flowering-smile - Tumblr blog

[flowering-smile]

So like. Where did Melkor live after he was freed from Mandos? The text never mentions him having his own halls in Valinor, so was he chillin in Manwe’s basement or was he sleeping on a park bench in Tirion?

[flowering-smile]

see, on the one hand, the figure of "the good orc" has immense storytelling potential that I'm not willing to abandon, but on the other, despite the problems it poses, problems both I and the author are/were aware of — LotR and Silm do need irredeemable monsters for the heroes to fight serving as the troops of the enemy, because it simply serves the story they tell. Tolkien actually has a lot to say about morality during war, but he simply isn't interested in looking at the issue of killing the enemy in self-defense that closely, perhaps in order to give himself space to focus on that other stuff.

we are made assume there is no other way and move on to those more secondary questions (in the sense of them being built upon the answer to the first one in some ways). but having seen ww1 Tolkien was, I think, simply uninterested in spending yet more time within that same paradigm he found himself trapped in, the war where you and the foot-soldiers on the other side have nothing against eachother personally and are expected to kill.

this is aside from the matter that questions lotr and silm poses are not always applicable to real life anyway (speculative fiction is the term, after all) — as real life warfare isn't at the same time symbolical of a conflict between good and evil as absolutes, but the answer to the age-old query about authorial intent is plainly not that Tolkien himself thought of the world in such simplified terms, but that these terms were part of the set-up to his story.

[flowering-smile]

Daily Affirmations

- I am an artist and a craftsman. I paint with watercolors, teal and white, and I bend silver to my hands.

- I am capable. I have an eye for hue, for shape, for purpose.

- My father is proud of me. I bear his name, and his blood is within me, and I shall live up to it.

- The world is full of darkness and smoke, and we make beautiful things.

- Nothing will last. Not the land, not the tower, not the fortress—not the trees which give us light nor my grandfather’s sharp grey eyes. By our art we must be remembered, as he is.

- The stronghold falls. I paint with watercolors, blue and black and grey. It is beautiful.

- I can earn my place in the underground city. My hands will show my worth, though my father laughs and tells me not to bother.

- I can please the king, bask in the sunshine-brightness of his gaze, the crystal beauty of his voice. I can catch in silver the kindness he shows me.

- I need not my father’s love. I need not my father’s love. I need not my father’s love.

- The king is dead. I paint with watercolors, orange and yellow and green. It is beautiful.

- I can leave the city, and the shame which follows me, and the ash and blood on my skin. The fall of the city will not touch me. My father’s death will not touch me. I twist braids of silver and gold. I sketch passageways. I cut crystal. Nothing can touch me, for I am of metal and stone, and I do not feel.

- I can build Nargothrond into Eregion’s gardens, her domed temples, her crystal passageways. I keep the ghost by me, and turn to it to a friend.

- I am not my father. I am not my grandfather. I have the love of my kin and quarrel with none. I paint with water colors, indigo and silver. It is beautiful.

- I will make something of this land, and it will last. I need not my name, and yet I will fill it.

- The Valar have chosen me for a reason.

- This is worth the cost. It must be.

- I need not Galadriel’s love; she is headstrong and takes ambition for folly. I need not Elrond’s love; he is kind, yet young and weak yet of spirit, swayed too easily by the king’s word. I need not Gil-galad’s love; he fears anything he cannot control.

- I am capable. I have an eye for spirit, for power, for purpose.

- I know what I am doing.

- I will make something beautiful, and it will last.

- I am an artist and a craftsman. I bend silver to my hands. I paint with watercolors, crimson, and I wait for

[flowering-smile]

man it sucks feanor died and all but i’m feeling really positive about maedhros’ kingship. he’s actually asked me to tag along with him as he goes to a negotiation meeting tomorrow. really feeling like this is gonna be our year, you know, as the noldor and all,

[flowering-smile]

i’ve never ignored a piece of canon more than i ignore the “the elves who return all live on tol eressëa” thing, because a) it fucking sucks, b) what makes the return to aman so beautiful is the possibility for reunion, for meetings between elves who haven’t met before, who’ve come back to life, etc., whereas the tol eressëa situation actively hinders that, and b) it’s confusing and paradoxical, because why would a re-embodied elf be allowed to live in aman proper, whereas an elf who happened to survive everything middle-earth threw at them and returned by boat would not be?

in MY book, the elves can live wherever the fuck they want, and there’s a lot of commuting and sea traffic between aman and tol eressëa

[flowering-smile]

