#threads: frodo baggins.

[vihilum]

@godefied [ continued from here. ]

There came a time before, where a hobbit’s greatest defense was not to partake in acts of battle. Evade all disturbance of humankind, avoid the grief that came with war, for the toll was too great, why should their lives line up to pay the price?

The lack of participation severed their ties to most that sought to build great armies. It also signified there would be no mentor to teach them all the different ways they could continue to survive. Hobbits were too small, too feeble, weak links. History wrote them off. Frodo wouldn’t say he spent his life being underestimated. First and foremost, he wasn’t even considered, he wasn’t even a pawn set on the board. He wasn’t perceived, he wasn’t even seen as a threat. He could detail a million ways to be invisible. Even after he arrived home.

Frodo had been at the mercy of such defenselessness, his own error, for he was not better prepared, and his life was almost lost to all the moments he was not equipped to be a better fighter on his journey. Spared by luck, spared by others, saved by his own swift and stealthy nature. It wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t be.

The eye had seen him. The wraiths in the dark. Evil had found him int he light. He could not learn how to be invisible anew. There would be no unwriting what transpired. But he could learn, learn how to fight.

Timid nature disintegrated in the presence of Lady Éowyn, how she reminded him of himself, an outcast he felt, a fish out of the sea. When he’d asked for lessons, she hadn’t balked and told him to ask another. She’d handed him a spear.

“I see it’s much like a dance,” or any game met with strategy, one misstep could lead to a fatal demise on the field, “you lead,” up, up, and he rose, knocking away the spear from the crook of his neck utilizing only the hilt, the weapon fending her back as he charged forward, “I lead?”

He observed her steps - his smile mirrored hers, he felt it a sign he was improving, he could sense pride reflected. It shone in his own eyes too. “Details become lost in haste,” every move rushed, in observation of her own attempt to swipe him from off his feet, he encircled her, aiming for her heel, before tapping behind her knee, “Anticipation is my ally,” foresight of what move could be next, he tucked under the swipe of her spear, and rolled back, “Their perception of my weakness, is my asset.”

[lovely-v]

I went to Italy?? Not mordor?

[retrograde-raven]

The thing about going home for the summer is you have to unpack

[singlecrow]

notes on watching Goodbye Farewell Amen for the first time since 2003, by singlecrow aged whatever. there’s also some stuff here I’ve put elsewhere, sorry you’re having it twice if you are.

Anyway it’s really GOOD, like, I know, other people have observed that in the last 50 years but it IS. Funny, sad, clever, textured, and also a really good episode of MASH? It has the things that one ought to have, like people talking over each other and tanks being driven into things and latrines and shouting. And in places it’s beautiful and eerie: everything about the bus journey is impeccable; and the shots of the bus coming in from the hills with the light coming through the glass were really something.

And then there’s Hawkeye. Oh god. you can’t do this, though, if you’re not this show. Eleven years, telling us right at the start in a funny voice and in the middle in a dead serious voice and then then quite often in a funny voice again, Hawkeye is… not very well. He’s fine. He lives in a war zone and is surprisingly fine. But Hawkeye has that immeasurable fragility, and it’s there, and you know it’s there because we’ve told you so, and it’s the kind of fragility that comes with being often-manic, very depressed, empathetic to the point of unreason. Crucially: it’s a sitcom. Hawkeye has entire episodes of him playing poker, sending telegrams to President Truman, kissing Margaret, and ordering spare ribs from Chicago and winning a tank in a bet. And a bunch of other stuff. It’s very funny.

But still. But still and all, for all it’s very funny. This episode needs less than a minute of set-up - an outdoor shot of somewhere that isn’t the usual place, and then Hawkeye sitting on the floor in a dark room, looking at Sidney, and you know. You always knew. This is it, for Hawkeye; this is where all roads have led.

(In 2003, I don’t think I knew to notice the camera lingering, as it does several times, on the locked door.)

Hawkeye is what I’ve carried with me all my life. Probably bipolar, always sleepless. I was fourteen and it was 2001 the first time I picked out Sidney’s line, elsewhere in the show’s timeline: “Actually, Hawkeye, I think you’re the sanest person I’ve ever known”. Hawkeye believed it and I chose to believe it too.

So does it undercut that, that my talisman of sanity ends up on the floor in the institution? No. Because Hawkeye gets up off the floor again. He is always fragile; he’s always hurt. And I actually really enjoy that, in its way. Hawkeye crying or screaming (or laughing) is always unpretty, because it’s like how real people do those things; and here, Sidney gets Hawkeye out of the institution but he’s still lost. He would be. He’s still manic if not psychotic, and desperately sad. (Sidebar: this - this! - is when he gets his most Exceptionally Bisexual line in the entire series, presumably because this is also his most Exceptional Disaster.) He cheers up a bit at the prospect of the wedding, because he does love a wedding.

