thinkinginquenya

[thinkinginquenya]

Dwalin, Balin, Fili, Kili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Thorin Oakenshield. If you even care.

[thinkinginquenya]

Coolest thing I saw today:

Frickin. Beleriand. Done up with HeroScape terrain pieces. Like are they warhammering the Nirnaeth Arnoediad? Gosh I hope so.

Some details:

Nargothrond (everyone wave hi to my guy Finrod)

Thangorodrim (probably shouldn't go in there)

Aman is here too!

[thinkinginquenya]

Coolest thing I saw today:

Frickin. Beleriand. Done up with HeroScape terrain pieces. Like are they warhammering the Nirnaeth Arnoediad? Gosh I hope so.

Some details:

Nargothrond (everyone wave hi to my guy Finrod)

Thangorodrim (probably shouldn't go in there)

Aman is here too!

[thinkinginquenya]

I'm currently about halfway through reading the Yiddish translation of The Hobbit, and I thought I'd record a few of my observations thus far:

I really like the overall writing style! This is my first time reading The Hobbit in translation (aside from excerpts from the Latin translation), so idk how well it works in other languages, but I feel like the Yiddish lends itself really well to mimicking Tolkien's style.

Apparently the modern Yiddish word for dwarf is שרעטל, which was a bit weird to get used to as an Old Yiddishist who is used to צװערק/צװערג. I don't know the etymology of the modern word, but according to definitions I've found online, it can also mean elf or gnome. (Basically any diminutive mythical creature, I guess?) Goldstein just uses the word עלף for the Elves.

I can get behind the way he transliterates most of the Dwarves' names, but for reasons I cannot comprehend, he transliterates Balin and Dwalin as בײלין and דוײלין respectively. (Beylin? Dualin?)

He translates "ale" as ענגליש ביר (English beer), presumably to distinguish it from regular beer, but it sort of breaks immersion by implying the existence of England lol.

I do not envy anyone the task of translating Tolkien's verse. I think he mostly does a good job; the rhyme and meter work better in some songs than others.

[thinkinginquenya]

A re-read of Lord of the Rings is part, "Ah yes, epic quote that is engraved permanently on my memory," and others that leap out at me for the very first time, such as this bit from The Two Towers, when they run into the Riders of Rohan:

'...Do we walk in legends or on the green earth in the daylight?' 'A man may do both,' said Aragorn. 'For not we but those who come after will make the legends of our time. The green earth, say you? That is a mighty matter of legend, though you tread it under the light of day!'

[thinkinginquenya]

my controversial silmarillion take is that it doesnt have ENOUGH maps

[thinkinginquenya]

I do wish people knew more about Book!Frodo vs. Movie!Frodo. Like, I love Elijah Wood and I love his performance but Book!Frodo is a lot more scrappy and not quite as pure of heart, despite still being a pretty nice guy. Because it leads to a lot of fanon that because Frodo is quiet and nice, he's therefore helpless, sanctimonious, and childlike.

Like Frodo is probably the most polite of the four hobbits, but he's also the oldest. A lot of his interactions with Merry and Pippin specifically read like he's an older and wiser big brother who enjoys teasing them. The movie kinda acts like Frodo is naive to a lot of Merry and Pippin's hijinks, but the books are clear that Frodo was also out there stealing crops from Farmer Magot, and it was probably his idea in the first place.

He's not above practical jokes, or being petty, or losing his temper. When they first set out from the Shire, a cute character detail is Frodo choosing to wake up everybody in kind of funny ways, scaring Sam awake by making him think he's slept in and is late for work, and yanking Pippin's blankets and basically rolling him down a hill. He's king of veiled insults and trying to let out his depression in funny ways like saying "Let's not worry about tomorrow, it probably won't come." Like when Sam thinks Frodo's messing with him when he starts saying Sam should be called the Stout-Hearted, it's not like there isn't a precedent for that kind of thing.

The movie also omits a lot of Frodo's badass moments and qualities, like when he manages to just barely cut the Witch King of Angmar on Weathertop, or when he makes his stand at the River while being chased by Nazgûl, or when he slices off the arm of the Barrow-wight, or when he confronts Sarumon. He also is the only of the four hobbits who can speak some elvish and is definitely the most worldly because he's spent so long with Bilbo. Usually most of the hobbits look to Frodo for advice or guidance.

And to be clear, he is nice and modest and very polite and compassionate towards others. Like he's always making an effort to be kind. But he has layers, and is a mature adult who I think is reduced by a lot of his sweet cinnamon roll characterization. In actuality he's more like cool older bro who lets you stay up late when he babysits and who's trying not to let anyone else know he's in the middle of a break down.

[thinkinginquenya]

If I were the kind of person who's good at communities and organising people, I'd get some enthusiastic lotr fan artists together in order to come up with some sort of... I don't really know what to call it, I feel like it would be fun if there was some sort of collaborative, "open source" take on the visual design elements from LotR. As fun as the designs from the Peter Jackson films were, I do get tired of seeing fanart using those designs, but at the same time it's unreasonable to expect that every fan artist is going to come up with their own, very detailed take on the characters and designs in the story. But if there were explicitly some sort of free-to-use library of non-PJ-film designs for people to use in fanart then people could stick with the film things, make up their own, or borrow from this other shared aesthetic.

