Day 14: Tick- Gollum. I once saw a stage production of The Hobbit where the actress playing Gollum gave her character a physical “tic” of slapping the ground repeatedly, and I’ve always remembered it.
Day 15: Helmet- Poor old Turín Turambar and Glaurung
Day 16: Compass- Fingolfin leading the Noldor across the Helcaraxë
There [the Ring] dwelt, until even in the year of the assault upon Dol Guldur it was found again, by a wayfarer, fleeing into the depths of the earth from the pursuit of the Orcs… ~ The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power
…and by its finder [the Ring] was brought beyond search into dark hiding under the roots of the mountains. ~ The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power (Art: “Precious Dreams” by JakeMurray on deviantART)
For [the One Ring] had been taken from Anduin long ere they sought for it, being found by one of the small fisher-folk that dwelt by the River, ere the Kings failed in Gondor… ~ The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power (Art: “Smeagol and the Ring of Power” by drkay85 on deviantART)
Again he lifted Frodo and drew his hands down to his own breast, letting his master’s legs dangle. Then he bowed his head and struggled off along the climbing road….Panting under his load Sam turned the bend; and even as he did so, out of the corner of his eye, he had a glimpse of something falling from the crag, like a small piece of black stone that had toppled off as he passed.
A sudden weight smote him and he crashed forward, tearing the backs of his hands that still clasped his master’s. Then he knew what had happened, for above him as he lay he heard a hated voice.
‘Wicked masster!’ it hissed. ‘Wicked masster cheats us; cheats Sméagol, gollum. He musstn’t go that way. He musstn’t hurt Preciouss. Give it to Sméagol, yess, give it to us! Give it to uss!’
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, “Mount Doom”
“Gollum was captured in Mordor in the year 3017 and taken Barad-dûr, and there questioned and tormented. When he had learned what he could from him, Sauron released him and sent him forth again. He did not trust Gollum, for he divined something indomitable in him, which could not be overcome, even by the Shadow of Fear, except by destroying him. But Sauron perceived the depth of Gollum’s malice towards those that had "robbed” him, and guessing that he would go in search of them to avenge himself, Sauron hoped that his spies would thus be led to the Ring.
Gollum, however, was before long captured by Aragorn, and taken to Northern Mirkwood; and though he was followed, he could not be rescued before he was in safe keeping. Now Sauron had never paid heed to the “Halflings,” even if he had heard of them, and he did not yet know where their land lay. From Gollum, even under pain, he could not get any clear account, both because Gollum indeed had no certain knowledge himself, and because what be knew he falsified. Ultimately indomitable he was, except by death, as Sauron did not fully comprehend, being himself consumed by lust for the Ring. Then he became filled with a hatred of Sauron even greater than his terror, seeing in him truly his greatest enemy and rival. Thus it was that he dared to pretend that he believed that the land the Halflings was near to the places where he had once dwelt beside the banks of the Gladden.“
–J.R.R. Tolkien, Unfinished Tales, "The Hunt for the Ring”
(Edit: It appears that Tumblr’s new format no longer displays the content source in the upper-right corner, so here is the sourcefor the artwork.)
‘So you have been there [to Mordor]?’ Frodo insisted. 'And you’re being drawn back there, aren’t you?’
'Yess. Yess. No!’ shrieked Gollum. 'Once, by accident it was, wasn’t it, precious? Yes, by accident. But we won’t go back, no, no!’ Then suddenly his voice and language changed, and he sobbed in his throat, and spoke but not to them. 'Leave me alone, gollum! You hurt me. O my poor hands, gollum! I, we, I don’t want to come back. I can’t find it. I am tired. I, we can’t find it, gollum, gollum, no, nowhere. They’re always awake. Dwarves, Men, and Elves, terrible Elves with bright eyes. I can’t find it. Ach!’ He got up and clenched his long hand into a bony fleshless knot, shaking it towards the East. 'We won’t!’ he cried. 'Not for you.’ Then he collapsed again. ’Gollum, gollum,’ he whimpered with his face to the ground. 'Don’t look at us! Go away! Go to sleep!’
'He will not go away or go to sleep at your command, Sméagol,’ said Frodo. 'But if you really wish to be free of him again, then you must help me. And that I fear means finding us a path towards him. But you need not go all the way, not beyond the gates of his land.’
Gollum sat up again and looked at him under his eyelids. 'He’s over there,’ he cackled. 'Always there. Orcs will take you all the way. Easy to find Orcs east of the River. Don’t ask Sméagol. Poor, poor Sméagol, he went away long ago. They took away his Precious, and he’s lost now.’
'Perhaps we’ll find him again, if you come with us,’ said Frodo.
'No, no, never! He’s lost his Precious,’ said Gollum.
–J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, “The Taming of Sméagol” (Art by Peter Xavier Price)
[Image description Tweet from @joelmuchai “When someone out of your league starts flirting with you.” Attached image is of a person sticking their tongue out at an uncomfortable-looking statue of Gollum from Lord of the Rings.]
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![‘So you have been there [to Mordor]?’ Frodo insisted. 'And you’re being drawn back](https://64.media.tumblr.com/84092f11ba8cb24b71564d2e7e49b1e0/tumblr_n1yym1m4P41rtwlb5o1_1280.jpg "‘So you have been there [to Mordor]?’ Frodo insisted. 'And you’re being drawn back")
