super-faithful to the books I went “shit - but the book’s a bit rubbish on the story front. All the good bits are the characters interacting and the side stories and comedic asides - the actual story is a confusing mess.” That’s why I hope Neil Gaiman brought the writing chops that gave us The Doctor Wife and not, y’know, Nightmare in Silver.

In conclusion: man I remember Good Omens being a whole lot better. (Also, I remember more of Adam’s Gang having more to do, and they didn’t, and they’re all great and that’s a shame.)

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sincerelybluevase · 5 years ago

Note

Didn't think all questions from 'Asks' could be proposed, so there you go: all the questions (1 to 96) or as much as you can!

Well thank you, nonny! I shall put these under a cut.

(1) Do You Sleep With Your Closet Doors Open Or Closed? Closed, because you never know what might be in there!

(2) Do You Have Freckles? I wish I did, but alas! My sisters do have them so jealous much.

(3) Can You Whistle? I can, but I can’t carry a tune I’m afraid.

(4) Last Song You Listened To. Almost by Hozier.

(5) What Is Your Favourite Colour? It’s a tie between blue and red.

(6) Relationship Status. Taken, and happily so!

(7) What Is The Temperature Right Now? 16 degrees Celsius, so that’s about 61 F.

(8) Did You Wake Up Cranky? I woke up from a nightmare, so it wasn’t really the best sort of waking. That said, I’m not cranky per se, just a bit sleepy still.

(9) How Many Followers? 438

(10) Zodiac Sign. Aquarius

(11) What Is Your Eye Colour? Blue!

(12) Take A Vitamin Daily? Not daily; I take vitamin D tablets you have to take every few days. Before I used to take a different vitamin D tablet daily, though!

(13) Do You Sing In The Shower? No but I do talk to myself haha.

(14) What Books Are You Reading? The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien for a course at university, and Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel for fun.

(15) Grab The Book Nearest To You, Turn To Page 64, Give Me Line 14. I don’t think you have to worry about Bilbo.

(16) Favourite Anime? Hm, probably Howl’s Moving Castle.

(17) Last Person You Cried In Front Of? I’m trying to remember when I last cried. Either in front of my gf, or in front of my sisters.

(18) Do You Collect Anything? Books and crystal skulls!

(19) What Did You Have For Lunch? Nothing yet, because it is still morning.

(20) Do You Dance In The Car? Our car isn’t big enough for that haha.

(21) Favourite Animal? I think I would have to choose otters.

(22) Do You Watch The Olympics? I watch parts of it.

(23) What Time Do You Usually Go To Bed? Well, I usually go up at 9.30, but that doesn’t mean I’m actually aiming for sleep at that point, haha.

(24) Are You Wearing Makeup Right Now? I’m allergic to make up, so no.

(25) Do You Prefer To Swim In A Pool Or The Ocean? Neither, because I hate swimming.

(26) Favourite Tumblr Blog? How could I ever choose?

(27) Bottled Water Or Tap Water? I live in the Netherlands, which has the cleanest tap water in the world. Therefore, drinking bottled water is almost criminal.

(28) What Makes You Happy? Many things! My gf, my sisters, my dog, good books, writing, playing the piano, petrichor, warmth, hot tea...

(29) Post A Gif Of What You’re Currently Feeling Right Now.

(30) Do You Study Better With Or Without Music? It depends on what I am studying, truth be told. I do both, though I always use instrumental music.

(31) Dogs Or Cats? Both.

(32) If You Were A Crayon What Colour Would You Be? I don’t know. Probably a pastel blue, maybe orange?

(33) PlayStation Or Xbox. Sadly, I have had neither.

(34) Would You Swim In The Lake Or Ocean? Not if I can help it.

(35) Do You Believe In Magic? Define magic.

(36) What Colour Shirt Are You Wearing? I’m wearing a dress. It’s denim, therefore blue.

(37) Can You Curl Your Tongue? I can!

(38) Do You Save Money Or Spend It? I’d like to say both, but I mainly spend it.

(39) Is There Anything Pink Within 10 Feet Of You? Yes; my phone case.

(40) Do You Have Any Obsessions Right Now? I wouldn’t call it an obsession, but I have been listening to Lana Del Rey’s new album on repeat, and I’ve found myself craving gothic books.

(41) Have You Ever Caught A Butterfly? I haven’t.

(42) Are You Easily Influenced By Other People? No.

(43) Do You Have Strange Dreams? All the freaking time!

(44) Do You Like Going On Airplanes? No; the air is super dry, the seats are cramped and uncomfortable, the food too little and not very good. I do like I’m going somewhere, though.

(45) Name One Movie That Made You Cry. The only thing that comes to mind right now is Shrek the Fourth, which is somewhat embarrassing, but really I cry easily with films.

(46) Peanuts Or Sunflower Seeds? Sunflower seeds, though both are lovely when salted.

(47) If I Handed You A Concert Ticket Right Now, Who Would You Want The Performer To Be? Hozier.

(48) Are You A Picky Eater? I can’t eat gluten and I’m also lactose intolerant, so in that sense I am picky. If it boils down to what I actually like, I’m not.

(49) Are You A Heavy Sleeper? Not at all.

(50) Do You Fear Thunder / Lightning? Nope!

(51) Do You Like To Read / Write? Yes and yes!

(52) Do You Like Your Music Loud? No because I am perpetually afraid I will damage my ears and go deaf.

(53) Would You Rather Carve Pumpkins Or Wrap Presents? I have only ever carved a pumpkin once, so I am going to go with that because it is so new.

(54) Put Your Music On Shuffle, What Is The First Song That Came Up? Mrs de Winter bin ich! From the German musical adaption of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.

(55) What Season Are You In Right Now? (Weather) Transitioning from summer to autumn.

(56)What Are You Craving Right Now? Some free time so I can finish my first draft and finish the book I’m reading.

(57) Post A Screenshot Of Your Tumblr Feed. No.

(58) What Is Your Gender? Female.

(59) Coffee Or Tea? Tea.

(60) Do You Have Any Homework Right Now? If So, What Is It About? I’m doing an English literature master, so I have homework all the time! I have to write a little essay about the letters of Margaret Cavendish, read LOTR, and choose a topic for an essay for my course on British and Irish fantasy novels.

(61) What Is Your Sexuality? Lesbian.

(62) Do You Make Your Bed In The Morning? Yes.

(63) Favourite Pokemon? Bulbosaur.

(64) Favourite Social Media? Tumblr.

(65) What’s Your Opinion On Instagram Stories? They can be fun!

(66) Do You Get Homesick? As a rule, no, but it depends on where I am and most of all with whom.

(67) Are You A Virgin? What a personal question!

(68) What Shampoo And Conditioner Are You Using Right Now? I don’t use conditioner, but I am using a shampoo bar by Lush which I don’t remember the name of, but it is for blondes and has chamomille and smells like lemon.

(69) If You Were Far From Home And Needed To Sleep For The Night, Would You Choose To Rent A Crappy Motel Room For $60 Or Sleep In Your Car For Free? What an American question! It is not really something I will have to deal with, living in the Netherlands. Still, if it came to it I suppose my car is less dirty than a crappy motel room.

(70) Are Both Of Your Blood Parents Still In Your Life? Yes.

(71) Whats The Next Movie You Want To See In Theaters? Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

(72) Do You Miss Your Ex? I don’t have one.

(73) What Is Your Favourite Quote Right Now? I don’t really have one.

(74) What Eye Colour Do You Find Sexiest? That fully depends on the person those eyes belong to. As a general rule, brown eyes.

(75) Did You Like Swinging As A Child? Do You Still Get Excited When You See A Swing Set? I do, and yes!

(76) What Was The Last Thing You Ate? I’m eating a sandwich as we eat.