So, fragile, yes. But I do believe that Hawkeye went home and picked up the threads of his life, and maybe he began like someone else did, hurt beyond the capacity of homeland to heal. There’s the crucial crack in Hawkeye’s nature; where you find the story. Is Hawkeye like Frodo Baggins, to diminish and go into the West, or not?

And the thing is, I think they’re an apt comparison. They have, remarkably, a similar cultural weight; enough of an exerted pressure on the fabric of the Western twentieth century. The wars that Frodo and Hawkeye came home from were all of eight years apart. And you step within the narrative and they’re both… some guy. Someone who had to do a thing they didn’t want to do, that needed to be done although it wasn’t their fault and nothing to do with them. Frodo goes home, and the Shire has been saved, but not for him. He can’t stay. He never finds himself again.

But I believe that Hawkeye will. He doesn’t end this episode still institutionalised, or even still frighteningly mentally ill; he ends up exhausted and sad and damaged and on his way home. And it’s like this show to leave this as a question that may or may not have an answer: can Hawkeye shatter that archetype, be not broken but more gold than cracks? He goes back to his own job, though it’s hard. He tells people he loves them. He says goodbye to Sidney with a quiet word of thanks. And when the time comes, he says goodbye to the others and goes. It is an open question: but this is MASH, which answers all such questions with love, and affection, and courage and care. Small things matter in dark places. Hawkeye’s great tragedy is that he’s the main character - a remarkable man but an ordinary one, a small-town doctor who doesn’t want to be in this terrible place - and the show necessarily makes an example of him. Here’s what happens to ordinary, good people, who did their best and didn’t deserve it. But then, if ordinary, then ordinary recovery, with love and care and time, and ordinary life.

[smoking-old-toby]

bilbo buys an ice cream truck and thorin buys 🍦🍦🍦

"Good morning!" say the two little boys standing in front of the ice cream truck, one light haired one dark, both speaking in unison.

""Do you want to play with us?" The dark haired boy asks Frodo.

"Uncle Thorin, can we go play on the playground with him?"

The man standing behind the boys is broad shouldered with long dark hair threaded with grey starting at the temples. The whole family has braids with beads.

"Can I, Uncle Bilbo?" asks Frodo eagerly.

"Sure, as long as it's okay with Mr..."

"Durin, Thorin Durin. These boys are Fíli and Kíli, my sistersons." Mr. Durin's voice is very, very deep.

"And what fine looking lads they are. I'm sure the three of you will play nicely together." Bilbo takes Frodo's hand before he leaves the truck. "Yell for me if anything happens, alright, my boy?"

"I will, Uncle Bilbo. I promise!"

And the three lads scamper off to the playground to swing and play make believe. Bilbo smiles at them before turning his smile to Mr. Durin.

"You're the author that lives around here, Bilbo Baggins?" Thorin asks in disbelief. "An author with an ice cream truck?"

"We only operate it in the summer."

"How does an author end up with a summer job, sales down?" Thorin teases, before becoming alarmed at his own words. If it's true he's definitely blown his shot.

Bilbo laughs. "Don't look so worried! It's nothing to do with my career. It was about Frodo... he was so sad when he came to me after his parents died, of course. And I asked him what might cheer him up and he said 'ice cream'." He huffs another laugh. "It was no great surprise to me, for Prim and Drogo were both ice cream lovers. I would babysit Frodo during their weekly ice cream date."

"So," Thorin taps the counter, "the ice cream truck?"

"Right. Well, erm, I brought Frodo ice cream, and the lad smiled for a moment before remembering he was upset, and told me that it wasn't enough. He needed an entire ice cream truck to feel cheered. And, well," Bilbo shrugs, "I had the time and money because of my children's series, so I bought a truck and Frodo designed it, picked the ice cream flavors, everything. Not the prices of course, but everything else." He became flustered suddenly. "And Frodo doesn't get everything he asks for, mind, it was just that... well an ice cream truck can't replace your parents but it can provide a good distraction."

"You neednt justify your actions to me, Mr. Baggins. It sounds like you're just trying your best to make the lad happy."

"I am. He's been through so much..." Bilbo bites his bottom lip. "I don't normally talk about this. You just, I don't know. You don't seem the gossipy sort, not at all."

"Mum's the word," says Thorin, feeling sad for Frodo's loss but certain the lad will be happy with his uncle.

