#gandalf vs saruman

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

If Legolas has a rivalry with Gandalf, how does he feel about Radagast? I mean the guy kind of hangs around in his neck of the woods taking care of animals, not really meddling, so does this put him higher on the list?

So, in the au that legolas has a rivalry with gandalf, his feelings for radagast are mixed.

It basically boils down to: Legolas (and the silvans and avari) don’t like the valar. In their opinion (and mine) morgoth and sauron are the valar’s responsibility to take care of because they’re ainur. The same way as that if there were an evil elf overlord, the elves would also have to be responsible to taking them out instead of leaving it to the humans.

Furthermore, the silvans and avari feel that the valar’s judgement is not to be trusted.

Gandalf does trust the valar. He does believe in the song and eru. Though he does acknowledge that, just bc a maia is an ainur, it doesn’t mean that they are going to do what their job is (motions to gandalf being the only one of the istari to actually do his job). Which is why, for all that legolas doesn’t agree with a lot of his views, he does respect gandalf to an extent, hence why they can work together during the quest.

Radagast, on one hand isn’t really doing anything actively against sauron (which is lowkey why he went to middle earth in the first place) but! He’s also not really forcing his thoughts and opinions down other people’s throats.

And as you said, he’s focused on the animals, so while he’s not protecting sentient beings from sauron, he is protecting living creatures from him and taking care of them.

And legolas has way too many responsibilities to really care about radagast. Like don’t get him wrong, he doesn’t ignore him, but radagast is so far down on his list of concerns he sometimes forgets he exists.

It’s live and let live, more or less.

Sometimes radagast will come to the elves for help on something, but it’s always genuine so the silvans are like “yeah, alright”.

Legolas’s feelings on the istari are:

Radagast: 6/10, positive neutral, doesn’t think about him much, but doesn’t dislike him.

Gandalf: 7/10, grudging respect, sometimes positive sometimes “stop shoving your religion down my throat”, the only reason it’s 1 point higher than radagast is bc gandalf is actively doing smth about sauron.

The blue wizards: 0/10, genuinely forgot they existed.

Saruman: -1000/10, it’s not even that he’s evil, he’s just a dick.

#lord of the rings #lotr #silmarillion #the hobbit #lotr elves #legolas #silvans #istari #gandalf #saruman #radagast #blue wizards #anon ask #atheist vs a god #this is my opinion guys don’t come at me #au

[amigodegandalf]

El líder de los ents. ¡HURRARUM!

Vídeo en mi canal de Youtube: Amigo de Gandalf

#gandalf #amigodegandalf #hurrarum #ents #losents #abismodehelm #bosquedefangorn #fangorn #isengard #elseñordelosanillos #lasdostorres #losanillosdelpoder #losanillosdepoder #barbol #entsmujeres

#gandalf #ents #los ents #el señor de los anillos #tolkien #amigo de gandalf #saruman #isengard #ents vs #los ents iran a la guerra #barbol #bárbol #Youtube

[spectacle-street]

Everything about Will's time in the upside down (the abduction, his hiding places, his behavior) stinks of Vecna being the one pursuing him to me!

#will finding security in castle byers in hawkims #vs finding it in the upside down #I think he could avoid Vecna and the demogorgon by finding ways to create #that sense of hope and security (however small it was) even in the darkest places #rings of Max's scenes in season 4 where she fights back against vecna by doing the same stuff #but in her mind #I also think Will's got some powers #he's obviously connected to the upside down and sensitive to it #I don't think it's a stretch to say that he's like an inversion of vecna #same/similar powers #many parallels #but at their core different people #not to be more of a nerd about this #but I'm getting saruman/gandalf vibes from this as well #if anyone is interested I will elaborate #and if nobody is interested I still might elaborate :) #I love talking too much #stranger things #vecna #will byers #stranger things 4 #theories

[wizardbracket]

Round 3: Match 7 of 16

Why they deserve to be the ultimate wizard according to YOU:

Gandalf:

Vanquished (so far): Saruman, Tom Bombadil

"Big naturals"

“No other wizards shall pass him”

“Codified the wizard trope in modern western literature. You've read LotR. You know this."

“Its Gandalf"

Howl:

Vanquished (so far): Hughie, Moraine

“The DRAMA. the absolute IDIOCY. the fact that he's just a welsh postdoc who just went to another world and did tax evasion”

“*pointing accusingly* this man made me understand genderenvy”

“He's the perfect balance between pathetic man and scarily powerful wizard. When he accidentally colors his hair a shade he doesn't like he gets so upset because he isn't "beautiful" anymore and sees no reason to live, and it leads to him summoning the souls of the dead. He's sweet, cruel, mysterious and hot as hell!”

#polls #gandalf #lord of the rings #the hobbit #rings of power #howl pendragon #howl's moving castle

[novelmonger]

Some highlights from the Director/Writer Commentary of The Return of the King with Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh:

As they mentioned in TTT, they were originally going to put the Smeagol vs. Deagol fight as a flashback during the Dead Marshes. Before they decided to use it to open RotK, their placeholder idea for a scene to open RotK was to do a sped-up helicopter shot from the Paths of the Dead, across the plains of Edoras, to the Golden Hall where Aragorn wakes up from a nightmare (and then goes and talks to Eowyn). Very glad they went the direction they did!

