Paper Telephone.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

I'd be also up for playing. I can also mod, if nobody else felt up to it.

[Galadriel55]

I think at this point it's easier to say when am I not up for playing. I should probably be signed up by default.

I hesitate to mod because of my mild technological incompetence which has hindered past PTs that I tried to run. However, I can also give it another shot and do my share of modding if everyone wants to play.

[Kath]

Argh! With all the werewolf madness I missed the reveal!

Seriously, Lommy, what was with that opening sentence?! Also I have to admit, because both you and Legate have mentioned it, I traced that horse!

I think Nog's warrior rodent is brilliant but poor Shadowfax. From a king among horses to, well, a rat.

It took me so many reads of G55's sentence to understand why Form's picture had a ruler in it ...

Lommy I adore your picture but you definitely started a nudity trend - this is meant to be a family friendly forum!

Greenie I am deeply concerned about what has happened to you over lockdown. Any other odd scenes around your house you'd like to share?

Overall a great Paper Telephone! Thank you for modding, Lommy, and I would absolutely be up for another round.

[Huinesoron]

I am always up for another round of drawing strange pictures!

hS

[A Little Green]

Originally Posted by Kath

Greenie I am deeply concerned about what has happened to you over lockdown. Any other odd scenes around your house you'd like to share?

You'll have to wait until the next round! (I'm definitely in for another one, whoever is modding!) Seriously though, I saw that sentence and went, a horse and a naked hobbit, no way am I going to be able to draw that.

There were some really impressive pieces this time, especially Lommy, Pitchwife and Baranduin's gorgeous pictures. Legate's long-suffering David and Rune's armed to the teeth -pun also caused giggles.

[Brinniel]

I missed out on the last round, but I'd be interested in signing up if another round starts up again soon.

[Thinlómien]

I am quickly counting 10 potential players for another round which is already a respectable number.

[Rikae]

Paper telephone signups? Me! Me!

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

All right-y, so is there anybody who would like to mod? If not, I can take it upon myself.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

I didn't actually take a look at the finished game until now, even though Brandy told me it was done ages ago. What a great round!

Also, you can't blame any nudity on me! I was only describing the picture!

Legate, I think you're modding this one. I would volunteer, but I am rather a luddite these days, and there's no way I'd be able to do all the stuff required to get pictures on the Downs.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Very well! So, thus far, we have:

Lommy
Rune
Nogrod
G55
Kath
Hui
Greenie
Brinn
Rikae

TGEW, should I read your post as a sign-up as well?

Did I overlook anyone?

And Eönwë mentioned just before the last PT that he missed the sign-up - are you up for this one?

Otherwise, we already have a respectable number, so we could start this up soon. But I am certainly open for sign-ups (and we can take new people in even after it's started, provided it isn't too far). We'll be doing doubles, obviously...

[Kath]

Thanks for taking up the job, Legate!

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

And Eönwë mentioned just before the last PT that he missed the sign-up - are you up for this one?

I'm in!

[Blind Guardian]

I'll play too!

[Pitchwife]

Do I have to say it? I'm in.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

All right, I randomised the list of so-far-confirmed sign-ups and the situation looks like this:

Legate- write
Brinn - draw
Rune - write
Eönwë - draw
Rikae - write
Pitch - draw
G55 - write
Kath - draw
Greenie - write
Hui - draw
Lommy - write
BG - draw
Nogrod - write
TGEW - draw

Brinn - write
Rune - draw
Eönwë - write
Rikae - draw
Pitch - write
G55 - draw
Kath - write
Greenie - draw
Hui - write
Lommy - draw
BG - write
Nogrod - draw
TGEW-write

If nobody has any last-minute remarks or objections to their order in the line-up, I will come up with a sentence and then we can slowly start.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

...aaand we are going! Modifications to the list are still accepted, as long as we aren't past halfway through

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

I don't look at the Downs for a week and I miss Paper Telephone. I was volunteering to play, but as it's been a few days, I don't know if I'm too late now.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by TheGreatElvenWarrior

I don't look at the Downs for a week and I miss Paper Telephone. I was volunteering to play, but as it's been a few days, I don't know if I'm too late now.