[tarvastries]

it always hits me so hard when I remember lotr is about more than just war and death and hope. ultimately to me it’s about endings.

tolkien set this story in a world that is nearing its end; all the kings and warriors of old have passed on, and the golden ages are over. middle-earth, even after the victory over Sauron, is an old and gray world. its best days are in the past, and the thread of the future runs thin.

which is why I think the sense of loss is so great, even with a fairly happy ending. everything goes right, evil is destroyed, most of our friends get to go home…but the world is still dying. they’ve still lost loved ones. they have wounds and scars that will never heal. they can never go back to before.

one aspect of this that’s really getting to me right now is how bilbo, at the beginning of tfotr, intends to leave because of his time as the ring-bearer, and he’s giving everything to frodo. not just because he loves his nephew, but because he’s confident frodo will live a long and happy life in the shire and the baggins family will live on.

except, it doesn’t. even though frodo comes home and tries to live the life he used to want — might even still want — he can’t. and until he realizes he can’t, there’s no way for anyone to know that he is the last baggins who will ever live in bag end. frodo, once the single, shining hope of his family name, will be the last one.

it’s the end of an age. the end of a great and terrible story. and the end of a once-happy, once-innocent, once-many things family. just that one tiny ending makes it all a tragedy to me.

[thorinsbeard]

I was tagged by @ithilienns

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

I got the Hobbit for my 10th birthday waaay back in the 1998 or something. I read it when I was bored I think and remember being terrified of Gollum in the cave. In 2001 I saw the Fellowship in the movie theatre with my grandparents. I was obsessed with Legolas (and Boromir) and I remember having to wait a whole year for Part II and my friend saw it before me and all she said to me was "Legolas skateboard.." which I was like ?? about. I had to wait for a whole year to see part 3. I got the movies on VHS, DVD and collected the toys in 2001-2002 when they were out. I've collected a lot of merchandise over the years all because I saw it in 2001.

Favorite LOTR character?

It's hard to say because I love each and every single member of the fellowship but I would have to say Frodo Baggins. I just love him, how determined he was at the beginning and how you slowly see him lose himself because of the ring, because *he* was brave enough to take the ring to Mordor.

Books or movies?

I love both. I love the details in the books, I love the movies as well.

Which location in Middle Earth would you want to visit?

Rivendell (which I have visited in Lord of the Rings online). It is soooo pretty and I would love to chill with the elves and annoy Erestor, and hang out with Elrond and ask him about things. Also every time I visit it in the Lotro game, I feel like all the hurt and anguish and tiredness of questing has washed away, and I'm lucky 2 of my characters can teleport there whenever they want.

Favorite movie?

I can't possibly pick but I am actually going to say Fellowship of the Ring because this is the movie where I fell in love with the series (despite teenage me not wanting to go because it looked "scary" lol)

Favorite scene?

Hmm from the movies it's probably a lot of the fight scenes. I love when the riders of Rohan show up in a moment of despair, I love Sam's speech about stories in the two towers. There is just too many good scenes in the movies. it's been awhile since I reread the books but I am gonna reread them soon!

Favorite quote?

"How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold. " I just love this quote of Frodo's as someone who has suffered from mental illness and loss of friends due to it, knowing that sometimes you can't go back. It's just so heartbreaking. I could go on all day about Frodo ... *resists*

What Middle Earth race would you want to be?

A Hobbit! I want to eat and sleep and rest and adventure in the Shire.

Favorite LOTR ship?

I love Elrond x Celebrian, I love Faramir x Eowyn (I almost wrote Faramir x Aragorn and had a moment of hmm that could be interesting actually lol) I love Galadriel x Celeborn but (even though it is not canon) my favourite ship (both platonic and/or romantic) is Frodo x Sam. They work so well no matter which way you write them or see them and I just love them to pieces.

I'm going to tag.. @eomer @rosettyller @normaleeinsane and @aimless-passerby and actually everyone in this fandom. I want to read your responses.

[enby-blorbo]

Hey hey! My name's Emy, 25 NB, ey/em/any pronouns, in desparate need of more Tolkien content with a partner that is 21+, writing charas that are also 21+. On my hands and knees begging 🙏 I have two specific ships in mind, one MxM and the other MxF, but I am absolutely okay with non-romance plots as well as I think they would be a lot of fun!

Here are the characters I play:

Tar-Miriel (Silmarillion), AKA Witch-King of Angmar (LOTR). - Very AU/Headcanon based, but Witchking!Miriel has my heart

Thorin Oakenshield (The Hobbit)

Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit)

Here are the ships I'm looking for. Bolded has current interest:

Tar-Miriel/Elendil - very much friends to lovers to enemies vibes here. Also good with unrequited/onesided feels on Miriel's part as that could be v juicy to play out, or this can be played platonically too.

Tar-Miriel/OFC - would love some WLW drama.

