elthbe

[elthbe]

Those "modern fairy tales where the princess saves herself" types of books not only misrepresent the gender roles in fairy tales (there are tons of stories where girls get to save the day), but they fundamentally misunderstand the entire genre.

Fairy tales aren't about saving yourself.

These aren't epic myths or heroic legends about the great warriors who slay every monster in their path because they're so awesome. Fairy tales are almost always about ordinary, even incompetent, people who get thrown into strange situations where they only succeed because of the help of others.

It's not a gendered thing. The boy who goes off to seek his fortune is usually the dim-witted third son whose older brothers are the strong, smart ones. The third son succeeds because he is kind to the magical helpers who then complete the tasks for him--and the exact same thing happens when a girl is the main character.

The characters in a fairy tale rarely succeed because they embrace their own strength and take their own path. Much more often, they are told step-by-step what to do, and they succeed because they obey--respecting the wisdom of others.

The core virtue of a fairy tale is not pride, but humility. It's not a story about the strong, but those who are weak, small, helpless. The people who can't do it all on their own, but can recognize the worth and wisdom of others.

Turning this story into a "girl power" (or even a "boy power") story warps it into something that is fundamentally the opposite of a fairy tale, and it has nothing to do with the gender of the main character.

[elthbe]

My little contribution to the Silmarillion fandom...

[elthbe]

Tall Fëanor looking at his smithing teacher's even taller, buff daughter while she lifts a 100lb slab of marble

[elthbe]

Right???? I will never understand Meloni's obsession with it; if anything she and her right wing gang are Saruman and Sauron😭

Tolkien writing kingdoms' moral decay and eventual decline: they exploited nature, destroyed forests and cut down trees

Tolkien writing male characters' moral decay and eventual decline: he stopped listening to his wife

[elthbe]

i think all quiet on the western front and the lord of the rings are in direct conversation with each other, as in theyre the retelling of the same war with one saying here’s what happened, we all died, and it did not matter at all and another going hush little boy, of course we won, of course your friends came back

[elthbe]

it fucks me up that tolkien only died in 1973. dude has the vibe of a victorian scholar who wrote all his manuscripts by candlelight but then you look him up and realise that he knew what color tv was. what the fuck.

[elthbe]

Day of Judgment! Day of doom!

When will you dawn and end my night?

When will the blow of annihilation resound

which shall crack the world asunder?

When all the dead rise again,

then shall I pass into the void.

You stars above, cease your course!

Eternal extinction fall on me!

(Richard Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer)

Me and @the-symphony-of-lydia-brown went to see the Flying Dutchman opera by Richard Wagner. I got inspired again to paint some Tolkien art. Have this Maglor

[elthbe]

Éowyn, disguised as Dernhelm, among the Riders of Rohan ⚔️

Based on Eugéne Grasset’s “Jeanne chevauchant au milieu des hommes d’armes” (1894)

[elthbe]

At some point in the third age

Galadriel: I am the last member of the house of finwë on these shores. My brothers, my cousins, my uncles; everyone who came here with me is long gone. I am my family's last survivor.

Meanwhile Maglor on the shore:

Galadriel: Sometimes I can still here their voices

[elthbe]

don't talk to me or my son ever again

[elthbe]

Tove Jansson’s illustrations of Bilbo Baggins are my absolute favorite. I’m obsessed with the Roundness. He’s an officially certified Little Guy

There’s also something so powerful about seeing such a small round character design suddenly whip out a sword:

[elthbe]

[elthbe]

Again, about how the Legendarium begins and ends in fire...

Melkor being drawn to the Flame Imperishable started a whole story. The One Ring perished in the fire, and new beginning was made.

Fëanáro born in fire started a compilation of his actions. As he died in fire, a new era was made.

Maedhros coming back as fire provoked a flipping of narratives. Dying in fire started a new Age.

However, Nerdanel, while starting in fire, did not end in fire. She ended in water, where her story will remain to be written and mourned, and never ended and never started anew.

The same goes for her son, Maglor, who held fire in his soul, and did not end in fire, instead walking along the shores that separate him and his kindred.

In Tolkien, fire is of endings turning into new beginnings.

In Tolkien, water is of a story that never quite ends and that never quite begins afresh, forever haunting the timeline.

[elthbe]

Maglor & Nienna

Not pictured: Maglors brothers being an absolute nightmare to mandos. He has them together, they immediately start making plans to break out. He separates them, they are somehow going more insane. At some point he just doesn't stop their escape attempts anymore. They are now the only elves to be illegally reborn.

btw niennas design is vaguely inspired by a statue of Mary

[elthbe]

[elthbe]

Tolkien writing kingdoms' moral decay and eventual decline: they exploited nature, destroyed forests and cut down trees

Tolkien writing male characters' moral decay and eventual decline: he stopped listening to his wife

[elthbe]

Idril meeting Tuor for the first time xD

Idril is having a full shoujo manga experience, while Tuor is trying to navigate a political drama loll