#you probably know about all the numenor stuff
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likesdoodling · 6 months ago
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This is when Sauron is in Numenor, doing his thing, persuading people to do terrible stuff, being sleazy and charming and all that, laughing at thunderstorms, you know, normal totally NOT suspicious things to do.
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Basically. I wanted to do something more 'serious' than usual, or rather put more effort in. And I've got LOTR on the brain. Specifically the Silmarillion and the Appendices (I think that's how you spell it) and all that. I wanted to do dramatic lighting. So I did.
(even if it took a lot longer than anticipated and it is now 1am...)
Twas worth it!
Cause it looks cool
:D
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rey-jake-therapist · 17 days ago
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i will chirp in if i may 🙋‍♀️
from my perspective, since sauron = power for galadriel, i think her feelings will always be a bit contradictory for him even if she strongly rejects him all the time. that connection they share forever means always hungering for a shadow of him.
i do understand that some might dislike the idea of gal having a shaky marriage, but i think that's more interesting, idk? though yeah, after all is done and hopefully after the numenor sinking, teleporno can be like a supportive calming presence for gal, her trophy/reward by the end of the show.
as for her becoming a mormon caricature of feminine purity - that's not tolkien's galadriel. she is a powerful witch who leads her own kingdom as she wields power using nenya and is sauron's biggest adversary.
smn said that there is probably smtng unsettling about galadriel for humans since they are scared of her. and i agree bc while she is wiser and more at peace, it's bc she grows into smn rather unhuman. she embodies the light in the same way sauron embodies the dark - she is not a saint, she is this supernatural being possessing unimaginably strong power and high authority even for the elves such as her husband. the ring bearers are on the entirely different level.
and i want to see that transformation. i want to see her become someone interesting rather than simplistic, yk? i agree that maybe the mind-palace theory is hopeful thinking on our part, but i have my fingers crossed that morgoth's stab established a bond between them and the door is still not closed and that will play a central role in s3 🤞
(+ a reminder that the actors don't know where s3 is going. they were probably told how to react to certain questions but the details gotta be unknown for them yet.)
Yes, I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said!
Regarding her marriage being shaky, really I'm not sure right now how I feel. I think I'm not enough interested in the subject to hope or fear for anything tbh. I only know I don't want Galadriel to be sidelined in Lothlorien while "men" do all the cool stuff outside, that's all. For the rest... I trust the writers and will get along with pretty much everything they can come up with, really.
My idea about the bond, which I'm writing in my fic anyway, is that:
Sauron can mind talk to Galadriel now; if he can do it while she's next to him, he can probably do it even if she's on the other side of Middle-Earth as well.
Considering that he's able to cast an illusion built around a person's memories when they're next to him, I could see him do the same with Galadriel, even if she doesn't stand next to him, thanks to their connection.
It would be different from the Reylo bond, as 1) he could control it (and Galadriel could learn how to control it as well), 2)unlike Rey and Kylo, they would see their surrounding, but it would be an illusion based on memories, and not a real place, where they would be at the moment.
I keep reading that Sauron can read people's minds, but this is not at all my understanding of the scenes we saw. If he could really read people's minds, he wouldn't have had to torture Celebrimbor for the location of the rings, he would have just probed his mind for the information. So, I think it's rather a case where he has flashes and ideas of a person's true desires and fears popping up in his head, and only when this person is open to him, like it seems to be the case for Galadriel in LOTR. I think that regarding Galadriel, however, he may be able to read in her like in an open book, because of the bond. At least, up until she finds the way to resist him and shut that door for good. Anyway, they can make something really interesting.
And I don't seriously hope that they will do that, but I want to write it in my fic because it's fun: at some point, Galadriel could turn the tables, learn to cast illusions built around HIS memories, which she would have access to, and force him to confront memories of his past with Morgoth, the stuff he'd rather forget, if you see what I mean. Yeah, I really want Gal to make this bitch cry...
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gi-nathlam-hi · 3 months ago
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Ugh the Celebrimbor and Annatar stuff this episode was SO GOOD! Tell me where is Elrond though, I feel like I haven’t seen him since episode 2🥲 hopefully the next couple of episodes will make up for the Elrond lack.
I’d love to hear your more in depth thoughts about this season so far sometime, no pressure of course! But you always have such balanced and knowledgable opinions on this show. I’m liking the season so far, but have some major problems with it still and have come to the conclusion that it’s probably never going to be what I want it to be, and that’s ok! I do love the community around it though, and reading everyone’s thoughts and theories, and I love your blog!
I'm super late to responding to this but holy god yeah. Just in general the Eregion plotline is carrying this entire season. Though the Numenor plotline is doing a lot of interesting things, too! Thank you so much for the ask.
Under the cut for potential spoilers (I am not being super specific in this at all though, but I want to be safe!)
As for some Season 2 opinions, I'm trying to withhold a lot of judgement until we reach the finale, but there have been some things they've done/lines they've chosen to use which are rather...how shall I put this...lore breaking? I will probably have to do a rewatch of the series and take notes. There are certain moments which stand out to me (most of them being in the uh. Really, really, really bad Rhun plotline. I want to like the Stranger & Poppy and Nori, I really do, but it's just...not. good). A couple lines said by Cirdan and moments in the Lindon-focused episode also come to mind. It's frustrating because the writers seem to grasp so many things about the lore and Middle Earth and Tolkien's themes -- and in general they do a good job! But there are a few moments where they miss the mark so widely that it's honestly lore-breaking - much of that has to do with choices they're making regarding the nature of Ainur and uh, the rings, but again I think I'll have to do a rewatch and take notes on the parts that really irk me to be able to explain myself properly. My criticisms in that regard are mostly vague right now.
