#tra-la-la-lally

[curiouselleth]

I've seen a lot of posts talking about if the elves in the Silmarillion would tra-la-la-lally, so, should they?

Also if anyone has any strong opinions on where in I should put it, I would love to here them!

Little (oops it's long) explanation for Be He Foe or Friend and more detailed update on progress and eventual posting under the cut! (I'll make a dedicated post for explaining Be He Foe or Friend next)

It's a Silmarillion choose your own adventure book I'm writing! I've been tagging all my posts about it with "be he foe or friend". It starts in Valinor before the Darkening, and is written from the perspective of Lalwen, one of Finwe's daughters and a textual ghost. We know she went to Middle Earth with Fingolfin... but that's all we know. So it will read as if you are Lalwen, and at the end of each chapter, you will have to make a choice, for example (and this whole bit here is just a example, I am not using this one):

What do you want to do as Princess of the Noldor? and you will have 2 or 3 options, like joining the Court, heading projects in the city, (construction, socail programs, etc.) or serving (insert favorite/least hated vala here). Each choice is tied to a certain chapter, so if you choose to serve in the court, you would jump to the chapter "Finwe's Advisors are Annoying" rather than just going to the next page with the chapter "In the Halls of Aule".

In some later chapters where survival might be a question, I'm thinking it could be fun to roll dice to determine that, like if you were in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears you would roll a 100 sided die, and if you got 98 or above you survive. (I'm still kinda rotating how this part should work)

As of when I'm posting this, I have roughly 4 3/4 chapters written! (and I'm realizing I really should make a dedicated post explaining this 😅) I'm planning to separate this into separate books, with this first one ending shortly after the Host of Fingolfin arrives in Middle Earth (probably shortly after Fingolfin is crowned). It's working title right now is Blessed Lands and Colder Seas.

As of now I estimate 26 or so chapters in this book, but there are probably quite a few I can combine. But I will probably find that I need more chapters in certain parts so I can't say for sure how many. What makes this complicated is that, no you won't be reading 26 chapters. Because for each decision you make at the end of a chapter, there will be 1 or 2 other chapters for the other choices... and it all branches off so there really will be 6 or 7 chapters as you read through. (I am so sorry if this doesn't make sense I don't know how else to word it)

Now, when am I posting this and where? That is an amazing question that I would love the answer to if anyone knows... anyone? 😂 Okay in all seriousness, I think I will start posting once I reach the halfway point of this book, I will definitely try posting on ao3 (which I will link), and if there's interest, I can try posting here on tumblr too.

Okay well this is three times longer than I expected it to be, but I think that's everything, (for now!) Namárië!

[tathrin]

Hey, so do you ever stop to think about how the premise of Lord of the Rings being an in-universe book written by some of the characters who lived through that story means that they decided what parts and perspectives to use to tell that story...?

And when our authors weren't there to experience the events themselves, they have to rely on what they're told about them by the characters who were there, right...?

Okay so stop and think about the Glittering Caves.

We never actually go to the caves in the narrative. Tolkien LOVES describing nature and natural beauty, but we don't actually see the caves described "by him" the way we do other places. Obviously Gimli's words are Tolkien's, yes; but we only see the caves filtered through his words about them, after the fact.

When Gimli and Éomer and the other Rohirrim take refuge there, the narrative doesn't follow them. Obviously from a narrative standpoint this is to keep the focus narrow, and not to interrupt the battle-sequence with a long ode to the beauty of the caves, and to create tension in the reader who doesn't know if these characters are okay or not. Which all makes sense!

But think about it in terms of the book that was written in Middle-earth by the folk living there. Why DON'T we get to have a direct experience of those caves? Gimli obviously related several other parts of the story that none of the Hobbits were there to witness to them, and which were written into the books as Direct Events Happening In The Narrative (think of the Paths of the Dead scene, for one of the more visceral moments!). So why not the Glittering Caves?

Was it because they wanted to keep that narrative focus and tension, and so they didn't include his perspective on that part of the battle? Perhaps, that's certainly a possibility to consider.

But also consider: when we do hear about the Glittering Caves, what we hear is Gimli telling Legolas about the Glittering Caves. THAT is the part of that event that is considered of importance to include in the book: not Gimli's actual experience when he was in them, but rather the part where he relates that experience TO Legolas.

And I kind of just THOUGHT about that today.

And went HUH.

