#these are not new lotr movies but new movies in middle earth by the way

[sindar-princeling]

(for the record, they are not making new LOTR movies, but new movies set in middle earth - of course the headlines are clickbaity, and i didnt realise it before posting because I read all these articles)

[andromedasummer]

the problem i have with lord of the rings is that as long as it continues to be a cash cow for peter jackson he stays relevant and continues to be the massive cunt he is. fucking twisting the arm of the government alongside warner bros to remove union protection for film workers. bolstering his mates cv by convincing people to vote for him as our mayor only for him to do fuck all to help out and bounce to take a cushy job in our hard-right govt. bitch and moan and use his money to prevent projects in lyall bay because he doesnt want more houses to ruin his property value when we're in a fucking housing crisis. hate that bitch and his mediocre films.

[tossawary]

The last time that I rewatched "The Fellowship of the Ring" (extended edition, of course), my favorite new detail that I noticed is that the characters, once they set out on their journey, are pretty much always traveling from screen-left to screen-right.

It had been a few years since I'd seen the films and I'd learned more about filmmaking in that time. I'm completely biased regarding the LOTR films; they're not perfect, but I grew up on them, I love them. I was trying to take notes on all of the little details that made the world of the films seem so rich and so enchanting to me. The camerawork, character staging, and editing is one of the many things that just happened to jump out at me at this time.

When Frodo and Sam are leaving the Shire, the camera is set up in such a way that they start on the left side of the screen (<- that side) and travel across it to the right side of the screen (-> that side).

This way to go the farthest you've ever been from home. ->

As the hobbits travel from Bree to Rivendell, as the Fellowship travels from Rivendell to the Misty Mountains, all of those gorgeous scenic shots of the Nine Walkers show them moving from screen-left to screen-right. I haven't rewatched the entire trilogy lately, but in "The Fellowship of the Ring", it is so beautifully consistent.

There are a handful of reasons why this is done. In staging and editing, consistency regarding where the characters are placed on the screen is a storytelling tool. For example: the "180 degrees rule" says to generally keep the camera on one side of the characters within a scene, so that the audience can mentally keep track of the characters within the environment and focus on the action/dialogue. If we're watching two characters talking in a diner, even in the close-ups, one character will usually be kept on screen-left and be shown facing screen-right, and the other will be kept on screen-right and be shown facing screen-left. It feels stable. (People will sometimes choose to break the "180 degrees rule". It can be a tool to create a sense of disorientation and/or instability in the audience.)

In "The Fellowship of the Ring", the maps that the audience is shown of Middle Earth tell us that the Shire is located in the West (left side of the map) and everything else of relevance (Rivendell, Moria, Rohan, Gondor, Mordor) is East (right side of the map). As the characters consistently travel screen-right, the audience builds up a firmer mental map of Middle Earth and can better keep track of the characters' progress on their long journey. With every step that Frodo takes towards screen-right (->), we know that he is traveling East, taking another step towards Mordor.

Left to right may also instinctively feel like the way forward in a culture that writes and reads from left to right. Regardless of which way you write: if your film establishes extremely consistently that one direction is forward, then this visual language can be used to tell the audience that something is wrong if the characters start traveling from right to left. They might be lost! It builds suspense in the visual depiction of the characters going backwards and undoing progress! This all suits the lengthy hero's journey of LOTR very well, in my opinion.

There's an old joke that knowing how anything is made ruins the magic, and another old joke that knowing anything about filmmaking makes you insufferable to watch movies with, but I've never felt that way, especially not here. How does that quote go? It's still magic even if you know how it's done. (GNU Terry Pratchett.)

I find it enchanting, honestly, that so many people can work so hard for an effect that can seem so simple. Actors, directors, camera operators, editors, storyboarders, and so many others on the crew of the films consistently placed characters, sets, and props just so! So that the audience could more easily keep track of where everyone was and lose themselves a little more deeply in the story.

It's such a simple rule! And it works so well! Left -> Right. West -> East. Shire -> Mordor. Home -> Adventure. Known -> Unknown.

I personally recommend trying to keep track of character movement across the screen in films, especially if you have any interest in visual storytelling (films or illustration or something else). It's fun! It's impossible for me to unsee, watching "The Fellowship of the Ring" now, and I think it's a wonderful piece of movie magic.