But I love what they're doing with the dwarves. I adore what they're doing with orcs. I love the characterization of Elrond (though I have no doubt that a huge chunk - at least 70% if not more has to do with Rob being the one who's playing him). And of course the exploration of gaslighting and abuse within the Eregion plotline is so well-written that it's astounding to me. I love that they are being so clear that Sauron is a manipulative, truly evil asshole. They're not making excuses for him. They're not trying to romanticize things or soften things, neither do they try to excuse his behavior in interviews and bonus content either. Sauron sucks. He's a manipulative abuser and I'm so relieved that this is the direction they went with him. Sure, he's sexy as hell while he's doing it, but...how else can I put this...they're not turning that sexiness into an excuse, you know? It just makes it that much more unsettling and scary how sexy and charismatic he is.
Also from a production perspective I'm so pleased to see just how much more time, budget, and allowance was given to the props and costuming department! The thing is -- it's not that the costumes last season were bad, necessarily, but it was painfully obvious that the (immensely skilled, if you look at the roster!) costuming department simply wasn't given enough time and budget to make anything competitive. And while I hate that the show has been forced into competition with other fantasy shows (House of the Dragon, cough cough), it's simply a reality that people are comparing the two, and House of the Dragon's costuming had, thus far, simply been far superior in terms of tailoring, structure, and quality of fabric. They're not really super comparable (Game of Thrones has always gone for prop/costuming realism -- taking more direct inspiration from historical fashion, vs the Rings of Power's art department clearly taking inspiration from Romantic and Baroque art). I'm really pleased to see that they've stuck to their art direction while being obviously given the appropriate time to create something of higher quality. The difference between the fabrics and tailoring from S1 to S2 (as well as the wig quality, holy shit), is just astronomical.
This season in general just feels like a massive upgrade to season one. I loved season one. I didn't really think it was very good, but it was fun. Whereas season two I'm slowly transitioning into "this is good. this is well made" (with the unfortunate exceptions of Rhun and certain moments in Lindon, but that again comes down to writing which bafflingly continues to be a weak point. I say baffling because now the writers have proved to me that they are capable of writing some truly incredible stuff via the Eregion arc. So I simply don't understand how we got the Eregion arc alongside uh. Some really glaringly awful writing in the Rhun arc. And it's such a shame because the art direction and production in Rhun is so good. I wish the writing lived up to it).
I'm a bit nervous for the time budget for the finale, but I'm withholding judgement until we have it in our hands.
Anyway thanks for giving me the opportunity to ramble! I have more thoughts for sure, but this is what comes to my mind off the top of my head lol.
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gnomescarfcomics · 4 months ago
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Rings of Power: Episode 7 - The Eye
Rewatch mini review. Chaotic and out of order.
The grief episode.
Southlands: Galadriel's scenes with Theo were surprisingly poignant. It was great to see her slowly coming back to her true self after years of obsession, hate, failure, and grief. I don't dislike Theo, but he was probably one of my least favorite characters. This show finds a way to make good use of every character though. Seeing the world through his eyes helps Galadriel come to terms with how much she's changed since her hunt for Sauron began. I wish they'd spent a little more time with that though, even just another short scene or two. I think it could have softened the blow a little for how people reacted to Galadriel's personality throughout the show.
As I mentioned in my other review, another fake out death for Bronwyn feels extra unnecessary after the events of season 2. But it is what it is. Now I actually miss Bronwyn more than I thought I would. She was another one of my least favorite characters, but her storyline did have a lot of heart behind it.
Elendil's various stages of grief are played out well, even if most people know Isildur isn't actually dead. It's not always about what the audience knows but how the characters react. Miriel's blindness was a creative choice that has some nice symbolic implications, and it was nice seeing it hardening her resolve rather than sinking her into despair.
Halbrand being wounded and needing "elvish medicine" was a little hokey and felt like a lazy way of getting him to Eregion. I know Galadriel later says "we rode without rest", but I would have liked at least one scene with them on the road. Season one suffers from kind of ignoring the time and distance between locations. Even with the inclusion of map cutaways, which I grew to love, there isn't enough traveling for me. Maybe they took the complaints of Lord of the Rings having "too much walking" to heart.
And speaking of maps, I think the Southlands to Mordor visual transition should have been done over a shot of the whole map rather than just showing the text over a wide shot of the land. But that's a bit of a nitpick.
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Harfoots/Harfeet: This part feels a little sloppy in some places. How much they fear the Stranger and his magic (and why) feels a little inconsistent at times. As does the sense of community of the harfoots. I get what they were going for: they're a superstitious clan that have become overly obsessed with survival, basically at the cost of their true unity as a people. The Stranger's mere presence fills them with fear, despite his kindly nature and attempts to help them. And when anything goes wrong, it's hard for them not to instinctively blame him. Their decisions are all based in fear, including leaving people behind.
Just as Isildur says Numenor is "not the true Numenor" anymore, I think the same is true of the harfoots. They've literally lost their way. But who they once were still lives on, and it's strongest in people like Nori and her father. Just as the heart of true Numenor lives on in Elendil and Isildur. As Nori says when she refuses to leave the Stranger behind, "That's not who we are." And Poppy corrects her, "That's not who YOU are."
I think Largo's speech and Malva admitting her faults do a pretty good job of communicating this, but it could have been clearer in my opinion. And like Galadriel, a little more clarification and time could have helped alleviate some of the criticisms. Because I think the writers' intent is good and makes sense overall.
