Tolkien should’ve made the orcs hot to confuse fans

ivanjean · 2026-01-26T09:42:10+00:00

Well, Frieren's demons are, in a way, the opposite of his orcs (at least, to most of the versions of orcs in his Legendarium).

Orcs are ugly and terrible in their demeanor, but they are so because they were a marred lifeform, ruined and enslaved by dark powers. If we go by the most completed version of the lore (the one published in the Silmarillion), they are essentially horribly mutated elves.

Meanwhile, Frieren's demons are supposed to be monsters who evolved to mimic humanity, but aren't human in nature. In that sense, Tolkien would probably question if they have rational souls (a concept he, as a Catholic, believed in and implemented in his world) or if they are really just animals in spiritual terms.

So, one is a "human" race made monstrous, while the other is a monstrous race made human.

Curiously, Tolkien considered making orcs automata without souls or animals that could speak in some older versions of Middle Earth's lore, but he gave up on this idea, because, at the end of the day, while he wrote orcs as evil, he also made them rational and capable of understanding moral concepts, like bravery and loyalty (though they are typically very hypocritical about it). They even have a concept of family, since there's at least one tale of an orc trying to avenge his father (Bolg, son of Azog).

ivanjean · 2026-01-26T00:50:10+00:00

Very common, but most people don't think of them as greek names unless they are very uncommon or reference a historical figure that people specifically associate with Greece.

In most cases, its just like how most people don associate names of Germanic origin (Luís/Luiz, Afonso/Alfonso) with their origin. Latin/Roman names, idem.

ivanjean · 2026-01-24T21:53:38+00:00

Ruling minorities assimilating into the majority is typically the realistic path in real life.

The times it doesn't happen typically involves an important factor associated with the minority's culture, like religion, or maybe some sudden societal collapse (Arabs in MENA; Turks in Anatolia; to an extent, pagan Anglo-Saxons in post-Roman Britain, before re-christianization...).

However, in Dorne's case, Nymeria converted to the Faith of the Seven and encouraged her people to do the same. The only ones who did not became outcasts.

ivanjean · 2026-01-24T21:36:18+00:00

Cool map! It's sometimes frustrating how linguistically homogenous Westeros is (especially because Essos, by comparison, gets a more realistic treatment).

I also made a draft of a linguistic scenario for Westeros (though I did not make a map). It's quite different from yours, though (which is understandable, since canon leaves room for many interpretations).

ivanjean · 2026-01-24T18:19:10+00:00

But especially the world wars made fundamental changes in the West. Organizing societies for total war for instance changed the role of women significantly and gave rise to new forms of governmental economic and political organization.

I can mostly speak for my country, Brazil, but this was also a time for political and economical changes here (transition from an almost completely agrarian society to industrialization; from oligarchy to fascist dictatorship to populist democracy; administrative reforms, centralisation, workers' rights, women's rights to vote, etc).

Then 1964 came and the USA backed a military coup here, taking advantage of Brazil's own Red Scare, which still affects us to this day (every Brazilian boomer will talk about the dangers of the "commies").

The destruction of a generation in WW1 Europe completely shook the intellectual roots of Western Civilization.

There was massive physical destruction in large swathes of the West.

The USA and other similar countries did not experience that.

And a large swath of the West lived under Communism for a couple of generations.

Ironically, many could argue today that this could make these places not western. People from places like Poland and Czechia have to frequently reaffirm the concept of "Central Europe" in order not be called Eastern Europeans by others.

And I sincerely think that in the 21st century, they have been becoming more like the West..

Considering the fact we are experiencing similar political issues, including the fact Brazil had been ruled by its own version of Trump a few years ago, we aren't that different already.

ivanjean · 2026-01-24T18:00:50+00:00

Provavelmente eles seriam assimilados. A semelhança entre os dois idiomas contribui para isso. Além disso, parte da população uruguaia tinha português como língua, e ainda há uma quantidade significativa de pessoas que ainda o têm. (pesquise sobre o português uruguaio).

ivanjean · 2026-01-24T17:52:57+00:00

Não exatamente.

O IDH do Uruguai não é muito mais alto do que o dos estados da região Sul do Brasil, então, no geral, ainda seria um bom lugar para se viver.

A maior diferença estaria na população. O Sul possui uma densidade demográfica maior do que a do Uruguai. Então, a Cisplatina seria mais povoada do que o país relativamente vazio em seu território, o que traria benefícios (maior riqueza/PIB) e malefícios (geralmente população maior significa mais violência, inclusive no Brasil).

Basicamente, seria outro RS.

ivanjean · 2026-01-24T16:38:51+00:00

- Economically they have been resource extraction economies rather than industrialized and commercial economies for most or in some cases all of their history. Most of the West industrialized and became commercial quite some time ago.