Nope, you're just at the right time and spot - I will fill you in. Splendid! Now we have a balanced complement

And for the record, we're soon one-quarter through...

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

We have passed the halfway mark, everyone!

And I would like to remark that this... uh... got out of hand already a long time ago. So far, well done, everybody - though I am not sure if also as far as my sanity is concerned

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

We have passed the halfway mark, everyone!

And I would like to remark that this... uh... got out of hand already a long time ago. So far, well done, everybody - though I am not sure if also as far as my sanity is concerned

Hurray! I can't wait to see where it got to. This PT is promising absolute craziness and hilarity.

[Thinlómien]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

We have passed the halfway mark, everyone!

And I would like to remark that this... uh... got out of hand already a long time ago. So far, well done, everybody - though I am not sure if also as far as my sanity is concerned

Looking forward to my drawing turn!

[Galadriel55]

I am so excited for this. I can't wait to see what happened to it.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I am so excited for this. I can't wait to see what happened to it.

Yes, we are almost there. To be sure, all manners of things have happened to it

[Eönwë]

Very excited to see how this one ends up!

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Eönwë

Very excited to see how this one ends up!

It took a little, but we are in the finish now. Final lap now. I daresay you can expect the results very soon! Stay tuned! Get ready!

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by Eönwë

Very excited to see how this one ends up!

I have been checking in a few times a day lately, just to see if the final result had been posted.

[Galadriel55]

Darn it! I get excited every time I see a new post here, and every time am disappointed. But it's soooo close.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

And this time, it is here!

So, my fellow 'Downers, I present to you The Madness of Summer 2020 Paper Telephone.

It all began with an unassuming sentence, uttered once in the mists of time...

"Now it is time to drink the cup of farewell," she said. "Drink, Lord of the Galadhrim!"

The sentence got overheard by Brinniel, a promising artist-in-the-making, who depicted it thusly:



Little could she imagine the veritable Pandora's box this image would open. Already when Rune saw the art, he concluded:

After having dabbled in Silmaril and ring making, the latest elvish fad had become event-specific drinking vessels.

This was nothing to Eönwë, who promptly created his own rendition of such historical account:



It soon became clear that Rikae did not share the same view of events; observing the painting, they stated:

Goat-Legolas states the obvious to a case of party trophies.

The historical revisionism did not end there, however, as evidenced by the art of Pitchwife:

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

The imagery shocked Galadriel55 so much that the only thing she could recall was this ancient wisdom:

As any kid knows, if you cannot effectively shield yourself from tautology, you will tumble horns over hooves into socialism.

Faced with such a highbrow statement, Kath decided that the best course of action was to transform it into a more understandable form:



Not everyone's view of things is the same. For instance, this made Greenie think of the following:

In a new story from C. S. Lewis, Mr Tumnus decides to join a civil rights protest.

Upon hearing this piece of news, Huinesoron decided that it was not too late to build a career as a children's books illustrator, and procured the following masterpiece:



Why said career did not really continue well is reflected by Lommy's interpretation of the scenery:

When the Halls of Mandos froze over, diabolical Lobelia Sackville-Baggins was ready.

Blind Guardian knew just what to do, and decided to capture the moment as seen here:

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

The local construction expert, Nogrod, immediately made his own evaluation of what trespassed here:

The gates of Moria flipped when seeing Lobelia Sackville-Baggins trying to enter the mines with Bilbo's silverware.

TheGreatElvenWarrior was baffled upon hearing the request to portray such an unlikely configuration, nonetheless, it was necessary to try:



It was up to Brinniel again. She braced herself, looked at the image first with one eye, then with both, and then stuttered out the following sentence:

The hobbit was relieved she brought along her spoons as she followed the path of the crack to the entrance of Moria in the Upside Down.