In the final shot they used when Smeagol takes the Ring out of Deagol's hand, the actor playing Deagol actually blinked, but they liked Andy Serkis' performance so much, they had Weta go in and freeze Deagol's eyes so they could use the shot XD

You know, I forget sometimes that they didn't even have Saruman in the theatrical cut at all. Boggles the mind.

In the scene where Aragorn comes out of the Golden Hall and goes to stand next to Legolas, who's looking out at the night...Viggo and Orlando weren't in the country at the same time, so they shot them separately and then put them together @_@

You know, I never thought about this before, but when Gandalf touches Pippin's face, they had to make sure his hands looked extra big! So they used an actor called Big Paul, who had the biggest hands they could find, and Ian McKellen directed him for how to move his hands in the shot XD And Big Paul is the Rohan guard who gets shoved aside when Merry and Aragorn rush up to the top of the wall to watch Gandalf and Pippin leave!

THEY SHOT A SCENE OF LEGOLAS TALKING TO TREEBEARD ABOUT THE ELVES LEAVING MIDDLE-EARTH?!?!?!?!?!?! :O Originally, it was going to link the Isengard scenes to the scene of Arwen and the other Rivendell Elves going through the forest, but then because of all the Edoras stuff in between, the connection was lost. They also said something about Legolas reciting a poem! And joked again about putting it into the 25th anniversary edition. THAT TIME IS COMING UP, PETER JACKSON!!!! I WANNA SEE THIS SCENE!!!!!!

a;lkdsjs;kdfljds;fjl NOW THEY'RE JUST TEASING US. They talked about a "library scene" during the whole sequence where Arwen goes back to Rivendell and confronts Elrond about how he saw her son, etc. They wouldn't say what happened in the "library scene," but talked about how they should include that in the 25th anniversary edition too. a;ldkfjs;dkfljsd;kfljdslfk

The people on set who had a crush on Sean Bean were called "Beanstalkers"! XD That's the best; every fan to this day ought to call themselves that!

Similarly to the scene with Legolas and Aragorn, the little bit with Legolas and Gimli as everyone's getting ready to leave Edoras was filmed separately because Orlando and John weren't in the country at the same time. So they filmed Legolas' shots with Brett, John's scale double, then filmed John's shots later, filming both of them against greenscreen. Then they took some unused footage from the Edoras set and put it in the background. It just boggles my mind how many of these cobbled-together scenes there are, because it feels so much like all the characters are together in the real location!

RED ALERT RED ALERT THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!! They mentioned Beregond!!!! 8D When talking about why they put in the scene where Pippin and Faramir talk (when Faramir says the uniform Pippin's wearing was made for him when he was a child), in order to forge the connection between them that will ultimately lead to Pippin saving Faramir's life, they talked briefly about Beregond! They describe him taking Pippin under his wing, showing him about the city, and called the relationship between them "quite sweet" :3

Another little connection between Pippin and Faramir I don't think I've ever thought about before, that apparently Billy Boyd thought about when doing these scenes, is that Pippin is the only son of the Thain of the Shire, so there may have been a certain amount of pressure and expectation on him. Obviously, he's so young and probably didn't spend too much time worrying about that while scampering about the Shire, but maybe that's something he thinks about while watching the way Faramir and Denethor interact. Maybe a contrast to the way he would interact with his own father, maybe a reminder of the way he would be scolded? Hard to say, but it's interesting to think about.

Uuuuuuughghghg, so frustrating to listen to them talking about the scene on the steps where Frodo sends Sam away DX No matter how many times and how many different ways they explain why they did it, the explanations never quite make sense to me. "We needed there to be more tension." WHY WAS IT NOT TENSE ENOUGH THAT THEY WERE GOING INTO THE LAIR OF A HUGE EVIL SPIDER?! "There wasn't really anything happening on the steps otherwise." YEAH, BECAUSE YOU PUT THE WHOLE CONVERSATION ABOUT STORIES IN THE PREVIOUS MOVIE! Also, why not just cut from one or two shots of them climbing this awful staircase to a shot of them entering the cave? "There needed to be a payoff for Gollum's scheming." WHY WAS GOLLUM BETRAYING THEM TO SHELOB NOT ENOUGH OF A PAYOFF?! "We knew InStInCtIvElY that Frodo needed to enter the cave alone." WHY? WHY?! I've never understood that. They get separated eventually in the book, so why not just ramp up the tension of that in the movie, instead of making the characters so OOC? "We knew it would shock readers of the book, and if we'd changed that, what else might we have changed?" You know...I really, really love these movies, and I appreciate what these three were able to accomplish so much...but sometimes I kind of hate them too -_-

The horses didn't want to walk down the hill on the cobbled streets of Minas Tirith, because their steel shoes were so slippery on the stones. So they all had to be re-shod with rubber shoes. What were horseshoes made of back in ye olden days, though? Iron? Did people run into the same problems back then?

