#thanks to everyone who submitted ^__^

[perfectlychee]

compilation of villager requests ✉️ೃ࿔

[everydaylouie]

The Virtual Toad Choir Presents: SILENT NIGHT

[lovingly-dedicated]

Marxolor Week '25 Prompt List

The event runs from July 2nd to the 9th! Details below...

The prompt list is finally out! Look forward to the festivities from JULY 2ND to JULY 9TH!

You may notice that there are two lists instead of the usual one. This is thanks to our wonderful community, who contributed 7 prompts out of 14! On each day, you are free to use one of the prompts or both! (You can even combine the two into one piece!)

Unlike other ship weeks, Marxolor Week does not has a specific assigned "Free Day!" Instead, in true chaotic style, you may select any one day to become the "Free Prompt" using the Wildcard. You can create whatever you want on that day, your imagination is the limit!

(Just make sure to list what day you're replacing with the Wildcard ^^ Submissions will be reblogged until September 9th, so no pressure)

Lastly, during the ship week, all posts tagged #Marxolor Week '25 will be reblogged on this account day by day! However, you're free to think, create and post content for the ship week starting now! Go go go!!

Stay tuned for the Prompt Guide for further explanation and inspiration for the prompts! And as always, both romantic and platonic interpretations are welcome <3

[sanzodaily]

day 6 | its the thought that counts.

[sunshinedaizeyy]

The journey has come to an end. We may rest again

[inthehouseoffinwe]

I saw your cool post about the Sindar's treatment of the silmaril. I think the strange logic behind Luthien/Dior/Elwing's claim to the silmarils is likely a consequence of Tolkein's Catholicism and "turn-of-the-century" worldview leaking into the work (which can be seen in multiple other examples, particularly Miriel being portrayed as a "bad mother" who doesn't obey her husband and ruined her son's life by refusing to come back to life ASAP and Indis is the "good woman" who steps up to serve Finwe, whose descendants are favored by the Valar). He thinks that an important/beautiful item ought not to truly belong to its creator, but to the "public benefit" and therefore under the Valar's true possession (although I personally wonder what benefits the silmarils ever brought to anyone, other than pathological addiction to their light). Ultimately, handing over the silmaril is a sign of absolute obediance to the Valar and the only reason they fight Morgoth. So it appears that they value obediance more highly than their duty to protect the children of Eru from Morgoth, which is in line with Catholic principles of the supreme will of divine beings.

Furthermore, Tolkein builds Arda on the very notion that certain races (elves, and above them, Maiar and Valar except Sauron and Morgoth) are just ontologically pure and superior (biologically/racially divine) to all others. So even if they do something wrong (commit theft), they are somehow still right if it is not against Eru's will. The support for this is in Letter 183, he says "...So even if in desperation 'the West' had bred or hired hordes of orcs and had cruelly ravaged the lands of other Men as allies of Sauron, or merely to prevent them from aiding him, their Cause would have remained indefeasibly right." This notion is obviously highly problematic under modern standards of morality and equal rights for all. Nonetheless that is probably how Tolken legitimized Luthien and her descendant's theft of the silmaril -- they are part-Maia, superior by nature to all other elves, especially those that have kinslayed. It would explain why Dior wasn't burned by the jewel when he killed dwarves for it, and why Elwing justifies her claim to the jewel as "my grandma wore it and my dad died for it" without actual legal entitlement to it. Granted, trauma is also an explanation, but the explicit reason given in the text appears to be based on an assumption of innate superiority through part-Maia heritage (as Luthien was only able to retrieve the silmarils through Maiar powers and love for Beren, when no full elves could).

So all of these premises are very objectionable by secular standards of equality, governance, and property law. But Tolkein was a devout Catholic who grew up and fought for the British Empire, which also espoused a racial heirarchy. And all of this bled into the Silmarillion and created certain incongruencies in the treatment of various characters.

Hi Anon, thanks for sending this!

I'm going to break this reply down into points for the sake of coherency, but there is something I want to address first:

I am not Christian and whilst I’ve grown up around several, cannot speak for all their beliefs in detail. However, having had my own faith completely warped to make points which are the opposite of what I believe, I avoid using religion as a base for discourse unless I am certain of what I am saying, and have made sure it won't be interpreted the wrong way.

In general, there's a disturbing trend of painting people who follow a religion as inherently backwards or oppressive. No time is taken to understand their beliefs, the complexities behind them, and if these beliefs are even being understood and applied within the right context.

Tolkien using his faith as a base for his fictional world is not inherently bad nor should it be seen that way.

With this in mind, let's dive into things!

