Tolkien, Lord of the Rings (LotR), etc.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/21720353

https://bsky.app/profile/welldipper.bsky.social/post/3l6zwau4zf42r

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/25805448

Anyone sat through them all yet?

Frieren could pave the way for a LOTR epilogue story. Tolkien famously abandoned his own New Shadow sequel because "proved both sinister and depressing". In a Frieren-like hypothetical story, even if the downfall of mankind from the heights of Aragorn's Reunited Kingdom is inevitable in the grand scheme of things, we can explore the little details of early Fourth Age Middle-Earth from the eyes of an adventurous hobbit at a time when the War of the Ring is a collection of stories from the previous generation.

What do you think?

Alternatively, a Yuru Camp-like with a Silvan Elf protagonist could work.

Yes, yes it does!

His early abdication is his answer to the massive trolley problem he was facing: hold fast to Numenor's traditions and ways, but run the risk of giving away Middle-Earth to Sauron and have him go after Numenor anyway; or help resist Sauron but expose the Numenoreans to later corruption.

Either way, Numenor is doomed in the long run, but Tar-Meneldur acted by his conscience by yielding to his son who knows more about this matter. The events that transpired is according to Eru's plan, ultimately.

A fantastic single person setting reading all the trilogy in a very well produced effort. Currently half way through myself after an unexpected journey and I have to share

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/36744357

Many people seem familiar with Lord of the Rings via the Jackson movies, but there's a much longer tradition of artists depicting scenes from the books. Plus of course, two TV / movie series that bring some great voicework & songs (Rankin-Bass' version) and fascinating animation (Ralph Bakshi's), despite their overall flaws.

But in terms of alternate illustrators, check out the Brothers Hildebrandt, for example.

Personally, I'm enjoying this Argentinian master's version because the characters are no longer as wholesome-looking as in other depictions, giving the scene slight horror overtones. The ammonite is a nice bonus, too!

Some more Chichoni art here:
https://lemm.ee/post/27712402

Although I also really like the Alan Lee/movies art style, having alternative ways to visualize such an immense world is wonderful. The Hildebrandt brothers' illustrations especially have a more medieval, almost naive touch to them that I think lends itself well to fairy tales.

Nice teaser. Still comes across to me more as fanfic. I wish we were getting a Silmarillion anthology adaptation, but alas, that may not happen in this universe.

I’m glad the books and original movies exist.

What do others think?

Theoden's redemption arc across the second and third movie was one of the most fascinating side-stories for me, and Bernard Hill portrayed him in all stages brilliantly with range and nuance.

May he rest in peace.

On occasion of yesterday's leap day, I remembered that Tolkien had devised his own calendar system, called Shire-reckoning, that I find very elegant.

Compared to our own calendar system it is more consistent and easier to memorize, since it maintains the same number of days in each month (and the Hobbits even managed to have a consistent weekday for any given day of the year), thanks to special days that are not assigned to a specific month. On leap years such as 2024, another such special day is inserted in mid-summer; so in a few months we'll have a so-called "Overlithe" in the middle of the Yule festival. Apart from its simplicity and elegance, this also seems like something a Hobbit's mind would come with - solving a problem by having one more day of festivals.

Just wondering. The show seems to be in kind of an… odd state. I only watched the first episode, didn’t love it, none of my friends expressed positive feelings..

… but it’s got pretty good critical reviews, it’s getting a second season this year, and honestly it often “looks good” from promotional material.

Is it worth giving a second shot? Is anyone looking forward to the second season?