I never really noticed this before, but Aragorn never wears Anduril on his belt! He straps it to his horse, and every time you see him with it, he's just holding the naked blade. This is because they made Anduril so long it was really hard for him to wear it from his belt or to pull it out of the scabbard in a natural way XD

The aerial shot of all the Rohirrim leaving Dunharrow was originally shot to show Gandalf's cart heading into the Shire, but since they didn't use it for that, they repurposed it for RotK!

To get Elijah Wood to foam at the mouth when he's stung by Shelob, they gave him two Alka-Seltzer tablets to put in his mouth and work up some foam with his saliva. I've always wondered how they do that sort of thing in movies, but no one's bothered to explain until now....

Sean Astin's audition scene was holding Frodo after Shelob ;A; Apparently, they (or at least Philippa Boyens) were a little skeptical that an American actor would be able to do Sam's character right, but actually a lot of the English actors who auditioned for the role had a hard time with the Shelob aftermath scene, but Sean nailed it :')

Other than the close-ups, they used a dummy for Faramir on the pyre most of the time. Now I'm just imagining John Noble crouching on top of the pyre, cradling a dummy XD

The first Orc that Aragorn kills on Pelennor fields is played by his son Henry! XD

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME. They actually filmed Sam pushing past the sort of psychic barrier of the Watchers at the gate of Cirith Ungol, but they didn't put it into the extended edition! I love that part. Like...I'm not even sure why, but I've always thought that was such a cool little detail, and I've always been a bit bummed it wasn't in the movie, though I was thrilled to see the actual Watchers at least there as a sort of homage. And all along, they'd actually filmed something for that after all and I never knew! :O

You know, I never thought about it before, but it makes sense that they had to replace the sky digitally in a lot of scenes in Mordor, because of course when they filmed it, the sky wasn't always completely cloudy, but Mordor needs to have a complete cloud cover at all times.

When Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens first saw the footage of Sam carrying Frodo up Mt. Doom, they sent a fax (lolol 1999/2000 technology) to Sean and Elijah. They made the first page look all formal and official, and then on the second page it just said, "You made us cry." :')

Andy Serkis refused to have Gollum stand on two feet until the scene in the Crack of Doom. There were a few times that PJ directed him to lurch onto his feet or something, but Andy wouldn't do it. He wanted to show the difference in Gollum physically when he has the Ring again. What a cool detail!

Originally, the whole part where Frodo's hanging off the ledge and Sam is begging him to reach for him happens after the Ring is destroyed. It's really interesting to consider the slight nuances of how different that would be. The final version makes it almost seem like the Ring is still calling to Frodo, like he wants to fall into the lava and join it, whereas originally it was more like "I've lost the Ring and now I have nothing left to live for."

PJ made a sweet comment in the scene where everyone bows to the four hobbits: "This is a moment where there's always a huge sniffle in the audience when the movie's going, and it's usually me." XD

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! They shot scenes of what happens to the other characters when the hobbits return to the Shire! There is footage out there somewhere of what Legolas and Gimli do, what happens with Faramir and Eowyn!!!! ;aldkfjsd;fkldslfkjd 25th anniversary edition LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

#lord of the rings #lotr

[anghraine]

I think it's interesting that when Gandalf describes Denethor's ability to "perceive, if he bends his will thither, much of what is passing in the minds of men," he ties it less to his wisdom or general insightfulness (though he possesses both) than to his difference from "other men of this time," his near total Númenóreanness, and as bolded here, the active exercise of his will.

Tolkien also attributes Denethor's resilience against Sauron (by contrast with Saruman) to not only his right to use the Anor-stone, but "great strength of will." He notes that Sauron had no servant with greater mental powers than Saruman or Denethor, and Gandalf remarks that Denethor was "too great" to be subdued to Sauron's will.

Denethor and Gandalf have a strange and unsettling silent confrontation, carried on by their gazes, yet it strikes Pippin as like "a line of smouldering fire" and "as if reading each other's mind." Gandalf afterwards says Pippin was stuck between two "terrible old men," lumping Denethor in with himself. Pippin also sees some kind of kinship between Denethor and Gandalf, as Sam saw between Faramir and Gandalf.

In his letters, Tolkien said that the ancient Númenóreans became barely distinguishable from Elves in appearance and in their powers of mind. In Unfinished Tales, he notes that they loved their horses, and when a Númenórean had a strong bond with a horse, it was said that the horse could be summoned "by thought alone."

In LOTR, Faramir—who has inherited Denethor's Númenóreanness/wizardliness—has a reputation for command over both animals and men. When everyone else is thrown by their horses upon being chased by five Nazgûl, he not only keeps his seat, but mysteriously gets his horse to ride back towards the Nazgûl. And during the retreat across the Pelennor, the soldiers in the city conclude that Faramir must be with the men who are managing to retreat in order, repeating Beregond's remark that he has some undefined command over both men and beasts.

