ephal ephalak idon hi-akallabeth
andie, she/her, 26, united states. this blog is full of Tolkien. also other art, photos, fandoms, and big-eyes-emoji stuff, but mostly Tolkien. i tag! my girlfriend is bright ivanaskye, who is a lot, but not too much
i admit my reaction to this unnamable (sorry!!!!) person was strong but someone said “[impenetrable cipher]’s tags are amazing as always” and i started crying tears of blood down my pallid face
gogol im blocking u to prevent u from blackmailing me about this
the-artifice-of-eternity replied to your post:
Andie’s ‘to-read’ books on Goodreads (24 books)
I can’t be objective about And I Darken because it’s just a blend of
literally everything I like in stories, but I’d love to hear your
thoughts!
i can’t wait to hear my thoughts too! ivana LOVED it so i am very eyes-emoji about it…..
also yay hafez <3
HAFEZ IS GREAT and i have read far too little of him
simaethae replied to your link “Andie’s ‘to-read’ books on Goodreads (24 books)”
[stares guiltily at the stack of books i received last xmas]
[and, for the avoidance of doubt, still have not read]
i have been failing to read a short novella (invisible cities) for 2 years straight now lol
hey andie @vardasvapors here’s some good mushrooms i saw this afternoon
actualmermaid replied to your post: ivanaskye replied to your post:
…
OKAY so Pern at its best is very good. The worldbuilding in
particular is breathtaking and basically inspired every other book where
people ride dragons. Some of them are SO BAD because the author wastes
this beautiful setting ripe for all kinds of different plots and
characters in favor of focusing on the political machinations of like 12
high-ranking characters for 3734728 books. Also they were
“groundbreaking” for the depiction of women in 60s-70s sci-fi and then
just…
…didn’t do any better. Why is there so much rape-but-she-wanted-it?
Why are we supposed to like all these abusive relationships? Why are all
the antagonistic women huge dirty sluts (or fat)? Also, congratulations
on including gay characters, but why are they so deeply stereotyped and
how is this world so deeply heteronormative when like 70% of your
dragonriders are theoretically gay men??? I could go on
OHHHHH HMMMMMMMMMM……having….alarming buffy flashbacks….
thelioninmybed replied to your post: ivanaskye replied to your post:
…
@vardasvapors per the blurb it had the same plot as the novel we
just finished drafting and I wanted to scope out the competition. …I
think we’re good
omfg but……how……ok u know what nevermind i don’t even wanna know
ivanaskye replied to your post: anti-rec me a sci-fi or fantasy book you’re pretty…
All the windwracked stars by Elizabeth Bear has at least 10 major
worldbuilding concepts and 15 plots, none of which really go anywhere or
lead to emotional investment,
THIS KIND OF THING IS SO DISAPPOINTING!!!!!! i hate it. also that’s a cool title to add to the waste.
ivanaskye replied to your post: anti-rec me a sci-fi or fantasy book you’re pretty…
There was that one YA book published by a Mormon press (Deseret
press; I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN) which I don’t want to give any publicity by
mentioning the name of but was basically “in a dystopia where everyone
is trans…. our main character gets lost on an island where True
Christians live and realize how Right it feels to find it wrong to touch
a boy before marriage!!!”
……………….wut
simaethae replied to your post: simaethae replied to your post: …
i feel like i must have come across a good take on a matriarchy….
somewhere…. all that my memory’s giving me tho is sarah rees brennan’s
elves >_>
i apparently have not actually ‘read any fantasy’ in my life. i haven’t heard of like almost any of these.
actualmermaid replied to your post: ivanaskye replied to your post:
…
Also the Temeraire books gave me a weird vibe whenever they talked
about non-European people but I don’t know that I could break down the
weird vibe very well
dhfjddhgd DON’T WORRY I KNOW THAT FEEL >>>___>>> i think in my experience the one i am currently remembering is stuff that might be somewhat along the lines of this post….
actualmermaid replied to your post: simaethae replied to your post: …
Lmao so in The Forever War this dude goes to war against aliens and
comes back to earth to find that gay people are suddenly normal and the
govt encourages people to be gay and he’s like repulsed. It goes
downhill from there
uh…………….why………..was this written…………..
