#ooo orcs

[demi-romantics]

Feel free to add your favorite race below if I did not have space to add it! Ooo and if you have a favorite homebrew race you can add that too!

[geezmarty]

ooo what inspired your tav design? like did you go in with a specific character in mind, or did it come from playing around with the character maker?

Oh boy ok. You’re about to find out just how insane I get over RPG character creation. “marty you don’t have to disclose it” I can’t believe you guys are forcing me to do this.

SO, I actually started bg3 with another character entirely, a ghityanki bard, which I thought would be fun and for a bit it was! But I wasn’t feeling crazy about her and when I play an RPG I love to turn my PC into a proper OC I can be obsessed with, so I restarted the game and before I went to character creation I literally sat down with a sketchbook and started brainstorming.

I wanted my pc to have an aesthetic of her own separate from the main companions but I also wanted her to blend in with the rest of the cast, I went for dark urge bc I heard that it gives you a personal quest and I landed for half drow and wild magic sorcerer, which is another class no major companion has (and also, I’ve always wanted to play wild magic even in regular dnd and this was a nice excuse to!)

Her aesthetic pretty much came up as I was sketching her and thinking about all the info above, what could set her apart but still feel like she could blend in? And most importantly, what would be fun for ME to draw? And so I went for witchy goth woman and luckily the design I sketched was very easy to reproduce in the character creator - and the rest came up organically as I drew more of her.

(I also named her after my very first dnd character Brigha, a half orc warlock, and it’s only after I finalized her design that I realized I’d borrowed some elements from hers eheh)

Witch goth was especially fun to play with bc I feel like most companions have a goth vibe about them but we’re missing the mean, spooky, feminine witch archetype (yes, morrigan from dao was part of the inspiration I love my wife <3). You could argue that Gale sort of fills the witch role already but I feel like they stand very nicely at opposite ends of the witch spectrum which is also fun considering their wizard-sorcerer one sided animosity.

[quitealotofsodapop]

I absolutely adore Tang River Water au!

I really like the idea that Tang accidentally drank water from this river and became pregnant just out of carelessness. It's too hilarious. An even funnier thing was that now their child is the rebirth of jade emperor. They can never have a break. Poor guys.

But for some reason it became very interesting to me what type of Tang will be during pregnancy? Will it be easy or will he be terribly emotional? Or something else, I would really look at it. I also think that he would really not like that when he tried to eat his husband's food, and then he started to feel sick just from the smell. He would definitely look at his stomach with anger and disappointment "you. traitor". And he would absolutely ask Pigsy to hold his belly in the later months of pregnancy.

I also really wonder how they would behave with their daughter. I know they love her, but I'm sure they're absolutely scared and DON't know what to do. I just want to know what they're planning to do. Will they overprotect her because she is the rebirth of the most powerful being in all of heaven? Or will they hide it? Maybe they will ask for help from heaven?

referencing.

Hehehe! I'm glad you like it!

Tang was just so thirsty after being in the desert (I believe is meant to be the Gobi) that he just leaps into the first water source he can find. Pigsy yells after him but Tang's already gulped down the yucky muddy stream water before Pigsy reminds him that there's a water purifier in the TEA. By then, the remnants of the Mother-Child River had already begun the process.

After his body adapts to the major magically-induced change, Tang ends up using his condition to get out of work/to get pampered on. Emotionally he's ok, just a little more worried than usual. And Pigsy is such an adoring spouse that Tang's symptoms rarely go unattended. Lots of cuddles and tummy rubs in the later months.

Ankles swell: "Oh Piggy~ My feet hurt." Morning Sickness: "I need tea and kisses!" Cravings: (Tang: "I require oranges, bao buns, ramune soda, takoyaki sauce-" Pigsy: "How about I leave you inside the Speedy Panda with 500 yuan and I close my eyes while you go shop?" Tang: "I love you so much piggy.") Smells: "MK you stink. Take a shower or I will literally barf." Painful Kicking: "Cuddle time." >:3

And if the *cicada* part of the Golden Cicada is acting up; he gets into carving/whittling - cicadas etch tree bark to lay their eggs. Pigsy now has many tables in the restaurant defaced with Tang's "masterpieces".

And I absolutely hit Tang with what (he believes) is the worst symptom on Earth; Food aversion. Specifically towards NOODLE SOUP. His husband's own cooking! He's distraught! Something about the combination of broth and noodles makes his stomach turn! Broth and noodles separate? Ok. Together? Instant morning sickness. He suspects its something to do with the texture of the noodles when their soggy.

Wukong: "Maybe your brain thinks its worms." Tang: *turns green and retches*

Pigsy goes out of his way to prepare dishes for Tang that don't set off his nausea, even if it means altering his traditional methods.

Pigsy: "Ok, I've been experimenting with a new dish for a while and I want your opinion." Tang, delighted: "Ooo hoho! You know I'll always be your taste tester, Piggy." Pigsy: *presents the elements of his noodle recipe* Tang: "Huh?" Pigsy: "You seemed really sad to not eat noodle soup, so I made a dry version so that you can still enjoy the flavours. The broth is on the side so you can drink it. The guy from the somen restaurant gave me some pointers." Tang, getting emotional: "You... you changed your recipe for me!?" Pigsy, grabbing Tang's hands: "Our family recipe, Tangy. That includes you and our little critic." Tang: *bursts out sobbing and shovels the dry noodle fixings into his mouth*

The baby - "Bao/宝/treasure or bundle" (also bao buns were one of Pigsy's cooking Tang could eat) - ultimately looks similar to a baby orc from Dungeon Meshi. A mostly chubby human baby with pig features. She has a puff of Tang's dark hair that becomes little black stripes on her back like a wild piglet.