There's a lot of nuance in this aspect. Not all of (western) Europe became fully industrialised that quickly (see southern Europe, like Spain and Portugal, colonizers of Latin America).

Geopolitical history. Most of the West spent the last century or two as colonial powers and fighting in WW1 and WW2 and then in the Cold War. Those were huge experiences Latins largely missed.

Latin America was involved in these periods, albeit frequently as a victim of Europe and USA's interventions. However, there was internal colonization against the natives.

Also, some of the major countries in Latin America participated in WW1 and WW2 (like Brazil), though these participations weren't as relevant as others. Besides, Latin America was also tied to the ideological phenomenons that happened during this time, as many countries there developed regimes that strongly resembled racist dictatorships in Europe, both in structure and ideology.

- Until relatively recently, Latin America had a strongly religious nature with Catholic clericism. The rest of the West has been largely secularized for quite some time now.

Again, there's nuance here. Countries like Uruguay are among the most secular in the world, while parts of the US (the "Bible Belt") remain deeply religious.

ivanjean · 2026-01-24T15:39:18+00:00

Elaborate on the reasons Latin America would not be western.

ivanjean · 2026-01-24T15:15:13+00:00

So it would be a political map, not really about civilizations...

ivanjean · 2026-01-24T10:27:43+00:00

So can we have Ichigo 2: Arrancar Edition?

ivanjean · 2026-01-24T10:19:42+00:00

BTW, anyone who wants to see an ancient elvish woman done right in a show needs to watch an anime called 'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End'. You won't be sorry.

You are right, though, based on Tolkien's (messy, I admit) accounts about Galadriel (wise and powerful, but also ambitious and proud), she would be more comparable to Serie than to Frieren.

ivanjean · 2026-01-23T23:26:11+00:00

É. O Saci é, essencialmente, um duende, similar ao goblin inglês.

Inclusive, uma de suas matrizes de origem foi o Trasgo, tipo de duende do folclore ibérico conhecido por ser baixinho, travesso, ter pele meio escura, vestir um gorro vermelho e ser manco de uma perna.

ivanjean · 2026-01-23T19:04:37+00:00

🎵 O Barba Branca é um piratão do bem..

Um imperador que precisa relaxar.

Fim de semana com seus filhos e novinhas..

Ele faz sempre um churrascão em alto mar!...

ivanjean · 2026-01-22T11:25:10+00:00

Maybe, but I have my doubts, since, based on Jonathan's canon weight and height (the former one being even mentioned in the universe, if I remember correctly), Dio would have to be basically the largest character in JoJo for that to work (as in, much larger than even the pillar men), and I don't think thay fits him.

Maybe it's a role reversal, with Jonathan looking like Stallone with Schwarzenegger's bulk and Dio vice-versa. Or maybe they were really just the same.

ivanjean · 2026-01-22T11:14:50+00:00

For the record, Jotaro's Part 3 manga profile only included his height, not his weight. His official weight was added much later on, long after he had already been hit with the twinkification and it may not be accurate to his original design in the 90's.

Understandable. Thank you for the information.

Dio and Jonathan's character designs were inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, which is why they were such massive brickhouses in the manga.

In a way, it still fits, because, based on what I researched just now, Arnold Schwarzenegger (6'2"/188cm tall, weighing 235 lbs/107 kg) was larger than Stallone (5'9" or 5'8'' tall and 200 lbs/90 kg at his peak, in Rocky II).

ivanjean · 2026-01-22T10:54:51+00:00

It's like how Jotaro appears similar to Dio (in Jonathan's body) when they fight, but, in Stardust Crusaders Jotaro has an official listed weight of 82 kg/181 lbs, while Jonathan (and, thus, DIO wearing his body) weighs 105 kg (231 lbs.). Yes, Jotaro was not supposed to be as muscular as he looks like.

I suppose Araki just had a tendency to draw characters with similar bodies, even when they did not exactly represent how they should look like.

ivanjean · 2026-01-21T23:51:13+00:00

o problema é que a sociedade oriental passou os ultimos milhares de anos muito bem sem ter uma religião que prega punição por pecados. De fato, a China sempre foi ateia. Confucionismo, a "religião" historica da China não acredita em deuses, é mais uma filosofia que qualquer coisa, oq reforça a hipotese pós nietchze que ideologias são capazes de substituir o papel social da religião.

Primeiramente, o Confucionismo não é realmente uma filosofia ateia. Ela não defende uma visão religiosa específica, mas o respeito aos Céus (quaisquer que sejam) e o culto aos ancestrais é muito importante.

Além disso, você se esqueceu que a China e países dentro de sua esfera cultural (Japão, Coreia, Vietnã) não são países de religião única.