Thorin/Bilbo - It's a classic, but my love for the ship has been reignited after 10ish years, would love to play it again.

Thorin/OMC - down for MLM drama.

Non-romance plots:

Thorin - Anything with the dwarves pre-Quest for Erebor, especially during The War of the Dwarves and Orcs, or the building of Ered Luin. Imo that is an extremely interesting period of time that is hardly ever covered and I am endlessly thirsty for it needless to say.

Tar-Miriel - Evil plottages with the Witch-King are yes. Or, better yet, could play out a political intrigue setting pre-fall of Numenor. Tbh it'd be quite fun.

Bilbo - Someone come bother this kooky old man post-Quest for Erebor I feel like he'd just be an absolute riot to be around. Frodo, Sam, Merry & Pippin are a plus here. That & threads with members of the Company, like Balin or Ori, or even his old pal Elrond, would be fun as well!

Alternate Universes

If so desired, I am absolutely A-OK with plotting out an AU verse, feel free to discuss with me via DMs.

If interested, add me on discord @ thewhisperingwood !

[camille-lachenille]

Day 13 of All of Arda is Autistic:

Prompt: wandering thoughts

Rating: Gen

Featuring Rorimac Brandybuck and Sigismond Took, two of Bilbo’s cousins that I picked in the family trees. They are all close in age and I headcanon they are a bit the predecessors of Frodo, Merry and Pippin.

“The storm last night wasn’t half as bad as I expected,” someone around the table said. “Though the road to Tuckborough is flooded…”

Bilbo tuned the conversation around him to a distant droning, his mind caught on a word. The road goes ever on and on… It would make a very good song… what comes next? The road goes ever on and on, and I must away… No! It didn’t work! Maybe… over hill and under tree. Mmm, better but still not that. He’d had to…

“What do you think Bilbo?” The Hobbit snapped out of his thoughts and gave an apologetic smile to his cousin.

“Sorry Rorimac, I was distracted. Could you repeat you question, please?” Bilbo said, fidgeting with the content of his pocket. Rorimac obliged and Bilbo gave his opinion on the quality of Longbottom’s pipeweed from the year. It wasn’t as good as the harvest from the two previous years due to bad weather, but still far better than the foul leaf the Dwarves favoured.

Well, I was happy when they shared with me. The thought came unbidden, and Bilbo’s mind immediately followed the path of memories. I miss my Dwarves, lack of table manners, smelly socks and all. How are they doing? I hope cleaning the mess left by Smaug wasn’t too tedious. The stench was something to behold for sure! “Mmh? Oh, don’t worry Sigismond, I managed to retrieve everything that had been sold at the auction. Yes, even the silver spoons from Camellia Sackville-Baggin’s clutches. But I reckon I’ve met a dragon less greedy than her!“ there was a lull in the discussion at Bilbo’s mention of his adventure before returning to more proper subjects.

About dragons, I heard in Rivendell that Smaug was small compared to the dragons from past ages. I wonder if I can find something about them in the books Lord Elrond gave me. And now, Bilbo missed Rivendell’s extended library and its hundreds of tomes containing long forgotten lore. I really should learn Elvish more seriously though, if I want to read these books. The Hobbit’s musings were, once again, interrupted by Rorimac. “Could you pass me the potatoes, please. Thank you. But you seem a bit distracted today, cousin. Are you lost in your adventures?”

Bilbo made a vague sound of agreement, his mind returning to the bit of song that had hatched earlier. The road goes ever on and on, over rock and under tree… Yes, that was it! But maybe he could compose something more specific to his adventure with the Dwarves, too? That was an idea to keep in mind.

Again someone asked for his participation in the conversation and Bilbo indulged with good grace. He was a guest to his cousin, after all, and favouring his own thoughts over the current discussion was very rude. But he couldn’t prevent his mind from wandering away every other sentence, caught over a word and threading its own path from there.

After all the social niceties were said and done, Bilbo shrugged his coat on for a walk around Buckland to clear his mind. Rorimac gave him a knowing smile as he handed him an umbrella just in case. “You’re always wandering, Bilbo, even when your feet are still.”

Bilbo smiled back at his cousin. “What were you expecting from a wanderer like me, Rori? I am much more of a Took than I care to admit… but the road is now calling, and I’d like to have my walk before it rains!”

Bilbo closed the door behind him, breathed in deeply and followed the road to the edge of the Old Forest, humming under his breath. But instead of the familiar, gnarled trees, he was seeing the dark and twisted branches of Mirkwood. The Road goes ever on and on, Down from the door where it began. Yes, that was the perfect beginning for his song.