What the baby takes after Pigsy in appearance, she takes from Tang in greediness. Before she's even off milk she'll try taking bites of other people's food. She's bold and confident, hilarious to anyone seeing a tiny piglet chasing Celestial soldiers like she's her own army.

And of course theres the issue of Bao being the reincarnation of one of the oldest and most powerful deities in taoism...

Pigsy and Tang are def the overprotective types, not so much for Bao being a powerful baby, but because every immortal seems to forget that she's still an uber-fragile preemie. Her health wasn't great when she was born (worsened by the circumstances around the birth). The freenoodles parents atleast have experience raising the little chaos monkey that was MK - the only difference being that Bao can't climb so good. Though she does seem to have control over the weather for some reason.

The Celestial Realm has to catch on quickly that she isn't the Jade Emperor anymore - she gets kidnapped atleast once by Heaven's officials needing the Emperor to approve paperwork. Bao screamed and grunted, rampaging around the imperial Palace the whole time.

The Queen Mother is saddened but adoring - her husband truly has passed on, but this little angel is a wonderful new beginning for him. She hopes to reunite in a later life.

Demons in general are pretty hopeful of Bao''s existance. Now that the Jade Emperor has been reborn on one of their kind - perhaps demonkind will be elevated once more? They'll have to wait until she's out of diapers before they start placing bets.

Princess Iron Fan's immediate reaction (after dealing with the shock of losing her estranged father) is to burst out; "HAH!" at the irony. Her father disapproved of her marriage to the Demon Bull King for his race - only to be reborn as a pig demon! The coincidence is hilarious! The Demon Bull fam does visit the baby girl to send their blessings, and offer advice based on how chaotic little Red was as a calf. Bao adores her giant uncle Bull since he's fluffy and big and smells like her baba when he cooks. She also gets super attached to Red Son for similar reasons - though Tang suspects it's because she smells grilled meat on him.

MK adores Bao, and will kill everything in the three Realms if anything happened to her. Bao in turn loves her big bro - even if she bites him and steals his food.

[squelchbug]

wtf verified my email finally after 2 yeaurs turns out i been missing out on a lot of Interaction . any ways . CND posting at 5 am here’s my guy his name is Cacophony

no way in hell i can concisely summarize all his shit rn … unless

the basics : he’s a Yuanti Tiefling Monk, 7ft tall& 32yrs old rn. he was raised in Partirisvarati and as a child amidst a war he got tossed into a prison where he then had his hands cut off &eyes gouged out by brutes as punishment for getting caught attempting to steal a handful of seeds for his family’s farm . but don’t worry. he got better

hes blind , uses Tremorsense . knows Common & Bolidian (Partirisvarati native language. +because it’s funny, as this dialect is translated into Common, it gives him a cockney british accent). got acid blood & is venomous, but he’s too polite to use it for evil, until he isn’t . he is a goofy goober(walking murderweapon) but alas, is a creature of joy and whimsy at heart . he suffers w PunchDrunk syndrome& frequent tremors/seizures . wizardry antics grew his hands back and gave him an extra arm, thanks Dee . (hi Simon)

he spent ages 10-20in prison, 20-23on parole+ after escaping parole he met Krishika, Krissie for short, a Githyanki halfOwlin Warlock. bsf4lyfe. actualy, wrong, these two are insane . imagine if you would a psychological torment comparable to that of a paranoid mother hellbent on building a dynamic so codependent slash parasitic BOTH sides end up Killing & Dying for eachother(multiple times) each against yet fully within their own wills (i love contradictory!). Krissie… has issues and problems. her soul had been permanently shattered into three components, and due to some species complications , left her In-Between multiple states of being at once . Blah blah blah… autism to save for another day..All she wants is some god damn control in her life . enter sir scapegoat Cacophony, who’s only aspiration since gaining real freedom for the First Time In His Life , is to provide an unconditional support to any new friend he makes !! 😁😬.. Cacophony lets & encourages Krissie to use him as a vessel for possession, as at the beginning it’d benefited both of them, but overtime, Krissies state had worsened and too late she’d realized she had been taking advantage of Cacophony. Krissie is fueled fully on adrenaline and fear, and the moment she knew she done fucked up was a pivotal point for them both- a point of absolutely No return, Krissie decided Cacophony would be much safer in her grasp and at her command. She strikes a deal with a man named Soren Trouvaille to soulbind herself to Cacophony, turning them both functionally immortal , unless one kills the other half . glances around

….as a result of multiple decades worth of various forms of mental abuse Cacophonys biggest flaw remains to be how forgiving he is 🫶 or yk, better put, how willingly he will allow second chances to those he considers worth it. he’s done an awful lot of healing these last four years. i blame his lovely husband (Soren, Tabaxi/Orc Artificer/Cleric) and their weird daughter (Siobhan, Jackal Artificer)

more of them soon, i love them very much . love heart xoxo . their family is so perfect icant wait to talk abt them . yes i mentioned a Soren Trouvaille earlier and yes this is him ooo drama

what more to share on Cacophony… i don’t know how to go in depth with personality and morals even tho i desperately want to lmfao . Cacophony is such a hypocrite, and he genuinely doesn’t mean to be . he will formulate an opinion on you based off of the Whys and How’s of the situation rather than the What. absolutely describe him as understanding as he tends to dig to the root of the cause for Anything and fully hear you out,but as a professional hypocrite he Will abandon this method of he doesn’t like you 💀. he’s an extreme optimist, or as i like to call it, Delusional ! people like to accuse him for putting up a front, but i swear he’s just insane . he would be dead in the fucking gutters if he wasn’t , truly . aint he a sweetheart , though . ok i’d love to add more . but i am dying. gootbye

[aimportantdragoncollector]

Kinda wanna know how the humans are space orcs story would’ve gone down if bakugo was with izuku when he went to the market. AU of the AU lmao

Ooo this is interesting! I consulted with my coauthor Zyla SweetBean to answer this question. There is a good route and a bad route.