ivanaskye replied to your post: ivanaskye replied to your post:
…
To be fair sour grapes MIGHT not be the right term here but just…..
slow burn setup for this character to a) save a country and b) have a
cute gay relationship but then PSYCHE she’s a traitor (just like the
title says amirite) and the last scene is her impassively watching her
gf slowly die
this sounds like something i would do in like high school if i couldn’t figure out how to finish a creative writing assignment by the deadline
simaethae replied to your post: anti-rec me a sci-fi or fantasy book you’re pretty…
hm, i try to dump bad books from my memory… The Stars Are Legion,
Kameron Hurley? some *awesome* concepts in there but everyone in it was
just. such a relentlessly shitty person. i feel like you might take that
badly?
yea i can’t do the cast of relentless assholes thing hfshfjdfdf i start having compulsive fantasies about all of them just stumbling into a marx brothers pie-throwing movie ending or smth
ivanaskye replied to your post: anti-rec me a sci-fi or fantasy book you’re pretty…
Oh the House of Night series is a pretty bad YA vampire series but
you’d do better looking up for reviews for why it was bad bc 1) I didn’t
read the whole thing 2) I was apparently so busy rolling my eyes at the
overblown chosen one narrative that I didn’t even notice the
slut-shaming
THERE ARE SO MANY MILLION YA VAMPIRE SERIES WHY DOES THIS DESCRIBE SO MANY BACK COVER BLURBS
ivanaskye replied to your post: anti-rec me a sci-fi or fantasy book you’re pretty…
This is probably contentious but… warrior cats. Continuously
espouses some nebulous concept of “honor” as being more important than
either this weird thing called “personal happiness” or this even weirder
thing called “not killing people all the time”.
shitty hezbollah-like splinter group of overbred-klingon cats…..
simaethae replied to your post: ivanaskye replied to your post:
…
anyway it just pinged my memory because all the characters are
called things like Daemon and Saetan [drags hand slowly down face]
k i feel way better about jk rowling all of a sudden /o
simaethae replied to your post: ivanaskye replied to your post:
…
oooh. question for @thelioninmybed as well as andie, have you read
anne bishop because the black jewels trilogy is fucking… something. how
do you make a matriarchy grossly misogynist. how. (ALSO misandrist but…
yeah.)
I am so upset that in 26 years i have yet to come across a book with a good take on a matriarchy!!!!! i have heard about this author but never read her….
actualmermaid replied to your post: anti-rec me a sci-fi or fantasy book you’re pretty…
OH “The Forever War,” which I have not read, but my gf did and
roasted it constantly for its pervasive misogyny and homophobia
omg…..examples? i have heard vaguely about this book getting roasted but have no memory of what it was roasted for
berrysphase
replied to your post “˜Sup guys I got shingles and that long nerve thing that curls around…”
oh shit I’m so sorry that sounds utterly debilitating
Not debilitating thank god but really REALLY disruptive because the pains are so completely random and unconnected to anything you do or any direction you move or anything else that allows you to get used to an injury-related pain -_-
imindhowwelayinjune
replied to your post “˜Sup guys I got shingles and that long nerve thing that curls around…”
OH NO I had exactly this this past winter and it SUCKS I wish you many antivirals and a speedy recovery ♥️♥️
UNFORTUNATELY i got to the doctor too late for antivirals, but yea hope it doesn’t linger too long
pipcomix
replied to your post “˜Sup guys I got shingles and that long nerve thing that curls around…”
Oh fuck I got shingles when I was 22 and it was one if the worst things that’s ever happened to me I’m so fucking sorry shingles is the worst :(((
GOD, sympathy fistbump. and i was told mine is a relatively mild case – can’t imagine what a severe case feels like 😐
bamboocounting
replied to your post “˜Sup guys I got shingles and that long nerve thing that curls around…”
D: that’s the worst let me know if you want distracting fish sculptures
I would DEFINITELY LOVE fish sculptures where are these fish sculptures u mention
actualmermaid
replied to your post “˜Sup guys I got shingles and that long nerve thing that curls around…”
YO THIS IS HORRIFYING SHINGLES IS TERRIBLE
it’s p terrible BUT ALSO THE VIRUS/PHENOMENON IS REALLY COOL???