The various bits of songs come from ‘The Road goes ever on’, by Tolkien, and ‘The Last Goodbye’, from the Hobbit movies, and I played around with the verses as Bilbo composes on the spot. The right version is in the last paragraph.

Also, I found very fitting to write about Bilbo when the prompt was about wandering thoughts.

[fuckyeahelijahwoodfan]

Elijah Wood Thinks You’re Right Not to Trust Walter

By James Grebey

It would be reductive to break Elijah Wood’s vast filmography down into just two different types of roles, but he does frequently find himself playing either an innocent — an impossibly bright-eyed and good soul like Frodo Baggins or any number of his childhood roles — or, well, a weird little freak. Wood agrees that Walter, his character in season two of Yellowjackets, is of the latter category, though the self-proclaimed citizen detective who finds himself investigating a mystery alongside Christina Ricci’s Misty has a certain … odd sense of innocence to him as well.

Walter made his proper debut in last week’s episode of Yellowjackets when the man better known as PuttingTheSickInForensics dropped by Misty’s place of work and offered to help solve the mystery of Natalie’s disappearance. (Never mind that Walter also — correctly — suspects there was something more to Adam Martin’s disappearance despite Misty’s attempts to get him to stop snooping into the murder that she helped cover up.) In episode three, Walter and Misty meet on a boat to interrogate the dim-witted Randy Walsh about what he knows, with Misty feeding Walter questions and Walter pretending to be an FBI agent who slaps the ever-living shit out of Randy. (“It was a camera angle and swiping a hand across the face in the right way to make it look real,” Wood clarifies. “I didn’t hit him.”)

Walter is something of a wild card, seemingly unrelated to whatever force the survivors might not have left behind in the Canadian wilderness, who disrupts Misty’s present-day existence. Yellowjackets’s creators, Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, reached out to Wood for the role, which the actor says was “unprecedented” for him because he already loved Yellowjackets and Ricci’s work as Misty. “I’ve never seen a season of a show as a viewer and as a fan and then subsequently been asked to participate in a follow-up season,” he says, explaining that he was all-in on the idea of “this eccentric oddball called Walter.”

What has it been like joining the Yellowjackets cast when you’re playing an outsider who is decidedly not a Yellowjacket?

So much of the storytelling in Yellowjackets is the young cast in the past and what happened to them in the forest and how that past trauma informs the characters as adults. Walter doesn’t have any of that. I got to come into this as a completely stand-alone character that has an adjacent interest that sort of feeds into Misty’s journey but doesn’t have the narrative weight or the darkness of what everyone else has experienced. So much of what I got to do with Christina was almost comic relief. It’s this kind of funny investigation story that ultimately dovetails into the true heart of the narrative of the show but initially is kind of on the side. Walter doesn’t have to bear a lot of that weight, at least initially.

Were you familiar at all with citizen detectives before this? There’s a certain unease about whether they’re trying to actually solve crimes and bring bad guys to justice or just amateurs getting their rocks off with no accountability. What’s Walter’s motivation?

I think both are true: It’s people who truly want to help, maybe, but it’s probably more the thrill of being involved in something and feeling like they’re participating in a larger narrative, fed by a community of similarly like-minded individuals. That’s very true of Walter. My feeling is that Walter probably does not have a lot of field experience, that, heretofore, a lot of what Walter has experienced in the world of the citizen detective is to just contribute ideas to cases. There’s a lot of fun to be had there, but it’s low-level investigative work that gets fed back into this Reddit thread. But with this, Misty presents him with a real opportunity to get out there.

Do you have an idea of who the Yellowjackets survivors are to the general public? Are they thought of as celebrities, and, if so, does Walter have any specific reverence for Misty’s past outside of her citizen-detective work?

It does come up. He makes it very clear that he’s not interested in her for that reason, but it’s baked into the narrative that everyone is aware of these women and what has happened to them. There’s no way he’s not fascinated about the past. In the world of Yellowjackets, that would be a part of pop culture that everybody would know about. Even if it’s not the driving force behind his motivation, there has to be some thrill about being associated with a person who had mysterious things happen to her in the past. It doesn’t really factor into a lot of what they experience on this journey together. But as a background element, it’s undeniable.

Toward the end of episode three, Walter says maybe he’s “a bored Moriarty looking for his Sherlock.” Are we supposed to think of him as a villain, like Sherlock’s most infamous foe?

There are obviously narrative hints that are dropped: She listens to bird songs to fall asleep; he listens to cat noises. There’s all sorts of funny little hints that they could be adversaries. But I don’t believe that’s the motivating factor. It certainly isn’t present — yet — in their relationship. Over the course of the season, that might change.