In the good route, since Izuku and Katsuki go to the market together way back in chapter one, only one of them gets poisoned (probably Izuku). Since Katsuki is awake and pissed, he can fight off anyone who tries to take Izuku. Troops are called in to deal with the two violent humans who took a space station hostage. All Might and Yuuei get involved. All for One later shows up looking for a pet human. It's madness and pandemonium. Fortunately All Might gets the two boys away before All for One can grab them. They need to be enrolled as students at Yuuei because it's the only place they have sanctuary from the Federation. It's a good ending except for AFO's potential abduction attempts.

In the bad route, both boys get knocked out by the poisonous fruit and captured by pet dealers. The big problem: All for One only wants one pet. Izuku has green eyes like Yoichi, and Katsuki's spiky hair reminds All for One of a certain brother thief. Even in a science fiction AU, All for One always has a grudge against the spikes. So All for One sends Katsuki straight to Dr. Garaki's laboratory as a test subject.

Izuku gets to be the coddled pet (well, coddled by All for One standards) and never goes near the laboratory while Katsuki bears all the tests. Also All for One makes it very clear to Izuku, without even needing a translator, that Katsuki is a hostage and will pay the price for Izuku's escape attempts.

Fortunately, Aizawa finds Katsuki and escapes with him. This was barely in time because All for One gave Dr. Garaki permission to dissect Katsuki when they were done taking samples. They are once again forced to leave without Izuku but plan to come back for him.

On the plus side, this AU has a team-up between feral Inko and Mitsuki. They are an unstoppable force of destruction. Masaru comes along but just to hold their coats. All Might and Masaru bond over being terrified and impressed. All for One dies after the moms rip him to shreds.

Both boys have a lot more trauma in this AU. The doctor was even more sadistic with Katsuki due to All for One not holding him back, and Izuku is suffering from massive guilt about being the "lucky" one. The first day of school would be rougher, with Katsuki scared of aliens but he manifests fear as anger. Izuku is protective over Katsuki even when he's being a jerk, and that just makes Katsuki angrier.

However I have faith in Class 1-A's ability to once again break through to the angry pomeranian.

[gabessquishytum]

All this monsterfucking talk is SO GOOD!!!!

So what about 'Monster x Monster' Dreamling - could be ANY combo, just the two of them being monstrous and absolutely insanely hot for eachother

- ❄️

Ooo yes monster x monster. I have a few suggestions.

Werewolf Hob x Vampire Dream. Enemies to lovers, feral moonlit sexytimes

Naiad Dream x Dryad - or even better - Hamadryad Hob. A hamadryad is bonded to a specific tree.

Elf Dream x Orc Hob. Or maybe even Elf Hob x Orc Dream, to subvert expectations. Lots of nasty nasty fucking.

Incubus x Sucubus, feeding off each other.

Dragon Dream x Phoenix Hob!!!!

[deconstructthesoup]

Adventure Time AU, continued

Yep, I'm addicted now. Also, I just finished The Seven, so I have ideas.

All of the Seven Maidens are princesses in Ooo, with two exceptions---but I'll get to those later. For now, let's kick things off, one at a time:

First, Antiope is also known as Slayer Princess of the Warrior Kingdom, the youngest of five and yet the one who's the most well-traveled and well-known by individuals in Ooo. This is partially due to the fact that she constantly feels the need to compensate for her older siblings' successes, but she also just really enjoys being one with the people. Antiope's usually found training Fabian and Kristen in the ways of combat, skillfully avoiding kidnapping attempts from the Ice Queen, and just all-around being a pretty kickass individual... who's got a lot of stress. She deals with it via slaying monsters.

Danielle is, of course, Slime Princess, and she's definitely earned her reputation as the chillest and kindest princess in Ooo. She's a pretty good leader and is, for all intents and purposes, a very level-headed person in a crisis... mostly because she embodies the Slime element's cool, chill, laid-back attitude a little too much. She's still learning how to express her anger, her wants, and her needs, and while she thinks that being fairly impartial and understanding makes her a better leader, it does affect her connections as a person. Danielle's got some growth to go through.

Katja is often referred to as Orc Princess, and while she does embody the orcish love of adventuring and fighting and just general free-spirited toughness, she's still her amazing horse-girl self. She doesn't feature as much, but she's close with Gorgug due to him always wanting to learn more about his orc background, and they've got a pretty wholesome friendship. Katja has a lot of insecurities about not fitting in with a lot of the other princesses, mostly stemming from the fact that she's still not quite ready to rule her kingdom---even though her dad is off adventuring on his own a lot of the time. Thankfully, she does get to reconnect with Antiope, and she and her dad eventually come to a better understanding with each other, strengthening her relationships with the other princesses in the process.

