just in case any recent musksite migrants find me here (I’m weinoying there; nagarjuna on ao3) - I mostly just reblog stuff over here, but I’m down to chat with people, especially if we have common interests! (mostly BTS and Untamed/MDZS at the moment, but I also occasionally read/write stuff in other smaller fandoms). I’m thinking of writing more about stuff here, but I’d also love if people made Dreamwidth accounts! It’s honestly the best place for longer, more text-based discussions these days, and I wish people knew about it more (I know most people won’t migrate there since internet culture is so visual as opposed to text-based these days, but if you’re more of a text person, like me, it’s truly the place to be - I’m deoh there as well). Give me a few days and I’ll start posting more both on DW and here; for the moment I’m just gonna try to find where the musksite people I follow are going to go next
One difference between the Lord of the Rings books and the Peter Jackson films that I find really interesting is what the hobbits find when they return to the Shire.
In the books, they return from the War, only to see that the war has not left their home untouched. Not only has it not left their home unscathed, battle and conflict is still actively ravaging the Shire. They return, weary and battle-scarred, to find a home actively wounded and in need of rescue and healing. All four launch themselves into defending their home and rousting those harming it, and eventually succeed. But their idyllic home has been damaged, and even once healed, is never quite again the Shire they set out to save.
In contrast, in the Jackson films, they return to a Shire shockingly untouched by the horrors of war. The hobbits of the Shire talk, in the Green Dragon in Fellowship of the Ring, about not getting involved with issues “beyond our borders,” and it seems those issues have not invaded their sanctuary. After having been bowed to by kings, dwarves, elves, and men alike at the coronation in Gondor, their only acknowledgment upon returning home is a skeptical head shake from an older hobbit.
One of the most poignant scenes to me in Return of the King (and there are a considerable amount) is the scene where Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin are sitting in the Green Dragon. The pub patrons bustle around them, talking loudly, clapping excitedly, drinking cheerfully, just as they had in the beginning of the story. But the four hobbits sit silently, watching almost curiously at what was once familiar but is now foreign to them. Their home has not changed. But they have.
Which is the deeper hurt? To come to your home to find it irrevocably changed, despite all you did to keep it untouched and the same? Or to return home but no longer feeling at home, because it is only you that is irrevocably changed?
april fools day is actually the most sensible day of the year because it’s the only day on which people will read something on the internet and stop for a second to consider whether or not it’s actually true
They should start calling it April Media Literacy Day.
hi i’m tolkien here are my ocs. i call them Elves (not elfs!!! if you call them elfs i will block you) they look like humans but they’re tall, live forever, and have pointy ears. that’s it bye
cs lewis: are you alright with constructive criticism? i dont want to sound mean
tolkien: no go ahead i want to hear it
cs lewis: they fucking suck
tolkien: thats not constructive criticism
cs lewis: here’s my OC, it’s jesus but he’s a lion tolkien: Furry cs lewis: blocked
Tolkien: lamp posts don’t exist in fantasy worlds Cs Lewis: ok you know what fuck you
CS Lewis: I could beta for you if you want. help you trim the fat on your stories
Tolkien: what do you mean
CS Lewis: I just. you describe a lot of trees. are trees that important
Tolkien: just you fucking wait. trees are SO important.
casual reminder that Lewis and Tolkein almost completely ended their friendship over Lewis having Santa make an appearance in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe because Tolkein hated it so fucking much.
if you hit the limit on the number of filters you apply and you don’t mind a nerdy solution
Last week sometime, I reblogged a post about AO3 filters and added on a bit about where you could find them (if you use AO3 by searching, you won’t see the filtering - two different processes)
Anyway, in that post, I said:
You can add a theoretically unlimited number of tags to your exclude [filter] list, but I think it’s possible to have a list that breaks things eventually. I’ve never personally hit it? But I bet someone out there has.
Several people in the notes on that post have indicated that they’ve hit the limit. If you’re one of those people, there might be a way to un-break things?
to be able to exclude all fics after a specific date is literally the best filter.
I'm in a fandom that's been around since 1938 and the publishers are always adding new characters. Anyway, in 2014 they added a new character that I. CAN'T. STAND! but quickly became a fan-favorite so there's a lot of fic about them. But, they also share a name with an older character that has been part of the franchise since it was first published in 1938, so people are often confused when tagging this character. I can filter out the character's official tag, but that doesn't element all the fics they appear in because half the fandom mistakenly uses the older character with the same name's tag.
But by excluding all fics posted after that character release I can guarantee I won't have to read anything with that character at all. They literally don't exist yet to be written about.