(77) What Games Do You Have On Your Phone? Microsoft’s solitaire collection.

(78) Would You Give A Homeless Person CPR If They Were Dying? Why Or Why Not? I can’t give CPR, but if i could, I would, because I damn well hope someone would give me CPR if I was in that situation.

(79) Been On The Computer For 5 Hours Straight? Yes.

(80) Stalked Someone On A Social Network? No.

(81) Do You Like Meeting New People? Again, depends on the context.

(82) Do You Wear Rings? If You Do, Take A Picture Of Them. I wear one on each thumb and one on my right middle finger. Can’t take a picture ATM

(83) Do You Sleep With Your Bedroom Door Open Or Closed? Closed.

(84) What Are Three Things You Did Today? Brushed my teeth, made breakfast, talked to my gf. It’s 7.45 in the morning, guys.

(85) What Do You Wear To Bed? Nothing.

(86) List All Of Your Different Beauty Products You Have Right Now. I have face moisturiser and that is it guys.

(87) Are You A Day Or Night Person? A day person.

(88) List All Of Your Video Games On Your Phone, Console Etc. Candy crush friends, and Microsoft solitaire collection.

(89) Tell Me About A Dream That You Had And When It Happened. Well this morning I had a nightmare where I had to perform an exorcism on a loved one, and it didn’t work. Come to think of it, I did try to bless them with ‘the father, the mother, and the holy ghost,’ so that may have had something to do with it not working.

(90) Favourite Soda Drink? Fanta or 7-up.

(91) What Sounds Are Your Favourite? My gf laughing, rain on leaves (I am not that much of a rain person though), birds.

(92) Do You Wear Jeans Or Sweats More? Sweats are more comfy, Jeans look better.

(93) How Do You Look Right Now? Tired.

(94) Name Something That Relaxes You. Music.

(95) What Tattoo Do You Want? I don’t want one. I am too fickle; I’d grow bored of it after a while.

(96) Favourite YouTuber? I don’t have one favourite since I use youtube for different things.

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thepatchworkcrow · 5 years ago

Text

Witchcraft Asks #1-105

So, just for @dearpenumbra and because I’m wide awake and bored and want to answer them: Here is the list of the 105 witchcraft questions I just finished answering. I answered one each day but feel free to answer them all at once or however you want to do it. Tag your it!

1. Are you solitary or in a coven? I am technically a solitary, though I have friends with whom I occasionally celebrate the sabbats and do other witchy things with.

2. Do you consider yourself Wiccan, Pagan, witch, or other? I use ‘Pagan’, ‘witch’, and ‘Druid’ to describe myself. My path of Druidry is inherently pagan because of its reverence of the earth and all life, and it contains practices that are part of witchcraft.

3. What is your zodiac sign? I am a Cancer!

4. Do you have a Patron God/dess? I do, for sake of Tumblr, I call them The Hunter and The Lady of the Lantern. They’re deities I’ve not found in any mythology- sort of my own unique perspective / interaction with the divine forces of the universe, and so I keep the names I call to them in ritual private.

5. Do you work with a Pantheon? I do work with other deities beyond my patron god and goddess. A lot of them are from the various Celtic pantheons and include: Brighid, Gofannon the Smith, Cerridwen, Mannanan Mac Lir, and Gwyn ap Nudd.

6. Do you use tarot, palmistry, or any other kind of divination? I read tarot, runes, and ogham. I own an agate scrying mirror, but it’s very finnicky and I’d love to learn palmistry some day.

7. What are some of your favorite herbs to use in your practice? (if any) I use sage for cleansing, mugwort for a couple of blends of incense for divination, and lavender to cleansing, peace, intuition, etc.

8. How would you define your craft? It’s a path of Druidry dedicated to the Wylde Hunt.

9. Do you curse? If not, do you accept others who do? I have cursed- only in extreme situations, and the curse I used was aimed more at making the target realize how negative and toxic the bullshit they’ve been spewing/causing is. Sort of a “You’re going to realize the full horror of your actions” kind of a thing.

10. How long have you been practicing? The summer solstice will mark my 13th year.

11. Do you currently or have you ever had any familiars? I have familiar spirits: a black dog that goes by the name Yew, and a raven with a gold stripe on its beak named Gildenbeck. I’ve never had a familiar in the sense of a pet who does witchy stuff with me though.

12. Do you believe in Karma or Reincarnation? I believe in reincarnation and that our cations in one life affect the next. I’ve done a past life regression before, but that’s a story for a post that isn’t QUITE this long.

13. Do you have a magical name? I used to. I’ve got through a number of them over the years, changing them out as I see fit. My most recent one was actually the name I started this blog under: Brenna Adaira, but I’ve since outgrown it, and don’t really feel the need for one.

14. Are you “out of the broom closet”? Yes. I have been from the very beginning.

15. What was the last spell you performed? Shit. I don’t even remember. I’m not super big on spells. Anything more complex than carving a candle and charging it with intention to leave burn on my altar is usually not something I bother with.

16. Would you consider yourself knowledgeable? This is a silly question. As I’ve been practicing 13 years, and as someone with a bachelor’s degree, I’d say yes. I am knowledgeable about a number of things. However, I recognize there are many things I’m not knowledgeable about and there is always room for growth and learning.

17. Do you write your own spells? Since they’re very slapdash? Yes. They get written as I’m throwing spell components together to just DO THE THING.

18. Do you have a book of shadows? If so, how is it written and/or set up? I have recently started compiling a more formal grimoire of my path and all of its integral components. My working book of shadows however is always a sketchbook that gets carried around with me literally everywhere. It’s got drawings, scribbled poetry, journal entries, cut and pasted pictures, ritual outlines, musings, research notes, etc. and it’s all pretty out of order and chaotic. But I love the freedom of not having to be too careful with how I structure things and just let everything happen organically.

19. Do you worship nature? I do not worship nature. I honor the forces of nature; I treat them with respect and work to do my best to live in harmony with them. We are part of nature, not separate beings.

20. What is your favorite gemstone? Oof. This is a tough one. Moss Agate or Moonstone... but also Citrine and Opal. xD

21. Do you use feathers, claws, fur, pelt, skeletons/bones, or any other animal body part for magical work? I have a pheasant wing fan I use for smoke cleansing. I also have a small set of antlers that I’m still meaning to make into a proper headdress for ritual wear. Right now, they sit with my statute of The Hunter and the rest of my Wylde Hunt stuff.

22. Do you have an altar? Usually, yes. At the moment I don’t because I’ve been sort of in-transit for months. I’m moving back home at the end of the week though, and setting up an altar is the FIRST thing I intend to do.

23. What is your preferred element? Air. I love wind, stars, storms, gentle breezes through the forest, music, singing, the power of words.

24. Do you consider yourself an Alchemist? Not even in the slightest. XD

25. Are you any other type of magical practitioner besides a witch? Already answered above, but I’m a Druid! ^_^

26. What got you interested in witchcraft? I answered this in my previous post.

27. Have you ever performed a spell or ritual with the company of anyone who was not a witch? Yes! We used to frequently invite non-pagan friends to celebrate sabbats with us. One year, we actually erected a Maypole in my backyard and did a maypole dance.

28. Have you ever used ouija? Nope, and I would never. I don’t need it to speak with my guides, I don’t wanna poke at the dead, and I don’t trust them as reliable tools.

29. Do you consider yourself a psychic? I have strong intuition, but I wouldn’t call myself a psychic.

30. Do you have a spirit guide? If so, what is it? I have a couple, but the main one appears to me as a sort of elven / druidic entity (kinda Tolkien elf-ish with the blonde hair and all that). He goes by the name of Brannan and has been sort of my Druid guide both before and during my OBOD studies.