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Khazad-dum: The smoothest of the storylines. Elrond and Durin's relationship (and Disa) continue to be the heart of the show. Not even the somewhat clunky mithril stuff can hold them back. And to its benefit, this episode focuses more on the emotional impacts rather than the detailed intricacies of how the fading and the mithril supposedly works.
It may not be immediately apparent, but most of the characters on the side of good are "right" in their own ways. Even the grumpy dwarf king makes valid points and is doing what he thinks is best, just as everyone else is. He may come off as harsh, but he's not acting out of malice. This idea of people being both right and wrong in their own ways becomes especially important in season two.
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I remember this episode feeling a little disappointing when it first came out. After such an impactful previous episode, it was hard not to want things to keep going at the same pace. But as Sadoc said, everyone needed "a moment to grieve" and regroup before the final reveals of the season came to light.
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locksnek · 1 day ago
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Fanfiction Author Interview Game
Thank you @ladystormcrow for the tag! ^_^ (Not going to start a reblog chain due to space, so her interview is here.
________________
How many works do you have on AO3? Currently, 9. I had slightly more on my prior iteration of AO3, before the Deletion Incident of 2022.
What's your total AO3 word count? 101,203
Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes: Ngl I don't want to look at this right now. Dark Crystal fandom is really quiet now, and I try not to keep falling into the trap of lamenting my deletion of my prior AO3 from back when there was more engagement.
Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes, because I like comments and I like talking about my blorbos.
What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? Of the completed stuff on AO3, Kind Other. UrLii is having an angsty day. That said, I think this basically vent fic I wrote in SIlmarillion fandom 8 years ago is probably the angstiest published fic I've done overall: Our Love is Great
What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? Happy is in the eye of the beholder, but possibly Food Fight [or Out of Hand, discussed further below]. It's a grotesque story but I can safely say skekNa and skekUng are both happy by the end of it. It inaugurates what will be their lifetime together terrorizing the creatures of Thra.
Do you write crossovers? I haven't per se, closest I've come was a Silm fic where I made a scenario analogous to the short story "The Renegade" by Camus. I've got a couple crossover ideas for fandoms I've never written in, but I've already been carrying them around for quite a few years, so who knows.
Have you ever received hate on a fic? No, just a couple odd comments that could mean anything, which I read as funny.
Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Not terribly explicit smut. Even when I don't fade to black, I tend to imply a lot of things rather than spell them out. I'm more likely to get more descriptive the more disgusting the situation is.
Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not per se. Just not been acknowledged for a HC someone took almost blow-by-blow from my Gragoh longfic and then kind of disavowed in their comments section. Maybe it's just me, but if one dislikes someone enough to not credit them where credit is due, I don't quite even understand the desire to use that person's ideas rather than coming up with one's own.
Have you ever had a fic translated? Not as such.
Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not yet. *pleading face emoji*
What's your all-time favorite ship? Lowkey obsessed with UngNaLi, or any twosome permutations thereof. I also love Jaime/Brienne and Jaime/Ilyn Payne from ASoIAF.
What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? The Birds of the Temple Garden, a Tolkien fic set on Numenor that used a derelict garden as a plot device. This is probably the Silm fic of mine that would still most resonate with me, and sometimes I think my present self would still be capable of finishing it in something close to its original spirit, but I've not clapped eyes on it in 8 years.
What are your writing strengths? Dialogue, incessant metaphors, imagery.
What are your writing weaknesses? I can get too introspected and up my own ass with convoluted and repetitive narratives if I stay too long in a character's brain. This is part of the reason I enjoy writing ensemble POVs, as they keep my attention distributed and I don't hyperfocus on the content of one dumbass's head.
What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I don't have many thoughts on it, other than please provide a translation, whether through a note or within the work itself.
What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to? ASoIAF*, Lovecraftian, Ozverse, possibly Labyrinth or Neverending Story. *Not strictly true! I do have all of one paragraph of something ASoIAF written.
What's your favorite fic you've written? Out of Hand. It was freeing to write because Ung and Na are such pieces of shit but they genuinely love each other very much, and since they're Skeksis I didn't feel like I as the narrator really needed to justify or reconcile that. The tags alone shocked a ragebait youtuber into referring to me as "the bastard who wrote the porn." It firmly established my OTP. It also made me write a bit about their urRu counterparts, whom I also love and would like to write more about. Nothing but good things have come out of this. _____________ Tags! I think everyone I'm tagging writes fic, ignore if not. @scientistservant @heartbreakterrorbird @pomgore @merelyafigment @drapopia
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forthencho-pacino · 1 year ago
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Pre-existing art and media should not be fucked around with for the sake of social movements or whatever the fuck else
Like, why is this happening? Why the flying fuck is there a Roald Dahl movie set in fucking Alabama or some shit? Why has the Little Mermaid pulled a reverse Michael Jackson? Heck, why did a theatrical version of Chocolate Factory have Charlie as a fucking girl?
Its one of the most fuck all forms of virtuous signalling to ever exist, because not only are you ruining the original work and thus taking a big shit on the person who did it, you're also covering up the original with so many screwed over remakes that future generations will probably think that one of those remakes is the original. And thats honestly terrifying.
Most of these remakes are the result of fuck all lazy screenwriting and casting. And no, it doesn't matter that I know jackshit about it, because even with my jackshit knowledge, I can tell you that The Witches was set in England and Norway, and needed a cast that fit accordingly. I don't need to be a screenwriter to understand that the princess of Numenor is supposed to be fair skinned, and that brown or black or whatever else doesn't count as fair skinned.
Its not racist or sexist or homophobic or whatever else to cast characters according to the original work, because that is, if nothing else, us respecting that work and the person who made it.