Gandalf suggests that this is a result of Faramir pitting himself against the effects of the Nazgûl in some way, but his abilities (whatever they are) are outmatched. In the event, the effect of Faramir's Aura of Courage commanding abilities remains until he's shot and finally falls to the Black Breath.

Faramir also makes repeated references to perceiving or reading things in Gollum's mind. At one point, he describes Gollum's mind as dark and closed, yet unable to prevent Faramir from detecting that he's holding something back about Cirith Ungol specifically. Noticeably, this only happens when Faramir orders Gollum to look at him (which Gollum does "unwillingly"), and the light drains from his eyes as he meets Faramir's. It seems decidedly reminiscent of the later Gandalf vs Denethor duel-by-eye-contact.

Faramir's exact words about Gollum's secrecy are "That much I perceived clearly in his mind," in reference to his earlier questioning of him. He says that he can "read" previous murders in Gollum and Gollum cries out in pain when he tries to lie to him.

When Faramir gives staves to Frodo and Sam, he says that a "virtue" of finding and returning has been placed on them, with zero explanation of what he means by that. He adds a hope that the virtue will not altogether fail under Sauron's power in Mordor. He describes the people who did the woodwork but not who placed the virtues (it doesn't seem inherent to the wood itself, given his phrasing).

We do know that Dúnedain can potentially embed enchantments into items. The Barrow-daggers carried by Merry and Pippin are specifically enchanted against the Witch-king of Angmar by an unknown Dúnadan of the North, and when Merry stabs the Witch-king, the dagger breaks enough spells for Éowyn's ordinary sword to finish the job.

Meanwhile, Aragorn uses his healing powers to help the city, wishing for the presence of Elrond, because he is their eldest of their kind and more powerful. Aragorn, also, has at least some part of this ability to actively exercise his will and mental powers, perhaps an equal share, though he uses it less often.

In the book, he doesn't physically attack the Mouth of Sauron, but instead holds his gaze (again, eye contact is important!). There's another silent struggle that involves no weaponry or any other contact.

He prevails in some way over the Mouth of Sauron (not a warped creature of Sauron in the book, but a cruel Númenórean who has "learned great sorcery"). The Mouth indignantly says he has diplomatic immunity and can't be attacked like this.

But, I mean, maybe they're all just smart and perceptive, it's really unclear.

#eldritch dúnedain WHEN #because i am very aware that this could be deeply unsettling if presented just a bit differently! #but it is wild to me that tolkien can outright say 'this guy is a númenórean who learned sorcery' #and people are still like 'but can númenóreans use magic. i guess we'll never know.' #or have faramir give his whole speech about what gollum's mind looks like to him and what he can see clearly in it #fandom: idk it's just really unclear #gandalf: denethor can see what happens in other people's minds if he exercises his will #fandom: a great mystery ... maybe he's just very wise and insightful??? #tolkien: the dúnadan who enchanted the daggers would be happy to know his spells worked and helped defeat the witch-king #fandom: númenórean craftmanship is /skilled/ of course but how can we make this about elves #honestly it seems like people don't /want/ númenóreans to have supernatural abilities and i'm not sure why #humans who have elvish-style powers and appearance yet can never escape their humanity is SUCH a concept #(yes i will harp on this until the end of time) #anghraine babbles #legendarium fanwank #legendarium blogging #long post #húrinionath

[mask131]

Of course, parallels are always going to be drawn between Tolkien's Legendarium and Lewis' Narnia. But, as someone who loves to study the depiction of magic in fantasy, there is one parallel that keeps sticking with me, or rather two-in-one.

Parallel one: Both authors have in their fantasy world a group of magic-users of a same gender (the Istari/Order of the Wizards/the Five Wizards ; the coven of the Northern Witches), with only two members of this group being fully explored as characters (Gandalf & Saruman VS The White Witch and the Lady of the Green Kirtle), and the others being left vague and mysterious (only a handful of info on Radagast and the Blue Wizards ; zero info about the other Northern Witches)

Parallel two: Both chose to depict wizards in their fantasy worlds as magical because they are actually supernatural entities that took a human form (the Istari are Maiar - divine spirits/minor angels/"daemon" in the Greek sense of the term - who were sent as messengers/helpers/emissaries ; the various wizards of Narnia are fallen stars undergoing penance for mysterious crimes). Plus, both authors presented three wizards to their audience, two forming an obvious duo (Gandalf and Saruman ; Coriakin and Ramandu), while the third is a "lesser" character (Radagast because he only appears in mentions and secondary tales, always in an indirect way ; the Hermit of the Southern March because he has all the traits of a Narnian wizard but is never called, adressed or identified as such).

#fantasy #magic system #magic in fantasy #wizards #witches #wizards in fantasy #tolkien #lord of the rings #legendarium #narnia #c.s. lewis #random fantasy thought

[camille-lachenille]

Cursed plot bunnies/theories/things I fear to check if they exist on AO3 born from a 6 hours long discussion about LOTR with friends yesterday:

Be warned, you can’t un-read some of these.