[shelleysmary]

gotta laugh at everyone who has ever said that "~unLiKE tHe pEtEr jACkSoN fILmS~ the trop people don't care about tolkien, don't care about middle-earth, it's a soulless adaptation for the money just because amazon is behind it" because (and i say this while also saying fuck amazon, fuck jeff bezos. it goes without saying - two things can be true at the same time, i can't believe it bears repeating)

how do you think films and television get made?? hate to break it to you, but it's all for the money. new line cinema didn't say "we love tolkien, pj, let's do this for free!" they were literally looking for a franchise hit when they decided to take the films over from miramax - which is exactly what every studio and their mom is trying to do now!!! it's movie business, baby! to say the people behind trop - the actors, the casting directors, the production designers, the vfx artists, the art directors, the armorers, the costume designers, the set decorators, the makeup artists, the ADs, the carpenters, painters, prop-makers, steelworkers, laborers, animal handlers, sound editors, miniature builders, stuntpeople, craftspeople, movement and dialect coaches, trainers, lighting techs, jewelers, etc. - don't care about the story they're telling???? is a wild reach. obviously they work for the showrunners who work for amazon who care the most about making a profit, but so did peter jackson and new line!! wanting your project to be financially and critically successful is not an inherently evil thing, come on guys, are you still buying into the starving artist fallacy 😭

there are tons of little nods to the silmarillion and other parts of the legendarium in the rings of power. yes, there are also changes and goofs, but lotr and the hobbit film trilogies also had their fair share of changes and goofs. i just think that "these people didn't read the books/this is just a money grab/pj & co. cared about the source material while these losers clearly don't" are tired arguments used to justify subjective opinions, not to mention the way it reeks of revisionist history considering the way tolkien purists initially took great issue with deviations made in lotr and especially the hobbit.

it's almost like...the most hated tolkien adaptation is ever the current one.

[buffyfan145]

Just saw all the new "Rings of Power" s2 promo pics and spoilers that came out from Collider and so excited!!! 😀 We got info on multiple storylines and confirmed some leaks we had last year were right. Going to put this behind a cut.

From the pictures we got confirmation that Galadriel does get captured by Adar as one of the photos is her at a dinner with him!!! 😮 This actually makes sense story wise now as we all wondered how Sauron gets back in Eregion and it looks like we have our answer as Galadriel is gone, likely matching up that scene of her in the woods screaming. However, this also confirmed Sauron goes back to Eregion as Halbrand first as the other pic is of Halbrand with Celebrimbor!!! Then he switches to Annatar. There was a theory recently from fans that this might be the case as Halbrand and Celebrimbor bonded already at the end of s1, Galadriel supposedly only has told Elrond that Halbrand was Sauron and Elrond leads a rescue mission to find her leaving Eregion too, so Halbrand/Sauron can get back there with them gone.

It does make me wonder if Halbrand/Sauron is able to get into Galadriel's mind to know she hasn't told anyone too. Also, this explains why some fans were wondering why we only had limited info on Galadriel's storyline this season from the writers and Morfydd only saying so far that she learns to use Nenya, and that her and Sauron's mental bond grows where both are able to enter each other's minds and they have that "weird" connection through their rings that he didn't even expect, and that it lasts till the end of the LOTR books/movies. So now we know she'll be captive with Adar for a bit of the season too before the Battle of Eregion as all of them are on set fighting. And I'm curious to see Galadriel and Adar bond too as he is what she could've become if she said yes to Sauron/Halbrand's proposal, and there's been rumors of Adar switching sides in the battle with Sauron fully taking back power over the orcs. Not to mention if we'll get more Haladriel scenes this way too either before Halbrand/Sauron leaves and/or if he'll travel back and forth in animal form to visit.

Even more excited for season 2 with all this info!!! 😀

[thevalleyisjolly]

Concept: The Jackson Hobbit movies, but Tauriel is Legolas’ older sister instead:

It allows her conflict with Thranduil to remain focused on their actual disagreement/differences in perspective rather than getting sidetracked by elitism/classism/fantasy racism (which is also inconsistent with the book dynamics between Thranduil’s family and the Silvan elves, but I digress) or by Legolas’ crush.  They kind of touched on that in the movies, that she’s an ordinary if favoured guard speaking out against her king and that there’s a massive difference in power and station.  But it’s never satisfactorily addressed or resolved because of course, the aim of the movies is not a class critique, so then don’t introduce that particular dynamic at all.  By making her Thranduil’s daughter/heir, it allows them to use the limited screentime they have to focus in on their actual disagreement rather than alluding to some class commentary that never ends up going anywhere.

It removes the love triangle/angle that they really didn’t have enough screentime to develop fully.  Tauriel and Kili can still have a romantic interest in each other, Legolas just becomes the younger brother who is mistrustful of this new “interloper” in the family and who is shocked that his older sibling is breaking convention by showing any interest in a dwarf.

As a subtle tie-in to LOTR, it provides a “canonical” reason for why Legolas was sent to Rivendell on essentially messenger duty and why he was able to join the Fellowship on a months-long quest - he’s not an only child and he’s not his father’s heir, so he’s able to spend that amount of time away from home.

And so what if I think it would be cool to have at least one kingdom in Middle-earth explicitly follow absolute primogeniture.  I just think it would be one neat way of distinguishing the Silvan elves as a sociocultural group rather than just ‘more dangerous, less wise.’