Ostentatia is, as I said before, an LSP equivalent! She's not as selfish or insensitive as canon LSP is, but she's still the sassy, self-assured, stubborn, and stylish princess of Lumpy Space, with all the purple glitz and glamour required. Despite her free-spirited nature, however, she never fully rebels to the point of abandoning Lumpy Space entirely---rather, she's just a frequent visitor with a little guest house on Ooo, and she's the perfect person to call if you need someone's shit absolutely wrecked. Definitely still embodying the spirit of the words "I FUCKING LOVE YOU." Queen shit.

Zelda's mostly known as Satyr Princess, and she's unique in that the Satyrs don't really have a kingdom---rather, they're a nomadic society that wanders the woods of Ooo, throw wild and crazy parties, and leave a nice amount of "controlled" destruction in their wake. Zelda, of course, feels pretty uncomfortable with all the chaos and wild times, as her idea of a good time is just chilling while listening to heavy metal music. Due to her mostly living in the woods and the Thistlespring cottage being right smack-dab in the woods, Zelda and Gorgug eventually meet and develop feelings for each other, resulting in your typical hijinks-filled episode where Fabian and Kristen both try and fail to set them up, before Riz finally steps in and tells them to just sit back and let the two talk to each other. Moral of the story, listen to Riz.

Amidst all of the chaos of Ooo and the politics of the princesses, Adaine needs a constant companion that she can rely on... and she has that in her butler, Penny Peppermint. Penny's a very sweet, kind, and caring individual who effortlessly helps to keep the Candy Kingdom running smoothly, has frequently acted as a mentor figure for the human duo and Riz... and she's also heavily involved with dark magic. In this world, the Society of Shadows is a hardcore dark magic focused secret society, and Penny is not only in it, but she's also its leader, running it from the Candy Kingdom and implanting members into it as a way to help protect it. This helps boost Adaine's interest in studying magic, and it does keep Penny pretty damn happy, so... a win!

And, of course, as you might have already guessed, Sam is in the role of Betty---though, her and Aelwyn's relationship is not nearly as tragic, mostly due to the fact that they started out on equal footing as childhood best friends. Of course, they still have a lot of codependency issues that they need to work through, which isn't helped when Sam becomes Magic Woman and nearly loses her mind... but their story doesn't end with Sam becoming Golb---or, well, Talura, since I was hardly one to deny the incredibly juicy parallel there. If I were to go further, though, I think I might be spoiling some stuff, so... we'll just leave it at that.

If you guys wanna see more, I might do a whole post where I break down Aelwyn, Adaine, Fig, and Ayda's shared past, so... yeah!

[grimmoire]

Ooo have you still been watching delicious in dungeon ?!?! That third episode was so good. I also really like their orc desgin they made them hairy! 😂

I haven't watched past the second ep but I really need to! I can't wait to see the one orc girl (I forgot her name) I love her character design so much!

[sweetbubblies]

ooo the orc prince(ss) sounds interesting... imagining him trying to make friends with humans half his size, but a monster of a fart is so potent that it drives them away

“No, no..please don’t be scared,” Kah’Lici cooed as he knelt down to be closer the scared adventurer’s level putting a hand out. He had found the human not far outside of the tribe’s village apparently planning to get in with out squished by the guards

“You want to come in, yes? I can help you, the chief is my father…” Even though his voice and features were softer than the other then his family Kah’Lici was still an orc of very impressive size “no one will bother you if I bring you in…”

The human adventure gulped nervously, looking around to make this wasn’t a trap of some kind. They had never seen an orc this…lovely. “I-if you’re sure…” they stammered

Kah’Lici smiled showing his small tusks “Come, if we hurry I ge—“ as he stoop up there was a rumble from the orc’s belly before a massive horrifying fart rumbled from his round green rear

*BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBPPPPPPPPPPPPPRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!! PPPPPPPPPPPRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAPPPPPPPRRRRRRTTTTT!! FRRRRRRRRRRRBBBBBBTTTTTTT!!*

“Eep! I-I’m sorry I had kobold for breakfast and it always gives me gas….” Kah’Lici tired to apologize to his new companion but trailed off when he saw them sprinting the other way…

[welcomingdisaster]

Angry violent headcanon for Fingon or Turgon

-@outofangband

ooo @outofangband thank you for the ask! this is very fun!!

Fingon:

Jack of all trades with weapons! Of course there's his trademark bow and arrows, but I think he's relatively skilled with basically every weapon commonly used by first age elves. Solid 8/10 with swords, daggers, lances, etc.

To add on to the previous point: mostly self-taught through experience, rather than formal training (of the kind Feanor would have made sure his sons got, for instance). Applies hunting skills to combat.

MESSY fighter. Fights dirty, takes absolutely every advantage he might. If you fight Fingon and he can hit you in the balls, he's hitting you in the balls.

I think he's got a very expressive face in general and it's extra expressive in combat. He shoots an arrow and you can read the brief moment of "you better not miss, motherfucker" on his face very clearly.

The kind of person to taunt his enemies a lot in combat. I actually think he's pretty bad at coming up with insults off the cuff and spends some time workshopping them battle ("Turno what if I call the orcs yellow-bellied worms--" "Can you please be normal for two minutes instead")

Kept the dagger he used to cut off Maedhros's hand. After that whole incident it was a very dull dagger (blunted both by him trying to use it to sever the chain and by hitting bone). Had some vague notion that he would one day turn this dagger against the the dark lord and make him pay for that sorrow. Knew deep down he would never get the chance.

Generally tends to externalize his anger. Goes out and tries to find orcs/creatures of the dark lord to fight at every opportunity (part of the reason he's continually known as 'the Valiant' and well-liked). If you insult his dad in front of him he's punching you in the face. Generally not one of the classic Nolofinwean iciness. You can TELL when he's pissed.