31. What is something you wish someone had told you when you first started? I wish someone had taught me really basic grounding and centering exercises and energy work first. Instead, I jumped right into gods and spells and rituals and all sorts of silliness early on in my path.

32. Do you celebrate the Sabbats? If so which one is your favorite? I haven’t this past year or so because I’ve been trying to get my bearings post-college again. But my favorite is Midsummer. It’s closest to my birthday, marks the anniversary of my dedication to studying witchcraft, and is just always a super heightened time for me spiritually speaking.

33. Would you ever teach witchcraft to your children? Yes. There’s another, longer blog post coming about my thoughts on this, but the short version of it is that I would rather give them some manner of religious context and collection of traditions and heritage than leave them completely on their own to consider the big universal questions religion is supposed to answer.

34. Do you meditate? Not nearly as often as I would like, but at least a couple of times a month.

35. What is your favorite season? Autumn. I love the gloom and the smell of the leaves, and the rain and how windy it gets, and the colors, and of course all of the things like pumpkin spice and Halloween. It’s another time of deep spiritual work for me. This is when the Wylde Hunt rides, and I mark my progress on my path in devotion to them.

36. What is your favorite type of magick to preform? I don’t actually like doing magick other than charging and burning candles. I’m sort of a lazy witch and usually find it more necessary to do inner work to get through a problem than to try and effect change in the world around me.

37. How do you incorporate your spirituality into your daily life? I take actions that align with my spiritual goals: living in harmony with the natural world, creating beautiful things, never stopping my own growth and learning, and compassion for others. I recycle where I can, try to reduce waste and reuse things. I take walks in nature and spend time in the woods. I stay informed so I can vote in ways that put people in power who care about our world. I take time to notice beauty in small places: a bird flying over head, stars in the winter sky, the way the sun is coming in through a window. When all of life is sacred, the spiritual path is not separate from the rest of your life. It becomes the lens through which you frame your life.

38. What is your favorite witchy movie? If I had to choose.... damn. I really can’t. The triad of Hocus Pocus, The Craft, and Practical Magic kinda take that place. I love them all in different ways.

39. What is your favorite witchy book, both fiction and non-fiction. Why? My favorite witchy books... Non-fiction: Living Druidry by Emma Restall-Orr, because it’s a look at Druidry through a Druid’s eyes. It introduces Druid concepts without the formal textbook layout, and I love reading about her experiences. Fiction: The Tree Shepherd’s Daughter and the associated series by Gillian Summers because who wouldn’t love a book about an elf who talks to trees whose day job to hide among humans is to make furniture to sell at Renaissance Festivals? Like... It’s just good, okay?

40. What is the first spell you ever preformed? Successful or not. This got answered in my last post.

41. What’s the craziest witchcraft-related thing that’s happened to you? And so did this one!

42. What is your favourite type of candle to use? I typically use those cheap chime candles or tealights. They burn down quickly and are easy to get ahold of.

43. What is your favorite witchy tool? I would have to say my drum. I love love love love raising energy with it or doing trance work while drumming.

44. Do you or have you ever made your own witchy tools? All of my wands have been handmade and my altar statues are all sculpted by hand. My ogham staves are handmade, and I’ve made a set of runes in the past, but they weren’t fond of me. XD

45. Have you ever worked with any magical creatures such as the fea or spirits? Ohhhh yes. Lots! The Wylde Hunt is one such example, but I’ve also worked with goblins and other various fae.

46. Do you practice color magic? I use color associations loosely, but don’t adhere to them too much.

47. Do you or have you ever had a witchy teacher or mentor of any kind? I did, sort of. My mom’s best friend was the one who bought me my first tarot deck, taught me how to read, etc. She gave me witchy homework now and then, but it wasn’t really a formal mentorship. She’s like another mother to me though, and I love her lots. <3

48. What is your preferred way of shopping for witchcraft supplies? Unfortunately, my preferred way is no longer possible. My local shop closed down in Feb of 2017 and I have been super sad ever since. I’m still trying to find a suitable alternative.

49. Do you believe in predestination or fate? I believe that we have free will and that the Universe sort of fills in the gaps. I think somethings are sort of “meant” to happen, but I don’t think everything is set in stone.

50. What do you do to reconnect when you are feeling out of touch with your practice? I light candles at my altar and just open myself to the energies, or I go on a walk with my friend, Mark. We always get into super deep conversations that get me back in the vibe.

51. Have you ever had any supernatural experiences? I could fill an ENTIRE post just on this alone, but yes. Plenty.

52. What is your biggest witchy pet peeve? Answered!

53. Do you like incense? If so what’s your favorite scent? I love incense! I tend to burn a lot of Dragon’s Blood, though I’ve recently discovered one called Mountain Heather that I am ALSO in love with.

54. Do you keep a dream journal of any kind? I keep weirdly vivid dreams in the notepad function on my phone. It’s usually right near my pillow and I just tap what I remember in there and try to go back to sleep.

55. What has been your biggest witchcraft disaster? Man, I can’t really think of a time things went horribly wrong to be honest.

56. What has been your biggest witchcraft success? Maintaining my practice and developing it into something uniquely my own.

57. What in your practice do you do that you may feel silly or embarrassed about? I know some people would say having spirit guides and such is silly. There are others who would say that energy work and psychic vampirism and the like are kinda woo-y and weird too.

58. Do you believe that you can be an atheist, Christian, Muslim or some other faith and still be a witch too? Anyone from any religion can be a witch. Witchcraft is a practice, not a religious path. Anyone can learn to raise and manipulate energy regardless of which deity they do/n’t worship.

59. Do you ever feel insecure, unsure or even scared of spell work? I just don’t usually feel a need for it. It’s usually able to be solved by mundane means or by doing inner personal work.

60. Do you ever hold yourself to a standard in your witchcraft that you feel you may never obtain? Don’t we all have perfectly aesthetic rituals that leave us feeling profound as a standard which we don’t ever quite meet? Aren’t we all secretly pining for Tumblr/Instagram worthy altars?

61. What is something witch related that you want right now? I actually really want to get a Tarokka deck, which is a tarot-esque oracle used in the D&D Curse of Strahd campaign. I want them for the campaign, but also to use for actual divination because it sounds like fun to try.

62. What is your rune of choice? I’m very partial to Kenaz (light, illumination, guidance), and Laguz (movement, water travel, magic, intuition).

63. What is your tarot card of choice? The 8 of Cups, The Star, and the 3 of Swords are all sort of cards I look at to determine if I’ll love or hate a deck.

64. Do you use essential oils? If so what is your favorite? I do use some, albeit sparingly. I’m rather fond of patchouli, sage, and a heather one I found.

65. Have you ever taken any kind of witchcraft or pagan courses? I’m currently wrapping up the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids’ Bardic Grade Course.

66. Do you wear pagan jewelry in public? Right now, my everyday necklace is a nine-pointed star which is supposed to represent the 9 sisters of Avalon, of whom Morgan le Fay was one.

67. Have you ever been discriminated against because of your faith or being a witch? Yes. Once, in early high school by a teacher. And once in college by some preppy sorority girl who wandered over to the LGBT clubs’ table at a Campus Life event looking to cause an argument.

68. Do you read or subscribe to any pagan magazines? Not magazines, but I follow a number of blogs both on Tumblr, Patheos, and Wordpress.

69. Do you think it’s important to know the history of paganism and witchcraft? Yes. Absolutely. The Burning Times weren’t about real witches. Modern paganism is not ancient paganism, and the context of myth, traditional practices, etc. are important.

70. What are your favorite things about being a witch? The language and tools I have with which to describe my experiences and think about and interact with the rest of the universe.

71. What are your least favorite things about being a witch? Being a conscious being and co-creator with spirit is freaking hard, yo.