You want to adopt the concept and retell it in a different way (Hamlet and the Indian movie Haider, for example)? Go for it, full support. You want to create your own work inspired from the original? Go nuts. Its artistic for a reason. You want your art and media to voice out the concerns and demands of a social justice movement? You have all the freedom in the world to come up with new stuff to make spaces more inclusive and safe.
But I think we as a species fail when we blur the line between retelling work to perpetuate literary and cultural tradition, and retelling work just for the sake of making it look like the world gives a shit.
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eri-pl · 2 months ago
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@1-small-world asked for links, so…
Warning: fic quality varies, I chose them for variety of premise, not always for good writing, Also for the ones on Ao3 read the tags, because fic type also varies, seriously, I don't even remember all that's there, and as noted below one is on ffn and has untagges triggers:
The Witch-King Goes To Hell (And We Are Very Very Very Clear About It) [WARNING untagged SA and general violence, starvation and typical Nazgul-rules-the-land stuff] Relatively canon-compliant but hmm... not compliant with Tolien's approach to "what to write, what to suggest or not write"
Sauron Is Smol, Sad And Learns Knitting (new fic, unfinished, barely even started but it will hopefully grow)
The Hobbits Find a Silmaril And Somehow It's Wholesome And Noone Dies (I think this is a whole genre) (I hope no one dies in this one? I don't think I read it whole, I remember it was rather wholesome but I may be mixing fics of the same genre)
Maglor Was Sad: Technically A Crossover, But Still We are Being More Clear About Some Parts Than Tolkien Would Prefer ("Maglor Is Sad" is a whole Ao3 tag)(ok it's not, it's Maglor Needs A Hug and Sad Maglor)
Late Númenor. Just Late Númenor. (short) Canon-compliant.
The Hilarious Divorce Of [a ship i don't ship but still love the fic] (there are at least 2 of those but one is more hilarious) (the author probably misuses the word "sic" so if you're a language purist, be additionally warned) Canonicity: -1/5 and proud of it, I think
Bonus: The best fic I ever read (warning: it is hard to understand in the early part but 100% worth reading on, you don't need to understand everything, just the vibes): Beren And Finrod No Not Like That But Way Better Also, Finrod Dies Canonicity: 4/5? That's not how ósanwe can work… But it's better this way than if it was more canon.
(Also, re: another post: the Numenor rpg thing was a one-shot, not a full campaign, and re: yet another: I know 3 kings of Numenor by name (Elros but not his king name... Tar... miniature? minotaur?, Tar-Palantir and Pharazon) + Tar-Miriel + there was the king who was forced to get married and sailed a lot and his name started with an a... and that's it. Well, and Silmarë who should have been the queen )
I love the variety of the fics in the Silm fandom, including:
The Witch-King Goes To Hell (And We Are Very Very Very Clear About It)
Sauron Is Smol, Sad And Learns Knitting
The Hobbits Find a Silmaril And Somehow It's Wholesome And Noone Dies (I think this is a whole genre)
Maglor Was Sad: Technically A Crossover, But Still We are Being More Clear About Some Parts Than Tolkien Would Prefer ("Maglor Is Sad" is a whole Ao3 tag)
Late Númenor. Just Late Númenor.
The Hilarious Divorce Of [a ship i don't ship but still love the fic] (there are at least 2 of those but one is more hilarious)
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lesbiansforboromir · 2 years ago
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@peregrintook​ Here’s the first post I made regarding my enthusiasm for the show BUT to answer your questions here;
- No they didn’t fire Tom Shippey. That’s a pretty prominent misconception going around. And honestly if they had fired him? I woulda been happy about it, he was incredibly present for the Jackson trilogy and look where that got us. But no, Tom Shippey has stated he left the project after working on it for a while for his own I think work reasons and there was no firing or dramatic walking out or any such thing. He’s also not the only Tolkien Academic working on RoP! Carl Hostetter, guy who produced the Nature of Middle Earth, for one was involved in the linguistics for the show (Quenya is going to be spoken regularly and Adunaic script plays a part). Dr Corey Olsen has also seen the project through from pretty much it’s inception as far as I’m aware. But also like... I want to be clear, you don’t need a Tolkien Academic to write a good tolkien adaptation. Someone who’s really familiar with the source material and extraneous books and the complexity within the canon? Sure, but that doesn’t necessarily mean an Academic but kjasd I won’t get on my high horse about the state of Tolkien academia today right now. Point is, they had more than enough people familiar with the text onboard. Which actually brings me nicely to the second part.
- Haven’t heard ‘they didn’t read the silmarillion’ before but no! The show runners, writers and even actors were all either silmarillion-style-nerds before the show or joined their ranks during production. Robert Aramayo actually got so into the books that he started organising salons to discuss specific elements of the text, which is so funny to imagine. And anyway, where has this idea come from that the Silmarillion is the book to read for this section of history? There’s essentially the same info about the Akallabeth in the Silm as there are is the Appendices. The unfinished tales has more to do with Numenor in it and they’ve been quoting stuff from there too. They don’t have the rights to the silm, or the unfinished tales, but they also have special allowances given by the tolkien estate to add in things from those sources anyway. Essentially if you’re hearing someone say ‘they didn’t even read the silmarillion!’ #1 they’re wrong and #2 they probably don’t know all that much about the Akallabeth or it’s sources themselves.