It lends greater weight and consequence to Tauriel’s decisions.  She’s not a single captain going rogue, she’s the king’s heir and every decision she makes carries significant political and social implications.  Aiding the Company, and Thorin’s heirs in particular?  That’s a hell of a stance from the heir to the Woodland crown.  Disobeying Thranduil’s direct orders and pursuing her own course of action?  That’s not just treason, that’s the king’s heir going against the king.

I’m really not a fan of how they adapted Thranduil’s character in the movies, but given the story that we were presented with, it would create another parallel between him and Thorin - their heirs openly defying them because of their decisions as leaders.

More Elven women as leaders.  Look, these movies were never going to be an exploration of class, just let her be an Elvish princess and explore how she approaches decisions as the heir apparent to the crown.

Also, just saying, Tauriel following her own strong personal beliefs rather than listening to the orders of an Elven king who wants to take a more cautious, defensive approach makes for some pretty great parallels with Oropher.  You could even have a flashback scene of the Last Alliance and Oropher leading the Woodland elves into a massacre as a young Thranduil looks on in horror - that way, you get a further parallel with the scene of Thorin watching his father and grandfather charge Azog at Azalnubizar.

Almost all the Elven women in the books are either younger siblings or (functionally) only children.  Someone get Findis some company, it’s time we got more Oldest Daughter representation.

[rings-of-power-realm]

I've been a fan of Tolkien for over 40 years, read everything he has published and read The Hobbit and LOTR a half dozen times over those decades. I loved the Rankin/Bass animated versions of the story as a teen and I thoroughly enjoyed Peter Jackson's take on the tale and appreciated the artistic license he took to round the stories out for film. I had no expectations going into The Rings of Power, positive or negative. I hoped it would be a beautiful expansion of a world I love and wanted to see more of. I saw the usually people already complaining about this and that, assuming they knew what was best for the works and of course knowing exactly what Tolkien would want and dislike (eye roll) and tried to ignore these trolls completely. They seem to like to ruin any and every journey before it gets a chance to begin and I would not want to spend one moment with these joyless creatures. All that being said I sat down with a snack and refreshments release night and watched the first episodes of The Rings of Power and was dumbfounded. What did I just watch I said to myself. It certainly wasn't anything like the trash mob of negative internet trolls said it would be. It was glorious. From the moment Galadriel's opening voiceover began to the second she plunged her brother's dagger into the ice wall I realized I had leaned forward on the couch and was smiling from ear to ear. The world had faded away and I was enthralled by the beautiful cinematography, the vivid colors and the sheer breadth of the opening shots, the Tolkienesque dialogue...I watched it again. Nope not me imagining it. I watched the rest of the episode and was so tickled I watched it again. I then watched the second. I was so happy, it's indescribable. They struck all the right notes and I was in that world again, like I was reading the books or watching the movies... immersed in Middle Earth and it's tales. Somehow they took the charm and detail of Jackson's movies, added a heavy dose of Tolkien lore, some artistic license and flawless creative CGI and created something fresh but familiar. I knew this place but it was like seeing it with new eyes, the inhabitants and places the same but even more vibrant. So far I'm thrilled with what they have done. If the story pans out and it continues on this path they may have something fantastic on their hands. Something to be celebrated by TRUE Tolkien fans and lovers of Middle Earth. "But it's not Tolkien's story." Well he's not around to create any more content, and it is based on the world and characters he created. If you don't want to watch something he didn't actually write tune out, but don't ruin it for the rest of us. What's wrong with more stories from Middle Earth even if they aren't written by the man himself if they're done well and in his spirit? "Why did they cast so diversely?" Well I don't know how to help you with your "problem" but the way I see it, the only people taking umbrage with that probably have questionable character. Tolkien created a large world with many races, species, etc. I don't remember him ever writing specifically that they were all white. Naturally in a world that big there would be many beautiful types of people, races, ethnicities and cultures. The expansion of this in the show only adds to the richness of the story. If not it would a pretty vanilla tale indeed. If you find yourself complaining about diversity you should probably take a long look in the mirror and ask yourself the real reason you have a problem with it. Lastly I want to address once more the groups that like to mass negative review things. You reveal yourselves when you give a negative review to something before it's even been released in its entirety. I'll be the first to edit this if it turns badly later, but I'll give it it's due first. It's seems like some kind of sickness, the need to try to ruin something just because they don't agree with how it's done or who's in it. It really invalidates all your reviews because you're not reviewing a thing on its content, you're reviewing it on your prejudice, you're reviewing according to your hateful opinions. You won't even give it a chance because "I hate this, and don't like that...oh the wokeness!" Not one of you will be able to look past any of your personal hang ups to give the story and it's presentation a chance to stand on its own, therefore your reviews are meaningless and should be treated as such. I hope that that's taken into account when the time comes to invest in more chapters, seasons and stories if this pans out. If you don't like it go away and let the rest of us enjoy it without having to listen to you try to ruin something without giving it a chance. Gandalf would disapprove. "May dawn take you all and be stone to you!" More Middle Earth is a Good Thing! by redkingisalive imdb 10 star review

[marta-bee]

So, about the whole Hunt for Gollum thing.