72. Do you listen to any pagan music? If so who is your favorite singer/band? My absolute fave is Damh the Bard, but also give S.J. Tucker and OMNIA a listen. <3

73. Do you celebrate the Esbbats? If so, how? I used to do Dark Moon tea and meditation time with the Dark Goddess. Usually if I do something for any of the moon phases it’s sort of spur of the moment these days.

74. Do you ever work skyclad? I don’t, because I currently lack private space to do so.

75. Do you think witchcraft has improved your life? If so, how? Well, I am an empowered being with knowledge and love of the Universe and the divine connections between us all. I’m also equipped with various techniques for performing inner transformative work as well as affecting change in the world around me. What’s not to love?

76. Where do you draw inspiration from for your practice? My practice is a lot of “Solitary Wicca” meets OBOD druidry, meets a sort of Dragonheart ‘knights of the Old Code’ sort of feel. It’s about nature, creativity, and living honorably.

77. Do you believe in ‘fantasy’ creatures? (Unicorns, fairies, elves, gnomes, ghosts, etc) I do. I don’t believe they exist corporeally in this plane of existence though.

78. What’s your favorite sigil/symbol? I’m not sure I could pick one... but if I had to, I’d say the symbol for Awen.

79. Do you use blood magick in your practice? Why or why not? I’ve used blood in magic exactly twice. Once was in a dedication rite to The Hunter, and the other was to the Wylde Hunt. Both times it was blood from something like a paper cut or popped blister, whatever that was already available. I used it as a potent source of energy but also as a sympathetic tie to myself. Since I was dedicating myself to said entity, using it as a taglock made sense.

80. Could you ever be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t support your practice? Absolutely not. Thank you, next.

81. In what area or subject would you most like your craft to grow? I’m looking to pursue the OBOD’s further courses. I want to become a celebrant for the order and perform marriage, death, etc. rites for others within the order as well as those in the pagan community.

82. What’s your favorite candle scent? Do you use it in your practice? I love candles that smell like mulled spices or coffee or pumpkin. I don’t use them for magic, just for ambiance.

83. Do you have a pre-ritual ritual? (I.e. Something you do before rituals to prepare yourself for them). If so what is it? I ground and center before every ritual. Beyond that, I’m usually doing magic on the fly.

84. What real life witch most inspires your practice? Emma Restall-Orr, whom I’m not sure would identify as a witch. She’s technically a druid and author of various books and I love how gritty and honest and earthy what she shares is.

85. What is your favorite method of communicating with deity? I like to get somewhere quiet, and channel them through sort of automatic writing. I also frequently use visualization / meditation techniques to go to my sacred grove and speak with them there.

86. How do you like to organize all your witchy items and ingredients? What is this... organize you speak of? All spell components are in wee jars in a drawer. xD

87. Do you have any witches in your family that you know of? My mom was a practicing Wiccan when I was little, and my sister has interest in witchcraft.

88. How have you created your path? What is unique about it? Answered in my last post.

89. Do you feel you have any natural gifts or affinities (premonitions, hearing spirits, etc.) that led you toward the craft? If so what are they? I have a strange knack for vibing with plants/crystals/etc. and just knowing what they can be used for. I’ve also always had the ability to sort of see/hear things not there: spirits, fae, etc.

90. Do you believe you can initiate yourself or do you have to be initiated by another witch or coven? To be initiated implies you are entering into a group. The OBOD gives you the opportunity to initiate yourself if you aren’t close enough to a grove, but the point stands that it’s a ritual given to you by someone else. You can dedicate yourself to a specific path, but initiation implies you’re being included in something you once were not included in.

91. When you first started out in your path what was the first thing or things you bought? I’m pretty sure it was a new tarot deck, tbh. It’s been too long. I don’t remember.

92. What is the most spiritual or magickal place you’ve been? Answered in the last post: but Avebury, England.

93. What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone who is searching for their matron and patron deities? They aren’t necessary for a balanced and successful path. I know it can be weird not having a specific god/ddess but it’s really really really not necessary to find one right away to be able to have a successful practice.

94. What techniques do you use to ‘get in the zone’ for meditation? I dim the lights, drink some coffee or wine, get somewhere comfy, and put on some quiet music.

95. Did visualization come easily to you or did you have to practice at it? It used to come a lot more easily to me. I realized I was using it as sort of escapism and stopped, and have been building it back again.

96. Do you prefer day or night? Why? I prefer night. Everyone else is asleep and it gives me time and space to think and work on things without being disturbed.

97. What do you think is the best time and place to do spell work? The best time and place is when and where you need it most.

98. How did you feel when you cast your first circle? Did you stumble or did it go smoothly? We forgot to include a means of opening the circle in our first ritual’s notes. So... sort of a stumble.

99. Do you believe witchcraft gets easier with time and practice? Yes... and no. Because with time and practice, you come to find deeper things, and bigger truths. It builds upon itself.

100. Do you believe in many gods or one God with many faces? In my belief system, all gods are separate beings, but all a part of the Great Song of Creation that gives life to the universe.

101. Do you eat meat, eggs and dairy? I do! No restrictive diets here.

102. What is your favorite color and why? I can’t truthfully pick one. I’m fond of burgundy lately.

103. What is the one question you get asked most by non-practitioners or non-pagans? How do you usually respond? “I really like your necklace; what does that symbol mean?” To which I say “I got it at a renaissance festival; it’s supposed to represent the nine sisters of Morgen LeFay.” which seems to be an acceptable response.

104. Which of your five senses would you say is your strongest? Probably my sight.

105. What is a pagan or witchcraft rule that you preach but don’t practice? “Always cast a circle.” I recommend it for new folks, but I rarely ever actually cast one myself.

#about me #asks #questions #witchy questions

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witch-of-time-and-letters · 6 years ago

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Fantasieherz, schöner Verstand. Pt XVIII Veröffentlichung.

Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics

As well as his fiction, Tolkien was also a leading author of academic literary criticism. His seminal 1936 lecture, later published as an article, revolutionized the treatment of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf by literary critics. The essay remains highly influential in the study of Old English literature to this day. Beowulf is one of the most significant influences upon Tolkien's later fiction, with major details of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings being adapted from the poem. The piece reveals many of the aspects of Beowulf which Tolkien found most inspiring, most prominently the role of monsters in literature, particularly that of the dragon which appears in the final third of the poem:

As for the poem, one dragon, however hot, does not make a summer, or a host; and a man might well exchange for one good dragon what he would not sell for a wilderness. And dragons, real dragons, essential both to the machinery and the ideas of a poem or tale, are actually rare.

Children's books and other short works

In addition to his mythopoeic compositions, Tolkien enjoyed inventing fantasy stories to entertain his children. He wrote annual Christmas letters from Father Christmasfor them, building up a series of short stories (later compiled and published as The Father Christmas Letters). Other works included Mr. Bliss and Roverandom (for children), and Leaf by Niggle (part of Tree and Leaf), The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Smith of Wootton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham. Roverandom and Smith of Wootton Major, like The Hobbit, borrowed ideas from his legendarium.

The Hobbit

Tolkien never expected his stories to become popular, but by sheer accident a book called The Hobbit, which he had written some years before for his own children, came in 1936 to the attention of Susan Dagnall, an employee of the London publishing firm George Allen & Unwin, who persuaded Tolkien to submit it for publication. When it was published a year later, the book attracted adult readers as well as children, and it became popular enough for the publishers to ask Tolkien to produce a sequel.

The Lord of the Rings

The request for a sequel prompted Tolkien to begin what would become his most famous work: the epic novel The Lord of the Rings (originally published in three volumes 1954–1955). Tolkien spent more than ten years writing the primary narrative and appendices for The Lord of the Rings, during which time he received the constant support of the Inklings, in particular his closest friend C. S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia. Both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set against the background of The Silmarillion, but in a time long after it.