Anger is red-hot but doesn't last very long. Once he's cleared the air he usually considers grudges long past. Quick to anger but equally quick to forgive.

Turgon:

Giant two handed sword boy! The kind of sword that, were it found by archeologists a few thousand years in the future, would be considered impractical for anyone to actually have wielded. This man was like 7'10 and his reach was enormous. In battle he mowed down orcs before they come close enough to try anything. Even in his final moments none could get near him; he died only when his tower fell.

Stone cold. You cannot read his mood at all. House motto repress, compartmentalize, ignore. When he's angry his voice does not tend to get louder; instead he gets very cold and quiet.

Holds grudges forever.

The one family member that is not very fond of hunting. He finds the sport kind of mean; elves easily track and kill most prey animals, and he pities them. This does not stop him from eating meat, but he takes little satisfaction besting an opponent so far below him, and prefers to leave hunting to other people. Left to his own devices (which he does not tend to be, being a prince and having most of his meals made for him) he is largely vegetarian.

[carddinal]

what's your top 3 favorite ocs of your own

ooo Top 3 ocs, in no particular order:

Beauregard 'Beau' Himm - a D&D/fantasy rpg oc, barbarian half-orc who was raised by his loving parents, who were both successful adventurers in their own right. He has trouble leaving his family, his pet pig, and his tightknit community behind, but after words of encouragement from his parents, Beau heads out for adventure to create his own stories. He's not very bright but he has the kindest heart and will do anything to help his friends and loved ones.

Jolene Faith - a RDR2/western oc, raised by her single mother after her father abandoned them to join his old gang in one last big score, presumed dead after news of things going wrong and the gang falling apart. When she's grown she meets an old member of her father's gang, and she learns that her father successfully escaped with the fortune and hasn't been seen since. He teaches Jolene to be a bounty hunter and she uses those skills to get work and cross the country, following clues to her father's whereabouts. She's clever and vengeful, and she cross-dresses and uses the name 'Joel Gravecross' to avoid the eyes of the law and others who may want her dead.

Theodore 'Theo' Uddsrick - a Sea of Thieves/pirate oc, who was born to an affluent but unloving family. Inspired by tales from his merchant uncle, Theo steals his family's sloop with his best friend and heads to adventure. Shortly after reaching the Sea of Thieves however, they were attacked by a kraken, where Theo lost his best friend, his ship, his eye, and his leg. He's a great sailor and navigator, though not super skilled with a sword or gun, with a positive attitude and a love for stories and collecting legends and lore.

You can find art of Beau and Jolene in my header and pfp respectfully. Both done by the wonderful @ghilenan. Thank you for the ask <3

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

Today I watched Lord of the Rings for the First time, here are my live reactions;

Do note, I already knew so many crucial details and also I watched the last movie first for some reason. Anyways suffices to say I enjoyed it! My mom has wanted me to watch these movies with her for a long time so I’m glad I can finally make her happy in that way. Here’s the reaction;

I wonder how Sauron gets his ring on every morning

OH HIS FINGERS

Oh Sauron’s just, defeated

Oh no he’s got the ring

Oh he’s dead that’s rough

Golem!

Hes so gross

OH GOD HIS EYES

Ring just has a mind in its own

Bilbo! I sorta know you!

Shire! So pretty! Hi Elijah Wood. GANDALF.

Sassy Frodo! Aw they’re friends.

Oh this place is so delightful.

I love them.

This is so pleasant.

New Zealand

“Alright then keep your secrets”

OH SMAUG MENTIONED

Fireworks! How pleasant!

Such pretty music.

THE HOUSE.

Friends!!

The chandelier!

Tell Frodo what? Oh he’s planning to do the ring thing instead.

That’s a huge pipe.

Pippin and Mary!

Oh no dragon fireworks.

Oh no the ring. Bilbo no. “Why shouldn’t I keep it.”

OH GOD GANDALF SPOOKY.

“I’m trying to help you.”

Good job dude! He gave up the ring! “And he lived happily ever after.”

Oh bye Gandalf.

Oh he’s just here at the castle now! Ooh he’s reading. I love all these set pieces. Oh god “it is precious to me.”

OH NO. WHY ARE SCARY PEOPLE HERE.

“One ring to rule them all.”

“Sauron was destroyed!”

Ring whispers: “No I’m not!”

OHNO GOLLUM KNOWS.

“Don’t TEMPT ME FRODO”

Sam: I DIDNT HEAR EVERYTHING I JUST HEARD EVERYTHING

I know not to trust Saruman

“I have seen it.”

“When did Saruman the wise abandon reason for madness”

They’re gonna bust a hip fighting

SAM THANK YOU

I like the gate guy is polite! Has a little hole for hobbits and doesn’t question their shit!

Aragorn!

Ah the shrek scene!

NOOOOO THE GATE GUY THE BEST CHARACTER NOOO

OH GOD WHAT THE WHAT STABBING??

Ring Wraiths.. spooky..

Pippin looked the other way from the area the apple smacked him.

NOOO THE TREES.

Gandalf is on the roof?? Uh oh.

Seeing the trees fall I think of that one thing Tolkien said about a land without life and it’s the like barren wastelands of war.

Aragorn gave his friends good sized swords.

“They’re stupid” -Mom

“They’re fools. They aren’t stupid for loving and missing home. They’re fools for thinking it applies here.” -Me

-my mom and I’s argument

FUCK. ARAGORN COME BACK YOU LEFT THEM UNSUPERVISED AND NOW THE CHORUS IS HERE.

HES BACK.