Look, I’ll say this: We’re not entirely sure of who Walter really is. Both Walter and Misty present a version of who they are to the world who is not entirely their true self or their whole self. Walter presents a version of who he is, but there are still so many things that, over the course of their journey together, start to be revealed. I don’t even know that I’ve learned everything about the character yet. We can rightfully feel a degree of un-trustiness toward him because he’s giving us enough reason to not fully believe his motivation and where he’s coming from. But there’s a version of him that is also true, which is that he’s this dude who came across a fair amount of money, so he doesn’t need to work and can just dive into his passion, which is true crime. I think there is a version of him that is that simple, but there might be something underneath all of that as well.

Even not knowing yet if there’s more to Walter than meets the eye, is it possible he’s in over his head now that he’s with Misty?

He has spent all of his time on the citizen-detective message board, and this opportunity that she has given him is the first to get out into the field and flex what he feels are his skills and everything he’s maybe read about. I don’t know that he’s as savvy on the field as he would like to think he is. What we will see over the course of the season is him kind of jumping headfirst into something that is a lot bigger than him and goes beyond his skill set, maybe, at least in practice. But we will definitely see him do these things for the first time.

You’d worked with Christina Ricci before, on The Ice Storm, which, despite having “a character dying in the snow” in common with Yellowjackets, is pretty different in tone. What was that reunion like? We hadn’t worked together since we were teenagers. There was a lot of life in between. But it was great. It was joyful. She is so excellent. She is like a finely tuned instrument of an actress. I really admired what she crafted with Misty in the first season. And, I mean, we’ve both been doing this for a really long time. She also started very young. I think there’s a connection just because we’ve both been doing this for a long time. We certainly have worked together, but also there was just a comfort and ease to it.

With that sense of comfort and ease, was any of the interrogation improvised?

That was all scripted, and it was wild, too, because her part of it, in the bathroom at the bottom of the boat, that initially was supposed to be shot at a separate location. We were going to do all of my stuff, then all of her stuff, with me coming into the bathroom on a separate day. But for time considerations — and also just because the location with the boat worked — we decided to do it all at once. She was in the bathroom, and I had an earpiece in, and she was telling me what to do as I was doing it. So we were playing it almost like a play. It was happening in real time. Everything she was saying in my ear, I could hear it and repeat it and she could hear me. It was so fun and so thrilling. There was no real time for improvisation because we had a lot of material to get through in a short amount of time, but it felt improvised because there was a sort of electricity because of the fact that it was all really happening in real time.

Walter’s cargo shorts are a great character detail. Were there lots of costume options? Did you have to try on a lot of pairs before finding the perfect cargo shorts?

Amy Parris, our costume designer, brought so many wonderful ideas to the table, and it was very easy to identify Walter pretty fast. We were looking for semi-eccentric pieces of clothing that would allow a read on who he was, without it being too extreme but weird enough to make you go, Who the fuck is this guy? [Laughs.] Just slightly heightened or slightly odd. A lot of it was that he’s wearing these sorts of outdoorsy, functional clothes that aren’t cool and aren’t quite being worn as fashion. That was the big guiding principle.

The cargo shorts came about very early — they were baked into the script, actually. When you first see Walter, when he’s walking through the convalescent home that she works at, it’s in the script that she sees his legs. So shorts became a part of his vibe early on.

Between The Lord of the Rings and Over the Garden Wall, you certainly have experience being lost in the woods. Was it at all odd to join a show about being stranded in the wilderness and have your character not be out in the brush?

Those particular elements didn’t occur to me until you just mentioned it, but yeah, you’re right. [Laughs.] But no — I wasn’t really thinking about it in that context. For me, I was just drawn to the fact that I got to play this character who gets to sort of explore this world that had been previously created but who doesn’t have the narrative weight of dealing with the past in the way that all the other characters had to deal with it. Obviously, it all comes to a head toward the end of the season, but the joy for me about this was that I got to play a character who was adjacent to the primary narrative but didn’t really need to engage with the past in that way. This character is kind of his own thing and not at all informed by what happened in the woods.

While we’re on the subject, do you have any feelings about Warner Bros. plans for a possible Lord of the Rings remake? 

I’ve done a little bit of digging, and no one knows what it’s going to be. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens are being consulted. There’s no plan yet for what the stories will be and what the narrative will be, and there are no filmmakers attached, and there are no scripts. So it’s the earliest, earliest stages. But my understanding is that nobody is making any moves to remake The Lord of the Rings but rather continue telling stories within Middle-earth, of which there are many stories to mine. I don’t think they’re going to remake Lord of the Rings. If that news were true, I feel like all of us would know about it and there would be a lot of strong feelings.

Is there anything more about Walter you want to tease?