I have strong opinions about maglor being a tenor as opposed to fingon and finrod who are baritones and therefore have a slightly deeper range than him so both of them absolutely lord it over him by writing songs that are great for their voices but just a little too low for maglor while he constantly writes ones that balance right between fingon and finrod needing to use falsetto and the uncomfortable high part of their natural range but maglor can sing them just fine it's a whole war and no one wins except turgon who was caught in the middle of it and decided that the best way to deal with all of that was to be so bad at singing that it would punish all three idiots whenever he opened his mouth to try one of their songs except it didn't work because they took that as a challenge and it was the only time those three ever worked together and it was terrifying

[flowering-smile]

Hear me out. Maedhros would make an incredible high king not only for his own skill, but because he has six brothers keeping a close eye on everything.

Maedhros: The Leader. Inspiring. Strong. The strategist unbeaten. The one who survived what no other elf has. An incredibly strong personality that can bring even the most stubborn into his command. Undefeated in battle, feared by Morgoth himself. The diplomat who can bring together groups of people who hate each other to a common goal. A King in every sense of the word with a presence that sends the enemy scattering and elves thinking several times before daring to cross him. 

Maglor: PR and Media. Songs that can turn stupid costly mistakes into tragic tales of heroism and strength spread far a wide until no one can remember a version of events other than what he says. A great right hand able to take over when needed. Commanding, responsible, charming, can get anyone to tell him anything and great at establishing diplomatic connections. The people person. Loud and powerful or the quiet shadow at Mae’s back, always watching. Reading the court before the elves even know what they think and exposing them with deceptively soft words.  

Celegorm: The Hunter. Keeps the lands safe. Keeps them fed. Keeps an eye on the hunters and the army in general. You can’t escape him. You can’t hide from him. And with all the languages and tongues of birds and beats he speaks, he hears all. 

Caranthir: The Tradesman. The money man. Keeps everything running, keeps an eye on the economy, great at establishing trade routes that leave the Noldor in the best position. Good with materials and knows exactly what they need when. For what time of year. When to trade it. Smart and shrewd, you can’t double cross him, and he’ll always get you the best prices. 

Curufin: The forge master. The armourer. The architect. Nothing beats his work, and Mae’s armour especially is literally impenetrable. He’s the one who keeps the city at its peak, no stone at anything but perfect condition and weapons unlike any other. Hidden passages and secret stores. But he’s also a silver tongue like his eldest two brothers and he’s *very* good at convincing people, but also tearing them down and making sure they’ll never be a threat again. He can and will destroy your life before your eyes and you’ll never recover.

Ambarussa: The Spies. You don’t see them coming. You think Amrod’s gone only for Amras to take his place. Light footed and underestimated, they route out any schemes. They’re also the best connected to the green elves, so easily overlooked but smarter than most give them credit for. They’re the resident healers, and can make a poultice out of anything.

Celebrimbor: The Inventor. The one whose creativity knows no bounds. The creator of incredible Power infused devices like the rings to keep his people and family safe. A leader in his own right trained by his father and uncles who Maedhros is proud to call his heir. 

Feel free to add your own thoughts!

[flowering-smile]

The description of the beginning of the Years of the Sun is so vivid I can taste it:

"In that time the air of Middle-earth became heavy with the breath of growth and mortality, and the changing and ageing of all things was hastened exceedingly; life teemed upon the soil and in the waters in the Second Spring of Arda, and the Eldar increased, and beneath the new Sun Beleriand grew green and fair."

I also love that this was when Men awoke, at this time of simultaneous life and decay, ageless yet ageing.

[flowering-smile]

I was wondering if we, as humans, can ever escape our humanness and write something completely detached from our experiences. I concluded not.

But that led me to a realisation of why The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings have such different auras. One of the reasons is that they were written by two different species: elf and hobbit.

Of course, that is disregarding the fact that they're both fictional races and the books are ultimately still written by a human with very human experiences. But the effort is quite visible to me, to distinguish the two works into 'elf-written' and 'hobbit-written', with their respective species-specific views of the world.

Silm is all about the humbling of the mighty. "We thought we were meant to change the world, only to realise it isn't for the better afterwards."

Lotr is about finding the hidden strength inside. "We thought we're too small to change the world for the better, but together, we were proven wrong."

[flowering-smile]

i've been sitting on this piece for @tolkienrsb for so long and it's great to finally get to post it! dialogue courtesy of @sweetteaanddragons, who has been a delight to swap headcanons with all summer — they took this art prompt in so many fun directions, and i can't wait to read the finished product :)

this year's collection opens on september 6th, so expect a link to the fic itself in the very near future!