- Lastly jasdh it’s... a star! The basic eight pointed form of the so called feanorian star turns up everywhere in tolkien canon, including on gondorian imagery atop the white tree seven times to represent the ‘seven stars seven stones and one white tree’ poem. The Galadriel we meet in the show is a Commander of Gil Galad’s armies, and Gil Galad is covered in these stars in the show, he’s also got elbereth embroidered into his cloak. The stars likely mean either noldo, or just Gil Galad full stop, both of which are perfectly reasonable uses of an eight pointed star. 
There you are, hope that helps!
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why-what-no · 2 years ago
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My Thoughts On Episodes 1 & 2 Of The Rings Of Power :)
I meant to post this this morning, but I procrastinated by writing all day. So you get my thoughts now :) if you’re interested, here are my thoughts (pros, cons, etc) about the trailers and stuff for the show before it came out, just to compare my opinions now to my opinions then
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Cinematography is gorgeous, loved how beautiful they made Valinor
The vibe is really charming. I was worried it would be all generic dark fantasy GoT vibes, but it definitely had that Tolkien charm and life to it.
Getting more and more bothered by the Elves appearances, really miss the ethereal long haired people from the movies.
Although despite that, I really like the actual character interpretation of the characters. Young Elrond is pretty believable as a young inexperienced Elrond, Gil Galad is definitely very kingly, Celebrimbor (my bestest boy) definitely has that Feanorians pride and desire to be important and do… more, ig. Really liked all three of them
Galadriel was great, I love woman and I love the brashness that she’s going to grow out of and I can’t wait for the character arc :).
However, I’ve seen a lot people complain that she’s not “feminine” anymore because she fights, which… what? Sure, she fights trolls, but she’s more feminine that most woman. Including me. These people know that being able to defend yourself isn’t a masculine trait, right? Or are all these people complaining about that secretly Andrew Tate in disguise?
Plus, she canonically fights according to Tolkien, so… anyone who claims otherwise is a fake fan
The Harfoots are adorable, and again, very charming. Nori is my girl and I will defend her with my life.
Although the “stranger” kinda bores me? I hate storylines that are like “creature arrives in a place and has to figure out how fit in with people” it just feels drawn out and annoying
The Elrond/Durin friendship has my whole heart oh my lord. Elrond not realizing what he did wrong and being an elf, ignores his friend for 20 years and then gets sad and worried why his friend is mad at him
It’s just so delightfully elvish, and he’s so sweet with Disa and Disa is so sweet in general :):):)
His surprise when she hugs him 🥰 my favourite elven things is the shock of people hugging them.
I just kinda love Elrond, ngl. He’s my boy in this.
Although, the dwarf designs were pretty great, other than Disa’s lack of beard.
As for the human/elf romance, I’m not as into it as I thought I would be
It feels super rushed and underdeveloped. Like, Arondir is saying things to her that in every good romance should be put like, near the end to confess his love. But it’s just on the first/second episode. :(
Also, Halbrand feels like Sauron to me. I’m too attracted to him for him to be a good guy and he’ll need to be thrown aside for a Celeborn and Galadriel romance.
So he’s probably just using her to get into Numenor so that he can start his plan.
But all in all, I loved the show. I was grinning the whole time. Definitely watch it. It’s not perfect, but i don’t think anything entertaining is.
Very excited for future episodes so I can learn more about the characters and start writing for them <3
This was so long lol, I’m so sorry
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coe-lilium · 2 years ago
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Copy-paste from this Reddit thread:
1. Potentially plot related:
Daniel Weymen (The Stranger/Meteor Man) said that his character had a "deep source of purpose,... a primal need". The character also seems to have very few lines. You may draw your own conclusion what that says about who he actually is.
Apparently the Harfoots' storyline is pretty isolated from the other storylines since they never met the cast from other sets (with maybe one exception?). The Stranger also apparently stayed with them, at least during the first season.
2. Cast/characters related:
The theatre/stage background of some of the actors (especially the actors of Celebrimbor, Elendil, Pharazon, The Stranger/Meteor Man) really shows. Their voices and the way they use their voices are just different, and it fits their characters well. Lloyd Owen (Elendil)'s voice, just wow! I want to listen to this man reading all of Tolkien's books.
Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor) is knowledgable about the lore. He not only knows the Tolkien books, but also what Christopher said about his dad's work. He became a big fan of Tolkien from a very young age, he would copy the Elvish script, he even wrote his own LOTR play (he has a deep background in Shakespeare)! I feel like he's a great pick for a complex and tragic character like Celebrimbor, even though his appearance may not match people's imagination.
Robert Aramayo (Elrond) started out not knowing that much about the lore (he didn't know the First Age stuff), but after he got the role, he started reading everything to the extent that people on set would consider him a sort of expert. I really liked his motivation for doing this: he said that he felt Elrond would eventually become such an accomplished lore-master that he had to read a ton of Tolkien lore to become the Elrond he plays.
Trystan Gravelle (Pharazon) has a great grasp of the lore. His explanation of Numenor's politics and what mortality means for Numenoreans and how Pharazon fits into all this told me that Pharazon is in safe hands.
Lloyd Owen (Elendil) also gave a nice explanation of Numenor's history. He also made a great meta joke when he was chatting with Isildur's actor. He said: "Isildur is not a problem child in any way shape or form."  But of course we all know how Isildur caused a lot of problems down the road lol. He went on to say: "All I can say is, don't always blame the parents." It probably takes a decent level of familiarity with the lore and maybe also the memes to slip in an offhand joke like that.
Ismael Cruz Cordova (Arondir) spent many hours working with others to create a new Elvish fighting style that combines dancing and Brazilian martial arts and more. His fellow actors said he was in the stunt gym all the time. He also said he would sneak into other sets of the show to have a peek (they're technically not allowed to do that). I found that pretty funny.