The way they show how it feels to wear the ring is so triply and horrifying.

OH GOD THATS HOW THE ORCS ARE BORN WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT. That’s so fucking sick I’m mortified.

Elf?? Home girl your discord light mode is on. She’s pretty.

Oh oh they have they have a thing?

She’s so rad. Ooo cheek cut.

Love these horse actors! Good job you beautiful horses!

Oh my god is she a water bender she is oh my god oh my god she’s so cool. Very frozen 2.

PFJFJRJEED THE MEME

Gandalf?? Hi! You’re okay! And here?? Poor Frodo has had a wild 24 hours.

“I was delayed.” HARD CUT TO HIM GETTING SMACKED.

Bird!

“So you have chosen death”

Aw Sam! Gosh this place is so pretty. BILBO??? HE GOT SO OLD- old guy.

“I’m ready to go home!” Four movies to be seen.

Hey the rest of the guys!

“Destroy it! Cast it into the fire! Do it!”

“No.”

HEY I KNOW THAT LINE.

The one true king.

Boromir!

“Hey.” “What’s up.”

I like Aragorn a lot.

“Gandalf I’m uncomfortable.”

Boromir no this is how you die.

Legolas don’t out him.

“ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY WALK INTO MORODOR”

Gimli don’t talk to your husband like that.

Poor Frodo. Ah the “you have my..”  Aw team friendship!

Ah glow stick sword! OH GOD BILBO. Oh poor guy.

Oh no the birds. hey the snow! bOROMIR GET YOUR HANDS OFF THE RING.

How’d they get off the mountain? Eh whatever. Gandalf is really doing every password.

Bye bill!

There’s a creature in the black lagoon. Oh poor Gimli. He was really excited for thHHHIIIISSSTTESNRACLES.

“This is no mine this is a tomb.” GOD.

Gollum!

Gandalf I love you lots.

Oh wow this setting. Unfortunately I know what must appear in here and also what occurs. Poor Gimli.

“We cannot get out.”

“They have a cave troll.” Oh joy. Frodo’s sword is slightly glowing! I think.

OH GOD THERES SO MANY GOBLINS. I love the make up. OH SHIT HERE COMES THE BALROG.

“RUN.”

“NOT THE BEARD” BAHAH

Here it fucking comes his whah a cool design. What gorgeous affects.

Oh she’s beautiful

“All will fall” glances to Boromir

“Hope remains” she looks to the hobbits

OH GOD SPOOKY

Boromir…

Hello lady..? Are we.. chill..?? Mirror?? I’m slightly scared. I love your voice though.

Okay so that freaky stuff was the Hobbit thank you mom. Oh she’s talking about.. oh deeear.. DONT GIVE IT- Oh this kinda funny. The effects. Oh dear. Hi queen you okay? Good job lady!

Even the smallest person can change the world…

Oh no here it comes, Boromir … this is tragedy.

The change in his voice from resentful and deranged to fearful and worried.

“I would have gone with you to the end.” GUH…. The tenderness in his tone.

BOROMIR NO NO THE ARROW

NO I KNEW IT WOULD AND YET…

ARAGORN

HOLY FUCK THE HEAD

BOROMIR….

“My king.”

I’m so sad. My eyes are so dry though. <- Has dry eye syndrome

That was really good.

[greenflamethegf]

ooo they are talking about D&D and TTRPGs, given is more of history lesson than anything.

Shame they didn't talk about PF 2e, ORC or PbtA. However, intra sting perspective on supplements, because like, if you ever meet a 3.5e player... they have SO many rule books (with little sticky note for Errata).

[du-hjarta-skulblaka]

For your dnd question the samurai subclass of fighter comes with artisans tools you could go calligraphy supplies or something along with the fighter portion to go warrior poet.

Otherwise you could take the skilled feat to get a tool proficiency to work with the poet side

Ooo That's interesting, not sure if it completely fits the vibe tho

Character is an orc and my concept for him is like...someone so hurt by years of war that he chooses to abandon his military training and return to his cultural roots as a traveling storyteller who specifically chronicles ordinary people, in his words the sort of people who are normally forgotten.

So samurai could definitely lend itself to that, just not the exact flavour I'm imagining. I picture him ad more like...well, origional character is a Warcraft orc. Which. Hmm.

Definitely could apply I just don't think it quite fits his vibes, another friend is suggesting ancestral spirit barbarian? But I v much appreciate the suggestion and information either way!

[aslanscompass]

rings of power episode 1 thoughts: A Shadow of the Past

didn’t watch trailers or such, so this is completely cold

music is good at least.  

“Nothing is evil in the beginning”

Time before sunrise with light??? we get a Trees references

Is that little Galadriel. Ears seem to indicate that elves

Swan boat! Stone boys are Feanor or his sons.

 I bet so. Knew it. 

Remind me, which of her brothers is this? Guesses Finrod. Coolness.

Which light to follow? ooo... so sweet. I wanna know what he told her

Hill of Slain!

Galadriel is very good at giving exposition. I totally believe this is young Cate Blanchett.

Oh evil castle! And the determination seems very  ‘driven by the fire of our hears’. And like, she’s so determined she does not necessarily heed council, also  very Noldo of her. 

Sauron’s emblem

Trees. Light of the Trees. eeeh! 

Big ice orc! Vrrr Does it have extra fire vulnerability?  

Calling it now, Galadriel is the only survivor of this group

They’ve got to make orcs scary and how better to do that then with red shirts? 

Hidden village? Very cool. They have books!