Tolkien at first intended The Lord of the Rings to be a children's tale in the style of The Hobbit, but it quickly grew darker and more serious in the writing.[159] Though a direct sequel to The Hobbit, it addressed an older audience, drawing on the immense backstory of Beleriand that Tolkien had constructed in previous years, and which eventually saw posthumous publication in The Silmarillion and other volumes. Tolkien's influence weighs heavily on the fantasy genre that grew up after the success of The Lord of the Rings.

The Lord of the Rings became immensely popular in the 1960s and has remained so ever since, ranking as one of the most popular works of fiction of the 20th century, judged by both sales and reader surveys. In the 2003 "Big Read" survey conducted by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the UK's "Best-loved Novel". Australians voted The Lord of the Rings "My Favourite Book" in a 2004 survey conducted by the Australian ABC. In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium". In 2002 Tolkien was voted the 92nd "greatest Briton" in a poll conducted by the BBC, and in 2004 he was voted 35th in the SABC3's Great South Africans, the only person to appear in both lists. His popularity is not limited to the English-speaking world: in a 2004 poll inspired by the UK's "Big Read" survey, about 250,000 Germans found The Lord of the Rings to be their favourite work of literature.

Posthumous publications

The Silmarillion

Tolkien wrote a brief "Sketch of the Mythology", which included the tales of Beren and Lúthien and of Túrin; and that sketch eventually evolved into the Quenta Silmarillion, an epic history that Tolkien started three times but never published. Tolkien desperately hoped to publish it along with The Lord of the Rings, but publishers (both Allen & Unwin and Collins) declined. Moreover, printing costs were very high in 1950s Britain, requiring The Lord of the Rings to be published in three volumes. The story of this continuous redrafting is told in the posthumous series The History of Middle-earth, edited by Tolkien's son, Christopher Tolkien. From around 1936, Tolkien began to extend this framework to include the tale of The Fall of Númenor, which was inspired by the legend of Atlantis.

Tolkien had appointed his son Christopher to be his literary executor, and he (with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, later a well-known fantasy author in his own right) organized some of this material into a single coherent volume, published as The Silmarillion in 1977. It received the Locus Award for Best Fantasy novel in 1978.

Unfinished Tales

and

The History of Middle-earth

In 1980, Christopher Tolkien published a collection of more fragmentary material, under the title Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth. In subsequent years (1983–1996), he published a large amount of the remaining unpublished materials, together with notes and extensive commentary, in a series of twelve volumes called The History of Middle-earth. They contain unfinished, abandoned, alternative, and outright contradictory accounts, since they were always a work in progress for Tolkien and he only rarely settled on a definitive version for any of the stories. There is not complete consistency between The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, the two most closely related works, because Tolkien never fully integrated all their traditions into each other. He commented in 1965, while editing The Hobbit for a third edition, that he would have preferred to completely rewrite the book because of the style of its prose.

Mr. Bliss

One of Tolkien's least-known short works is the children's storybook Mr. Bliss, published in 1982. It tells the story of Mr. Bliss and his first ride in his new motor-car. Many adventures follow: encounters with bears, angry neighbours, irate shopkeepers, and assorted collisions. The story was inspired by Tolkien's own vehicular mishaps with his first car, purchased in 1932. The bears were based on toy bears owned by Tolkien's sons. Tolkien was both author and illustrator of the book. He submitted it to his publishers as a balm to readers who were hungry for more from him after the success of The Hobbit. The lavish ink and coloured-pencil illustrations would have made production costs prohibitively expensive. Tolkien agreed to redraw the pictures in a simpler style, but then found he did not have time to do so. The book was published in 1982 as a facsimile of Tolkien's difficult-to-read illustrated manuscript, with a typeset transcription on each facing page.

The Children of Húrin

More recently, in 2007, The Children of Húrin was published by HarperCollins (in the UK and Canada) and Houghton Mifflin (in the US). The novel tells the story of Túrin Turambar and his sister Nienor, children of Húrin Thalion. The material was compiled by Christopher Tolkien from The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The History of Middle-earth, and unpublished manuscripts.

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, which was released worldwide on 5 May 2009 by HarperCollins and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, retells the legend of Sigurd and the fall of the Niflungs from Germanic mythology. It is a narrative poem composed in alliterative verse and is modelled after the Old Norse poetry of the Elder Edda. Christopher Tolkien supplied copious notes and commentary upon his father's work.

According to Christopher Tolkien, it is no longer possible to trace the exact date of the work's composition. On the basis of circumstantial evidence, he suggests that it dates from the 1930s. In his foreword he wrote, "He scarcely ever (to my knowledge) referred to them. For my part, I cannot recall any conversation with him on the subject until very near the end of his life, when he spoke of them to me, and tried unsuccessfully to find them." In a 1967 letter to W. H. Auden, Tolkien wrote,

Thank you for your wonderful effort in translating and reorganising The Song of the Sibyl. In return again I hope to send you, if I can lay my hands on it (I hope it isn't lost), a thing I did many years ago when trying to learn the art of writing alliterative poetry: an attempt to unify the lays about the Völsungs from the Elder Edda, written in the old eight-line fornyrðislag stanza.

The Fall of Arthur

The Fall of Arthur, published on 23 May 2013, is a long narrative poem composed by Tolkien in the early-1930s. It is alliterative, extending to almost 1,000 lines imitating the Old English Beowulf metre in Modern English. Though inspired by high medieval Arthurian fiction, the historical setting of the poem is during the Post-Roman Migration Period, both in form (using Germanic verse) and in content, showing Arthur as a British warlord fighting the Saxon invasion, while it avoids the high medieval aspects of the Arthurian cycle (such as the Grail, and the courtly setting); the poem begins with a British "counter-invasion" to the Saxon lands (Arthur eastward in arms purposed).

Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary

Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, published on 22 May 2014, is a prose translation of the early medieval epic poem Beowulf from Old English to modern English. Translated by Tolkien from 1920 to 1926, it was edited by his son Christopher. The translation is followed by over 200 pages of commentary on the poem; this commentary was the basis of Tolkien's acclaimed 1936 lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics".[171] The book also includes the previously unpublished "Sellic Spell" and two versions of "The Lay of Beowulf". The former is a fantasy piece on Beowulf's biographical background, while the latter is a poem on the Beowulf theme.

The Story of Kullervo

The Story of Kullervo, first published in Tolkien Studies in 2010 and reissued with additional material in 2015, is a retelling of a 19th-century Finnish poem. It was written in 1915 while Tolkien was studying at Oxford.

Beren and Lúthien

The Tale of Beren and Lúthien is one of the oldest and most often revised in Tolkien's legendarium. The story is one of three contained within The Silmarillion which Tolkien believed to warrant their own long-form narratives. It was published as a standalone book, edited by Christopher Tolkien, under the title Beren and Lúthien in 2017.

The Fall of Gondolin

The Fall of Gondolin is a tale of a beautiful, mysterious city destroyed by dark forces, which Tolkien called "the first real story" of Middle-earth, was published on 30 August 2018 as a standalone book, edited by Christopher Tolkien and illustrated by Alan Lee.

#biography #literaturebiography #Fantasiebiography

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drakorn · 7 years ago

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My Current Top 10 Musicals

So, I thought I’d just make a little list of the musicals that I personally consider to be my absolute favourite ones at this point in time. This list will obviously change again when I find a musical that I like more than one on this list. Anyway, here’s my list, if anyone’s interested XD (Btw, I’m only talking stage musicals here, so if you see any musical that was also a movie, I am talking about the stage version).

But first...some honourable mentions that I still adore but didn’t make it into my Top 10: The Phantom of the Opera, Anastasia, Ludwig II, Mozart!, The Lion King and Jesus Christ Superstar.

PS: All of this is opinion-based. Of course, you will disagree with me at some point, that is just natural. And it’s great that everyone has different tastes!

