ur fav elf’s fav elf 🧝♀️ Celebrían truther ✨ TROP fan 🍃 Galadriel stan ⚔️ multifandom 📚 cosplayer 🪡 former competitive archer 🏹 she/her 👑 call me C 🫖 26
(also the globalization of archery as a single competitive sport has created a phenomenon where archers learn a Western style of shooting that they hold up as best while denigrating alt/cultural styles/practices as “inaccurate” in a v white supremacist way 🫢 SEND TWEET)
Wrt the former: Even if you don’t know who the first account is in the screenshot, calling s2 (which hasn’t even come out yet) a “trash season” is a dead giveaway that they’re not here to engage in good faith.
Moving on! Archery in media tends to range (lol) from mediocre at best to extremely inaccurate at worst. If you want a detailed breakdown of exactly what’s wrong with the archery in a particular tv show or movie: congrats! There’s a cottage industry of ppl online who do that.
FWIW: I shot Olympic-style recurve for 10 yrs as part of the Junior Olympian Archery Development program. I had to stop after a devastating shoulder injury from a medical accident. I have my level 1 coaching cert & was working on my level 2. Archery was a huge part of my life.
But if you find yourself going on a tirade on social media, ask yourself two things. What is the wider context of our world when you make such comments? And what is the context within the world of the story being told?
I want to start out by saying that it’s perfectly fine to be personally rankled by inaccuracy! Whether it’s inaccurate horseback riding or historical costuming or sword fighting or archery, or any other specialized hobby/sport/craft. & it’s fine to be a bit snarky about it!
@silmarils_
Btw the teeth comment isn’t a joke!! There are disabled/adaptive archers (like Abhishek Thaware, Jeff Fabry, Christina Jones, and Joe Wiseman, to name just a few) who shoot with their teeth!!!
As tempted as I’ve occasionally been to talk about the specific “inaccuracies” in TROP archery, I’ve also refrained bc the cast (particularly Ismael!) & the show as a whole have been subjected to such horrendous hate. I couldn’t bear it if my comments were seen as supporting that
a) Tolkien explicitly establishes that elves have a different relationship to the laws of physics (whatever those are in Middle Earth!) than humans. They can see further than humans, weigh less, etc. Consistency w/in the rules of the show > adhering to our world’s “accuracy”
Ismael’s archery, and fighting style as a whole, is beautiful, graceful, and balletic. It’s a compelling part of his acting and characterization of Arondir. I gasped at this moment in season 1!
b) Combat archery is chaotic and adaptive and therefore entirely different than target archery, which is very fixed, controlled, repetitive. Trying to kill an enemy ≠ hitting the exact same place on a target over and over again. Both are difficult! But v different.
Pull from another fandom here, but to paraphrase Rose Tico wrt to discourse On Here: we don’t win by bashing what we hate. We win by celebrating what we love (with room for snark and good-faith criticism!)
“inaccuracy” is often part of world building. eg Bridgerton’s costumes bear a passing resemblance to historical regency clothes, but they’re a storytelling device that establishes their frothy & glittering world to modern audiences—not museum reproductions.
Another part of real-life context that feels relevant to these kinds of discussions: I will always speak up when inaccuracy crosses over into endangerment. Poorly made corsetry (esp worn directly against skin) injuring actors comes to mind:
Likewise, I’ll absolutely speak up about dry-firing a bow (only not deadly w/ a prop bow), & only to say “pls don’t try this at home!” (if little Timmy nocks 2 arrows at once in the beginning archery class it’s annoying but if he dry fires a bow he’s likely going to the hospital)
Likewise, a lot of archery in fantasy is, well, fantastical (in both fun and bad ways 🥴). The best comparison I can think of is that most archery in media has the same tenuous relationship to the laws of physics as most superheroes do.
& even if neither of those things were the case, ultimately this is a story being told to audiences, not an educational video. Archery is a narrative device in this context! You can make your own educational content if you want to, but that’s not the point of entertainment?
I will admit—there’s a lot about the Galadriel photo (& her shooting 2 arrows at once in the trailer) that just immediately instinctively bothers me! tbf all of the PJ films archery physically pains me 😬
Some s1 archery in also bothered me at first, but I remembered 2 things:
So I’ll only comment unprompted on a) parts of TROP that I love (99% of it), and b) depictions of archery that I love. If asked, I’m happy to give my opinion on specific parts of TROP archery or other depictions of archery, but I’m not investing my energy into it.
hey uh
@TheRingsofPower
@AmazonMGMStudio
I live in LA and would love to go to the premiere or a screening, esp if I could tell Ismael and the cast how much I appreciate their archery 🥹👉🏻👈🏻🏹
But if you find yourself going on a tirade on social media, ask yourself two things. What is the wider context of our world when you make such comments? And what is the context within the world of the story being told?
@silmarils_
Btw the teeth comment isn’t a joke!! There are disabled/adaptive archers (like Abhishek Thaware, Jeff Fabry, Christina Jones, and Joe Wiseman, to name just a few) who shoot with their teeth!!!
