Days of September

For those who only know the movies, or who imprinted on the movies first, it’s almost a tragedy how wrong PJ got that scene; it’s one of a couple things that he seems to have fundamentally misunderstood what was going on, what a moment or confrontation was actually about, and almost by habit (as far as I can tell) leaned on making it Eldritch and Scary, and by doing so actually … totally undercut the actual power (and terror) of the scene.

Because here’s the thing about Nerwen Artanis Alatiriel, the princess of the Noldor we know by the Sindarinization of her epessë, the name given by her husband the first time he saw her and went “her hair is absolutely fucking amazing, I love her” (I’m not joking!): she is old. 

[cut for length]

I don’t think this was PJ (and Fran and Philippa) necessarily misunderstanding the scene, though they very well may have. In the books, we have all the time in the world to flash back and forth and around and show the impact of the Ring and its temptations and effects on Lesser Men; in the films, we have limited screen time to bash our audiences over the head with how dangerous this MacGuffin is that they’ve perhaps never encountered before.

And in order to establish the One Ring as a character in its own right and not just a MacGuffin, they have to reinforce its ability to manipulate and tempt and actually influence its environment rather than just sit there glinting evilly.

What happens if Galadriel laughs?

What happens if “not if I found it on the highway would I take it”?

In film world, it undermines the Ring.

For those of us who view the movies as adaptations of the books, who already know the power of the Ring, it doesn’t. But if you’re coming to this with absolutely no background, having never heard the name Baggins before in your life, you have no context for believing a ring could be a dangerous weapon and now it’s back to just being some weird bling.

Now there are a lot of contextual issues that go into why and how certain choices were made, including everything from production schedules to the fact that this was the FIRST of its kind in terms of huge epic adaptations, which means it was pushing hard against the inertia of very different expectations and presumptions about how audiences would react. And whether or not PJ the director understands, the MOVIE itself did not, bc the movie is only what the creators actually put on screen, not everything they felt but did not put on.

Booby Trap

Comic inspiration and references from Chissoku Shisou Desu by Yoko Fujitani with WILL, a SasuSaku doujinshi

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Also me: SDJFH@&#@!! I NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS EMPTY SPACE IN THIS COMPILATION. GUESS I NEED TO FUCKING DRAW SOME EXTRA SHIT.

Extra for Christmas Charm

Business me: I shouldn't post these and keep them as an incentive to sell the compilation. You know... like: "Extra never-seen before content!"