Gandalf/Sauron enemies to lovers E rated fic

Grima Wormtongue ate Lotho Sackville-Baggins after killing him

Dystopian AU where Lobelia Sackville-Baggins has ilimited access to internet and social media and the Shire becomes the Silicon Valley of ME with Lobelia as its Elon Musk equivalent. She invents ships able to sail to Valinor for non-Elves and has a network of drone spies around Mordor. Sauron, Saruman and the orcs form an alliance to destroy Lobelia.

An ethnologic study of Orcs’ social customs and culinary traditions, as well as their opinion of Sauron’s dominion over the Bad Guys

Tar-Míriel as the Witch King vs Andrew Tate in single combat

A ‘How to date Gollum and survive’ guide

Aragorn doing drag queen shows

Why Old Man Willow is the best ally to kill *insert local racist/sexist/antisemitic/far right politician* without leaving any traces

Radagast/Sebastian the hedgehog

The Nazgul’s Fell Beasts are corrupted eagles like Orcs are corrupted Elves

Mosquito-sized Fell Beasts. In your room. At 1am.

If Uruk-hai are half-orc half-human, how did Saruman made them *insert various theories ranging from using human genetic material in mud-wombs to forcing pregnancies over Dunlending women*

Why Radagast the Brown is better husband material than Denethor of Gondor

I think that’s it, feel free to bleach your brain after reading this post

#sorry not even remotely sorry #for dumping these cursed ideas on you #tolkien #the lord of the rings #the hobbit #crack #mostly #cursed ideas #long post

[wifeglor]

What’s the most surprising smut pairing you’ve written?

Share a DVD commentary on Scripts and Tongues?

Share a smut rec for Maedhros.

thank you so much for the asks! 💖

13. What’s the most surprising smut pairing you’ve written? 

I think at this point, Gandalf/Círdan! I told a friend on the phone that I was going to write that pairing a couple months ago and was cackling at her reaction. Otherwise, maybe Daeron/Thingol (and thank you for your support of both of these!) Both are the only smut fics for these ships in their AO3 tags, so I guess I'm happy to feel like they fill some kind of niche!

22. Share a DVD commentary on [one of your smut fic/smutty scene from a longer work]. (Scripts and Tongues, the aforementioned Gandalf/Círdan)

Heheh. So this fic was born of 2 things basically: a past discussion with @searchingforserendipity25 that set up Gandalf/Círdan as A Ship in my mind, ft. beach imagery, and then my preparing to write some things for smut week and having the VISION implanted in my brain of like "sex joke featuring 'I'm missing your STAFF'". And then I thought it'd be charming to have this sexting take place sometime around LotR, in familiar events--I wasn't at first decided when and where, or if it might be like a "throughout FotR" kind of thing, or in Moria, but, I'm rereading LotR quite slowly now on audiobook and so had the episode of Gandalf recounting at Elrond's Council his research in Gondor's library on the brain. Initially, I wasn't settled on that setting/moment but the more I wrote it (and the more innuendos I could work in related to it) I quickly decided I was keeping it. :D I'd thought initially I might write a longer, sexier scene, but realized I liked it as a briefer piece just moving into the sexier part, focused on the part I was most excited to write and share (the sexting).

Also, I'm honestly full of thoughts about them now: in my head there's like a dramatic whole soap opera thing where Gandalf arrives in Middle-earth and is perhaps greeted with a little skepticism from Círdan (who instantly sees he is a Maia and who's already lived thru like the whole First Age, drowning of Turgon's and his own mariners, sinking of Beleriand etc), vs. Evil Rivalmance smooth-talking Love Interest/Ex Saruman, Círdan coming to trust Gandalf and give him Narya as a token of MARRIAGE um trust, becoming snarky yet relied-upon confidants and then naturally boyfriends, Saruman very personal inevitable yet slay betrayal, later angst and hurt/comfort (pain when the osanwe bond is severed as Gandalf 'dies' and returns??), seaside retirement and coming to know Gandalf's Maia form in Valinor after they sail... IDK IDK. There's so much there and I'm coming to have a lot of feelings about Gandalf as a character. I wish I wrote faster and had the motivation to do some kind of 50k longfic old man yaoi for them; I doubt that will happen but I hope you can imagine and experience for yourself the beautiful vision that it would be.

23. Share a smut rec for [character]. (Maedhros)

Oooh okay. I'm going to share just a few of my favs from across time and space...

Maedhros/Maglor:

Do Not Bait Me With Your Laughter by The_First_And_The_Last - SEARINGLY HOT times in Valinor ft. slightly dubcon Maedhros seduction of trans!Maglor. Absolutely formative!!

Hunting Time installment 2 by Divano_Messiah - Yes I did read this via googletranslate which makes some interesting choices, but the sheer poetry of this omegaverse series transcends language and culture. In this fic, Maedhros returns to the family home to realize Celegorm has taken advantage of Maglor, who is his own, and he restakes his claim. Just brilliantly indulgent, and contains the line "Nelyafinwe, are you fucking insane?" from Celegorm that rewired my brain about unhinged Maedhros potential.