This is the best filter and I need everyone to know about it
AO3 filters are incredible. The show ended over a decade ago but you’re only getting around to watching it now, and you want to avoid spoilers for later seasons? No worries; you can filter out anything posted/updated after a given air date. Don’t want to see crossovers? Guess what – you don’t have to. Three clicks is all it takes to make them go away. ONLY want crossovers? They’ve got that option, too. In a hurry and only have a few minutes to read? Filter out everything over whatever word count you consider to be “too long.” Absolutely can’t stand this one character/trope/relationship? Exclude, exclude, exclude. And all they ask in return is that you tag your stuff properly. Incredible.
If you haven’t seen the filters before, you might be finding fics via searching. Search is great (and you can get *really* specific with it), but it doesn’t have the quick filter menu.
Tap on a tag you’re interested in reading (just at the top of a fic, for example). That will bring you to a results page that shows every fic that uses that tag. To get rid of the ones you don’t want, look right above the works list to the buttons and tap on Filters. (if you’re on a computer, the filters will already be there, on the right hand side of your screen).
ALT
ALT
ALT
Once you’ve found the filter menu, it’s like the OP said. There are a *lot* of options for you to choose from. You can tap on any of them to open up a sub menu with specifics.
For relationship/character/trope tags, AO3 will automatically show you the top ten most-tagged ones within the tag you’re already looking at. If the one you want to exclude isn’t in that list, you can type it into the “Other tags to exclude” box and AO3 will give you a dropdown to pick from. You can add a theoretically unlimited number of tags to your exclude list, but I think it’s possible to have a list that breaks things eventually. I’ve never personally hit it? But I bet someone out there has.
You can also Include things you want to guarantee are tagged, but be careful with that filter. Include filters stack on top of each other, so if you Include 3 different tags, you’ll only get fics that have all three of them tagged. You won’t get ones that have*any* of them tagged. For more info on how to do an “any of these tags” filter, see this post over here.
J. R. R. Tolkien, undisputedly a most fluent speaker of this language, was criticized in his day for indulging his juvenile whim of writing fantasy, which was then considered—as it still is in many quarters— an inferior form of literature and disdained as mere “escapism.” “Of course it is escapist,” he cried. “That is its glory! When a soldier is a prisoner of war it is his duty to escape—and take as many with him as he can.” He went on to explain, “The moneylenders, the knownothings, the authoritarians have us all in prison; if we value the freedom of the mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as possible.“
Stephen R. Lawhead
"I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which ‘Escape’ is now so often used. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?”
-J.R.R. Tolkien
“Hence the uneasiness which they arouse in those who, for whatever reason, wish to keep us wholly imprisoned in the immediate conflict. That perhaps is why people are so ready with the charge of "escape.” I never fully understood it till my friend Professor Tolkien asked me the very simple question, “What class of men would you expect to be most preoccupied with, and hostile to, the idea of escape?” and gave the obvious answer: jailers.“
I don’t think any movie will make me feel the same ethereal sense of otherworldly sorrow and disembodied awe as that scene in Lord of the Rings where the loyal son is sent off into a doomed battle to please his vindictive father while Pippin sings a mourning song of his people
I was like 12 and high off this shit
These movies CHANGED ME
This is one of my favourite parts of the whole trilogy. It’s haunting.
And that Pippin takes actually a happy walking song of his people, because Hobbit songs are generally happy and about food and drink and gifts and things, and *transforms* it into a mourning song.
The song is from Fellowship, before all the heavy plot hits and they’re still in the Shire. It’s about walking, and how eventually all the bad things that scare or sadden you will fade away and you’ll be home warm by the fire.
And Pippin takes it, changes the lines, the key, and sings a song that is truly fit for Denethor’s great hall.
Knowing Billy Boyd gave his own melody to it and everyone had chills after hearing him sing it. This is how you get actors involved with the story and character, this is how amazingly well these films were cast. Fans have been singing that haunting tune in echoing halls and caves and towers for 20 years now and it never loses its beauty.
Home is behind
The world ahead
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadow
To the edge of night
Until the stars are all alight
Mist and shadow
Cloud and shade
All shall fade
All shall
Fade
And even better: Billy Boyd composed the tune to the song and then performed it for Peter Jackson and everyone else while filming. They only did one take! That very first take is the one that’s used in the film! He’s just that good!!
Every now and then I like to pull up this video of Billy Boyd being endearing and silly and choked up about Boromir’s death scene, and then performing this song upon request:
I sing it as a lullaby to my children but I use the original “away shall fade” to make it less sad because they’re just babies. uwu
Not even my fandom and I have chills.
You know what, I’m not done. Every aspiring writer should watch that scene and keep in mind the axiom “every person is the protagonist in their own mind,” because Denethor and Pippin are having TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS.
Here’s the translation of how it goes.
WHAT DENETHOR SAYS: can you sing, Master Hobbit?
WHAT DENETHOR MEANS: I want entertainment and you’re from far lands. That’s a novelty here.
WHAT PIPPIN HEARS: I don’t care that I just sent my son to his death. Entertain me.