10 - The Lord of the Rings: A LOT of people have not heard about this musical, but it actually exists. It’s nothing fan-made or anything, it’s an actual official musical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, not the Peter Jackson movies but the actual Tolkien epic. It ran in Canada and the UK and was even supposed to make its way to Germany. Of course, it has changes in it because adapting the entire story into a three-hour stage musical is an impossible task. It’s also the only musical I know of that consists of three acts rather than two. There is actually a cast recording available with the main songs in it. Like, honestly, I personally just love this musical. For instance, take a listen to Galadriel’s big solo:

youtube

I know, I’m most likely in the minority here, but for me personally, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best musicals out there and it’s an absolute shame that it’s not performed more often.

9 - Wicked: I am an absolute fan of seeing the story from the antagonist’s point of view and understand all of their motives. Wicked is one of the best examples out there as it takes the classic tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and gives it a darker and more serious spin, mainly because the Wicked Witch of the West is now the protagonist. I know, this musical is loved by everyone and makes it into pretty much everyone’s top list, but...honestly, it really deserves it. The songs are amazing and the story is very touching, especially the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda. I love villain origin stories, and to this day, the part where Elphaba decides to embrace her role as the antagonist of the story still sends shivers down my spine. No Good Deed still counts as one of my favourite villain songs. I have seen this musical twice and would gladly go again whenever I get the chance to do so!

8 - Rudolf - Affaire Mayerling: Ok, so this is a little bit of a controversial situation for me. I LOVE historical musicals. I just love them. However, this musical is REALLY not what you would call historically accurate. However, to me, it doesn’t really matter. When I look at it from a musical theatre point of view, it’s actually really entertaining! I have never seen this musical live, only watched the DVD and listened to the cast recordings but I would LOVE to see it live once. The songs are so good! While the story is not the best, the music is phenomenal in my opinion. And it also has one of the most catchy villain songs to be ever put on stage: Die Fäden in der Hand. Yes, this musical has MANY flaws, I don’t deny that. The cheesy and historically non-existent romance between Rudolf and Mary is not really the best thing to watch (seriously, why didn’t they include Mizzi Caspar instead of Mary, that would have made MUCH more sense for the love aspect). But it also has a lot going for it, like the actual songs. It is still one of my favourite musicals.

7 - Dracula: Many people consider Frank Wildhorn’s best piece to be Jekyll and Hyde. I personally think that Dracula is that best piece. Sure, it had a very wonky start and the majority of the good and memorable songs came along when the musical came to Austria, but it’s also the Austrian version that I got to hear and see first (not live unfortunately but hooray to cast recordings). It’s an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula...but more the Francis Ford Coppola film rather than the actual book. The romance aspect between Dracula and Mina is not the strongest part of the piece by far, however, when the story isn’t about the romance, the music is actually really fantastic! Oh, and it also has my favourite ever confrontation song: Zu Ende. I REALLY want to see this musical live. Why does it never come to Austria again? It had a fantastic run in Graz! And why can’t there be one German-speaking version of this musical that actually sticks to the gothic aesthetic? Oh well, a man can dream.

6 - Artus - Excalibur: Frank Wildhorn seems to be getting on this list very often, eh? Oh well, what can I say? I just love a lot of his source material. Artus - Excalibur is by no means an accurate representation of the Arthurian legend. However, what it does good is: it gives the tale its own spin. It doesn’t even try to be a step-by-step recreation, it’s completely its own thing. And I liked it. A lot actually. I saw it two times, one time in St. Gallen and one time in Staatz. Both times I absolutely loved it. It has great music and a solid story. However, the songs are by far the best part of it. It also has one of my favourite ensemble pieces: Morgen triffst du den Tod. This is one of those musicals I could watch over and over again without getting bored at all. Whenever it gets put on again, I will try to be there!

5 - Les Misérables: Ok, of course this was going to be on here. Les Mis is just the definition of an epic and emotional megamusical that is guaranteed to touch everyone’s heart at some point. Now, the fun thing is, the first time I saw Les Mis was in the cinema...when the movie came out in 2012. I know, shame on me, but I actually really liked the movie. When I was in London, I went to see the stage musical and I was blown away! It was so amazing and powerful! Javert is my personal favourite character. But I also saw Tam Mutu as Javert in London and this guy is just having a total blast in this role. Needless to say that Stars is probably my favourite song in the musical. Also, this musical is very relevant, even in today’s world, just like Victor Hugo said himself. The melodies are great, the story is great and the characters are great. What’s not to love?

4 - Rebecca: Not everyone’s favourite musical but definitely one of mine. I think, one of the reasons why I love it so much is the whole mystery and thriller aspect it has going for it. It truly captured the spirit of Daphne du Maurier’s novel and brought it on stage. The set design is beautiful, the music is great, you can’t go wrong with Sylvester Levay, and Michael Kunze once again delivered with a great script. Plus, the title song has got to be one of the most menacing songs in german-speaking musical theatre, especially when sung by the right actress. It’s a musical I would really like to see live...and one that I would wish, the VBW would finally bring back! Come on, what’s stopping you guys? Tecklenburg had a fantastic run last summer!

3 - The Hunchback of Notre Dame: I love it when Disney decides to just go dark for once. The movie is seen as Disney’s darkest animated movie. Well, it’s nice to see that the stage musical is also the darkest stage musical Disney has put on. While the movie still had a lot of the classic Disney tropes going for it, the musical gets rid of those and adds tragedy on par with Les Mis, meaning, keeping the actual book ending in the show. Also, a surprisingly large amount of Brecht and Greek Chorus was added to the show and it works really well! However, the Disney songs stay and it works as a great combination! Making Frollo the Archdeacon again adds so much more weight to the Hellfire song, and overall all the characters are extremely well-rounded. I have listened to the cast recordings and would really like to see this show live once!

2 - Elisabeth: As I said before, I absolutely love historical musicals. And Elisabeth is my favourite of those. It isn’t exactly told as a history piece but more of a dark retelling in a Danse Macabre style. Seeing the story being told from Elisabeth’s murderer’s point of view was a very clever idea. It also gave us the characters of Death and Elisabeth, some of the best musical theatre characters ever in my opinion. Every single character in this show has great opportunities to shine. The music is phenomenal and this piece single-handedly catapulted Austria and the VBW into the top charts of musical theatre producers. Also...it REALLY makes you want to be a history student! Honestly, it did that with me! As soon as I watched Elisabeth, I wanted to find out everything about the Habsburgs XD Also, this is probably the musical I have seen the most out of any. I believe to have seen it at least 15 times when it was last running in Vienna...and the fun thing is, I didn’t even like it that much when I saw it the first time! That WOW factor hit me later when I was listening to the cast recording...it happens.

1 - Tanz der Vampire: Was that really a surprise for people who follow my blog? Tanz der Vampire is my favourite musical of all time and will always retain this position. It is the piece that got me not only into musical theatre but in theatre in general. It got me into wanting to study Drama and Creative Writing, it sparked a lot of my current interests and influenced a lot of my life decisions. Tanz der Vampire has everything going for it: a great story, fantastic music, very good moral lessons, beautiful and lush sets and probably one of the best characters to ever grace the musical theatre stage: Graf von Krolock, undoubtedly the arch-nemesis of Erik Destler in the race for the rank of best cape-swishing gothic lover. It also has a very untraditional story, breaking clichés and tropes left and right, just as Roman Polanski intended. It has the perfect mixture of being dark and serious but also utterly hilarious. And it has probably one of the longest and most powerful solos of any musical in my opinion: Die unstillbare Gier. I want to see the musical more than I already have, which is 11. It’s just THAT good. For me personally, there is no better musical than Tanz der Vampire.