1. Breaking the Miriel/Indis narrative into simple good and bad does a disservice to the characters and the author. We simply don’t get enough time with the characters or this part of the story to make a clear cut statement.

I don’t see Miriel portrayed negatively at all. When Tolkien speaks of the effects of Miriel's death, he writes them in the shadow of what actions Fëanor and Finwë took because they could not let her go, rather than blaming Miriel for leaving. Fëanor is what he is because of what he (and Finwë) chose to do with his mother's memory and absence.

Miriel herself is treated gently, her exhaustion deemed reason enough for her departure, and her death written in ambiguous terms:

‘She went then to the gardens of Lórien and lay down to sleep; but though she seemed to sleep, her spirit indeed departed from her body, and passed in silence to the Halls of Mandos.’

She is not blamed for leaving, rather the opposite. It seems she had no choice in the end. Other elves blame Finwë for his decision to marry again, not Miriel for leaving:

'...many saw the effect of the breach... judging that if Finwë had endured his loss and been content with the fathering of his mighty son, the courses of Fëanor would have been otherwise...'

Later on when Tolkien writes of Finwë’s preference for his eldest, Finwë is put in the spotlight for making a bad decision/reacting the wrong way to his loss. Miriel remains innocent.

'But the shadow of Miriel did not depart... from his heart; and of all whom he loved Fëanor had ever the chief share of his thought.'

Miriel being a 'bad mother' seems to stem from fanon interpretation.

Indis is also interesting because we see little to nothing of her as her own character. I would argue if she really was the 'good woman' she would have stayed with Finarfin and supported him in maintaining her husband's legacy rather than returning to the Vanyar.

Regarding her children, Fingolfin is written as someone as guilty as Fëanor in the initial instigation: another prince who let his pride and arrogance blind him to the point where he was picking fights and vying for leadership as much as his half-brother. His later decisions may have been better, but I don't see corrolation between Indis marrying Finwë and him becoming a great (but guilty) king. Finarfin too is left to his own merit, and we don't hear much about her daughters.

(I’d add that under this argument, Elwing should be punished for abandoning her children. Instead we see her descendants rise to become great kings and wise elves. We could say not being allowed back to ME is a punishment, but that’s a different discussion.)

But in essence, I think the early 20th Century ideas of a good/bad mother/wife aren't seen here.

2. I agree that Tolkien has a 'public benefit' approach to things. Interestingly, the Valar's apparent right to the silmarils only occurs after the Trees go out, as they are supposedly a way to restore them.

There is a strange relationship here regarding the Treelight. The light was supposedly for everyone, and Fëanor’s creation is seen as his even by the Valar. Then the trees go out and suddenly everyone has a right to the stones. Now morally you can argue Fëanor should have given the silmarils, but in terms of ownership, they are his. The light was for everyone. He took what was for everyone and made something his own from it that everyone acknowledged belonged to him.

I also agree that the Valar demanded obediance over their duty to protect to children of Illuvatar, however disagree on the allignment with Catholic principles which leads me to the next point.

3. Tolkien has stated in his letters that the Valar made a mistake and essentially went against Eru when they raised the Pelóri (I can't remember the letter number) to fence off Valinor, and left the men and Elves in Middle Earth to suffer.

He makes it clear that the only truely divine and supreme being is Eru, and the Valar, though emmiseries or angels of a sort, can and do mess up. They should not have been silent and left Beleriand to Morgoth and Middle Earth to Sauron. Manwë especially fell into pride and arrogance.

4. Regarding letter 183 ‘the West’ referred to are people within Middle Earth specifically, such as those of Gondor and Rohan. The point Tolkien’s making is regarding larger causes vs the good and evil people are capable of.

People can do bad things, but these actions do not necessarily mean their ultimate Cause is wrong. There is a difference between an action and the reason for it, one does not necessarily negate the other.

In this case, he says if the West (Gondor, Numenor, etc) bred orcs to attack men working under or around Sauron, the action would be wrong. But this doesn’t automatically make their ultimate goal of defeating Sauron wrong - Sauron is still a very real threat and must be defeated for everyone's sake. What happens regarding people who use brutal means of achieving this goal is separate to this goal.

This is something I think we can still agree with.

5. We can trouble Maia = inherent goodness/supremacy considering Sauron, Saruman, and the Balrogs, but I see what you mean.

However, I think the problem lies with how Tolkien percieves the Fëanorians more than the Sindar and Melian's line. Tolkien believes the light within the Silmarils ultimately belongs to the Valar, and everything that happened because Fëanor didn't means the Noldor have no claim to the gems. Going back to letter 183, the Cause of the Fëanorians is Wrong. They can do good things like fighting Morgoth, but remain ultimately 'bad.'