[flowering-smile]

Goofy headcanon:

Queen Miriel, noted embroideress, fucking loved to monogram stuff. Monogrammed nearly everything. Gave monogrammed items to her friends all the time. The Noldor copied her. It’s their favorite thing.

Queen Indis, who owned many such items from her late friend, always leaned into this trend. It persists and moves from fashion to cultural, lol. In Lorien, there is a prized relic from Valinor that is actually Galadriel’s monogrammed (NAA) tote bag from her grandma.

The Noldor arrive in Beleriand. They all have to take on Sindarized names. Their monogrammed items are now WRONG.

1) there is much grumbling about out of date prized throw pillows.

2) the embroidery business in Beleriand fucking EXPLODES.

3) Thingol now has a monogrammed blanket (ES? ESA, ‘a’ being for ‘aran’ like r is used for ‘rex’?) to support Sindarin guilds 😊

[flowering-smile]

Ugh my stupid creepy cousin sucks so bad I need to [remembers that kinslaying jokes trivialise the ever present and crushing doom that we all must live under] build the greatest secret tunnel that this hidden city has ever seen

[flowering-smile]

Maedhros is thankful to Manwe for his role in the eagle rescue in the exact same way that Thingol is thankful to the Noldor for helping to save Beleriand before the moon and sun rose. (which is to say, not at fucking all.)

[flowering-smile]

by magically compelling i mean that the sons of feanor were compelled to do whatever they could to fulfil it and had to actively resist it. by magically binding i mean that by invoking the One it HAD to happen or they'd be thrown to the void.

[flowering-smile]

i can’t believe it’s not the sons of fëanor

[flowering-smile]

I'm constantly thinking about this post. Like both approaches are so detrimental to the way they endure and eventually perish...

Fingon and Maedhros and Optimism.

I often see Fingon written, especially in contrast to Maedhros, as a very bubbly ray of sunshine type character. Which fits pretty well with his characterisation in the Silm honestly, better than a lot of fanon takes tend to. But.. it also tends to veer into making him seem naive.

Again i think that tends to work in pre darkening settings but i find it very hard to believe he survived the ice as happy go lucky and optimistic as he's frequently portrayed. The mission to angband has always read to me as a very elaborate suicide attempt, get his friend back or die trying in a case where getting him back is thought to be impossible. I don't think he would have survived that trip if he hadn't heard Maedhros' response.

Then again i also tend to write Maedhros as a lot more hopeful, or rather determined to see things through, than many and i tend to mellow out Fingon a bit to balance that out. I find in reality that an unerring optimist and staunch pessimist rarely actually get along long term (its exhausting to constantly defend your opinions) and so i try to put them on more even ground. So Fingon is in my opinion less optimistic and more hopeful. He doesn't always truly believe that things will be better but he always hopes so. He tries very VERY hard to not fall into despair especially after his father's death but is not always successful.

I think this need to force himself to see the brighter side of things is actually a detriment to him. It makes him reckless sometimes because when faced with bad odds he'll force himself to ignore them in the name of hope. He's less naturally a ray of sunshine than he is.. wearing rose coloured glasses that always make it look sunny. In modern AUs i tend to write him with undiagnosed depression and like.. coping badly. You know, that person in college that was constantly at parties and bars, sleeping with beautiful people, getting great grades and then one day you find them huddled in a corner sobbing and they cant even tell you whats wrong.

This is in contrast to Maedhros who tends to view things in a very pragmatic way. He strives to literally never think with his gut or his heart especially after angband and as a result comes across as a total pessimist (he does and he is but he doesn't think he is). But his drive to finish what he started gives him an oddly hopeful mien that genuinely inspires people. If the world is burning down around you despair feels like the correct response. The guy telling you its fine really you'll get through it no problem just seems like an idiot in that moment. But someone looking at the rubble and going Ok here's what we're going to do and then DOING it makes the future seem a lot more possible.

In this way they're both incredibly charismatic leaders. Fingon can and will face impossible odds with a smile and literal song, Maedhros can look at any nightmare scenario and give you an actual plan to beat those odds. But neither of them are actually optimists in the definitive sense. They just don't see any other way than running full tilt straight through history. If there's a problem, no there isn't. If they fucked up then that's in the past, they'll work around it. If there's smoke on the horizon they'll figure it out.

They'll burn that bridge when they get to it.

[flowering-smile]

Somehow got myself into the Tolkien RSB , uh huh. So, some Fëanorians helping Finno raise Gil-Galad it is. ಠ﹏ಠ

Fanfic based on this can be found here. By dear Torpi ✨