Ok, I know, a lot of people will disagree with me now, but as I said: this entire list is opinion-based. I would really be interested to know your Top 10 musicals :D

#Musicals #Top 10 #The Lord of the Rings #Wicked #Rudolf - Affaire Mayerling #Dracula #Artus - Excalibur #Les Misérables #Rebecca #The Hunchback of Notre Dame #Elisabeth #Tanz der Vampire

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ryuunosenshi · 7 years ago

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Crescent Moon; Dandelion Wine; Evening Star; Fairy Tale; Glitter!

(I just spend the last 10 minutes looking for that post to get the questions, but for some reason, tumblr decided to delete my reblog of it :( luckily I could get the questions from your reblog xD) Crescent Moon Do you love stargazing, and do you have a favourite constellation? -- Yes!! I love space and astronomy and stargazing is so calming and amazing! ^^ my favorite constellation is Orion, second favorite is the Summer Triangle (which is kind of cheating since it's actually 3 constellations xD) Dandelion Wine Does the smell of the air, or the colour of the sky ever make you nostalgic? -- hmm.. Not that I can think of... They can make me feel calm and happy, but 'nostalgic' isn't really an emotion I would associate with itEvening Star Share a beautiful poem with us, no matter if it was written by you or someone else. -- Oh boy xD I'm probably the opposite of a 'poem-person' xD I've never written one and never really read them for fun. But the first one that comes to mind is "All that is gold does not glitter" by TolkienAll that is gold does not glitter,Not all those who wander are lost;The old that is strong does not wither,Deep roots are not reached by the frost.From the ashes, a fire shall be woken,A light from the shadows shall spring;Renewed shall be blade that was broken,The crownless again shall be king.Fairy Tale Are you old enough to read Fairy Tales again? -- fairy tales are for everyone, there's no such thing as 'too young, too old, old enough or young enough' when it comes to storiesGlitter Name a few unnecessary, yet lovely things. -- soft blankets, comfort food, an extra slice of lemon in your iced tea, incenseThank you~ 💜💜

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dk-s · 4 years ago

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you should go for a run when u have the chance!! it's really fun to just be outside + endorphins!!! runner's high!! i'm hoping to get faster before my track season (if we have one 😔) starts this year so i've been running a lot lately so my legs are hurting but !! it's all worth it for the pretty sunsets 🥺

and yay on finishing school next week!! that's so exciting!! i would like to go to sleep and only wake up in june after i've chosen a uni and graduated and it's summer, but alas, we're only just finishing first quarter 😔 do you know what you want to study in uni yet?

ahh i feel the same way about driving.. i've had my license for a little while now, but i'm still really anxious, and i can't drive on the highway by myself yet :( i usually drive on back roads, but that means driving at night gets really scary because there's like no one around :((

i've never read any of the lord of the rings books :( i've always wanted to bc it's definitely the kind of thing i would like, but it's always checked out of my library :( maybe once winter break gets here and i finish uni apps i'll pick it up!! since you spoke so highly of the silm i'm very excited to read it now aksjdksk and tbh i love tragedies/sad endings🥺 love playing w my emotions like that

you can speak greek?? that's so cool!! i've always wanted to study that, but i've just been taking latin at school which is fun! :) (and i can relate to listening when my parents are gossiping about me,,, sometimes i think they forget ik our native lang bc they'll just be openly talking abt me in front of me and i'm like. ik what u are saying.)

and i'm desi too!! <33

you're so cute & sweet are u even real or are u just an angel??? i hope since it's summer for you, you can get some vitamin d!! stay well rested and hydrated 🧡 and i hope you have a wonderful day/night!! ~age twin anon

omg ur desi as well?! thats so cool!!! and like yes! i really want to go for a run in the holidays and actually get fit because help, i gotta get my life in order a lil bit!

im guessing ur american? i have no idea how the school system works there but u guys do get to have ur summer in june right?! but yes uni applications are so stressful! my absolute favourite dream career is working in a museum and with ancient artefacts and studying languages and also like making sure artefacts belong to the rightful country because like its their heritage!

but my parents tell me that history isn’t really a job that’s needed anymore so i dont think they support :( they want me to go into medicine and ngl i actually wouldn’t mind, i’d love to work at a hospital and maybe w kids? but i think years of them trying to make me do medicine has turned me against it but who knows? maybe i’ll figure it out!

and yes!! driving at night equates with being terrifying, because its all dark and like i really dont trust myself omg to make the right decision! but i want to get better and practice a lot more <3

also! im so glad u wanna read tolkien! altho i do warn u, tolkien’s worldbuilding is amazing but the silmarillion is written in a way that’s very succinct and to the point - it’s stylised as a recount and thus you’re left w/out descriptions and details and its all up to u! im not sure if you’ve read them, but if you’ve seen the iliad or the odyssey that’s how its written! and the way he casually kills ur emotional support characters is heart wrenching because u want that closure but tolkien was like uhh nah u can figure it out urself! but i hope u enjoy it!

and omgg yes i feel like i gotta casually remind my parents that i do, in fact, understand our native language and yes im sitting at the dinner table w them! also i can hear all the tea 🍵 that gets spilled so its a plus.

and yess haha i need that vitamin d! im p sure i got a deficiency but the australian summer sun is so strong and hot and im not gonna enjoy being outside in 46C during the middle of january! n like i check the weather and every single day, the uv warning is at extreme so uhh idk what to do bout that!! and also ur so kind!!! and sweet!! and ur adorable!!! i love talking to u!!! i hope u have a good day anon <3

#answered #cuties #age twin anon #( but yes i do really need to go outside! i wanna go the gym and get those muscles )

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tolkienuntangled · 4 years ago

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Fact for Fans #2 - The Tragedy of Lord Elrond

Picture that moment on the shores of the Grey Havens. Picture Frodo, Bilbo, Galadriel, Gandalf, and Elrond standing on that White Ship, and picture them departing Middle Earth in the final minutes of the Third Age. Now I've already done a fun fact about sailing West from the perspective of Bilbo and Galadriel, and I'll certainly write one about Gandalf in the next few days, but today's fun fact is going to focus on Elrond, and I hope to try and untangle what this moment truly means from his perspective.

Now I have to be honest, in my opinion Elrond's character is a little short-changed in Peter Jackson's movies. That's not to say I don't enjoy Hugo Weaving's performance, but I feel that by the power of the butterfly effect, changing Aragorn into a more reluctant king, changed Elrond into a more stern and less sympathetic version of himself. My favourite quotation of Tolkien's, about Elrond, comes from The Hobbit, and it goes: "he was as noble and fair as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer." Now I'm not sure that Hugo Weaving's Elrond is quite as "kind as summer," in fact I can't think of any Elf in the movies who truly embodies Tolkien's idea of Elven kindness and compassion. They're all a bit too severe.

Anyway the reason I flag this up is because in Tolkien's tales, Elrond is strong, wise, and noble, but he's also warm, and loving, and kind. And these traits lie at the centre of his character. Now the reason that I think Elrond's kindness is so significant, is because it's not something we should automatically take for granted. After all, Elrond's long life is not a particularly happy one. When we think of immortals in Middle Earth we tend to think of timelessness and of preservation, but to an extent, in Elrond's case, he's defined more by the abundance of things that he loses. Yet he's also defined by what he doesn't lose. And he never loses his kindness.

So in order to fully understand this, we're going to have to go back to the very beginning of Elrond's life; right at the end of the First Age. Now Elrond and his twin brother Elros, were born to two very important characters in the Legendarium. And yet neither one of them was a particularly active parent. When Elrond was only two years old, his father Eärendil went off to sea, and Eärendil never saw either of his sons again. Only four years later, when Elrond was six, his home came under attack, and he and his brother were carried off by their attackers. And Elrond's mother Elwing threw herself into the ocean to avoid the same fate. Now technically both Eärendil and Elwing did survive this, Elwing turned into a bird and Eärendil turned into the planet Venus (no joke, things were weird back then), but neither of them ever returned to their children. And for all intents and purposes, Elrond was orphaned when he was only six years old.