With this thinking, basically anyone has more of a right to the Silmarils than the Fëanorians. Luthien is superior to other elves because she hasn't hurt anyone or been the aggressor more than because she is part Maia. That's just a bonus and gives the impression she is less inclined to evil.

Furthermore her Cause is good. And her actions, driven by love, are portrayed as good. For Tolkien, she fulfils every need to take the claim of the silmaril.

Regarding Dior, I think here is when we see some of that Empire mindset rather than a religious one. Killing the dwarves for something they actually have more of a claim to screams colonial violence the British Empire was well known for.

I don't think the Maia heritage actually matters. It's Luthien who is generally referenced when they speak of her descendants, and I think that's because of her actions more than her mother.

6. Now all this in mind, we have to remember Tolkien uses a named narrator, and to keep within that he says he is merely translating writings into modern english. As such we can pull literally anything and everything written into question, to the point of taking something he believes about the writing and completely flipping it around.

Final Thoughts:

Arda was no doubt shaped by Tolkien's personal beliefs in empire and religion. But in reading the text only through this there is a danger in broadsweeping whole ideas into binary right and wrong when the points he is making are much more complex. Ultimately he deals with the human, and keeps to a loose style to evoke thoughts and discussion. It's important to remember that in any discussion of his work, we can hold opposing opinions and still be right. We don't have to follow his singular narrative.

~ Sorry this got so long, but you raised some very interesting points and ideas and I wanted to spend time on them. I know I haven't spoken much on the silmaril itself so if I missed something, please feel free to send another ask :)

[realjrwiquotes]

day 33

Jay Ferin: Fuck my fucking gay ass stupid life

Riptide #114: Still Not Ferin Well - 1:47:40 submitted by anon timestamp provided by @foxtriestobiteandmaimandkilland

[trans-axolotl]

Image description: [Black text on lined paper. Text reads: Share your story with the Psych Survivor Archive. Hold the psychiatric system accountable for the violence and coercion we've survived. Make space for our anger. Grieve together. Celebrate our resistance. The Psych Survivor Archive is a forum for psych survivors to share about their experiences and be believed. You can share as much or as little as you want. Your story will be anonymously published on the website with writing from other psych survivors. The archive is open to anyone who identifies as a psych survivor, including people who survived inpatient hospitalization, rehab, troubled teen industry, partial hospitalization, outpatient programs, ABA, and any other form of coercion psych treatment. Check out the prompts, participant rights, and content guidelines. Share your story now: www.psychsurvivorarchive.com/submit-your-story]

Hey everyone. I wanted to share this here as well. The Psych Survivor Archive is looking for anyone who wants to share their story and have it anonymously published on the website, in order to create a collection of our experiences navigating the psych system. Your responses will be anonymous and can be as detailed or vague as you want. On the website, there are prompts, but you can feel free to share in whatever format makes sense to you.

This is a more informal way to participate in the Psych Survivor Archive if you are not interested in creating art for the zine, but still want your story to be heard and validated.

For me, it has felt very cathartic to write out my story, on my terms, in the way that I want to be known. I hope that the archive can offer that space to other psych survivors as well, and I can't wait to keep developing this project and offering even more. In the next couple weeks, submissions will open up for the second edition of the zine, so if you're interested in submitting creative art or writing keep an eye out!

love and solidarity always <3

[obscurelesmisshipsbracket]

After receiving well over one hundred wonderfully obscure ship submissions, these seemed rather relevant. To some of you more than others.

[fence-time]

Buncha’ impy’s by a buncha’ folk

Designs by :

@ / Izel.the.washbear (instagram)

@dronepikachu

@dragonpuff17

@kbmrjmd

@manyuewangliang

@dailyhermitdoodles

@itstaisstuff

@mxmarsbars

[haguenauisforlovers]

♡ TO ALL WEBGOTT WRITERS ♡

First of all, you are loved. Second of all, as announced, this event will in fact be hosting a fic collection on AO3: Haguenau is for Lovers 2025 and it is now OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS.

FIC SUBMISSION DATES TO REMEMBER Fic collection reveal: Feb 12, 2024 Fic collection close: Feb. 20, 2024

It’s highly encouraged that you post your HifL Webgott fics in the collection so that in 20 years, when we all look back at this year's Valentine’s Week, we can all collectively say, wow, it really was terminal. Please read this event's fic rules, submission guidelines, and FAQs by clicking on ‘Keep Reading’!

How do I post a fic to a collection?