I'm sure problems would arise somewhere along the line, but I quite like the idea.

[thinkinginquenya]

I finished reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time in my life. With all of *vague gesture at everything* this going on.

I Am Not Okay

[thinkinginquenya]

Scheduled Message

Obi-Wan: [being awakened by a sound coming from a trunk in his room] Wha–? [opens the trunk and picks up an old comm]  [a holo pops up]  Ahsoka: [at an awkward angle, looking into the camera] OK, I think it’s recording. Oh! Yikes, that was filming right up my nose. Sorry.   Anakin: [turns it upside down] Wait, no, that’s not right. [turns it again] There. All right. [clears throat] Obi-Wan, if you’re seeing this, it means it’s a very important day.  Ahsoka: [excitedly] Happy 50th Birthday, Master Kenobi!  Anakin: Ahsoka and I are recording this now, and I’ve rigged it so that this recording will auto-play for you in 14 years.  Ahsoka: [giggling] So, uh, sorry if this just started playing in the middle of a Council meeting or something.  Anakin: [lowering his voice] You’re right behind us in the other room right now, and believe it or not, you’re actually asleep!  Ahsoka: We’re on a very boring mission – Anakin: – Seriously. The worst. Ahsoka: …so we decided to make a 50th Birthday Wish List for you, which we will now read aloud. [pulls out a data pad] On his 50th birthday, we hope Master Kenobi will get… Anakin: [reading] An afternoon of very boring holoshows. With no one to bother him. Or make fun of his terrible taste.  Ahsoka: …a tin of that fancy Alderaanian tea he likes. Anakin: …a new cloak. Because we assume he’ll need one. [pointing at the camera] Because you always do.  Ahsoka: …a crossword puzzle that neither Anakin nor myself have partially filled in with rude words.  Anakin: …a personal trip to Mandalore. [pointing at the camera again, winking] I put that one on there for you. And I think we both know why. [waggles his eyebrows] Ahsoka: …a full day where Master Skywalker doesn’t ask him for anything stupid.  Anakin: Hey!  Ahsoka: [laughs] …a lothcat from a rescue shelter. Don’t lie, Master, we all know you want one.  Anakin: …a joyride on a speeder bike with your favorite, and only, former Padawan. Don’t lie about that one, either – you know you’d love it. [frowning] And also I better still be your only Padawan.  Ahsoka: [rolling her eyes and smiling]  Anakin: In conclusion, we hope that whatever you’re doing right now, you’re having a good day.  Ahsoka: I also hope you’re busy showing my Padawan how to do a proper robe drop! Happy birthday, Master. [waves]  Anakin: [smiling] …happy birthday, old man. Now go find me and tell me what a great and handsome friend I am. [reaches forward and turns off the recording] 

[thinkinginquenya]

I never read the hobbit, but I HAVE read lotr and the silmarillion, but I just learned that the battle of the five armies, that part they made a WHOLE movie out of, is only 1 page in the book because bilbo gets hit by a rock and wakes up when it’s over. 10/10 no notes, that should have been the movie too

[thinkinginquenya]

I have so little energy to draw this year. The only thing I do in my free time is reading Shonen manga... So I am trying to draw with less thinking and less sketching. So far I managed to create...Gandalf ♥

[thinkinginquenya]

“He gathered the huge pine-cones from the branches of the tree. Then he set one alight with bright blue fire, and threw it whizzing down among the circle of the wolves.” - The Hobbit, Chapter 6, Out of Frying-Pan into Fire.

[thinkinginquenya]

All of my special guys are in here

[thinkinginquenya]

look I understand why people would be compelled by the amulet, but that’s just not the kind of thing I would do. if I had the amulet it wouldn’t even effect me even slightly. actually, if you hand over the amulet right now right this second I can prove to you how uneffected I will be. just for a second

[thinkinginquenya]

something absolutely lovely about especially the first half of fellowship is that the hobbits keep meeting random kind helpful strangers - the elves, bombadil, butterbur, aragorn (also farmer maggot and his wife, though they're not strangers) - until the book solidifies in you the feeling that these are not really instances of random luck, but rather the inherent nature of the world. kind people are everywhere, and no matter where you are, there is surely someone closer than you think that would offer help if you needed it. it's such a beautiful theme across all of LOTR, and it's very sweet to me that it starts from the very beginning of the journey, on such a 'small' (comparatively), everyday scale

[thinkinginquenya]

"The Dwarves delved too greedily and too deep," okay, but like, the dwarves were there first? We don't know exactly when Khazad-dûm was founded, but it was during the lifetime of Durin I, who was the first Dwarf to ever live, so definitely sometime in the First Age, and probably pretty early. The balrog is implied, if not outright stated, to be a survivor of the War of Wrath who fled to the Misty Mountains to hide from the Valar many centuries later. In fact, there is nothing to indicate that the dwarves were not mining in previously prospected caves that were found to be safe and empty when they found the balrog. "Delved too greedily and too deep," fuck you! If someone goes down into their basement and encounters a previously unknown serial killer who snuck in there and gets killed, do you say they "delved too greedily and too deep?" Fuck you! The balrog was trespassing in the first place!