[thesummerestsolstice]

A very important update to my Maglor = Erestor, Finrod = Gildor, and Daeron = Lindir post.

They all take shifts as the Tra-la-la-lally elf.

Gildor thinks it's delightful and uses it as a chance to talk to all the valley's visitors. He actually uses some of his free time to teach Glorfindel some basic bard skills. Glorfindel is surprisingly into it.

Lindir refused to at first because he's composed full symphonies before, why should he spend his time on that, but then Gandalf accused him of being too afraid to improvise rhyming lyrics and the challenge was on.

Erestor just desperately needs some Tra-la-la-lally in his life. He's also re-learning to sing without making everyone around him experience the horrors. It's good practice.

Elrond, who arranged this, thought it was a master stroke because surely, if they have to talk to each other about Tra-la-la-lally duty, they'll realize, right?

They've all become pretty good friends over the years, and spend plenty of time together! They still have no idea.

Thranduil's gotten in on the betting pool. He's betting on it taking divine intervention.

[chiropteracupola]

my father has asked me to handle the dishes 'like an elf in tolkien.' pray tell what does he mean by that.

[a-lonely-dunedain]

oh I forgot to post about this on tumblr but I made a slight change to Ethedis' backstory. I've decided that her and Corunir actually knew each other years and years ago, before he went to Angmar and was assumed dead. I wanted them to have a longer history together, and saying they met in Rivendell earlier was a pretty easy way to do it!

So, bad news for Eth because it means she had to go years thinking her first Ranger friend died, but good news because he turns out to be ok! everything is fine! y'know, besides the fact that Corunir seems like a shell of himself when she finally finds him again- ok I really need to learn how to be nicer to my poor elf

[hypothetical-silmarillion]

i just spent 15 minutes drawing a spinning elf to see art improvement

look i know one is a dragon and one is an elf but look at the improvement

[rivalsforlife]

I thought this lotrop experience would open me up more to adaptations and different interpretations in general, which it in some ways has, but also I’m regressing into more of a purist. I’m young enough that when I got into lotr the jackson movies were already big enough that the experiences overlapped a lot for me. and only recently now that I have been thinking about adaptations more, and also did my proper lotr reread this summer, I’ve been more annoyed about the movies and how many people think they’re like perfect adaptations where jackson didn’t change anything and ESPECIALLY not characterization when he did that a ton. one more claim that “elves are supposed to be wise and above everything else, they shouldn’t be acting irrationally” and I’m going to put my head through the wall

[tathrin]

Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed. — G.K. Chesterton.

I’m not sure exactly how to articulate it but—there is this bizarre base assumption i see from people discoursing about children’s media, and that’s the assumption that children are somehow unfamiliar with negative emotions. Like, maybe you’ve managed to completely forget your entire life before you turned eighteen, but kids spend a lot of time being hurt, and scared, and angry. A lot of people had terrible fucking childhoods, and a lot of kids are having terrible fucking childhoods right now. When i was a child, and i read books where bad things happened to kids, that was in no way shocking to me, i already knew bad things happened to children. It made me feel more connected to those stories, not less, and it made it more impactful when those child characters overcame it all in the end. That’s important for children. A lot of them are in desperate need of a little hope, and they aren’t going to get it from nothing stories with no conflict. They put conflict in children’s media for a reason

Also i see some of you handwringing over child protagonists going through, like, the most basic hero’s journey. Please, for the love of god, realize that you as an adult are going to understand children’s media differently than the actual kids it’s intended for. Because you’re all grown up now, you aren’t going to be able to relate to a child protagonist. You’re going to see a child in danger. The children the story is meant for are going to see a kid like them who is able to face hardship and triumph

[curiouselleth]

I'm trying to outline some new chapters for Be He Foe or Friend, (written from Lalwen's perspective, she was one of Finwe's daughters in some verions.) I'm just outlining with bullet points and scene descriptions. And. Well. Here's some highlights:

Many years pass happliy tra la la lally down in the valley-

High feast dododooooo

Oh what Feanor was summoned here oh boy

Oh uh hi Feanor not here to murder our brother are you?