crocordile
replied to your post “˜Sup guys I got shingles and that long nerve thing that curls around…”
Andie oh my god, do painkillers help?? D:
thelionimybed
replied to your post “˜Sup guys I got shingles and that long nerve thing that curls around…”
but on the plus side I’ll buy any medical dictionary you choose to publish
Yes you should all hire me for properly vividly descriptions of all ur medical complaints
ninethousandbees
replied to your post “Are there any gay bars named Saruman Of Many Colors”
if there aren’t, there should be
actualmermaid
replied to your photo “The tumblr-reblog-like conversational graffiti on the inside of the…”
there used to be a coffee shop like this near me and then they had a water pipe explosion and couldn’t afford to repair it so they had to sell the building and it’s a hipster beer establishment now and I’m still upset
UGH….unfortunately ‘hipster beer establishment’ is ALSO an Extremely Common Vermont Occurrence but fortunately this shop has been able to stick around a long time……
crocordile
replied to your post “also witnessed today in VT: dude with a t-shirt reading “i’d tap that”…”
if you ever see it buy it for me and i’ll pay u
anghraine
replied to your post “From your personal experience what seems to be the worst fandom ever?”
I was going to say that I’ve been in worse ones, but then I remember just how many people I have blocked.
I’ve been in ones i disliked more, but the sheer breadth and depth of whatthefuckery in New Star Wars fandom is headspinning, and I’ve been in a lot of fandoms in the past 11 years
ivanaskye
replied to your post “Do fans have some sort of hivemind theory I’m oblivious to that tells…”
I know you’re talking about this for multiple characters but also we all know which character you’re PARTICULARLY talking about
Ok you are DEFINITELY RIGHT but also i was thinking a lot about the baffling Faramir thing
actualmermaid
replied to your post “Do fans have some sort of hivemind theory I’m oblivious to that tells…”
“Opened a book once” = BOOK NERD. “Mentioned next to a flower once” = AVID GARDENER. “Was sad once” = ALWAYS SAD ALL THE TIME.
But it’s so much MORE befuddling when there’s like 28 major explicit canon scenes/descriptions/details/contextual dynamics that are THE EXACT OPPOSITE of that and like 1 ambiguous thing that might have been a dubious detail in support of that characterization IF AND ONLY IF they were a character with no other distinguishing features whatsoever. Also i’ve gotta say this fetish for this 1 specific type of character – the super insecure people-pleasing doormat stuttery….thing – is imo something that goes far above and beyond the generalized sledgehammery fanon thing.
wijopat
replied to your photo “ivanaskye:
introvertproblems:
suzangean:
Introvert vs Extrovert
…”
Ambiverts(people who’s affiliation shifts based on context) are the VAST majority of us! Stop using labels and self identification to limit your potential!
THIS IS VERY TRUE, thank you!!!! actually I think i would be much more accurate in describing myself this way more than pure introvert (tho def leaning more towards the introvert side).
crocordile
replied to your photo “Calm yo tits”
What happened tho? :O
He was saved by a clever ‘wait actually you didn’t fail bc you were worthless, you failed for a good reason!’ thing by Krishna, which is smth that happens like 248 times in this story.
gurguliare
replied to your photo “@actualmermaid is the anime because of the eyes or the seto kaiba hair…”
somehow i feel like you’re accusing me of being schroedinger’s actual, mean cat
anyway it was PUREHEARTED ADMIRATION
I was NOT, because i didn’t know schroedinger’s cat was mean at all, but i gladly accept your purehearted admiration ^_^
YEAH
A MAJOR (if untenable) LOOK
berrysphase
replied to your post “��”
well that puts a new light on amon hen
THAT JUST OCCURRED TO ME AFTER I HAD POSTED THIS
gurguliare
replied to your post “��”
A CHAIR WITH A VIEW
It’s something every father needs!
kareenvorbarra
replied to your post “��”
andie!!!!! fuck!!!!!!!