LOTR is full of totally-canonical, barely referenced but situated-within-the-larger-world stories just begging to be told. This is not a bug but a feature. I for one would give all the money for a film adaptation of the whole mess with Pearl Took and Lalia the Fat; or Fatty, Farmer Maggot's, and Lobelia's road to becoming sorta-kinda hobbit resistance fighters. Merry's organizing the conspirators behind Frodo's back. And that's without ever leaving the Shire (hobbits are lovely, but not my favorite corner of canon!)

As a long-time fan of Tolkien-based fanfic, this should surprise precisely no one. There's a reason why I keep reading, and some of these stories really could be a fun movie to watch and rewatch.

The thing is, not all of them are best told with Peter Jackson's particular style. These are very different types of stories and I'd love people to be given a shot who excel telling that type of story. I'd love a Knives Out-esque take on Pearl and Lalia; the conspirators needs a coming-of-age feel; etc. Given the choice I do wish we'd find a bit more space for other hearts and minds in our cultural landscape, because not everything needs to be a fate-of-the-world-in-the-balance epic blowout. But the mere fact that PJ & Co. are trying to tell more Tolkien-based stories doesn't really feel like they're milking those film rights for all they're worth. Because there absolutely are more stories worth telling there.

The tricky thing about Rings of Power was, it was trying to tell a story tied to canon it didn't have the rights to; so in a very real way it always felt disjointed to me. That's a very different prospect than more stories from the people with the rights to tell them. And whatever my wishes for more varied types of story-telling, you better believe I'd be right there, popcorn in hand, for pretty much any take on a new corner of Middle-earth PJ wanted to do. For me, it's very much a "two cakes" kind of thing.

[erathene]

Not-Yet-Written-Fics Game

AKA sh*t from my OneNote "Ideas" page that no-one asked for but maybe I'll write ✨someday✨

Thanks for the tag @fishing4stars 😘 I've also added the likelihood of these ideas actually making it onto paper 😂

The Game-of-Thrones-Style longfic idea: An unnamed OC is the only child of the king in a kingdom east of Rûhn. The king is a widower and remarries, and OC gains a stepmother and stepbrother. The king then dies, suddenly and in mysterious circumstances. Stepmother ensures that stepbrother takes the crown, not OC who is the rightful heir, and stepbrother then makes alliances with Mordor. OC flees, taking refuge in the West. Gandalf hears of these events and does not want Mordor to have more allies, so tries to convince OC to take back their crown. Cue angst and indecision over whether or not they can face their stepfamily and grief for their father to reclaim what is rightfully theirs. Alliances are made, probably with the Elves of Mirkwood, who help OC reclaim the throne and turn the kingdom away from darkness. All events take place during the War of the Ring. Probability of this being written: 1/10 due to the world-building and OCs required to fabricate a whole new kingdom.

The tenth walker idea: Elrond sends a historian / scribe along with the Fellowship to document the ring's destruction as an important event in the history of Middle Earth. Eventual Female!Bookworm x Aragorn pairing because I am the author and I get to decide. Protective!Aragorn would be just *chef's kiss*. Probability of this being written: 6/10, I like it but it would likely break my 'don't write movie scenes' personal rule of writing LOTR fics 😅

The LOTR/Wheel of Time crossover: Nynaeve is going through the Arches to become Accepted, and the final Arch leads to Middle Earth. I think there would be a lot of potential to explore how the One Power works/doesn't work in ME, and how it is received by people if it does. I also think there are some similar traits between Nynaeve and Aragorn (wisdom/chieftain, healer, foraging/tracking) which would also be fun to explore: are they friends or do they get on each other's last nerve? Also what sin or fear does Nynaeve have to face in ME that means she was sent there in the first place? There are just so many angles that could be examined in this, if I had the time (no pun intended..). Probability of this being written: 5/10, I feel like I don't know enough about the Wheel of Time fandom, as I've only watched the TV series.

The Silmarillion/Rings of Power idea: Either an OC or Reader fic, haven't decided. Sauron has been brought to Numenor as a prisoner, OC is a prison guard. Sauron is extremely talkative, OC is very wary of him and the way he speaks; it's persuasive, manipulative and not like other prisoners. Over time, OC watches Sauron talk his way out of the prison cell and into society, climbing the ranks until they comes across him again at the royal court. OC tries to convince someone, anyone, that Sauron should be back in the cell where he belongs, but nobody listens except Elendil. The fic examines the forming of the Faithful and the events leading up to the downfall of Numenor, featuring ROP resident Hot Men™ Elendil and Halbrand. Probability of this being written: 4/10, requires more silmarillion reading, though that might increase when ROP Season 2 is released.