Daniel Weyman (The Stranger) had very few lines, so he had to rely a lot on non-verbal acting. But according to one of his fellow actors, he was so good that in one scene his acting made her cry without saying a single word.
Owan Arthur (Durin IV) has a ton of energy and fun. He's just the kind of person you'd immediately want to have a beer with. Great pick for a young Dwarf prince. Go listen to his story about how his beard and costumes would get in the way of him eating and going to the bathroom. It's hilarious!
Sophia Nomvete (Disa) attended the audition 2 days before she gave birth. The costume department custom made her costumes so she could get out of them easily to breast feed her baby on set. She just looks like a regal Dwarf queen.
Benjamin Walker (Gil-Galad) has a good sense of humor while maintaining a sort of deadpan face, which is surprising but awesome.
3. Production and details:
There are Tolkien experts on set in case people need to consult them on lore. Sometimes people would also argue about the lore on set to try to get everything right.
Most of the Numenorean and Elf actors had to take calligraphy lessons with Daniel Reeve (the artist who designed the awesome calligraphy and cartography in all the PJ movies) so they can actually write correctly. Emma Horvath (Earien, Elendil's invented daughter) had to spend 3 hours with Daniel Reeve every week to learn how to write and draw because her character is an architect. Apparently Daniel Reeve also had to invent a brand new alphabet for Numenor.
The actors (especially the Numenorean and Elf ones) put a lot of care into the pronunciations of words and language in Tolkien's books. You can hear it when they speak. It sounds pretty Middle-earth already.
Numenor has large practical sets that you can explore and interact with: full alleyways and flowers and everything. They even had incense burning in some places presumably so the sets have the right smells even though the audience can't necessarily see that.
The Harfoots have mobile proto "hobbit holes" they carry with them on carts when they migrate. The carts have everything in them that you can probably live in them.
The person that designed Galadriel's armor said she's gonna really make the cosplayers have to work hard for this one. I thought the mental image of the costume designers consciously competing with cosplayers was pretty funny.
They imported giant rabbits from Europe so they made the Harfoots look small. Also, potential easter egg for Radagast's rabbits?
Obvious caveat: it's possible (even likely) that most of the questions were sent to the cast in advance. But I feel that you can still learn a lot about the show and the cast from the Q&A sessions.
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that-angry-noldo · 10 months ago
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wip reveal time!!
ashes, ashes, dust to dust - the devil's after both of us - m&m take finarfin hostage, it goes as well as you'd expect
an untitled wip featuring tween finrod & turgon, teen maedhros & maglor & fingon, extremely baby orodreth and various assortments of finweans & spouses all gathered together for finwë's begetting party
of sand of pearls under the sun - "and finarfin was friends with the sons of Olwë" ok jirt if you won't elaborate i will
"Of How Lachon The Brave Lost His Heart" - one of the tales of Numenor i plan to write for silm epistolary week
"the biggest fish" which may or may not be happenning, feat. ealry stage finarfin/eönwë/eärwen, a seaside vacation and probably some smut
"you who watch and know and understand none" (a temporary title) - silm tma fusion
reunionfic - Finarfin returns from the War, eärwen has to decide where to go with their relationship next
"stranger days", sequel to blissful state - vanyar, dancing, traumatized war veterans, all that good stuff
wip currently titled as "wound" - eönwë & finarfin, pre-slash. finarfin is wounded and delirious, eönwë tries to help him.
feel free to ask about any of these!!
badly summarized wip game! tagged by @searchingforserendipity25 and @thelordofgifs, t
tagging @gwaedhannen, @runawaymun, @voidartisan and @eilinelsghost !!
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gffa · 2 years ago
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Hey there Lumi, I have a question regarding ROP, so I'm turning to someone who actually knows what they're talking about :D I'm biased because I'm a big Gandalf fan so anytime my guy is on screen is a win... but what's the issue with Gandalf (the stranger, but it's probably Gandalf) coming in at this point in time? Beyond "it wasn't like that in the book" which is what I got when I asked others. What is screwed up from a storytelling perspective by having Gandalf come in the 2nd Age?
Hi! I may be forgetting some stuff, so anyone should feel free to jump in, but I don't think a ton changes by having Gandalf being sent to Middle-earth in the Second Age instead of the Third Age?  At least not that hasn’t already been changed, regardless of whether the Stranger is Gandalf or not? The five Wizards/Istari were sent by the Valar to help guide the people of Middle-earth to gather together to fight Sauron and the timeline being compressed means a lot of things happen quicker and without the slow boil, because after the First Age, when the Valar and Maiar went to war against Morgoth, they broke the world, they forever marred the world that they had helped create under Iluvatar's guidance. After that, they never directly interfered again, even though they probably could have squashed Sauron like a bug if they had gone themselves, because it was too dangerous.  Instead, they sent the five Istari (at different points) to help guide and rally people to stand up against Sauron themselves and I guess you could move that to the Second Age and have that still be their purpose. It's just frustrating because what should be taking years and years to build up--like with Numenor, compressing the timeline means we don't see their slow boil of jealousy towards the immortal Elves and resentment of the Valar for what they see as not giving them all the gifts that they think the Elves have, you don't see the ever-rising tide over the course of many, many years to where they'll try to invade Valinor, so who knows why the great wave is going to come crashing down on them, will it still be Iluvatar's divine punishment for their breaking the Ban of the Valar in the show?--is now crammed together with no room to breathe. I wouldn't be surprised if the Stranger turns out to be Gandalf, but I also won't be surprised if it's one of the other Wizards, who actually could have been sent earlier in the timeline, during the Second Age. If it's one of them, it might not affect the timeline much at all, honestly. I think the biggest thing that changes is that the setting of the stage is different, that the people of Middle-earth are still relatively powerful at this point and could resist Sauron fairly well, because we haven't hit the Last Alliance of Elves and Men/the War of the Last Alliance, where the Elves are still united under Gil-galad (who is quite possibly the greatest Elven king Middle-earth ever knew and one of the first Elves who didn’t trust Annatar, which is why I’m side-eying the show for this, because Gil-galad’s leadership in Middle-earth was really good) for example. The War of the Last Alliance absolutely destroyed huge chunks of the Middle-earth populations (and is where both Gil-galad and Isilidur died), so the situation in the Third Age after that war is a lot more disparate and desperate and the Valar sent more Istari because the people were more scattered and the threat of Sauron was not yet gone. So, it does change the timeline of the books and that the Valar sent the more familiar Wizards later because things had gotten a lot more dire with the lack of the unity of the Second Age, but the Blue Wizards could have been there already, so it’s not like it totally fucks up the reasons behind why they were there, I don’t think.
