acab

Incidentally, if the Black Riders can read, we do not know whether they can read Shire-style Westron. Maybe they just know Sauron’s adapted Black Speech Tengwar mode and a little Sindarin on the side. WHO KNOWS.

Frodo: ok, so we need to give Gandalf an idea of our direction. Brainstorm. There are no stupid ideas

Sam: deputise a pigeon

Frodo: the pursuers might kill it - but good, good, keep it flowing

Sam: deputise a raven of Erebor

Frodo: better. Better. This is what workshopping is for

Merry: we could just leave a written explanation

Frodo: nice - just gonna note that the pursuit might be literate and they MIGHT get in and search the house

Pippin: find him first, shout in his ear

Frodo: tricky but bold, that’s it, keep going

Merry: write the message on a particularly fast-moving child - the Riders will have to catch it to intercept it but it will simply approach Gandalf naturally

Frodo: what’s good about THAT is that it’s a moving target AND intelligent enough to tell the difference between them, which we can’t expect from chickens etc. Who has a disposable cousin that’s especially small

Merry: all of us

Frodo: that we can get quickly

Pippin: just let Fatty tell him

Frodo: oh my god we could just let Fatty tell him

Pippin: Fatty’s very fast-moving

Merry: Fatty’s VERY fast-moving

Sam: Fatty remembers whole sentences at a time

Merry: Fatty can definitely tell the difference between Gandalf and strangers as long as the stranger aren’t wearing particularly misleading hats

Frodo: they won’t be wearing misleading hats

Fatty: what if they get in and search the house?

Frodo: no it’ll be a verbal message we’re gonna leave it in your brain

Fatty: oh my god we’ve thought of everything.

Frodo: I’m very happy with this. We leave at dawn.

Fatty: hey how did the black riders get our postcode by the way

Frodo: oh they caught someone and tortured it out of him with unspeakable cruelty until the message was yielded in broken but meaningful syllables which was enough for them to effectively hunt me across a continent

Fatty: haha nice 👍

Frodo: glad we came up with this imagine what would happen if we wrote things down

Fatty: yeah glad I could tip the decision

Frodo: thanks again for doing this Fatty - just remember that if the Riders come for you at the front door of this small isolated house, you can probably get out the back door and run

Fatty: okay

Dear #SagAftraMembers:

We are thrilled & proud to tell you that today your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP.  As of 12:01 a.m. PT on Nov. 9, our strike is officially suspended & all picket locations are closed. We will be in touch in the coming days with information about celebration gatherings around the country.

In a contract valued at over one billion dollars, we have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope that includes "above-pattern" minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus. Our Pension & Health caps have been substantially raised, which will bring much needed value to our plans. In addition, the deal includes numerous improvements for multiple categories including outsize compensation increases for background performers, and critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities.

We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers. Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work. Full details of the agreement will not be provided until the tentative agreement is reviewed by the SAG-AFTRA National Board.

We also thank our union siblings — the workers that power this industry — for the sacrifices they have made while supporting our strike and that of the Writers Guild of America. We stand together in solidarity and will be there for you when you need us.