Aaaand that's all I have! Let's send a no-pressure tag to @emmanuellececchi, @torturedhoesdepartment and @inkedmoth (sorry if you have been tagged already 😅). If anyone else sees this and wants to join in, I'd love to see what's rattling around in your brain!

[sotwk]

Arvellas and Mirion 😭😭😭 anyway I can't keep this question outta my head: what do you think could/would be the changes in the story had everyone (including Maereth, Mirion, and Arvellas) had lived?

*hugs Anon* Yes, sadly, Princes Mirion and Arvellas are the confirmed fatalities (besides the Elvenqueen) in Thranduil's family. And now that I list them together like that I've realized I've chosen to kill off the kindest members of Greenwood's Royal Family! But you know what--it is likely their kind, incorruptible hearts that made them such excellent targets for Sauron. (Or that's how I excuse my writer's cruelty anyway.)

The good news is, although I already have set ideas as to how they die (both very heroically), it is not my priority to write the fics describing those tragedies. Right now, I prefer to focus on the happier stories of how well they lived.

But what if everyone in Thranduil's family had lived?

I think this would alter the Woodland Realm's history in such a profound way that it would have changed all of Middle-earth's history along with it! I wrote the AU of Thranduil having several sons to better explain the Elvenking and Legolas's angst and bitterness (as portrayed in the PJ movies), and to show that it wasn't just the Woodland Realm (the land and people) that suffered and deteriorated; the Elvenking himself took very serious personal losses as well.

The decline of Mirkwood into the state it was in by the time of the War of the Ring would likely never had occurred, had the Elvenqueen and all five Thranduilion Princes survived. You know the saying, "too stupid to live"? Well, Thranduil's Queen and sons were "too powerful to live". Sauron/The Necromancer chose to hit them hard because Thranduil's kingdom was far too strong and too great a threat to his plans.

Had Sauron failed to eliminate at least half of Thranduil's family, they would have eventually found a way to destroy Dol Goldur, which would have shifted the balance of powers in the War of the Ring. Moreover, had all the Thranduilion Princes been alive to participate in the War just as Legolas did, they would have been invaluable assets to the side of the good. Remember that canonically, Thranduil was kept preoccupied by Dol Goldur, so he could not lend his aid or army elsewhere. But the House of Thranduil was never the sort to "sit out" wars. Had the Elvenking and ALL his sons been available to march out and fight, it would have changed the outcomes of most of the battles in the War.

Alas, it is not my intention to use the SotWK AU to change the plot of LOTR or The Hobbit that drastically, so there will just be some tweaks to save some characters from their canon deaths. ;)

[itsanidiom]

SHIPPER TAG GAME

LET'S GOOOOO~ tagged by @negrowhat

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care anymore?

Glorestor or Glorfindel / Erestor of Middle Earth Fanon Fame. Not that I don't CARE about it anymore, mind you. There's just not enough new content (for obvious reasons god it's old and there's like one conversation of original source material). I don't think about them as much anymore. Like I used to be reading fanfic EVERY NIGHT and we're talking like novel length fanfics (as you can imagine people in the LOTR fandom write lol). Anyway here's some super old fan art... (>u<)

2. Which ship would you consider your first one?

Oh god...something Dynasty Warriors related for sure...

Probably like Sun Ce / Zhao Yu or Gan Ning / Lu Xun. (GO WU! lol) I feel like there were other couples I'm totally forgetting right now...but yeah god I love Dynasty Warriors...

Also...daaamn Gan Ning looks good there I should go buy the latest game. (>w<)

3. Your first fanfic belonged to which couple?

Like the first one I wrote or read?? I went into my oldest of old "old writing" folders and found this list of docs that I haven't been touched in over ten years. SO I'm gonna saaaay it was a Dynasty Warriors fanfic...one of these pairings. (^ ^;)

Also kind of hilarious to see that I literally still organize my fanfic files in the same way for over half my fucking life ago...nice...

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw a fanart over?

I feel like it would have been something Inuyasha related. That or something Final Fantasy X. I do not remember, but it was probably some version of these scene.

5. Did you ever get into ship discourse?

Not that I can remember...do not need this in my life...lol but maybe I've reblogged some RPF like discourse? Like the "should or shouldn't you ship" type discussions. I'm on the side of "do whatever you want but don't send it to the famous people" [ex. like ATEEZ fanfic/fanart] or "if they are literally doing it as part of their promo go ahead, it's for fun/they literally requested it as part of their promo" [ex. BillyBabe]. (^ ^;)

6. Did you used to have any no-otp or have it currently?

It honestly always depends on the quality of the fanart or the fanfic because even a notp can turn into a OH!tp if it's good enough. [Exhibit a: my Phaya/Tharn/Chalothorn fanfic]

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read?