His love of musicals may be meaningful. That’s about all I can say about that. But there’s a tease there.

[paragonrobits]

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand, there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend...some hurts that go too deep...that have taken hold.

Frodo Baggins, Return of the King

[vihilum]

@wandering-woodlands [ continued from here. ]

Grave had been his thoughts as of late, shadows craning their neck towards him whenever he dared to rest his eyes. Attempts at sleep made the nights shorten, the days longer, dark clouds scorched a trail of gray across the sky. Frodo would get no rest here, in this bleak mist. Dreams soured, and nightmares took their place. This night was no different. Time had been dedicated to traveling at night, and finding rest through the day. But now, he could find peace at no hour.

When a reassuring hand found refuge atop his shoulder, he barely stirred, merely shifting aside his perch to make room for the elf to join him.

“The hour is late, my lady,” there was no sight of the light nestled within the marshes, “any hope of rest sets with the sun,” it never rises, it never rises, it has been days since he’s seen it on the horizon. The path ventured leads toward obsidian, not a glow. The eye’s source of fire is the only solace, and it is not warm, it is like ice. He feels no comfort from the ring. When it is too cold, it burns, and when it is too hot, it freezes him.

He feels cold, yet beads of sweat perspire at his crown. “This road eats itself,” it goes on and on, and Frodo can feel himself too thick to swallow, he can feel the darkness choke on him, “I feel my mind going in circles,” where the stars are sightless, where the sky is void, where he sees the world from underwater, “my eyes are open, Lady Tauriel,” his voice wavers, and he shudders a short breath, “yet I am blinded by fire.”

[ofcelestialstories]

.｡.:*☆ under the cut you'll find the list of my current muses & their tags :)

Aang (Avatar) - threads

Arya Stark (GOT) - threads

Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars) - threads

Amy Pond (Dr. Who) - threads

Buffy Summers (BTVS) - threads

.

Bucky Barnes (MCU) - threads

Cinna (The Hunger Games) - threads

Charlie Morningstar (Hazbin Hotel) - threads

Colin Bridgerton (Bridgerton) - threads

Crowley (Good Omens ) - threads

.

Frodo Baggins (LOTR) - threads

Edward Cullen (Twilight) - threads

Eleven Hopper (Stranger Things) - threads

Elsa Of Arendelle (Disney) - threads

Hercules (Disney) - threads

Eddie Diaz (9-1-1) - threads

.

Jean Grey (XMen) - threads / intro

Johanna Mason (The Hunger Games) - threads / intro

Leo Valdez (Heroes Of Olympus) - threads / intro

Link (Legend Of Zelda) - threads

Maid Marian (Robin Hood) - threads

.

Maude Ivory Baird (ABOSAS) - threads / intro

Merlin (BBC Merlin) - threads

Magnus Bane (Shadowhunters) - threads

Medusa (Greek mythology) - threads

Phoebe Halliwell (Charmed) - threads

Pietro Maximoff (Marvel) - threads

.

Qimir (Star Wars) - threads

Rhagar Targaryen (GOT) - threads

Ruby Lucas (OUAT) - threads

Raven Reyes (The 100) - threads

Rey (Star Wars) - threads

.

Scanlan Shorthalt (Critical Role) - threads

Scott McCall (Teen Wolf) - threads

Thor (Marvel) - threads

Ygritte (GOT) - threads / intro

[thegoddessthemis]

Finding Relevance in Fantasy: The Correlation between Star Wars and Lord of the Rings in Everyday Life

In the world of fantasy, few sagas have captured the hearts and imaginations of people worldwide like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Despite their differences in setting and narrative, both these epic franchises share common threads that resonate with us on a deeply personal level. By exploring the themes, characters, and lessons from these tales, we can draw valuable insights that mirror and illuminate aspects of our own everyday lives.

The Power of Unity: Both Star Wars and Lord of the Rings emphasize the strength of unity in the face of adversity. In Star Wars, the Rebel Alliance fights against the oppressive Galactic Empire, showcasing how individuals from diverse backgrounds can come together for a common cause. Similarly, in Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring unites representatives from various races to combat the forces of evil. These stories remind us that our collective efforts, transcending differences, can achieve remarkable feats in our own lives and communities.

The Journey of Self-Discovery: Protagonists in both Star Wars and Lord of the Rings embark on transformative journeys of self-discovery. Luke Skywalker and Frodo Baggins start as ordinary individuals thrust into extraordinary circumstances, grappling with self-doubt and the weight of their destinies. Through their trials and tribulations, they learn valuable lessons about courage, resilience, and the power within themselves. Similarly, in our own lives, we often face unexpected challenges that push us to discover our hidden potential and inner strength.