Now it wasn't entirely a case of doom and gloom for young Elrond and Elros, as both twins were eventually adopted by the brother of the guys who attacked their home in the first place. But as with many of Elrond's familial relationships, this one didn't last. You see, only forty-nine years later, Elrond's adoptive father, an elf called Maglor, simply disappeared from the annals of history, and his fate remains one of the great mysteries of Tolkien's Legendarium. But we can be sure that he never saw Elrond again. And so for the second time in his relatively short life, Elrond endured the loss of a beloved family member. Which, if you think about it, must be especially traumatic for an immortal!

Anyway, after the loss of Maglor, a new Age began for Elrond. The Second Age. And this was the Age in which Elrond would truly make a name for himself as one of the key players in the fate of Middle Earth. And his twin brother Elros would do the same. But despite the fact that Elrond and Elros came into the world together, they would not leave it together.

So due to a complex web of Elves and Men making babies in Elrond's family tree, both he and Elros were given the choice to either live as Elves, or as Men. Now obviously Elrond chose to be counted as an Elf, and thus he was given an immortal life, but his brother Elros made the opposite choice. He lived as a Man. He lived a (very) long life as a Man, and he ruled as the mightiest King of Men that Arda had ever seen. But he did not live forever. In his five hundredth year of life, Elros gave up the Sceptre of the King, and he allowed himself to die.

Now Elrond certainly isn't the only Elf in the Legendarium to lose a brother. Galadriel loses all three of her brothers in the space of ten years, but they're not gone forever. Usually when an Elf dies, their soul (their fëa) departs to Valinor where it will be held, and judged, and eventually rehoused and set free; to live an afterlife in the Undying Lands. So when Galadriel sails West, she's sailing to be reunited with her brothers. But this isn't the case with Elrond and Elros. Elros chose the fate of Men. His fëa does not depart to Valinor to be rehoused like an elf's, instead it eventually departs Arda entirely. The soul of Elros simply disappears from the world, and his fate is a mystery to all. Such is the Gift of Men. And so even in death, Elrond and Elros will never be reunited. Just like Eärendil, and Maglor, and (possibly) Elwing, and of course Arwen, Elros is lost to Elrond forever.

But Elrond kept on going. He had responsibilities after all, and throughout the Second Age he became a close advisor, and even closer friend, to the Noldor's High King; Gil-galad. In fact throughout all the drama of the forging of the Rings and the first war against Sauron, Elrond became Gil-galad's "vice-regent" in Eriador, the founder of Imladris (Rivendell), and eventually, Gil-galad even bestowed upon Elrond his own Ring of Power - Vilya, the Ring of Air. But once again it did not last. Gil-glad was slain in the War of the Last Alliance, and Elrond was forced to enter the Third Age without him.

However Elrond wasn't entirely alone, and his story is not entirely tragic. You see, in the 109th year of the Third Age, Elrond finally married the love of his life. The Lady Celebrían; the daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn. And Elrond and Celebrían represent one of the happiest Elven unions in the Legendarium. At least for a while. Celebrían inherited from her mother the Elessar, the Elfstone, the same stone that would eventually be given to Aragorn. And this is a beautiful detail, because the original Elessar was first given to Elrond's father by his grandmother, so it's a really lovely family heirloom. And together, in this period of peace, Elrond and Celebrían build a really lovely family.

First Celebrían gave birth to the twin hunters Elladan and Elrohir, and then 111 years later, she gave birth to Elrond's beloved daughter, Arwen Undómiel. And for the next two and a half thousand years, everything was wonderful. Well I mean, the Witch-king did his thing in Angmar, and there was a terrible plague, also Uruk-hai were invented at this time, but in Rivendell, between Elrond and Celebrían, all was good.

Until it wasn't.

So in the year 2509 of the Third Age, tragedy struck Elrond once again. In this year, Celebrían made the journey from her home in Rivendell to her parent's home in Lothlórien, (a journey she'd done many times before), but on this occasion something terrible happened.

Whilst crossing the Misty Mountains, Celebrían was waylaid and captured by orcs of the Redhorn Pass. And Celebrían suffered misery and torture at their hands, which forever changed her. She was tormented and she was poisoned by the orcs, but they did not allow her to die. Instead they kept her prisoner in their dens, and her spirit was broken.

Now from the orcs' perspective this was probably the most foolish thing they could possibly have done, because by torturing Celebrían they'd brought upon themselves the unbridled wrath of not only Elrond, but of his sons Elladan and Elrohir. And so with a magnificent fury, the twins rode up into the mountains, and we can only assume that they would have slaughtered every single orc in that Pass. And when Lord Elrond found his wife, he freed her, and he held her, and he healed her body, but he could not heal her spirit or her mind. The torment was simply too great.

The following year, Celebrían's despair of life had grown so great that she departed Middle Earth, and she sailed away, leaving her husband and her children behind her. And for Celebrían and her daughter Arwen, this would mark the final time they'd ever meet.

So let's fast forward now back to that moment on that ship at the end of the Third Age, where Elrond and the other ring-bearers prepared for their own departure. We know that this was a bittersweet moment for Elrond, after all he was not only leaving his realm of Imladris behind him, but also all three of his children. Even at the very end, Elrond had one more great loss to endure.

So as we all know, Arwen faced the same choice that Elrond and Elros faced all those years ago, and just like Elros, Arwen chose a mortal life. She was blessed with love and happiness, but she was doomed to be parted from her father forever. Just like with Elros, even in death, Elrond would never see his daughter again. Nor would he ever meet his grandson. And this is made even more poignant, because not only does Elrond lose his daughter, but he loses Aragorn, an orphan not unlike himself, who he'd adopted and raised just as Maglor adopted and raised him. And we don't know the fates of Elrond's sons, but we know that for a long while they too remained in Middle Earth, sundered from their father, and perhaps they too chose a mortal life, and they too were lost to Elrond forever.

So picture yourself in Elrond's position. Picture yourself looking back towards the East, as the White Ship sails into the West. Imagine all the things that Elrond is losing, and all the people he will never see again. But now imagine Elrond turning around and looking forward. Looking west. Imagine that bittersweet emotion as the lands of his children disappear behind him, and he faces the direction of his wife. The direction of Celebrían. For although Elrond had so much to lose by leaving Middle Earth, there was someone waiting for him on the other side. After more than five hundred years apart, in the West, Elrond would find Celebrían. And after a lifetime of losing that which he'd loved, he'd finally be reunited with that love which he'd lost.

From the perspective of a more prideful character this may seem like a sad ending, but from Elrond's perspective I don't think it is. I find that from this perspective, Elrond is an incredibly optimistic character. More so than most Elves, he'd experienced permanent loss many times over, and yet he never loses his kindness. Perhaps at the end of all things, Elrond is not defined by who he lost in Middle Earth, but by who he found again in the Undying Lands.

So, thank you all for reading. Over the course of this year’s lockdown I’ve been working on a series of Tolkien themed YouTube videos called Tolkien Untangled. So far I’ve uploaded 10 episodes explaining the beginning of the Simarillion, the Beginning of Days, and the tale of Fëanor and the Silmarils. I’ve also released four episodes about the differences between the Lord of the Rings books and movies, and I’m currently releasing a weekly series of Tolkien lore videos. So check out Tolkien Untangled on YouTube if you’d like to learn more.

Thanks again everyone. Much love and stay groovy ❤️

#Tolkien #Elrond #Elves #galadriel #lord of the rings #silmarillion #jrr tolkien #sad #numenor #unfinished tales

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