Weirdly the one new Chalothon/Singh fic from The Sign. But I really need AO3 to fix the spelling of his name in the tag...

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs?

PhayaTharn are the current obsession~

Look at them...adorable...

9. Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

Still wish John Wick / Santino fucked...also like James Bond / Q and The Protagonist / Neil and Arthur / Eames...bromance is SUCH a waste but considering the genres of these movies it is never gonna happen...I have to wait for the Thai BL versions lol (^ ^;)

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

OH I haven't been traumatized by watched it yet, but Dead Friends Forever has made me get onboard with Macau/Chay of KinnPorsche fame because OMG LOOK AT THESE CUTIES!!!!

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, was considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

GOD I remember there was a LOT of Sesshomaru x Inuyasha yaoi when I was a kid LMFAO like...straight up cancelled...I dunno if it was normal back then but no yaoi was normal back then so like it sadly all got lumped together or something...then again looking at some of the comics that are coming out these days...

12. What was your favorite crack ship?

All the McFassy ships from back in the day like OMG REMEMBER JUNGKOV?? STELIOS AND LETO??? ARCHIE AND ROBBIE? SO MANY CROSSOVERS!!

LOL Sorry that just brought me back LOL

13. Who is the couple you read more fanfics of?

Ahhhh I don't know...I usually either write a lot or read a lot...I literally have a fic rec list for Glorestor lol and then when I look in my AO3 bookmarks the top ship is Hannigram sooooo let's say Hannigram even though I haven't read one for a while.

14. What most of your ships usually have in common?

toll and smol...i like me a toll and a smoll...lol or big and small...i dunno something something contrast something something just crush him and/or be uncharacteristically gentle or somehow incapacitate the larger man with your wiles...that is all...

15. What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

Miscommunication < seconding @negrowhat's response. Cannot stand it. Such a boring trope. Very annoying for me (the audience).

[sindar-princeling]

I am still baffled by some of the choices made by rop so far, and in a big part it is because. there is such a good story right there. and unless they had no rights to literally any plotline ever described in any of tolkien's works... why fix something that isn't broken, you know? ESPECIALLY if you're not actually fixing it ajsjdjdjdfjffj

I can't really get (yet, at least. benefit of the doubt until the whole story is told) what justifies adding Isildur's sister or those women dressed in white or Sauron pretending to be Just A Human Guy On A Raft while the story we have, however generally described, is fascinating

elves get tricked by Annatar because he says he's an emissary from Valinor - the HOME they're banned from just got brought to them! you can show why and explain just how big of a deal it is that they can return at the end of LotR so much better than "we're told it's a big deal but Galadriel jumps and returns anyway". AND this way it's the elves' collective mistake, not just hers. were they too hubristic to believe Annatar's offers? did they just miss home too much? there's a big, deep story here about AGES of middle-earth's history. and even if you wanted to tell a new story in this show - it IS new to most people who know LotR anyway, because most people know it from the movies and have never read the book, let alone the Silm! this is a new story for them!

maybe things could get wrong slowly even before Sauron creates the one ring - at first deniably, until it can't be ignored anymore. maybe there's some agitation among the free peoples, and elves can see that their mortal acquaintances are different, they're not sure what is happening, but it's wrong. there's a growing, nearing sense of dread, and by the time the one ring is forged, by the time they realise the threat was right under their noses this whole time, it's too late, and it has been too late for a long time. by having made the three, the elves managed to create not a solution, but barely a means to stop MORE damage, but they only managed to help themselves anyway.

the world starts to grow smaller, weaker, diminish into the third-age middle earth that we know, and there's some sweetness in it for us as viewers because this is the world we're most familiar with, but it's first and foremost bitter and tragic. it's not a happy ending. the war will continue, and many of our characters will have no choice but to continue seeing it through because they're elves. they will live to see it, or they will die, or they will run - and not all of them can run

series fucking ends.

anyway, I will. try. to not make this blog into a pool of bile in the next few days after s2 comes out, but as it turns out I'm still pissed about the "stronger than the foundations of the earth" bit coming from sauron and not galadriel in s1 and stripping her of her best character trait so! 👍

[https-chaos]

Cold as fuck outside ✅

Went for a long ass walk ✅

Drank a lot of water ✅

Had a nice meal ✅

Showered ✅

In bed ✅

Window all the way open ✅

Oil diffuser going ✅

Heated blanket on ✅

Brand new THC pen ✅

Fantasy Adventure playlist on ✅

It's my FAVORITE time of year bitches!!! I'm about to read the Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth, The Hobbit, and the LOTR trilogy and then watch all 20-odd hours of extended cut movies and completely forget I exist for several weeks!!!