Feanor trademarked snarky reply

Enter fingolfin

He goes a bit white but maintains poker face well

Uuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I don’t know how to transition this into the kinslaying

Battle scene battle scene kinslay oh eru help me figure out how to write this

These ones are notes I have on sections that I thought were kinda funny:

Problem section: between the killing of the two trees and the kinslaying (and probably the kinslaying too)

Beef up this area. Make it juicy. Make it angry make it hurt to read. Could also use more scene descriptions 

[tathrin]

I wish you would write a fic where it gives the Mirkwood pov. Just sort of inhuman and unique opinions about the kindly beings living “in you”, then Sauron and his folks squatting/infecting.

An answer to this ask prompt.

Ooooooh that sounds amazing. Anon, I absolutely love it. That's briliant. Altough...it sounds like it should be told by someone whose writing has a much more poetic bent than mine does, tbh.

Hey @sallysavestheday @katajainen I feel like this concept might be up one or both of your alleys perhaps...?

[sadsilmarilsoup]

This is already over but I agree with the results

"Oh, what are you doing, And where are you going? Your ponies need shoeing, The river is flowing! Oh, tra-la-la-lally Here down in the valley, ha! ha!" – Elves of Rivendell, The Hobbit

“You are more worthy to wear the armour of elf-princes than many that have looked more comely in it.” – Thranduil, The Hobbit

“May your shadow never grow less (or stealing would be too easy)!” – Thranduil, The Hobbit

"A Elbereth Gilthoniel, silivren penna miriel. 0 menel aglar elenath!" – Elves of Rivendell, The Fellowship of the Ring

"Such is of the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere." – Elrond Halfelven, The Fellowship of the Ring

"Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces!" – Elrond Halfelven, The Fellowship of the Ring

"Yes, they are elves, and they say that you breathe so loud they could shoot you in the dark." – Legolas Greenleaf, The Fellowship of the Ring

"And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!" – Galadriel, The Fellowship of the Ring

"In this phial is caught the light of Eärendil’s star, set amid the waters of my fountain. It will shine still brighter when night is about you. May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out." – Galadriel, The Fellowship of the Ring

"Get thee gone from my gate, thou jail-crow of Mandos!" – Fëanor, The Silmarillion

"...neither law, nor love, nor league of swords, dread nor danger, not Doom itself, shall defend him from Fëanor, and Fëanor's kin, whoso hideth or hoardeth, or in hand taketh, finding keepeth or afar casteth a Silmaril." – Fëanor and His Sons, Morgoth's Ring

[elvinye]

types of holidays celebrated in Rivendell:

Noldor holidays, which initially made the Sindar and Silvan residents cranky until they realized Elrond was part of it

Sindar holidays, which initially made some of the Noldor residents cranky until they realized Elrond was part of it

Silvan holidays, because at this point they're going to take any excuse for a party

Tra-La-La-Lally Day, created when they realized they somehow had a month with zero holidays. The festival focuses on getting drunk, singing, and lightly bullying anyone within earshot

Holidays relevant to any visitors or foster children

Numenorian holidays, because they caught Elrond celebrating alone and crying about Elros one (1) time and refuse to let him do it alone anymore

[roprot]

Okay

I didn't think I'd ever do this but there are so few RoP memes and places of joyful discussion out there that it made me return to tumblr. I've been a quiet fan ever since the show started but there are no places to be silly about it, ffs just LET ME HAVE MY PRETTY GIFS No, it's not prestige drama. Nah, I don't mind the lore changes. Yes, I'm pro diverse casting. The elves are elfy enough for me with all their pettiness and various lengths of hair — PJ just made us default to copypaste Vulcans (Tra-la-la-lally & Fa-la-la-lolly anyone?). Amazon evil, professionals behind the show I'm neutral about. What I DO love about the show is that I get colourful high fantasy cheese with moments of true beauty and absolutely no SA /oversexualisation/grimdark in between. Geez, RoP makes me HAPPY. I mean, it feels so sincere it's awkward at times. But after these past years... decades... of cynical media I feel like we kinda need that. I need that. Also yes, Galadriel slaps. As does Hannatauron and Elrond and Celebrimor and Disa and Durin and Elendil and Berek and— Anyways, low-effort blogging ahoy, hello all and give me your nice things pls <3

[silmarillion-ways-to-die]

This is a science fact.

Feanor would be a tra-la-la-lally elf if it wasn't for the doom

[wilwarin-wilwa]

what if the tra-la-lally elves were part of a larger cultural movement that aimed to slow down or oppose the collective fading of the elves by deliberately behaving youthfully and engaging in childish displays of joy and mischief