Thank u, thank u, I can do this all night, i think.
due to the notifications apocalypse i have probably missed a TON but….i am making an Attempt!
actualmermaid
replied to your post “JoJos”
“super-chiseled chiaroscuro constipation-face.” art.
also i forgot to mention how there’s also usually some Manly™ blood around too
ivanaskye
replied to your post “las vegas glitz pics with @ivanaskye aka ‘local couple is too femme to…”
I love us
actualmermaid
replied to your post “las vegas glitz pics with @ivanaskye aka ‘local couple is too femme to…”
too glam, not allowed
aww i’m glad u appreciate our glam, esp given how we normally looked at breakfast in the Breakfast 24 Hours place in the casino downstairs >_o
bamboocounting
replied to your post “garden-ghoul
replied to your post “.”
what…”
holy shot
(typo, but mocking invocations to the valar before they fire their steampunk cannons at the coast or something)(the something is sauron)
God i’m so weak to steampunky industrial numenor……industrial stuff is just as good an aesthetic for fantasy dystopia as yk….all the other ones that appear in fantasy imagery stuff. and especially fitting for tolkien given the immensely long timescale/overturn of eras and generations, and the sheer number of wildly different nightmare-lands in the legendarium.
girlwithouthands
replied to your post “Sometimes…meta/fixitfic tumblr posts with 65k notes….are worse….”
on one hand i’d love to know what this is about & on the other hand do I truly want to do that to myself
Idk it’s always a risk of ‘oh i REBLOGGED that terrible post before’ but otoh this is also just a general principle….
actualmermaid
replied to your post “A RANDOM DUMP OF COLORADO AND VEGAS PICS BC IM TOO LAZY TO ORGANIZE:…”
Was born in Utah, can confirm that no one knows what the deal with it is
That looks SO FUN THO
IT WAS SOOOOOOO FUN!!! i might be biased due to being high on love chemicals the whole time but IT WAS GREAT….
pipcomix
replied to your post “Log of the past 3 days:[[MOR] Incredibly delayed flight out of…”
Oh that is my brain cocktail also, high five
It’s a wonder of wonders!!! <3333
bamboocounting
replied to your post “Log of the past 3 days:[[MOR] Incredibly delayed flight out of…”
DDDDD: I’m glad you had many sustaining memories of a wonderful person to look at utah rocks with!
aaaaaa i dooooooo thank u!!!! /)*////*( i wish i could have taken more highway pics of other non-Utah areas too but i was sadly DRIVING while passing most of them
crocordile
replied to your post “Log of the past 3 days:[[MOR] Incredibly delayed flight out of…”
welcome back Andie and I’m so glad your trip was so incredible <3 <3 <3 Sorry abt the car and internship, but I hope u can relax this Last Sunday!!
hsjdfihdsjds this reply is all moot now buttttt still <333333
garden-ghoul
replied to your post “So I have been on vacation in first Colorado, then Las Vegas, with my…”
this sounds like a wonderful time I’m enjoying your liveblog. I’m glad u are having a good time in the Desert and in the Mountains, my natural habitat
ur natural habitat!! i have so much more appreciation for it……there’s so many little things that i never before imagined about them that i love
garden-ghoul
replied to your post “Ivana and I are in Las Vegas and while ‘’’needing food’’’ and ‘’’being…”
I’m very fond of you and I am quickly becoming fond of ivana by proxy
THANKS and also GOOD bc she is a wonderful good and deserves fondness ^_^
theotherwesley
replied to your post “I JUST REALIZED THAT THE MENELTARMA IS A MESA”
WEIRD MESA-GIANT-TREE-CONSPIRACY-THEORY CONFIRMED!!!! #exposed #confirmed #ancientValarAliens
YUP. valar stompin’ around, thinking that just bc the continents are all scrambled no one’s gonna figure it out….
nimium-amatrix-ingenii-sui
replied to your post “I JUST REALIZED THAT THE MENELTARMA IS A MESA”
I always read it as a volcano – that’d explain the cone shape as well as the sudden coming-into-existence and equally sudden and eruptive end of Númenor… XD
that WOULD make sense but otoh too straightforward! why not choose a theory that raises more questions than it answers….that’s how it works right……
crocordile
replied to your post “002 – Elwing/Earendil?”
earendil is a noldo savugsdnjisd, also seconding star spray (i feel like……………i read a fic once…… idk tho………), also, the ocean? ouch, also: big yes
omg i suddenly very badly want your thoughts on how meeting ar-pharazon would go
i sort of started vaguely outlining a mini-fic about it actually but mostly i figure….multi-stage debate built on a ton of future events that pharazon never imagined or could have foreseen….sort of like, on some level, he was also vaguely apologized to on behalf of his ancestors who didn’t get enough of an explanation – i.e., centered around that quote from the Akallabeth:
“The love of Arda was set in your hearts by Ilúvatar, and he does not plant to no purpose. Nonetheless, many ages of Men unborn may pass ere that purpose is made known; and to you it will be revealed and not to the Valar.”