THEY ARE LITERATE! OOOOH 

Hobbits, but possibly not Harfoots. It’s hard to tell size without proportion. 

Nori is too dwarfish a name for my taste, but it works a bit. Berries. Okay, yeah, these are hobbits. Only hobbits would be introduced with berries. 

Liar! That is so not a dog.

wARGS.wARGS. 

ELF runes. mIGHT WE HAVE  a reintroduction of rumil? That would be cool? Elrond.  

“elf-lords only?” Please tell me we’re not getting Galadriel Elrond romance. That’s just too weird.

 Lindon. Elvish! Too quick to tell if Quenya or Sindarin.

Elrond’s chin is very distracting.  Okay, who is king of Lindon at this point. Wait, not king of Lindon. Lindon is just a city. But who is high king at this point? Celebrimbor?

So, Harfoots.  ‘what else is out there’ hmm, I know that plotline, but they might make it work. It’s only the first episode. 

Lindon is very elven. I like it. 

So it’s not a coronation--which rather confused me--it’s more of a laurels situation.

Well, I can guess who’s not taking that offer. Passage to the Undying Realms--not for her.

Galadriel is Elrond’s  mother-in-law, not girlfriend. But I want to hear her reasoning.

WAITING for the  “sweet summer child” memes with Galadriel and Elrond.

He’s got some good points. Which is good. I like double-sided arguments.

Here we go. She is afraid that she would not fit back in Valinor.

Very Tolkien-sounding.

“My friend.” awww

And now, the Men!

I think the men? Show me some ears?

That one top looks too like a tank top, but once she puts something on over it.

(You see how varied my thoughts are).

He’s an elf. She’s human. At least, I think so. I need a closer look at her ears. Good.  Human. 

“Beauty has great power to heal soul.”

Shirtless dude is so... like, modern but just, there is always gonna be a shirtless guy. 

Fredric? Sort of human name.  “I think you talk too much. And you smell of rotten leaves.” New favorite insult.

Okay, two elf-human pairings.  Tuor and Idril; Beren and Luthien.  Suppose the one from Morgoth’s Ring was kept secret or well enough. 

Elf and human.... again,  *Waves hand uncommittedly* not sure about it.

So, returning to ‘peace’ after war. Hmmm. Potential. 

Do we have a name for this girl? Or shall I just call her Firiel, after the poem?

very much not  getting along, then. 

A man? or a Man. That is an odd looking cow. Maybe it’s bloated? Look, my dad’s a veterinarian, of course I wonder about cattle illnesses. 

So, wait, she’s his mother, not sister. She looks more like a sister tha mother. That boy’s ten or so, but she looks younger than me.”

Morgul blade? music seems to think so. Oh, sauron symbol. Not good. 

SHIPS! Shipses! Is this a Valinor-bound vessel. But we know she doesn’t--

Who’s gold robe? What did he do? I’m confused. What did Elrond ‘do’ that he might regret?

Gold-robe is not Celebrimbor. Celebrimbor is green-robe. 

I wanna see this book. 

Satic--the sage.   She looks much younger there.

Elves must have a hard time distinguishing between generations... not in the you-are-your-father sense, but in the your-father-was-loyal once sense.

. removing the armor, ooh. i like it

a straight way lay westward, now all ways are bent.

Does she reject, or is she rejected

If the latter, it would explain why she lingered yet into the third age.

What might the west mean for those who had never been, versus the Exiles.

Meteor man? Meteor man? 

“SOMETIMES we cannot know until we have touched the darkness” Very Felix Culpa there

And there we have it, episode one. 

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Your tags on the post with Theoden's speech at the Pelennor were very interesting - I learned something new :)

Can you imagine being one of the guys way off at the side or in the back, who can't hear a damn thing?

Guy 1: What's the King saying?

Guy 2: No idea. Something about spears and death.

Guy 1: *sighs* Great. Death again.

Guy 3: He says the world's ending.

Guy 1: *snorts, waves at Orc army* well, I think we knew that.

It would be like the 'blessed are the cheesemakers' scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

hahaha yes! That's basically it.

So, my notes/tags are a bit of an oversimplication/misspeaking. Historically, speeches were given (probably. We're pretty sure they were, at least in late antiquity and medieival Europe, to paralell LOTR world), but they weren't what we think of when we think Pre-Battle Inspirational Make Your Hair Stand on End Speech Ooo Ra. That's Hollywood.

---

Essentially, yeah, generals probably gave some form of a speech. Like, short of going back and filming good ole' Julius Caesar or and 15th century Italian mercenary captain before battle, we can't say for certain, but literature points it at least having been a thing. (And that's for Rome and societies heavily influenced by classical antiquity - it'd be different for other society. E.g., Boudica before battle - was she giving a speech? a poem? a song? nothing? Was Harold Godwinson following classical structure of a speech or did he do his own thing?)

Even if in books, poems and plays they dress it up a lot and make it fancy (we also know generals were criticized if a battle was lost and they didn't given some sort of remarks ahead of it).

But when we think of speeches, we think of Theoden's speech before Pelennore, we think of Aragorn's speech before the Black Gates - those kind of perfomative, eloquent, well planned speeches? That's hollywood (or, rather, hollywood riffing on the nice refined version of events that get put into histories and poems).

Because the purpose is different.

Historically, generals needed to provide their men emotional momentum to carry them through the inevitable moment battle commences and fear comes for them as a tsunami.

The classical pre-battle speech tended to follow a specific formula (and it would have been short and repeated multiple times as the general rode up and down the line).

