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"Elven" and "Hobbit" are English words. "Orc" is a Westron word. You can't just smash them together like that! That's what I was really reacting to. {X' D

~Neshomeh

I’m writing a short fic about paramedics in the PPC city in New Caledonia, and I was wondering what you thought about me naming/re-naming the hospital there as Emily Newton Memorial Hospital (just Newton Memorial for short) in the story, since you wrote her.

Migh be better to go with "poorly thought out" since we all know a fic that blatantly smashes together the titles of two LoTR books ain't gonna explore that in an interesting and nuanced way. I haven't seen Rings of Power, but that might be one of the "plagiarized" elements.

Also, this book invented "horc". There's no horcing way to possibly take that serisously.

-Ls

I mean, on its face, the idea of interbreeding between creatures descended from a common ancestor is not that weird. Saying this is odd is like saying wolf-dogs are odd because dogs are essentially corrupted wolves. (And you can't look at a pug or a bulldog and tell me they're not.)

The problem with this is really the problem of orcs in all of fantasy from Tolkien on down: they're an "evil race," and the only way an "evil race" has offspring with a "good race" is via an act of evil. It's deeply problematic and gross—and Tolkien knew it, too. He's on record as being uncomfortable with the idea that any people could be completely evil. The only justification for it in Arda is that they were forced into being by an evil Power, so their evilness isn't due to their own culture or choices, because they weren't allowed any of their own.

IMO, one of the better things about Rings of Power is their attempt to give the orcs and Uruk-hai more nuance. After centuries of existence, and given goblins/orcs have had their own self-governed kingdoms by this time, I believe nuance could very well come to be, and in time, given the chance, they could leave the stain of their origin behind and become a real society.

I'd read the heck out of a story like that.

~Neshomeh

It's... very incoherent.

-Ls

The writing on this thing is, um, bad. There's a lot of repeating facts from Tolkien in barely-narrative or barely-dialogue. There's a prologue which is partly repeated in the first chapter. There's characters (notably Sam) who don't sound a thing like themselves. There's just kind of a general clunky feel to the whole thing.

In terms of canon, I've read to the end of Chapter 2, and:

• I'm pretty sure hobbits weren't marrying at 21, given that they only reach adulthood at 33. They also don't describe their birthdays with the wrong number; the story has Elanor's 21st as her 'two and twentieth' (which they also don't do).

• The Star of the Dunedin should probably not be mithril.

• Ewartia Greenholm is just unbelievable, even if everyone does call her Alice for no reason.

• Who in Mandos is Drendelen supposed to be? A granddaughter of Nerdanel is a granddaughter of Feanor, and nope nope nope.

• I don't believe the Elves would have carted multiple sculptures from Aman to Numenor. I am positive that Elendil, in his desperate flight from the sinking island, wouldn't have packed the statues.

• You can't call it the "Red Book of Westmarch" before Elanor has moved to the Westmarch with it!

• The picture of the White Tree very obviously doesn't match the description.

• We know how Aragorn's letters sound, and this one doesn't.

• The text has Sam claiming the entire Hill for Bag-End, which would include the New Row dug after the Scouring. I can't see him turfing out poor farmers just for extra bedrooms, can you?

• We also know, from the Epilogue, how Sam and his family addressed each other. It is not like this.

• Slapping royal titles onto the Eldar of the Third Age is wrong-headed. Cirdan, in particular, would never do that.

• The NuRing Verse has me screaming. In particular, the Enchanted Beings ring every alarm bell, while the very idea of assigning the Rings to specific peoples was Sauron's, not Celebrimbor's.

• Celebrimbor did not have the level of power ascribed to him. He was an elf, he absolutely could not imbue a Ring with the Music of the Ainur. (Not could anyone. The Music is Arda.)

Ultimately this looks like a pretty standard post-LotR Hobbit-centred fic. It shares a lot of its DNA so far with The Hobbits, though there's no connection between them. Were it not for the court drama I'd just ignore it. :D

hS

... Sam was given the Star of the Dunedin (LotR: Tale of Years, SR 1436), and Foster's Complete Guide to Middle-earth claims that Star was an Elendilmir, which were mithril with white gems (Unfinished Tales: Gladden Fields, note 33). Christopher says that's wrong, but it means it is from a fairly authoritative source. And Eleanor is "the Fair", and the Epilogue describes her as:

"... a beautiful girl, more fair of skin than most hobbit-maidens, and more slender, and the firelight glinted in her red-gold hair. To her, by gift if not by inheritance, a memory of elven-grace had descended."