I'm so fuckin pumped let's GOOOO

[oakashthorin]

I got tagged by the wonderful @ithilienns, thank you!!!❤️

How old were you when you were first introduced to LOTR?

I want to say 5 or 6, but the first time I honestly paid attention to it and fell in love with LOTR was when I was around 12.

Favorite LOTR character?

ohhhhh that's hard.... Probably Samwise or Goldberry, they are just angel sweethearts and I would kill and die for them.

Books or movies?

Books, all the way. I love the movies, but nothing comes close to the books storytelling wise. Tolkien was a master with words and world building.

Which location in Middle Earth would you want to visit?

The Shire, the blue Mountains and Edoras, I don't know why, but the descriptions of each of these make me feel so at home. I just want to see if I'm right, haha

Favorite movie?

The Two Towers, I'm Sam's-Speech-Pilled. Back when I first borrowed the DVDs around 13 years ago I rewatched that part 30 times in one day, and I'll be honest I'd do it again that tiny man shaped my personality more than anything

Favorite scene?

See previous question haha

Favorite quote?

i'll be honest I know I might have a problem but that speech is etched into my heart

"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding on to, Sam?

Sam : That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for"

Do I have to elaborate? No. This gave me so much hope and strength in dark times, and it still does. It's true, and it's down to earth, realistic, it acknowledges how hard it is to be good and pull through, not even necessarily having to be brave, but having faith in why we endure all the pain and darkness that we have to go through.

What Middle Earth race would you want to be?

Either a dwarf or a hobbit. I'm built and hairy like both lmao (only partially kidding)

Favorite LOTR ship?

I will be honest, I barely ship anything aside from the canon pairings, I got introduced to it before shipping was of any interest for me. I do have ships for the hobbit tho, but for lotr none. It may sound weird but i just never viewed it like I do other fandoms, maybe because it is so special to me, maybe because I'm ace... who knows. I think gigolas content is cute tho, so maybe that?

Again, same as the last Idk if you have done it already, and don't feel pressured! @thorins @bllbabaggins @sonofarathorns @aramblingjay @a-sneaky-bagginses @mirkwood @osakateto @thesleepyhermit @buttercup-bard

[shelleysmary]

OMg your post about the TROP haters. A lot of people don't seem to remember that several actors SUED New Line because they used the actors' likeness to make merch without compensating them. It's so weird to be acting as if any of these companies were ever ethical to begin with. People are also way too forgiving of PJ&Co for the joke of the Hobbit movies. It's not all WB's fault that those films were trash and to forgive PJ of some of his creative choices (like those CGI wargs that he actually approved of) is ridiculous.

listen..... i feel like i'm removed enough from the pj trilogies at this point to forgive all their foibles. they've been around long enough for me to accept them, and i find even the twilight-looking cgi wargs rather charming at this point. but that's the thing!!! the mere-exposure effect means that familiarity often leads to liking a thing better. the problem arises when certain fans forget that this is how the whole thing started. i genuinely believe that if trop can stick the landing and deliver four good—and i do mean good, not life-changing, i'm talking borderline decent (remember the hobbit)—seasons that improve on the first, in 8-10 years people will change their tune and remember it fondly, much like how we've all decided the hobbit is pretty okay, actually. it's not perfect, but we've accepted it into our headcanons and it has details we fully embrace and have integrated into our little store of tolkien jewels. that's why i contend that tolkien fans will always move on and take umbrage with the new thing. in part, i think it's the nature of the thing: tolkien himself left gaps and made so many changes throughout the years and from one draft to the next, and fans have projected their preferences onto them. that is the beauty of middle-earth!! for all that pj was accused of trying to make the hobbit his cash cow, j.d. and patrick are now getting accused of the same. no doubt there'll be fans who hate the hunt for gollum for that very same reason, but that doesn't change the fact that if any fictional world is made for this kind of expansive worldbuilding, it's tolkien's!

i understand that we're all passionate about middle-earth and we want things done "properly," but guys... your sauron is showing. sometimes we have to sit down and realize that "the way i imagined it" isn't always going to be what we see onscreen. the books will always be there! fanworks that align with our personal idea of what we wanted to see will always be there! that doesn't mean we can't be critical and expect quality from the shows and films we watch, but oftentimes with trop "this is a narrative flaw" and "this goes against my preference" get so confused. and people get triggered because they care about the world so much, but that doesn't excuse rudeness or cruelty or straight-up attacking those who disagree.

forgetting the journey we've all taken with the pj films is a mistake. so much unpleasantness within the tolkien fandom could be fixed with a little more patience, a little more wisdom, a little more grace. which. y'know. if you love these books... it's kind of a central theme. unless what you're really into is the cold hard mechanics of the worldbuilding and the power fantasy of the one ring.

this is just my personal opinion, but if the effect lotr has on you is to make you a worse person on the internet? touch grass. do a reread.