Rune was not sure whether it was her or his senses that were leaving, but if these were to be the last moments of his sanity, he would spend them drawing:



The canvas was passed on to Eönwë, who made sure to record his interpretation of the event for posterity:

Frodo returns from Moria with gifts for the Sackville-Bagginses.

Rikae thought this was the perfect story for their tabloid newspaper, and went even so far to provide a catchy image for it:

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Pitchwife folded the newspaper, looked at his dogs, shook his head and commented:

Even disguised in a yellow jacket, Frodo couldn't deny his kinship with Lobelia.

Galadriel55, who had been just cutting grass near the window and absolutely not dropping any eaves, procured her art supplies and made the following caricature:



Kath found the image stacked amidst a pile of school papers she had been checking. She turned it over, and on the blank side, she scribbled:

Having already stolen the One Ring and Tom Bombadil's jacket, Bilbo started to formulate a plan for stealing his spoons back from Lobelia Sackville Baggins.

Greenie, who had been cleaning the leftover papers, decided to expand on the idea by providing the following drawing:



Huinesoron, having been in such a situation before, remained unfazed, and with scholarly dignity, typed the following:

Mrs Lily Cotton's raid on Lobelia's purloined spoons is widely regarded as the first act of the Hobbit Civil War (Afterlithe - Winterfilth, 1386).

When Lommy saw the encyclopaedia article thus created, her artistic spirit forced her to make a fitting picture to accompany it:

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Blind Guardian was not quite so blind to ignore it, and concluded:

While visiting an art museum, two generations of Hobbits contemplate the role their spoons played in the creation of a Picasso piece.

Which, in turn, was something Nogrod could not resist to state his opinion on in the form of art:



And when this work of art reached TheGreatElvenWarrior, it was the basis for this final description:

The Great Artist explains to his apprentice how he took the hobbit spoons to make his masterpieces.

*******

That's it! Here we are. Thank you all so very much for participating, it was a round with certainly many very interesting elements and twists and turns, and some amazing high-quality art as well as many creative sentences. It has been a lot of fun for me and I certainly hope it was for you as well.

[Huinesoron]

Yesssss!

I really like Brinniel's opening picture - there's something about the style that really appeals to me. Rikae's humour of 'states the obvious' led perfectly into Pitch's reference-packed image, which in turn gave G55 the perfect opening.

And that's where Mr. Tumnus came from! I did wonder. ^_^ I did also suspect that the umbrella might transform Tumnus into Lobelia, so I'm pleased to know I got that right.

The Gates of Moria proved surprisingly persistant... I like Rune's hobbit, it charms me. And I'm wildly amused by the fact that Eonwe led us away from the spoons, only for Rikae to bring them straight back.

The Amazing Transforming Jacket (which Greenie's lovely picture had me convinced was Lily's dressing-gown!) led to Lommy's inspired interpretation of my ramblings, and so enabled Nogrod to transform our protagonist one last time. I love the fact that the last two pictures, plus the inset in Nogrod's, all share the same layout.

That was heaps of fun! I would apologise for dragging Lobelia into thing, but I'm not gonna. ^_^

hS

[Nogrod]

It's funny how some things just seem to refuse to disappear from the story - like Lobelia & the spoons this time.

It was quite a hilarious round, but I would still like to celebrate the early exchange where Rikae's "stating the obvious" and "party trophies" turned into tautologies & socialism - and to Mr. Tumnus! I was literally laughing out loud sitting alone at my laptop.

[Pitchwife]

*is dumbstruck with awe*

[Galadriel55]

The goat was Legolas? The GOAT was flipping LEGOLAS?! o.0

I need a moment.