No Pearls, No Feathers by dur - For something entirely different, rough and highly charged moments between Maedhros and Maglor in late stage Beleriand. This fic is packed with beautiful, weighty writing that really arrests you, making the reader feel and experience each second of this brief in time, yet SO POWERFULLY CHARGED and sexy scene with its rise and awful fall alongside Maglor. Really breathtaking, and Maglor thinking of Maedhros denting a goblet in his hand won't leave me ever now.

Maedhros/Fingon:

I already recommended Death and Taxes on another one of these asks, but...

Pantië by orphan account - Maedhros/Fingon, past Maedhros/Sauron - to this day the ANGSTIEST Nirnaeth fic to me even though it ends right before the battle itself. Maedhros' intimacy issues. Maedhros' control issues and desperate need to give up control. Sexy angst and manipulation all around, alongside and coexisting with this real, strong undercurrent of loving romance between Russingon.

Exchange of Favors by daphnerunning - this fic series I honestly read before I read the Silmarillion itself and it's meant so much to me, even as I've moved off in some interests! This installment is the sweetest, funniest, most intimate and tenderly charged Elves Roleplaying As Humans (Maedhros as Fingon's mistress). I love it so!

Maedhros/Thingol:

YEAHH babey secret sexiest ship of the book.

Guidance by iddump (and in fact the whole series that goes with this, but this is an incredible, soo sexy bite-sized version) - Thingol edging Maedhros while advising him (mentor to mentee... one lord to another...) on his correspondence.

Maedhros' Good Report Card by @imakemywings - fem!Maedhros as fem!Thingol's younger sugar baby in a modern AU. Being dommed so thoroughly and with such steady affection could probably fix everything wrong with Maedhros. I have to mention this one because fem!Thingol blew my mind this past week and I'm still reeling and recovering.

#answered #polutrope

[aspenrockymountainhigh]

Who is more powerful: Elrond or Thranduil? How do they compare with Gandalf and Saruman?

Lord Elrond is more powerful than King Thranduil in a one-on-one. Elrond has 1/16th god blood. He is a mighty warrior and he possesses wide knowledge of healing arts. Spiritually he’d be more potent than Thranduil. So he’d have more fire in a sword battle. More fire means stronger blows and better athleticism.

Greenwood vs Rivendell however wouldn’t be one-sided. Both Elrond and Thranduil had great enough forces to survive Mordor’s onslaught. Actually Thranduil you might say did better as he didn’t have aid from a ring of power. Ultimately if both realms fought each other it would be disastrous for both. Enormous casualties would occur on both sides.

Gandalf and Saruman are gods. But they were sent in forms which tire if they use power. Previously gods did battle with full power and it ruined large portions of the Earth. Sauron was a god and the people needed aid from other gods to oppose him. And this is why Gandalf and Saruman were sent. But to prevent god vs god from destroying the Earth again Gandalf and Saruman were sent as weak old men. Power was simply not an option.

Elrond would be significantly more capable than old man Gandalf and Saruman. Like I said although Gandalf and Saruman housed godly spirits it was no use in those bodies. Now the Istari were given staffs. My guess is in the absence of a robust body they needed a robust item to channel their spirit into power when the need arose. Probably their body would burst into flames if they tried to channel spirit through their bodies. And this is why an Istar’s staff was so important. Devoid of the staff the Istar had no bodily part or possession robust enough to survive a channeling of spirit into power.

So with their staffs the Istari could have bamboozled Elrond. For instance they could do things like cause a bright flash or break rocks or break pathways. Such acts were small enough that their old man forms didn’t tire and their staffs didn’t get overwhelmed. Even the staff had limited robustness in its ability to channel spirit. More than a certain limit and the staff would break. Anyway the Istari with their staffs could pull small tricks, bamboozle Elrond and then flee. But in an all out confrontation Elrond would most certainly have had the upper hand.

#lotr #elrond #thranduil #gandalf #saruman

[coraleethroughthelookingglass]

FANFIC ROUNDUP: 2023

LIST OF FANWORKS

POSTED

Nossë-Verse (Hallmark/Coffee Shop AU) with @somebirdortheother

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - E - 13/13 (though only the last chapter was posted in 2023)

