The River-daughter, Stoors and a Good-bye (kind of)

latest rings of power (and personal) updates

Hello and welcome to Many Meetings, the heart of Tolkien-dom on Substack!

I’m Breanne, a new-ish substacker, but a lifelong Tolkien fan. This space is one I’ve created to welcome others into these beautiful stories, sometimes on walks with my dog and sometimes in a quiet corner of your inbox.   

Many Meetings is where I’ll be hosting my yearly read-through of The Lord of the Rings coming this September (paid subscribers only!) and upcoming reviews on Rings of Power S2 this August. 

In today’s post I’m giving you an update about why I won’t be posting on TikTok for a while and some exciting news for Tolkien fans! 

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'Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread. That can't be right. I need a change, or something.' - Bilbo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter: A Long-expected Party, J.R.R. Tolkien 

First Things First 

A few years ago, I posted a few Tolkien-related videos on TikTok with absolutely zero expectations. To my shock, a few of them went viral and before I knew it, I had an audience of nearly 100k on that app. The swift growth of that platform has been good in many ways. It’s also been exhausting. 

Last year, on another whim, I decided to create a secondary space to talk all things Tolkien and this substack was born. I’m primarily a writer, not a video content creator. Having a place where I regularly write about my love of Tolkien’s legendarium just made sense and I’ve never regretted it. 

The community that has formed around this space and the read-throughs we’ve done has been incredible. Our next read-through starts September 22nd when we venture back into The Lord of the Rings together. (paid subscribers only)

For now, I’m taking a break from posting Tolkien-lore videos on TikTok, but fear not! This isn’t a break from sharing about Tolkien altogether. I’ll still be posting written content here on Many Meetings. If you’d like more Middle-earth in your inbox, I hope you’ll join in! 

I added four new maps (sold with this book) to my office. I’m going for Bilbo’s Study vibes in here and I think I’m nearly there.

The truth is, I can only commit to so much at one time. I live with a chronic illness and work part time. My capacity varies greatly from day-to-day. And, for now, posting on TikTok isn’t delivering the return on time/energy investments the way Substack is. The app has changed greatly in the two years I’ve been active on there and the amount of work it takes to “keep up” on TikTok isn’t sustainable for me year round. That’s why I love having this substack as another avenue to share Tolkien content with you. Your presence here is something I never take for granted. 

My plan is to take a break from posting videos until The Rings of Power S2 premieres on August 29th. Meanwhile, I’ll still putting out written content here.

Speaking of The Rings of Power

We’ve gotten all kinds of new sneak peeks at what’s to come in season two! Here’s some recent news I’ve compiled for you.

• The titles of the soundtrack for season two of The Rings of Power were released this week and I have so many thoughts (possible spoilers ahead). 

  What immediately stood out to me was how often Tom Bombadil is mentioned. I think its worth noting that the first and second to last tracks bear his name. Is this possibly hinting that he’ll have a bigger part to play this season than was initially speculated? And I’ll have to confess to a full on fangirl moment when I saw the title for track 14, “The River-daughter”. Are we actually getting Goldberry this season?!

  

• Entertainment Weekly unveiled a stunning article featuring beautiful visuals and some hints and clues about the next season of ROP. I clocked Nori in what appears to be some type of Hobbit-like community. The article confirms them to be ancestors of the Stoors.  Personally, I would love it if Nori (a Harfoot) ends up visiting all the different branches of Hobbits throughout the show. Maybe we’ll get the Fallohides in season three? 

• Finally, I don’t know if you’ve seen the latest trailer yet, but the highlight for me was seeing our first ever entwife onscreen! I simply canNOT wait for August 29th. 

The Road Goes Ever On and On

As stated above, the new season of Rings of Power starts August 29th and I’ll be posting my reviews as I’m able to. I’m still trying to figure out if that’s something I’m going to do in video or written format. Which would you prefer?

This September, I’ll be hosting my fourth annual read-through of The Lord of the Rings! This event has become a major highlight in my year and I’m always thrilled to have you join for those few weeks in autumn when we get to visit Middle-earth again. If you’re curious about how it works, you can read this post from last month where I broke it all down for you. 

I’ve started prep for what’s lining up to be a busy end of summer/beginning of fall for Tolkien fans. In order to do that well I have to intentionally make margins when and where I can. And right now, that means pausing TikTok work for a short while.

If you’re reading this from my TikTok community, I’ll miss connecting with you there but I’m really looking forward to posting there again once Rings of Power S2 begins! 

In the meantime, you can still find me (Billie and Juniper too!) hanging out and writing about Tolkien over here. 

You’re welcome to join us anytime if you like.