and kind of like…..ok, compromise, you can be in suspended animation so that you can still be alive and in the world when what answers you seek will be revealed to Men….and get to meet the ancestors whom you hold up as proof of your deserving to see aman…..etc
the-artifice-of-eternity
replied to your photo “#just kshatriya things”
This reminds me of Thor trying to pick up the cat he doesn’t know is actually the World Serpent, and getting humiliated. *squints at Indo-Europeans*
lmaaaoooooo….i should also mention, this is FAR from the only time this trope of humbling-a-big-ego-via-temporary-humiliation-that-fosters-self-compassion-and-perspectitve-rather-than-resentment in hindu mythology…..it’s kinda obsessed with that trope
berrysphase
replied to your post “002 – Elwing/Earendil?”
“furry” huh do tell
well more like a “feathery” but you kno >_o
nelyafinwe
replied to your post “˜aspen groves’ also known as ‘lothlorien’—”
pando = the OG lorien in aman
aspens are also just by their nature, w the cloning, such very legendarium-compatible trees
imindhowwelayinjune
replied to your post “FRIENDSHIP CANCELLED WITH VERMONT. NOW COLORADO IS MY NEW BEST FRIEND.”
Yea u like that orogeny doncha
SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE……I’M WEAK
imindhowwelayinjune
replied to your post “FRIENDSHIP CANCELLED WITH VERMONT. NOW COLORADO IS MY NEW BEST FRIEND.”
COME SAY HI
god i’m still super disappointed i wasn’t able to make it 😦 SOMETIME THO….since i’m def visiting colorado again sometime soon…..
simaethae
replied to your post “I have a bright red rental car and 100 miles of highway with…”
i’m really psyched to watch two episodes and then blacklist it on tumblr, gonna be great
avoyagetoarcturus
replied to your post “I have a bright red rental car and 100 miles of highway with…”
At least Tolkien fan blogs will get more popular & people’ll get more curious about the books. Lol
awwwww u guys are so good at silver linings <333
I MEAN THAT LOCH LOMOND IS THE FINROD/ANDRETH/AEGNOR SONG DAMNIT
simaethae replied to your post: hypothetical person: ‘you look like you beat the…
aw andie you and your alma-tadema looks ❤
i ALSO had to look up ‘alma-tadema’ but thank YOU too i love having my ego stroked
thelioninmybed
replied to your post “my housemate told me my hair doesn’t look ‘bi enough’”
put a snake in his bed oh wait
DIFFERENT GUY
simaethae replied to your post “actualmermaid replied to your post: i think one of…”
[salt about other sites redacted] anyway. it’s always a million times more interesting to hear people talk about what they find interesting and love about a text rather than just Establishing The Facts. like, just add it to a wiki??
simaethae replied to your post “actualmermaid replied to your post: i think one of…”
i mean, tbf i do prefer people to support their reasoning to some extent if they’re trying to push an interpretation of the text rather than just random headcanons but like
Oh! I suppose i was TOO vague but i don’t mean supporting their reasoning with the text versus not, i mean like – when the text gives you some leeway about how to fill in a gap/ambiguity, when someone fills it in with an interpretation that makes total sense and is very well-supported but makes for a story that’s utterly snoozeworthy, when they could have come up with so many other just-as-valid interpretations that are infinitely more interesting.
BUT imo it is usually the type of thing that makes it sound like a lit class – interpreting the text while adding as little content as possible of your own, and you need to Justify Your Choice Of Interpretation with something other than ‘this one is the most enjoyable’; versus meta/interpretation in fandom, whose fun is imo, all about making the story good/better, as long as its supported – the only reason for why someone should choose an interpretation in fandom, imo, is ‘this one is the most enjoyable.’ like, ‘you could certainly choose X interpretation, there’s nothing argumentatively wrong with it, but why on earth would you. how does that increase anyone’s enjoyment in any way.’
ephal ephalak idon hi-akallabeth 