Seven - E - 3/7

Just Let Us Be Three - Durin/Disa/Elrond - T - one shot

Thanks For Making Me A Fighter - T - one shot

High and Dry - Gandalf/Saruman - T - one shot

Sharp Dressed Man - G - one shot

Let’s Play A (Love) Game - T - one shot

Just One Yesterday - T - one shot

Almost - T - one shot

 Good Girl - E - 6/6

 Pick A Part That’s New - Durin/Disa/Elrond - E - 5/5

 Honey - E - One shot

 Home Is Where The Heart Is - M - one shot

Other Fics

The Queen of Nothing - Fairytale/Royalty/YA AU - T - one shot

Tattoo You - Florist/Tattooist AU - T - one shot

Mergers and Acquisitions - Lawyers/Roommates AU - E - one shot

Dark is the Way. Light is A Place - Modern Dreams AU - T - 2/3

Stuck on Me Like A Tattoo - Sequel to Tattoo You - T - one shot

You Can’t Take The Sky From Me - Firefly AU - T - one shot

The Story of Us - modern AU - T - one shot

The Nerwen - Batman/Superheroes AU - T - 2/2

The Art of Letting Go - modern childhood friends to lovers AU - T - one shot

 A Vague Haunting - urban fantasy AU - M - 2/5

 Three Is A Charm - Celeborn/Galadriel/Halbrand - E - 1/3

 Your Sword Vs My Dagger - University/Musicians AU - T - One Shot

 Cruel Summer - Modern Friends with Benefits AU - E - 2/3

 In Sickness and In Health - WW2 Soldier/Nurse AU - 5/6

 The Decurion’s Wife - Roman AU - E - 6/9

Total words: including all the collabs 292,227 which feels crazy considering I keep beating myself up for writing too slowly.

UNPOSTED WIPS

Nothing. I have posted at least one chapter of everything I’ve started this year.

TOTAL # OF COMPLETED WORKS/FANDOMS WRITTEN IN

21 completed works written for the The Rings of Power fandom

OVERALL THOUGHTS

That I’ve done a lot more than I thought I had, although finishing one fic before starting another does seem to be an issue 😂

PERSONAL FAVORITE?

The Decurion’s Wife is the one I’m most proud of, mainly because of the amount of background research I’ve done. It’s also the story that I feel shows me evolving a little as a writer. 

MOST UNDERAPPRECIATED

I think Dark is the Way. Light is A Place, which might have worked better in my head than on paper. I do still plan on finishing it though, so maybe when it’s all together it'll make more sense. 

MOST POPULAR

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (although again, most of this was posted in 2022)

STORY WITH THE SEXIEST MOMENT

I’m going to say the birthday sex scene in Good Girl

MOST FUN STORY TO WRITE?

Without a doubt You Can’t Take The Sky From Me!

HARDEST?

Other than a couple of the ‘quick and dirty’ one shots, all of the multi-chapters have had their difficult moments. I don’t generally have a lot of time to write every day and this means that I can leave things for too long and then lose my train of thought when I come back to them. 

BIGGEST SURPRISE?

Just how much I’ve written 😊

DID YOU TAKE ANY RISKS IN WRITING THIS YEAR?

I don’t think so, although maybe tiptoeing into my first M/M scene in Three Is A Charm counts? 

MOST UNINTENTIONALLY TELLING STORY?

There’s some stuff with Nossë-Verse Galadriel that was a little therapeutic to write, but just here and there. 

FAVORITE LINES/SCENES?

My short term memory is terrible - blame my upbringing - so I’m going to leave this blank. 

MY FAVE PART OF FANDOM IN 2023

Just feeling like I’m a part of a fandom and getting to talk to and support such wonderful, talented people :)

2024 WRITING AMBITIONS

Working on my confidence. I worry so much that I’m going to be rejected/ignored for not being good enough, annoying everyone with the amount of stuff I do or don’t put out etc. Also, I’d like to try and write every day, even if it’s just 100 words and work on getting some of my WIPs finished!

2024 FICS ON THE IMMEDIATE HORIZON

Decurion’s Wife Chapter 7 - which should be finished by the end of this week

Emma/Regency AU

Three Is A Charm Chapter 2 (perhaps with a Celeborn POV)

Thank you so much to @liminal-zone for the format and to everyone who has supported my writing endeavours this past year :) 

#2023 fanfic roundup #haladriel #trop fanfiction

[wizardbracket]

Round 5: Match 2 of 4

(Battle of the Literary Wizards)

PROPAGANDA UNDER THE BREAK

Why they deserve to be the ultimate wizard according to YOU:

Ged:

Vanquished (so far): Raistlin Majere, Marcia Overstrand, Magnus Bane, Carter Kane

"Just to reiterate: he raised the dead in highschool, speaks dragon language, and fixed death"

"the only archmage who learnt that being a goatherd was undoubtedly superior."

"Btw can turn into a dragon. No biggie. In a world where any transformation is extremely high tier magic."

"His emotional arc of learning to accept his flaws and also to be more humble is just… so relatable"

"Vote for him. Vote for his big stick. Vote for his birds. Vote for his degree. Vote for his evil shadow self."

"This man is truly tapped into powers that are old and deep and dangerous. and he is also. crucially. just some guy"

"VOTE GED or your ass is getting stranded in the tombs"

"Ged didn't become archmage and then quit to go herd goats to lose a poll bracket"

"ged literally became archmage like acknowledged as the greatest mage in earthsea and decided to go live out his days herding goats."

Gandalf:

Vanquished (so far): Saruman, Tom Bombadil, Howl Pendragon

"Big naturals"

"gandalf is like. THE wizard"

"gandalf obviously. with AND without his huge naturals"

"gandalf sweep. he is the blueprint"

"My heart belongs to the grey wizard ... a wanderer who chooses to embrace the small things in life and who fights not because he seeks domination but to protect the selfsame small things

"When you hear wizard, there's an 85% chance you think of Gandalf"

"do it for them (gandalf’s tiddies)"

"cmon be honest u think wizard u think something gandalflike first"

“No other wizards shall pass him”

“Its Gandalf"

#wizardbracket #polls #tumblr polls #ged #sparrowhawk #earthsea #a wizard of earthsea #gandalf #lord of the rings #the hobbit #rings of power

[oysters-aint-for-me]

eons-long saga of sperm whale vs giant squid comparable to that of gandalf and saruman ?

