Gandalf: So I’ve Developed An Elaborate Plan To Save Middle Earth From Darkness

Swordtember 2021 by Marina Lunina

thorin but make him a polish nobleman

you can get a print here: inprnt! 

Bilbo Baggins is my spirit animal because, kinda want to stay home, kinda want to travel, kinda hate people, but i still want to socialise a bit and everyone annoys me

Something that is incredibly apparent about the inheritance cycle is it’s characters, but I would argue that it’s the minor and side characters that really shine through. Paolini’s ability to take a small scene and fill it with so much detail and intrigue for characters we may never meet again. Fredric is a particular favourite of mine even if he’s only barely in I think two scenes. And even for the minor characters we do see many times, such as the carvahall villagers, each of them is distinct and unique, and so believable. Details such as Gertrude joining Eragon when he was healing Hope really speak to how well Paolini understands and respects the culture and needs of people, and while I obviously don’t know him personally it’s obvious from his writing that he has an appreciation for cultures from our real world too, and that they inform his work. Because of course, a medieval style small village in a small valley far removed from most other cities and people aside from a few passing traders is going to have a rich and unique culture, and Gertrude as the local healer and spiritual leader of the village is simply not going to let Eragon, a young boy who looks more elf than human run off with a newborn baby to perform magic on her unsupervised, even if it is for healing. The people of carvahall, especially the women, especially the mother, would need reassurance and trust that the child is safe and well. So it makes sense that they sent their wisest woman in to ensure all is well. Yes it wears its influences on its sleeve, but there is deep nuance and profound maturity here that I would never expect from a young male fantasy author.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m about to start re-reading the series, so expect some more IC posts in the coming days

It took the Ring two seconds to make both Isildur and Gollum claim it as their own.

It didn’t take much longer for it to make Bilbo do the same, as he kept it as the key “trick up his sleeve” during the Quest for Erebor and never considered harming it.

But in 17 full years and 6 months, it couldn’t make Frodo claim it. It took being inside Mt. Doom, the place where its power was absolute and drowned out all othere, to get Frodo to claim it.

Inside Mt. Doom, no bearer can resist the Ring. They will inevitably claim it there. But literally ALL of the other Ring-bearers who ever claimed it did so outside of Mt. Doom.

The Ring never needed to apply its utmost, Cracks-of-Doom-level pressure to make any previous Ring-bearer claim it. Frodo was the only one who resisted it so long and so well that it had to force itself upon him and break him just to get him to regard it as his own.

Frodo Baggins is the strongest mortal in the Third Age of Middle-Earth and no, I am not accepting questions at this time.

(Remember our beloved Samwise Gamgee never claimed the Ring, and didn’t have it long enough for it to really sink its teeth into him as deeply as it did into everyone else. I’m talking about those who actually claimed the Ring at some point in their lives.)

After years of living in the adulting world, I think I’ve come to a realization: Manners exist to guide you to good conduct even when you’re in a bad mood.

When you’re happy, when you’re feeling generous, when you’re pleased with your gift or your service or your outcome, it’s easy to be nice. It’s easy to tip the waiter well when you’ve had a good day. It’s easy to thank the teller or the clerk when you got what you wanted out of the transaction. It’s easy to smile and chit-chat with strangers on the road when you’re in a good mood.

It’s hard to tip the waiter when you didn’t enjoy your food. It’s hard to thank the clerk for their time when you’ve just been told there’s a problem with their account and they weren’t able to fix it for you. It’s hard to think of something nice to say when your aunt gave you a crappy sweater you neither need nor want. It’s hard to be nice to people when you’ve had a shitty day. It’s HARD.

That’s what manners are for. Scripts and phrases that you learn by rote to say when you can’t think of a single nice or good thing to say from your own volition. Yes, they’re scripted. Yes, the sentiment is empty. But the scripts work in every situation, and the emptiness provides a buffer between your own unhappiness and the rest of society.

Because most of the time, it’s not the waiter’s fault that the food you ordered wasn’t what you expected. It’s not the clerk’s fault that your account is overdrawn. It’s not the fault of the barista or the stranger on the subway that you got fired today or your favorite aunt died. But even when you can’t summon a smile or a cheery word, you can still have manners, because they will serve you the same in sunshine or rain.

I just got a reply by someone who apparently namesearches racism (to argue against it existing), sex work (to argue it shouldn't exist), and factorio (to argue for it).

do people just roll dice to pick their three hills to die on?

I don’t give a fuck about canon, Frodo, Kili, and fili are and forever will be cousins in my eyes