The Battle Between Good and Evil: At the core of both these sagas lies the timeless battle between good and evil. Star Wars presents the conflict between the light side and the dark side of the Force, while Lord of the Rings depicts the struggle against the malevolent forces of Sauron. These narratives serve as metaphors for the moral choices we encounter daily, emphasizing the importance of making virtuous decisions and resisting the temptations of corruption. They remind us that the path of righteousness is often difficult but ultimately rewarding.

The Importance of Friendship: Friendship plays a significant role in both Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, highlighting the power of loyalty, companionship, and support. Han Solo and Chewbacca, Frodo and Samwise, and countless other friendships forged in the face of adversity demonstrate the profound impact of human connection. In our own lives, these stories inspire us to cherish our relationships, cultivate meaningful bonds, and stand by our loved ones during times of hardship.

The Redemption Arc: Another compelling theme shared by these franchises is the redemption arc. Characters like Darth Vader and Gollum, consumed by darkness, eventually find redemption through self-sacrifice and acts of bravery. These stories remind us that everyone has the capacity for change and growth, offering hope even in the face of our own mistakes and shortcomings. They teach us that redemption is possible when we choose to confront our inner demons and strive for personal growth.

In conclusion, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings have become cultural touchstones precisely because they touch upon fundamental aspects of the human experience. Through their rich narratives, these sagas convey lessons on unity, self-discovery, morality, friendship, and redemption that resonate with our everyday lives. By recognizing the correlations between these epic tales and our own journeys, we can find inspiration, guidance, and a deeper understanding of the triumphs and tribulations we face in our own quests for meaning and purpose.

[ao3feed-tolkien]

Changing of the Song (Parts 4 & 5)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/NakjmiB

by Natelley

As the North of Middle Earth allies together to join the fight against Sauron’s forces, Illyria Strange struggles to fight her way through unseen boundaries that neither sorcerer nor has ever achieved.

Meanwhile, tension among the elves of Lindon has now been evident since the Noldor left for the east. And now Elrond Peredhel must wade through the political and dangerous turmoil which stirs ever at a high. It doesn’t help when a certain half-dark elf slowly makes him doubt his thoughts on the Eldar, the Valar and reality itself.

With their children in the centre of the war, they must trust one another despite the distance. The threads of fate are slowly weaving once more…though with more unexpected players coming into the fold.

- The Sequel to the Rules of The Multiverse - - Set during The Lord of the Rings - - Part 4 in Progress -

Words: 7125, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 4 of The Oialëa Series, Part 2 of The Changing of the Song

Fandoms: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange (Movies), The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/M, Gen, M/M

Characters: Original Female Character(s), Elrond Peredhel, Maedhros | Maitimo, Maglor | Makalaurë, Arwen Undómiel, Stephen Strange, Darcy Lewis, Fëanor | Curufinwë, Nerdanel (Tolkien), Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Wong (Marvel), Aragorn | Estel, Andreth | Saelind, Elros Tar-Minyatur, Idril Celebrindal, Maeglin | Lómion, Sauron | Mairon, Morgoth Bauglir | Melkor, Elbereth Gilthoniel | Varda Elentári, Original Dwarf Character(s), Frodo Baggins, Galadriel | Artanis, Gandalf | Mithrandir

Relationships: Elrond Peredhel/Original Female Character(s), Fingon | Findekáno/Maedhros | Maitimo, Aragorn | Estel/Arwen Undómiel, Aegnor | Ambaráto/Andreth | Saelind, Maglor | Makalaurë & Original Female Character(s), Elrond Peredhel & Elros Tar-Minyatur & Maglor | Makalaurë, Fëanor | Curufinwë/Nerdanel, Stephen Strange & Original Female Character(s), Darcy Lewis/Stephen Strange, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark, Glorfindel (Tolkien) & Original Female Character(s)

Additional Tags: Crossover, Multiverse, Dagor Dagorath, Reincarnation, Silmarils, BAMF Elrond, Parent Stephen Strange, Parent Darcy Lewis, Dimension Travel, The Void, The Valar Sucks, Family Drama, Modern Girl in Middle Earth, Canon Divergence - The Lord of the Rings, Good Older Sibling Maedhros (Tolkien), BAMF Arwen Undómiel, End of the World, BAMF Tony Stark, BAMF Maedhros, BAMF Maglor, No beta we die like the Noldor

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/NakjmiB

[samvimesbootstheory]

Sam nodded silently. He took his master’s hand and bent over it. He did not kiss it, though his tears fell on it. Then he turned away, drew his sleeve over his nose, and got up, and stamped about, trying to whistle, and saying between the efforts: ‘Where’s that dratted creature?’

"The Passage of the Marshes", The Two Towers