[aemiron-main]

will being VERY directly parallled to both radagast and saruman with the events of s2 and hopper going to the tunnels and will saving him being identical to smthn that happens w radagast and gandalf (gandalf being hopper) makes me insane. the castle byers password being radagast. radagast and saruman. out of all the characters for will to be paralleled to, you chose Those Two. the choice to parallel will to two characters who are often at odds with eachother and just w radagast and saruman’s whole dynamic and how that might tie into my ‘warm will vs cool will’ theory abt wills vanishing and just AGH. 

dont even get me started on will and rabbit imagery vs radagast and rabbit imagery and radagast’s connection to mirkwood (yknow the nickname of the place where WILL VANISHED) 

and ffs even will being gay ties to saruman. will and his rainbow ship/rainbow gay imagery and saruman shedding his previous title to take on the title ’Saruman of Many Colours’.

#stranger things #st analysis #st lotr #byler lotr #feeling soooooooooo normal about will being paralleled to a maiar of aule AND a maiar of yavanna #its fine im fine im so normal about this #will byers #will byers analysis

[is-it-mungojerry-or-rumpelteazer]

The Riders stirred at first, murmuring with approval of the words of Saruman; and then they too were silent, as men spell-bound. It seemed to them that Gandalf had never spoken so fair and fittingly to their lord. Rough and proud now seemed all his dealings with Théoden.

“Looks rough but feels fair” vs “looks fair but feels foul” strikes again, huh.

#lotr newsletter #lord of the rings #text posts #quotes #saruman #gandalf the grey #lotr newsletter: March 5th

[orionangeline]

Lotr but it's a sports anime! Hear me out:

Light jerseys vs dark jerseys

Melkor was the old coach of the dark team and he was known for creating (training) absolute monsters (of players)... He also poached players from other teams

Now sauron, previously the team captain, is the coach... He was ill for a while and the team deteriorated but now they're trying to make a comeback

He was ill bc he lost hardcore after his first tournament as coach... Bedridden from losing the ring (the tournament trophy)

The dark team is known for underhanded tactics and individualistic playstyle

The fellowship are the current starters for the light team

The white council is either a parents group or a sponsor group idk

Elrond runs a nice little cafe that the light team visits on occasion, galadriel runs an all natural handicrafts commune thing, sarumann is a tenured professor at a local college, gandalf is a high school teacher and the light teams coach

The reason saruman hates gandalf is bc the college keeps trying to replace him with gandalf but gandalf prefers teaching highschool

The ringwraiths are starters for the dark team but the dark team has more players and rotates them often

Mordor is the city a days (or whatever not that much idk) drive away that the dark team is from. It's also where the finals in the tournament are held, which is why the fellowship is so determined to get there

The light team is in a kinda haikyuu karasuno situation where they were really strong but they fell out of the public eye and aren't as strong now

When frodo is stabbed with the wraith blade and almost crosses over it's actually him being tempted to switch schools and play with the dark team which is larger so he won't be a major player and be so stressed about the weight of being the main guy in so many plays

He eventually beats the temptation by hanging out with the team at elronds cafe and catching a poetry reading and seeing his uncle who lives nearby (and used to play on the light team the last time they made it to semifinals) and realizing how much it means to win the tournament and especially how much it means for him to win with this team specifically

He makes a little impassioned speech about it

There were some guys who go to the same school and are in different clubs who hear the speech

They are so moved they join the team.

Boromir plays a different sport but it's his off season so as long as the tournament isn't delayed his team will be probably ok but they're in pretty dire straits in their own league so him being gone from training is not great but hey, legolas is in archery and did acrobatics as a kid, gimli is in a literature club and a crafting workshop but he's taking a break, aragorn is the grandson of the last best light team player and wants to both live up to his grandfather and surpass his failure (isildur hogged the ball and fumbled at a crucial moment)

Aragorn is team captain

The fellowship split for a while to do individual training

Merry and pippin are first years. Sam is a second year. Frodo is a third year as are the rest of the team

The hobbits were part of their middle school team but they were pretty small time... Gandalf saw frodos potential at a game he went to watch with Bilbo and recruited him .. the others followed. Pippins dad is the principal of their middle school and merrys dad is a teacher there... The baggins family has been large donators to the school for generations

Anyway the last game in the tournament is very moving

For frodo! Because he's moving to England after he graduates!!

After Sam grows up and has a family he moves to England with them and finds frodo again. Merry and pippin stay and run their old middle school and save it from saruman being a new hire and causing problems

Gandalf saruman and galadriel are actually from England, elronds mom was half french half English and he speaks all three languages plus dabbles in others

The message of hope and friendship being the core of the story !!

#lotr #now bear with me #just think about it