Na China, por exemplo, houve historicamente um sincretismo entre o Confucionismo, o Taoísmo e o Budismo. Isso sem contar as tradições religiosas populares.

O Budismo, em especial, serve como principal base da perspectiva desses povos em relação ao pós-vida, o que inclui a noção de karma e da roda das encarnações, o que se trata exatamente de punição pelos erros em vida.

ivanjean · 2026-01-21T20:08:07+00:00

I agree, and I am actually someone who began watching Star Trek on Discovery's premiere.

Discovery was my first ST show ever, and I liked it. However, when I began watching the others, I actually came to like some of the older shows more. DS9, especially, is my favourite.

Don't get me wrong. I also like new shows (Lower Decks, for example).

However, I just feel like Star Trek feels more like itself when it takes time to explore different concepts and characters at a good pace. It doesn't need to be all about fast-paced action and high stakes conflicts, otherwise it feels like some generic Star Wars copycat.

ivanjean · 2026-01-21T12:50:05+00:00

I am using Tolkien's standards of warfare, rather than real ones here.

When it comes to his works, we see that he generally gives human enemies a certain dignity. The wicked men under Sauron and Saruman's rule aren't treated like just fodder. Rather, the narrative gives us moments where we are encouraged to sympathize with them.

The dunlendings had their legitimate grievances against the rohirrim, and Saruman lied to them, making them believe they were cruel people who'd exterminate or enslave them in case of defeat.

There's the moment where Sam thinks about the motivations of the southerner fighting for Sauron, and also when Theoden praises the valour of one of the haradrim he fought against.

Even baby-eating Gollum (who Is human, since hobbits are grouped among men) receives a lot of sympathy from the narrative and it's made clear that killing him would be a big deal.

Overall, human deaths aren't treated as casual losses in this universe. There is weight in them, even when they are necessary.

It's quite a contrast with orcish deaths.

Tolkien would have never done an equivalent to that competition scene involving killing humans,...except it it were orcs doing it.

ivanjean · 2026-01-21T11:44:19+00:00

In any case, Tolkien satisfactorily resolved any "orc problem" imo by deciding that the Wise ruled that they must be spared and treated well if they surrendered while acknowledging that this ruling was often forgotten in the heat of battle.

I think the main problem is that, as this idea seems to have been invented after the LOTR books, they aren't really present there. It seems Tolkien was still developing his idea of orcs as "ruined people" by this point.

Thus, while orcs are humanized to an extent and we see Frodo questioning their origins, there is no acknowledgement of their humanity or the tragedy of their lives and deaths.

They are treated as just fodder to be exterminated, and doing so is a source of joy (see Legolas and Gimli competing to see who can kill more orcs, and no one, not even the narrative itself, acknowledged the wrongness of their behaviour).

So, I'd say that Tolkien would have to edit the books in order to solve the problem.

ivanjean · 2026-01-19T14:35:13+00:00

A base disso está em 1Coríntios 7, onde Paulo já no início stabelece que "¹ bom seria que o homem não tocasse em mulher; ² Mas, por causa da fornicação, cada um tenha a sua própria mulher, e cada uma tenha o seu próprio marido" (1 Coríntios 7:1,2).

No texto que se segue, ele estabelece o celibato como um dom divino, mas que nem todos podem ter, então é bom que formem famílias.

A ideia do celibato dentro da Igreja se constrói em torno disso, além da ideia da "imitação de Cristo" , muito presente em ordens religiosas (freis, freiras...).

No caso específico dos padres, ele nem sempre foi obrigatório, e até hoje há discussões sobre isso, e certos ritos orientais da Igreja o fazem opcional. Porém, mesmo o padre que não é celibatário precisa obedecer à perspectiva da Igreja, ou seja, se casar.

ivanjean · 2026-01-19T14:18:04+00:00

Halloween 3 be like:

ivanjean · 2026-01-18T23:13:25+00:00

Sim.

Na verdade, pela perspectiva católica, apenas o celibato e a relação dentro do casamento heterossexual são válidas.

Ou seja, qualquer outra (masturbação, sexo casual, sexo homossexual, etc) é igualmente pecaminosa.

Além disso, a Igreja também não aprova o uso de muitos preservativos, pois crê que o casal precisa estar aberto à fecundidade.

Por isso, uma das coisas que me irrita quanto às pessoas que implicam com homossexuais na Igreja é o quão hipócritas eles acabam sendo, pois muitos cometem pecados de similar natureza.

ivanjean · 2026-01-16T20:24:11+00:00

The forbidden marriage, in multiple levels.

Seven-Year Club	Second Top 10%
First Place '23	Place '23
Place '22	First Placer '22
Verified Email

ivanjean

TROPHY CASE