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thevoidspeakz · 2 years ago
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what do you think are byler’s favorite pieces of art? it can be a painting, book, song, musical, poem or whatever else comes to your mind! <3
much love, @byler-art-anon 🌸
i did SO MUCH FUCKING RESEARCH for this it's not even funny
ok so, doing all of them;
paintings: Mike has like 0 literacy when it comes to painters and stuff, but Will, as an artist himself, loves art museums and everything like that. I feel like he'd be a fan of many different types of art, from renaissance to abstract, and he'd love studying the artist's techniques. He doesn't have a favorite painting since his tastes are so vast, but when it comes to more famous paintings and artists, The Starry Night and other Vincent Van Gogh paintings are definitely some he most loves.
books: They're both big fans of fantasy books for sure, I mean that's basically canon, so you bet they read almost every single one of Tolkien's releases. They've read Lord of the Rings like 10 times by now, The Hobbit around 50 (they especially love it since it's a shorter and lighter read), Unfinished Tales of Numenor, etc... Mike, although he'd never admit it, loves romance books. Will hates them, but would never seriously judge Mike about it (he will poke some fun at him from time to time, though).
songs: Mike will listen to just about anything, and he especially loves Will's music taste, which basically consists of grunge-y rock artists like The Cure and The Smiths, and i feel like they'd probably jam to Friday I'm in Love, sob their eyes out when Asleep, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now or Boys Don't Cry start playing, etc. They have a lot of fun just sitting and listening to music together.
musicals: Little Shop of Horrors.
poems: Will isn't the biggest fan of poetry, Mike likes it and has even tried writing some himself, but it didn't really stick. He doesn't follow any specific artists, mainly liking whatever he comes across. He likes things with a lot of meaning tied to them, for sure.
god this was a lot
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josis-teacup · 3 years ago
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Some thoughts on lotr on prime
Sooo im really excited for the lotr on prime show (you know I'm something of a clown myself). And what I'm wondering about is what exact time will be covered.
The second age is 3441 years, that's quite a long time. Sauron meets Gil-Galad in 1200, the rings are forged in the 1500s and Numenor falls in the early 3000s. (rough dates)
All of those events are worth covering and focusing on. And they deserve the attention and the detailed plotting.
Currently 5 seasons are planed but the Tolkien estate would grant more if amazon does a good job and since they apparently already like what they're seeing and allowed them to cover some stuff from the first age (probably flashbacks or exposition, see the trees in the first promo image) the chances are good.
One of the people involved said that they want to use the first season for world building and the one ring revealed that sauron won't be in the first season.
So my guess is:
The first season will mostly be about the founding of the Grey Havens and Numenor and will introduce important characters. Galadriel and Elrond are confirmed, we will probably also meet Elros and Gil-Galad. The migration to Khazad-dûm will probably also be covered as it introduces a location that will be important to later seasons.
After that nothing big happens for a few centuries. Its been a while since I've read the books and there are parts I'm not that familiar with anymore but it's mostly people getting born and people dying and people meeting each other. Maybe they add some plot for political drama or add some travel/adventure stories but since so much plot is still to cover I'm not sure. I can imagine time jumps happening between seasons. It's not uncommon and allows fresh starts with new characters getting introduced which is normal in shows.
What is possible is that they won't work with years and dates at all. As I mentioned Sauron and Gil-Galad meet in 1200 and it would work well as a start for season 2. Mentioning dark times to come, a new evil etc maybe some well known visuals at the end of season 1, maybe even a post credit scene and even casual viewers will be hooked as I well known villain is about to appear.
As soon as Sauron shows up things start happening. Galadriel goes to Lothlorien, the rings of power are forged, barad dur is completed, Glorfindel comes back, sauron proclaims himself, rivendell is founded, celebrimbor dies, sauron attacks but gets defeated and retreats to mordor. This would fill 1 - 2 seasons, maybe even 3, we're looking at 300 years.
About 500 years later the rebellion of Numenor against the valar starts and until the fall of Numenor a bit more that 1000 years pass. I can imagine those events getting pressed into one season, maybe two. I haven't counted but there are probably about 10 - 20 kings and queens and covering all of them is just too much. We have to remember how expensive this show is, they not only want to Tolkien nerds but also the casual viewers and infodumping never goes well.
So the last season will probably begin after the fall of Numenor and with Gondor and Arnor being founded. A big part will be the introduction of important characters like Oropher and Elendil since they'll die and both leave a kingdom and a heir behind. Maybe we'll meet a young thranduil? The last thing will probably be the battle, character deaths and I won't be surprised if it ends with a shot of something that could lead up to lotr. Maybe isildur riding along the route where he gets attacked. Maybe we'll even catch a glimpse of the third age and the arrival of the Istari (didn't sir Ian McKellen state he'd be ready to reprise his role?).