[catofadifferentcolor]

Terrible Fic Ideas #26: LotR SI, but make it Imrahil's Wife

I have a terrible weakness for fic where the main character suddenly finds themself having to contend with and make their way in a brand new world, whether via time travel, portal, or reincarnation. The method of displacement varies with whatever is most popular in whatever fandom I'm in at the time. So, naturally, with my current LotR obsession I found myself wondering: if I was going to write a LotR SI how would I do it?

My answer was: replace the unnamed woman who became Prince Imrahil's wife as a young girl.

Just imagine it:

Rather than a true self-insert, I see this as more of modern girl in Middle Earth, with a middle-aged fan of Tolkien waking up in the 5-year old future princess' body following a wave of minor illness that passed through whatever city she was living in. Keyword here is fan: the SI has read The Hobbit, LotR, and The Silmarillion and seen the movies, but couldn't, say, draw the Feanorian family tree from memory or remember the exact timeline of pivotal events. The SI has enough knowledge to cause trouble, but not enough to realistically interfere in events.

As no background is given for Imrahil's wife, the SI doesn't immediately recognize that's whose body she has awakened in. Or, indeed what world, as life in a Gondorian city at the end of the Third Age bears heavy resemblance to life in most Medieval cities. It takes about a year for her to realize she awoke in 2966 TA in the near vicinity of Minas Tirith - and Barad-dûr.

All Elphriel, as I shall call her, knows at first is that she's the youngest child and only daughter of the Lord of Pelargir. Her mother is the younger sister of Steward Ecthelion II, and it's that relationship that allows Elphriel to pinpoint where and when she is.

As the niece of the steward, Elphriel is present at her cousin Denethor II's marriage to Imrahil's sister, Finduilas, in 2976 TA. At 21, Imrahil is not immediately smitten with 15-year-old Elphriel, but they strike up a friendship that has both sides of their family teasing them about an eventual marriage in the way of all male-female friendships.

Part of this is that Elphriel is mature and sensible compared to most Gondorian noblewomen her age. How could she not be, having once been a middle-aged modern woman? And though her original STEM background doesn't serve her all too well in a fantasy world at war, I imagine living in Gondor's primary port allows her to take a great interest in sailing, ship construction, and international trade without raising too many eyebrows - things the Prince of Dol Amroth would also be interested in. She introduces concepts of double entry bookkeeping and welding economic diplomacy against Gondor's southern neighbors.

Somewhat against her intentions, Elphriel becomes the Adam Smith or John Maynard Keynes of Middle Earth.

Also somewhat against her intentions, Elphriel ends up falling for Imrahil. Their relationship is a surprise to no one but themselves, and grows over five years (and many letters) from a fond acquaintanceship to deep friendship to love almost without them realizing it.

They marry c. 2986 TA. Elphir is born in 2987, Erchirion in 2990, Amrothos in 2994, and Lothírel in 2999.

Meanwhile, in the background, Boromir and Faramir are born in 2978 and 2983 respectively. Finduilas dies in 2988, sending Denethor into his slow tailspin into despair. Seeing her nephews left effectively parentless, Elphriel steps up.

It's difficult, as Dol Amroth is some distance from Minas Tirith and she has young children of her own, but Elphriel does her best to provide both boys with a positive parental figure and unconditional love.

Elphriel's presence does not change anything. LotR happens exactly as it does in canon. Boromir is still lost to the ring. Faramir still nearly dies trying to earn his father's love. But they were loved, and knew they were loved.

That being said, I've seen posts about how from the outside it looks like Gandalf was planning a coup against Denethor - not necessarily to replace him with the rightful king, but with Imrahil. I'd like to play into that, but with Elphriel whispering behind the scenes that Denethor is clearly losing it and how steps should be taken for his heir to replace him before he does something truly unforgivable. It's slow going and Boromir being sent to Rivendell derails some of it, but there's definitely an undercurrent of Denethor needs to be made to step down going into the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

Otherwise, post-LotR includes a lot of helping Arwen adapt to a mortal royal court and mortality, mothering all her children (and Faramir), and doting on her grandchildren (and any other child she comes across).

Bonuses include: 1) Elphriel having a maternal grandmother from either Umbar or Harad, and dealing with Gondorian racism as only a modern woman can; 2) no one ever knowing exactly why Elphriel is odd, but all parties agreeing that she is and loving her nonetheless; and 3) gratuitous use of quotes and phrases from modern pop culture wherever feasible, and those around Elphriel either not understanding her humor or else finding her the most amusing person they've ever met.

And that's it. All I really wanted from this plot bunny was someone to give Boromir and Faramir more parental love than they receive in canon, and this was the best way to go about it I could contrive. As always, feel free to adopt the bun, just link back if you ever do anything with it.

More Terrible Fic Ideas