WHAT PIPPIN SAYS: yes. Well, well enough for my own people. But we have no songs fit for great halls.
WHAT PIPPIN MEANS: yes. But not for you. And our songs aren’t for people who engage in such cruelty.
WHAT DENETHOR HEARS: yes, but I’m embarrassed because mine are simple folk, and you’re very grand and regal. There’s no way I could be of any use to you.
WHAT DENETHOR SAYS: and why should your songs be unfit for my halls? Sing me a song.
WHAT DENETHOR MEANS: we’re all equals culturally. I’m a benevolent ruler, I don’t think your songs are inferior to those produced by my skilled musicians. Let me engage with your culture.
WHAT PIPPIN HEARS: I have literally already forgotten about my son. I’m more interested in entertainment and food, things you normally adore and which I’m making a mockery of by my actions. So sing to me songs of those things you love, entertainment and food. My son doesn’t matter to me and shouldn’t matter to you.
And then Pippin sings.
WHAT DENETHOR HEARS: what a pretty little song.
WHAT PIPPIN IS SAYING WITH THE SONG: fuck you for doing this to your son, who I love. Fuck you for doing this to me, as I mourn. Fuck you for making a mockery of the things I love, when it’s clear you don’t care for them any more than you do for YOUR SON. Your child, who you should want to protect. If you won’t mourn in these halls, by everything I hold dear I swear SOMEONE will.
Pippin can’t say any of this out loud. But his word choices are extremely deliberate. And so are Denethor’s! He does not see himself as a bad person! I don’t know enough LOTR to know if he’s a villain or just an asshole, but the important thing here is HE THINKS OF HIMSELF AS NEITHER. He’s a good guy who’s had to make some hard choices, that’s all. It’s the editing that tells you he’s not actually that at all.
This is a MASTERCLASS in “everyone is their own protagonist” and if this is the standard the movies rise to all the time I understand why y’all love them so much, because holy shit. That’s incredible.
The best thing about LotR fandom is probably that it’s like a little ecosystem that does not require much new material to chew on. People regularly lift the lid and peek in and there is everyone feasting on a 24 year old adaptation like it’s a whalefall and they’re like are you STILL doing that? and we’re like yeah? Pull up a fuckin bone
Booktok is wild because I literally just had a talk with a few people claiming that XYZ books were the best and that all the reviews on booktook were positive, meanwhile in the same breath they also mentioned how several people got harassed until they deleted their critical reviews of said books. Are we seeing the fucking disconnect here???????
AO3 is just like this. "If you don't like it, email them" is always the reply. Then they don't read the emails or, when they do, go, "we'll totally think about this if we ever discuss undoing this change". This is corporate for "the paper in the suggestion box gets put in the furnace come winter". Except if you call it corporate, people shit themselves and start screaming about how AO3 is a non-profit and therefore has no problems, cannot use corporate speak, etc.
Nobody says it has no problems because it's a non-profit. But it has distinctly different problems from the ones a for-profit organization would have. Such as the chronically overworked, overextended volunteer force. So yes, the most common response will be "go volunteer yourself." Although your obvious anger issues would make volunteering rather difficult.
But I do think there's some credibility to the idea AO3 itself is populated by dumb people. All fics are in the Chris Evans category by default, everyone whose fic is about Sam Wilson - I mean, Anthony Mackie, my bad - has to move their fic to the new category manually.
Actually, no, no one has to move their fics, manually or not. That's not how AO3 works. Have you ever used it?
Also, have you even seen the new Captain America movie? I did, and I want to read fic about it. Guess where I can easily find it without having to wade through mountains of Stucky fic.
"Our tag wranglers are volunteers," AO3 says, about an issue that is not related to tags, three weeks after the initial email when they bother to send a reply that's not a copypasta. "Volunteer as a tag wrangler if you hate it so much!" people repeat, about a category being split, not about tags.
...huh? Tag wranglers literally split their work based on fandom tags. Your wrangling page helps you keep track of new tags in your chosen fandoms. Or do you think tag wranglers go fic-by-fic or something? Megafandom wranglers also make decisions about making new fandom tags within their purview.
I just wanted to say hi and that I love your username. As a writer who’s been around and writing since before ff.net when there were webpages dedicated to individual ships and fandoms - I just love seeing another long-addicted writer still here. It just makes me grin. I was part of the X-Files fandom and was floored when I saw the Gossamer Project is still alive and “active” - I’m not sure it’s active so much as just still online.
Anyway, the landscape has changed so much but the roots and lore of fandom are still strong. It’s just nice to cross paths with a fellow “older than ff.net” survivor. Despite the discourse today, it really was the Wild West and if we can survive this, we can survive the modern discourse.
Safe journeys, fellow traveler
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I was a clueless 13-year-old at the very beginning of X-Files fandom before Gossamer moved to,...