[Galadriel55]

I think I may need to explain that. You see, that goat was driving me absolutely bonkers for weeks. I really wanted to know what in Udun was going on in that picture. Hilariously, I even got the taking the hobbits to Isengard reference - just didn't know what to do with it in context, and was this close to responding with "boil it, mash it, stick it in a stew". So I spent lots of time gazing open-mouthed upon Pitchie's beautiful work of art, wondering what in the name of sanity could have happened in the first quarter (!) of the PT.


...Turns out, a lot.

I can't believe that simple, bland, innocent sentence was the mother of all madness. And every picture and sentence were evolving things one step further at a rapid pace. And then we finally reached the "constant" element (the state of equilibrium?) with Lobelia's spoons. It amused me to see how many stories and interpretations could still focus on those spoons! It took me 2 reads to understand how Bilbo in Bombadil's jacket became Lily Cotton - but it's brilliant! And the final sentence, which is very suitably meta: how the artists used Lobelia's spoons for their masterpieces, huh?


Favourite sentences: Rune's very first sentence, which was an inspired an elaborate interpretation. Lommy's frozen Halls of Mandos and diabolical Lobelia. Kath's, which reveals Bilbo's career as a burglar to be much more extensive than he would have us believe.

Favourite drawings: Pitchwife's goat picture, which drove me crazy but is a wonderful art piece (and of course is perfectly logical now with the preceding steps in sight). Likewise, Hui's picture can easily go on a book cover. TGEW's, which was a fabulous literal interpretation. Rikae's, which made me laugh. Greenie's sour-faced Lobelia. Lommy's creative depiction of a civil war.



That was an excellent round! I agree with Nog that the early rapid evolution was absolutely hilarious - but likewise all the different takes on Lobelia and her spoons. And I can finally have peace now and stop wondering how that goat wandered into the story and casually shield-coasted into a box of trophies...

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

What a fun game! I'm up for modding next round if anyone is interested in playing.

Like Galadriel55, I loved Rune's first sentence. I thought that Brin's interpretation of the starting quote was really lovely and succinct and Rune made it (unintentionally) hilarious right at the beginning of the game. Eönwë's picture was really hilarious. I loved all the very specific events on each dish.

Pitch's picture was strange and fun. I had to read over the sentence carefully again when I saw it because goat-Legolas really threw me off my guard. Kath's picture and Greenie's sentence were a good combo, it was fun to see Mr. Tumnus come into the craziness. Huinesoron's picture was absolutely gorgeous, and I love how his picture of Mr. Tumnus, someone known for his umbrella, brought us back to Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, someone else also known for her umbrella. It seems that everybody loves Lobelia, she keeps making appearances during our games, and I really love it!

Rikae's picture made Baranduin and me laugh out loud. I thought it was really funny how Frodo's expression in G55's pic looks so anxious and uncomfortable, it really captures a mood.

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

And the final sentence, which is very suitably meta: how the artists used Lobelia's spoons for their masterpieces, huh?

Hey, it was the final sentence, I figured I could be ambiguous. And also, I'm sure I don't know what you mean about my sentence being "suitably meta". I play it straight here!

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Random, but hopefully chronological thoughts:

First of all I think Brinn did a good job getting us started, an innocent sentence perhaps, but not easy to convert into a drawing (in my opinion).

Also who would have thought that Rikae writing "Goat-Legolas", could result in such lovely imagery. Once again I am i awe of Pitch's drawing (nice take on party trophy)

I am glad that this game contained the sentence of G55, but I am so happy that I didn't have to draw it.

When I had to draw I was so confused by "the upside down", and I am happy to see that I was not alone in being confused by this element.

Having already praised his drawing things might get to his head, but I also like the sentence that Pitch came up with.

The facial expression that Greenie managed to get on Lobelia is priceless, and will haunt me whenever I pass Lobeliavej on my way to the bus.

When Lommy decided to incorporate Guernica as a symbol of a hobbit civil war my head exploded, and the rest of me disintegrated when Nogrod decided to Brigitte Bardot into the mix.