at the sign of the prancing pony

[ontology]

I happened to skip over to the Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack on iTunes, which hasn't got a proper listen out of me for--a year, likely, and suddenly I am twelve years old again and, inexplicably, feel a little bit like crying. I remember the exploding wonder of Tolkien, and reading the books thirteen times in a year, and counting down, and translating lyrics and having my go at epic (and thoroughly tripe) fanfiction, and translating terrible pop songs into Sindarin (NO LIE: I AM ASHAMED), and parodying, and quoting, and theorising, and going to the films in costume, and--it. Tolkien was such a huge part of my life, and then it sort of...faded, and I miss it, terribly. Which is all very silly because the book (and The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales, and half of The Histories of Middle-earth--our nasty, smudgy little copy of The Hobbit is either packed, disintegrated, or otherwise hidden) are on the shelf over my desk, and the Extended Editions of the films are sitting in a neat if dusty row not ten feet away from me, and...I'm really not sure what I'm saying, actually. I remember it being magic, unexplored territory, something new and terrifyingly magnificent, and maybe it's been long enough since I've been in that world that I can find some of that again...er, watch me disintegrate into pretentious metaphors.

Um. However, you haven't lived, really, until you've seen the brilliantly awful Engrish subtitles for the films. No, seriously, you haven't. I've been quoting 'toast me' for years.

Comments

[trolliepop.livejournal.com]

I've been meaning to reread those books for forever. I read them several times when I first discovered them, but I haven't read them in a few years. I just don't have the time! Maybe I'll get around to it this summer...

I remember my every thought being LotR related. I remember my family telling me I wasn't allowed to talk anymore because every word I had said for the past two years had in someway something to do with LotR.

I want to be twelve again...

[midenianscholar.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. I was thinking about that a while ago... I miss it. Though I wasn't quite as crazy as you were, mostly because I have next to no talent in languages. :)

[lady-moriel.livejournal.com]

Mmhm. I hear you. I think part of it's just finding new fandoms--my dearest fandom always seems to be whatever's newest, which could be why I haven't been quite so giddy over Harry Potter since I discovered the Doctor, but...I dunno. I'd already kind of lost touch with the Tolkien fandom when I finally read Harry Potter, I think--hadn't read the books in a while, had stopped visiting the Reading Room on TORc (in my defense, that started when the front page stopped updating)...I don't know. I do miss it, though. I miss being at least slightly knowledgeable about Sindarin, and knowing more trivia from Middle-earth's history than that of my own country, and my giant Naethiel fanfic that never really got off the ground...still want to write that, because I love the overall concept, but I never did figure out an actual plot, and Naethiel was...very emo. Not sure how to save her from that, either.