So, those are my thoughts. As you see this list barely contains the most important elements and I'm sure there will be many more events, characters and side plots to fill the gaps. Mirkwood, maybe even the ents. There where rumors about Hobbits appearing. While not being mentioned before the third age they must have been there so it would be a nice addition.
There is quite a lot to cover in the second age and whether they decide to tackle it all or concentrate on one event a lot of time will pass. Over the course of decades and centuries and millennia fashion, architecture and traditions change and even if this probably happens slower when it comes to elves I'm very excited to see those changes applied to Numenor and other human cultures. A nice challenge for the costume department.
The goal of this post is to hopefully bring some healthy discussion, maybe even positivity to the table. During the last months I mainly saw negative takes on the show. The reason was often the nudity discourse which could've been avoided by actually reading the articles about the intimacy coordinator. We barely know anything about the show and we've only seen one picture. Of course I'm critical, we all have good reasons to be, but currently I see no reason to spread negativity about something that I barely know anything about.
Maybe there are some people who would like to add some thoughts to this post and who are just as excited as I am. I'd love to hear from you.
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rivalsforlife · 2 years ago
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new lotrop trailer thoughts/reactions
etc etc going to be spoilers for stuff that happens in the canon and possibly leaks and shit here. some mixed feelings in this one
bear with me though apparently the prologue was shown at sdcc, so I'm definitely going to have Thoughts on that one because it's all going to be first age. so expect another post from me on this whenever this is all leaked.
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I don't think this is because it's supposed to be bodies but this reminds me of that massive hill of bodies after the nirnaeth. what's it called. haudh-en-nirnaeth! decent portrayal of how bad all of that was. though this can't be the nirnaeth since galadriel didn't get involved in that. like even if they're putting her in bragollach she'd have no reason to be in nirnaeth since she would be with nargothrond/doriath in hating the sons of feanor right now. so probably post-war of wrath or maybe post bragollach, but galadriel girl why are you walking around in that white dress
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definitely finrod right :( a bit sad he has short hair. but I guess that's par for the course at this point. also this seems like a bit more elaborate of a tomb than I imagined for what beren and luthien would have been able to do? idk though I really am overdue for a reread.
the wounds do look werewolf-y which is good I was worried they might change his death somehow.
Galadriel is wearing the same looking clothes as the previous thing so maybe this is a... visit to finrod's tomb and mourning stuff in the bragollach/nirnaeth? idk.
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reminds me of a morgul blade. I've seen some theories this kid would end up being a nazgul at some point and I guess this does somewhat lend to it since the blade is like. going out.
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#FeanorWasHere
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apparently this is sauron. I'm so pissed this is sauron. he looks very evil and he's NOT SUPPOSED TO. he's supposed to be ethereally beautiful here that's like the whole point.
or I guess they're doing sauron like this throughout the first season and then he vanishes and returns all pretty as annatar? but he still should look decently pretty I think. I think he's got to be pretty while he can.
like I had this problem back when I was into hp too with grindelwald like he's supposed to look pretty. I'm so sick of evil having this real specific look to signify specific appearances of "evil" let evil people be pretty too. or let pretty people be evil. it's more fun that way.
come on lotrop don't you want people to be writing their celebrimbor/sauron fanfiction this sauron and this celebrimbor have like none of the potential tumblr fangirls would go for. know your audience.
EDIT: Apparently this is a different character likely a sauron/morgoth follower, played by a woman. So probably not Sauron. False alarm! We can go back to our laundry list of people that could possibly be him.
That is pretty interesting though and it'll be neat to see how these people eventually tie in with the Morgoth Followers in Numenor presumably in later seasons.
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Looks like they're keeping the same portrayal of balrogs as the jackson films which is interesting! and probably a good move you'd have movie-only fans whining about how they're destroying the lore despite balrog portrayal being very up in the air.
anyways that's the trailer I'm just hanging around waiting for someone to leak the prologue. I heard there's supposed to be feanor. and if that happens I am going to scream and cry and throw up.
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to-be-frank-i-dont-care · 4 years ago
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Trying to explain the Silmarillion to someone is like
“Ok so there are these guys see. They’re like gods but there’s this big god who’s like. The boss. And the little gods all do what he says. I mean...kind of. Anyway one of the little gods is a stupid dumbhead and decides he wants to have the power, and then...uhhh wait I think I’m getting mixed up. ANYWAY there are these good elves and like these...rebel??? Elves??? no wait that’s later. But the good elves—well one of them. He used to be good. He makes these things called the Silmarils, which are like. Really cool jewel things. And then he’s stupid and he somehow gets the Silmarils taken so then the good elves rebel. Yeah. Wait am I getting this wrong?? And they leave Valinor—oh did I not explain that? Valinor is where all the little gods live and the elves—but anyway the elves rebel and they go to Beleriand and a whole lotta trash happens and there’s hatred and death and sadness and curses and death and more hatred and death and a lot of stuff that I could maybe explain if I had like fifty years? Oh and did I mention there’s death. OH and you learn about Numenor and Elrond’s dad who is a star—you know the light Galadriel gives Frodo?? yeah that’s Elrond’s dad. I mean...his dad’s light. yeah. But anyway there’s a lotta cool stuff and there’s Beleg and Maeglin is a stupid idiot and there are a ton of dumb bloodthirsty elves but we love them...you know you should probably just read the book and then you’ll understand”
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