In terms of speech structure, there were four parts:

intro/opening which included talking about the bravery of the soldiers and past feats

description of the enemy and future dangers they're going to face

what they get if they win/what they'll lose if they're defeated

some emotional wrap

The order might move around and certain things might be emphasized over others, but that's the gist.

The really key, core parts of this structure - the ones that are never left out - are the reminders of past feats and description of the horror and fearsomeness of the enemy.

This is because, as a general, it behoves you to acknowledge your soldiers' fear. They're going to feel terror no matter what! You might call them lions, tell them they're invincible and fearsome warriers, but none of them feel that. Not when enemy fire begins and their friends start dying around them.

What is important is to acknowledge that fear and then balance it against reminders of past victories (we've done this before!) and reminders of why they're fighting (to keep our families safe! to liberate ourselves/these other people! etc).

Whereas in Hollywood, the point of the pre-battle speech is to convey information to the audience.

So, Saruman is saying "A new power is rising; its victory is at hand! This night, the land will be stained with the blood of Rohan! March to Helm’s Deep! Leave none alive! To War!"

This is a shit pre-war speech. This is useless. It's not going to help the very (very) green army he has feel brave and fearless and carry them through the difficulty of the battle to come. (And the Uruk Hai do know fear! They know pain! They did, at least, get to taste manfelsh. Saruman didn't breed a some super-fearless army. We know they feel all the same things humans feel.)

However! What this speech does do is tell us, the audience, what is at stake for Rohan and our plucky heros.

So - inaccurate and shit pre-battle speech, but useful narrative/exposition dropping for the audience.

Now, Aragorn's speech before the Black Gates is a little better in terms of aligning with the true purpose of a battle speech:

Sons of Gondor! Of Rohan! My brothers.

I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of Men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day.

An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of Men comes crashing down, but it is not this day!

This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!

He acknowledges the fear the men are feeling, very important.

But there's no calling back to past victories (many of which are recent! We just won Pelennore! Helm's Deep! And in the past we defeated Sauron! We can do this again!) nor does he remind them what they're fighting for (Sauron will kill you and your families; he will ruin the land; he will enslave people etc. There's a lot to be fighting for here).

And unlike Saruman's speech, it's not serving a strong secondary purpose of delivering key information to the audience by showing the stakes that are at hand. In this scene, we know the stakes! So we could have Aragorn give a more traditional speech (and it would fit within the world, it wouldn't be out of place).

Arise, arise, riders of Théoden! Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword day, a red day, ere the sun rises! Ride now! Ride now! Ride! Ride for ruin and the world’s ending! Death! Death! Death! Forth Èorlingas!

This is definitly one of the most powerful scenes in the movie - I think most people agree it gives chills and Bernard Hill went hard - but as an actual pre-battle speech? It's terrible. On so many levels.

Tolkien doesn't give people pre-battle speeches in LOTR. There are poems, especially for the Rohirrim, that sit in place before battle - but it's a little ways before battle. It's not the speech given two seconds before you ride.

These poems serve as pre-battle speeches and provide leaders, particularly Theoden and Eomer, the opportunity to perform their leadership/kingship.

I really like how Brett Deveraux describes leadership performance (emphasis included in original):

Soldiers going into battle often look to their leaders to perform leadership. After all, the infantryman on the line has little sense if the battleplan is good or not (this is not a Total War game – he cannot view his line from above and get a true sense of the field; on the ground, what he can see is very limited), but he’s likely to be reassured if his leaders look like how he imagines good leadership to look. Enacting that sort of leadership can be very culturally contingent and seem quite random to us looking from a distance – an American general who slaughtered a goat in front of his army before battle would not reassure his men; a Greek general who failed to do so might well panic them. It’s reasonable to suppose then that composing these short poems ‘on the fly’ (or having them prepared) may well be part of the Rohirrim’s expectations for what good kingship, generalship and general martial excellence look like, in which case, seeing their king performing that role with excellence could be confidence building – “I may not understand the plan, but we have a good general and thus a good plan.”

---

As for how the general's speeches were relayed to those beyond the first line or two - it would have been done pretty much as you have it described.

We see this in medieval and early modern religious spaces. Traveling, charismatic preachers weren't uncommon and when they arrived in a town or city to speak people flocked. Mostly for the novelty (thank god we don't have to hear padre pietro do the sermon this Sunday) but at times these preachers provided a different depth or engagement with their faith and theology than the typicla local priest had on offer. So newness, yes, but sometimes it also enabled greater depth. Not to mention news was sometimes shared from other towns and cities.

Savonarola wasn't a travelling preacher, in the way some of the friars were at the time, but he was charismatic and whenever he gave mass the duomo couldn't fit everyone in attendance and it spilled out into the piazza (so like from the chrurch doors to the bapistry was just shoulder to shoulder people). And yeah! Nicollo up near the front who can hear Savonarola (and that man was a strong orator, you could hear him for miles), would pass it back to Girolamo who passes it on to Maria to tells Franchesca who turns around to Pietro who gives it to Zuanne etc. etc.

In later years, such speakers would sometimes have their sermons printed so they could be read later on, in case you didn't hear them or get a good spot. It was also a means a course correct what Monty Python pokes fun at (Nicolo: pretty sure friar Savonarola said visit your mistress. Marco: That's you wishing, Nicolo, he said visit not your mistress. Also go to mass more you tiny wee heathen)

---

So yeah, there's a bit of a rundown of pre-battle speeches. In a very high level, not at all nuanced fashion that misses a lot of details. It's an interesting part of performing leadership! History of oration is super facinating and worth looking into, if it's of interest to people.