@NLVracar
yeah I mean those of us who know archery also often have to set aside our knowledge of archery to enjoy fantasy archery as viewers (Hawkeye is a great example of this 😂)
i’ve seen some subtweets implying that my thread is nitpicking or bashing the archery in TROP and like 😐 the whole point of the thread is to explain why it’s bad to do that???? I know it’s long and no one is required to read it
@sunderedseas
Accuracy is also more important the further away your target is. If your arrow isn’t going v far (bc there’s an orc or barrow-wright 5 ft away) there’s not much room for your arrow to go wide. You just need an arrow going vaguely forward to kill the monster about to kill you
New footage of what appears to be the beginning of the Elrond waterfall jump and he is not in armor I REPEAT WE ARE GETTING A MR DARCY WET SHIRT ELROND MOMENT 😩
#TROPSpoilers
@nomisyndulla
It absolutely wouldn’t work in our world (not really possible to aim multiple arrows at once and you divide the force between them, so they’re not as fast/forceful) but it’s clearly a part of the grand epic fantasy storytelling this movie is going for
@breecrossroads
@IsmaelC_C
🥹 ty!!! Ismael’s archery style is beautiful and it’s sooo clear to me that he’s put in a lot of time and dedication. Just bc it’s a different style doesn’t make it inaccurate!
Seriously freaking out over the level of costuming details!!!! The layers of skirts, the shoes, the gold pattern on the fabric…this is genuinely so beautiful but also super useful as a cosplayer!
Every time I show TROP to different groups of friends, everyone’s girl crush is Galadriel. But each group thirsts after WILDLY different male characters lol. The period drama girlies loved Halbrand & Kemen (& HATED Elrond 😭), my other group of friends absolutely love Arondir!
TL;DR: the vast majority of ppl critiquing the archery in
@TheRingsofPower
are doing so in bad faith and we should all consider the broader context when we nitpick about media portrayals of our sports/hobbies/crafts 😃👍🏻
I’m excited for Círdan but also shamelessly hijacking Berek’s tweet bc side by side photos of Galadriel’s new dress: As a cosplayer I am FASCINATED by the color differences in these pics & I’m intrigued to see more bts/learn more about why so diff (lighting, color grading, etc)
Showed the period drama girlies the SDCC trailer AND THEY DO (begrudgingly) THINK ELROND IS (somewhat, comparatively) HOT IN SEASON 2 (they still maintain that he looks old and ugly in s1 but hey a win’s a win 💅🏻)
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a resident of Los Angeles in possession of a Twitter account, must immediately tweet out “Earthquake!!!” at the slightest seismic activity
The panel was so short 🥲 only about 12 min??? So cool to see Maxim and Ismael in person, amazing Estrid reveal, but sad that there was no Q&A and no meet and greet opportunity ☹️
Even w/ access to the locked
@theoneringnet
discord server w/ the early link + password drop, I still wasn’t able to get a ticket 💔 I hope everyone who goes has fun! PLEASE post costuming detail photos for cosplayers 🥺
@mgcoco_art
LITERALLY my first thought bc my brain will not give up my ROP Celebrían delusion! But then it was clarified in the article that she’s an non-canon character 😔
I do think it’s cute to headcanon Rían and Celebrían as friends tho 🥺 archery buddies?? 🥹
@CuroLacuna
@purpmaggie
Not quite. When you draw back the bowstring and release, all that force normally goes into the arrow. If there isn’t an arrow, that force has nowhere to go, and the bow can splinter or shatter, sending splinters/shrapnel at your face/upper body at a high speed.
My
#IGNLive
experience:
Best:
-TROP panel!! 😍
-meeting
@lijeyeshaveit
and other new friends 🥰
Worst:
-lack of accessibility 😐
-disorganization/lack of communication 😠
TL;DR: the vast majority of ppl critiquing the archery in
@TheRingsofPower
are doing so in bad faith and we should all consider the broader context when we nitpick about media portrayals of our sports/hobbies/crafts 😃👍🏻
Ok so my main cosplay priority rn is finishing/refitting my Ever After dress BUT I’m torn on what to make after. Poll in next tweet, see pics below
(Toying w/ making a Francesca Bridgerton cosplay bc I’m already re-making regency stays but I haven’t decided on a specific outfit)
I’ve typed up and deleted a thread about how disastrous
#IGNLive
was a couple times now. I don’t like being negative on social media but the level of disorganization & miscommunication around the entire event was shocking, frustrating, & disappointing.
My
#IGNLive
experience:
Best:
-TROP panel!! 😍
-meeting
@lijeyeshaveit
and other new friends 🥰
Worst:
-lack of accessibility 😐
-disorganization/lack of communication 😠
Not to be vulnerable on the main but feeling so much…grief? FOMO? with the Olympics rn, esp after missing out on the Laufey Hollywood Bowl concert & SDCC
@BerekTheHorse
First thoughts: completely overwhelmed by everything happening in this clip, wow, so much chaos???
Second thought: palantír bowling ball would be a hilarious piece of merch (if, you know, we were allowed merch 🥲)
Love this question, lots of you have asked, so: the absolute GOAT when it comes to archery accuracy (wrt to our world) in media. I'll do a thread on the archery in Brave after s2 of TROP is done (my next few weeks belong to Sauron, after all)
Big thank-you to
@theoneringnet
@Quickbeam2000
for featuring this thread on their stream last week! Always happy to discuss archery, media criticism, and Tolkien.
@XenosATron
I’m just glad these friends don’t make a hobby out of picking apart male characters’ appearances like the period drama girlies do (who treat it like blood sport!)
Just explained my current stress to the period drama girlies
when I was done, one of them very tenderly asked, “Do you want to sing silly songs about that? Or do you want to watch a period drama about that”
@BerekTheHorse
Difficult to pick just one thing 😭 but I love this ep so much bc I still remember the absolute wonder & excitement I felt watching it for the first time—& I love seeing my friends experience the same emotions when I introduce TROP to them 🥹
“inaccuracy” is often part of world building. eg Bridgerton’s costumes bear a passing resemblance to historical regency clothes, but they’re a storytelling device that establishes their frothy & glittering world to modern audiences—not museum reproductions.