The Tale of Years says she "looked more like an elf-maid tha a hobbit", too.

Which all comes together to make an interesting point: the author has done some research, but twisted it and exaggerated it to make it fit the fanfic, rather than altering the fic to meet the reality of Middle-earth.

hS

happy for ya Damian! can’t wait to read it eventually :]

I reserve the right to make edits as I please though. Everyone, behold, the result of literally half a year and more of work, several years if you count older drafts, and several betas:

RC #21 Mission No. 1: Maximum Speed Dating!

...prologue, because I'm doing the rewrite trick and this thing is long.

Thank you, everyone, for helping me get this far. Especial thanks to Cal, whose advice I took, and Scape, whose style I aped. And all my friends here. You've been so good to me, so it's about time I returned the favor. Enjoy!

*screams forever*

I didn't believe y'all about "C*l*br**n," but oh my Eru. {X' D

For those who don't Discord, here's the relevant passage:

Elanor shuddered and start to cry. When she looked up, tears spilled from her eyes. “Celendrian told me… her Elvish grandmother Celebrían, Queen Arwen’s mother, was captured by orcs and tormented. Elrond healed her body, but he couldn’t heal her spirit, not even after a year of trying. She sailed from the Grey Havens and passed West. That’s why she wasn’t at Elessar and Arwen’s wedding. I didn’t make the connection at the time, but…”

“That’s impossible!” Sam told her. “If something like that had happened, I’m sure we would have heard about it from Elrond long before now.”

“Why, Sam?” Alatar asked. “Celebrían was his wife. He loved her. He wouldn’t have any reason to make these painful events public. That would only have served to torment her even more than she had already suffered.”

Rosie looked up from Elanor. “Are you telling us that Celebrían gave birth to – ”

She apparently gave birth to a half Orc, half Elf baby. The fic refers to such people as Orcelven. It goes on to threaten us with the concept of half Hobbit, half Orcs, or... Horcs.

I agree with whoever it was that suggested "horc" is our newest Creative Curse. {X' D

ETA: Some variation of "Horc" is also going in Cards Against Headquarters, guaranteed.

~Neshomeh, dying.

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Now we wait and see what the spammers do next. I admit I'm legitimately curious—I mean, maybe there will be some kind of pattern to detect; could be good info!—but I hope I have to wait a long time to find out.

~Neshomeh

Aw. Despite the preceding Dementor attack, I’m glad Harry got to have this moment alone with Rose and Gary, both for them to get some more honest answers about Harry’s situation and what just happened, and for Harry to just . . . be away from all the adult politics and scheming, and to just enjoy some time with some other kids, especially kids even further removed from the Wizarding world than Ron and Hermione can be. (And I know the adult Order of the Phoenix are scheming for good aims, but it still isn’t healthy for Harry to be around that too long!)

Do I detect a Hamilton reference surrounding Draco’s letter?
♪I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase
It changed the meaning. Did you intend this?
One stroke and you've consumed my waking days
It says:
“My dearest Lord Prickhead”
with a comma after “dearest.” You’ve written
“My dearest, Lord Prickhead”♪
: D ?

Gosh, Luna’s moving away from her fantastical imaginary beast theories and getting into some . . . less pleasant conspiracies? That “Children are displaying their first signs of magic at later and later ages” is especially eerie, almost has the feel of an anti-vax argument. Much as I would leave to see Luna expose some big chemical company’s harmful practices and misleading advertising, I hope she’s just having a bit of an off summer!

I’m looking forward to seeing your characterization for Marlene, since she wasn’t really on-page in canon aside from photos. She certainly seems nice so far!

Oh, almost forgot, but Moody’s line that starts with “We’re already in . . .” is missing its opening quotation mark.

—doctorlit, amused by the mental image of Draco painstakingly making a fancy, sophisticated painting of an albatross for Pansy (no offense to albatrosses, but they just don’t carry the same artistic weight as a deer drinking by moonlight from a lake shore, do they?)

Also, as the original writer of Vocaloid minis, I decree that its mini type extends to the Project SEKAI continuum as well.

Just in case anyone wants to read the backlogs...

Then the conversation switched channels and continues from here.