1. Head on over to the collection profile page (just click the link, babes): Haguenau is for Lovers 2025. 2. Click the “Post to Collection” button, as seen in the screencap below. You will be led out to the usual Publishing screen area.

3. Input your fic elements as per usual by adding your fic title, tags, relationships, characters, body of text, etc. Note: You can, in fact, save your work as a draft and the collection will still be saved in your drafted fic settings. If you find any stray typos or sentences that you want to rearrange after publishing the work to the collection, you’re free to edit away as you would a fic that’s published outside a collection. 4. Hit publish, and ta-da, you have imprinted Webgott into your soul and shared your work with like-minded sickos. Congratulations and thank you for your service. *At any point between Feb. 12-20, Webgott fics are welcome to be posted and published into the collection. 5. All fics (regardless of prompts followed) will be revealed and published by the moderators starting Feb. 12, 2025 (Webgott Wednesday). So if you submit early, and you don’t see your work appear on the collection, don’t worry! It will be appear on the date mentioned.

*For early fic submissions:

If you publish or draft your work before Feb. 12, 2025, we encourage you to change the date of your work once the collection is opened to the latest date. That way, your work will be bumped up to the latest works in the fandom/ship tag. 

E.g. You drafted/published your work into the collection on Feb. 10, 2025. Follow these steps to edit the date:

1. Go to your fic and click the “Edit” button. 2. Scroll down to the “Associations” area. There you will see a toggle button that says “Set a different publication date” (See screencap below). Click the check box to allow the date change.

3. Change it to the current date. 4. Scroll down and click “Post” to save your changes.

Can I submit more than one fic to the collection?

Yes, you can! Write out your Webgott heart’s desires. There is no limit to the number of fic submissions per person. The more the crazier. ♡

Is there a minimum/maximum word count limit?

There is none. Drabbles, poems, long fic, multi-chap if you have them are all welcome.

Can we include other ships?

This is a Webgott event so they must be The Main Relationship. Joe Liebgott/David Webster, that’s what it’s all about, baby. Ships apart from Webgott are welcome as background/implied.

Can we do AUs? 

AUs can be incorporated in, but fics should be set primarily in Haguenau.�� e.g. Post-war is allowed but they have to be reminiscing about Haguenau. Modern AU but they’re thrown into a time machine and land right smack behind enemy lines. You get what we mean.

Are AI-generated fics allowed? 

Aww hell no. All Webgott works found here will be organic and free-range. RPF is honest work for real, beautiful, flesh-and-blood sickos. AI generated fics will be excluded from the collection.

Do you have any prompts?

Yes we do, friend. You can find them here!

Will you reblog my fic post on Tumblr?

Of course! Mention @haguenauisforlovers in your caption and/or tag your post with either #haguenauisforlovers or #webgottvday and we’ll be sure to reblog it on to our page.

Any more questions? Feel free to send over any inquiries you might have. This event’s inbox is open! Soooo excited to read everyone’s fics! Yayyyy. ♡

[azurityarts]

oh god why are there 2000 of you now

Sorry for the lack of posts recently; life's been really busy and hectic and classes starting back up have not made that easier ><

To all the new folks who've found this blog, welcome! I do the art thing sometimes - I should probably be making this formal and proper but it's past midnight and I just can't rn lol

but uh. tradition is tradition (except I can't be bothered to make a proper description or ruleset) - throw your pmd ocs at me or something and might maybe possibly draw them if I have time LOL

[personinthepalace]

Inspired by this post

[p3girlsweek]

Hey everyone! P3GirlsWeek2024 will be taking place from August 5th - 11th, here is this year's prompts!

You can read the rules and guidelines for the event here!

Text version of the prompts can be found under the read more.

Day 1: Festival / Music / Comfort Day 2: Dark Hour / Training / Dorm Life Day 3: Childhood / Future / Promise Day 4: Fashion / Girl’s Night Out / First Date Day 5: Grief / Companion / Memento Day 6: La Dolce Vita (the sweet life) / Celebration / Crisis Day 7: Sleepover / Swap / Free Day!

The prompts listed above are only suggestions, feel free to interpret and combine them however you like. Happy planning!

[fruitdaze]

in the newsletter today: clearing up some misconceptions about the ides of march, plus the romans q&a! if you have seen that post on here that said “i’m taking the ides of march away from this site until you guys understand anything about roman history” and thought to yourself “but i DON’T understand anything about roman history,” this is the newsletter for you. also, i talk about phallic art for a hot minute

[1o1percentmilk]

hi milk love u milk can u draw shou in stagnant or lobotomy???

*lo-res explosion sound*