squirrelwrangler

[squirrelwrangler]

Something that comes up often in art that's about artists is that you'll be told that this character made an amazing, record-shattering, highly acclaimed book or movie or song or whatever and then you'll see the piece of art they made and it's painfully mid. Like, you have to accept that within the world of the story being told, that's the most amazing piece of art ever but you're sitting there like, "There's no way that would ever catch on like that IRL."

Anyway, shout out to KPop Demon Hunters for sidestepping that problem entirely by having the in universe songs chart so high IRL that they beat out actual established KPop groups, proving definitively that those songs WOULD have set the charts on fire and beat out their competition even as the new kids on the block.

[squirrelwrangler]

An Auspicious Encounter (Based on True Events)

[squirrelwrangler]

Finally reading Kate Elliot’s Crown of Stars fantasy series, one I almost read as a teen around same time as Wheel of Time and starting and dropping ASoIaF. Worldbuilding takeaways is that it wears its fantasy AU Europe more obviously than most with very few name changes, but that it’s Ottonian Germany and the greater gender equality and that in this universe the heresy is to claim Jesus was a divine figure instead of prophet give some amusement. Fifth Son is the most interesting of the cast. And confirmed I have no tolerance or interest in astrology both irl or as a worldbuilding focus

[squirrelwrangler]

🎶Doo bee doo bee do bah🎶

[squirrelwrangler]

Findis writes a romance story about a young orphan fighting for acceptance and love in a quest for a sports championship, to gain and retain friends (among which are the two men that would have been his adopted fathers had they stayed together), and to marry an heiress, all while under the social stigma and lingering mental trauma of a previous life as a orc. She sets it during the last century of Tirion before the Doom was lifted, when the elves of Aman had adapted to their new normal Post-Darkening and Kin-slaying and before the War of Wrath and its fallout readjusted society. The message about accepting all the newly reborn or soon-to-be-reborn elves that were once orcs through no fault of their own is Findis's goal.

But even from the start, what social commentary really driving it is pretty obvious. It's not orcs, it's the Noldor's own relatives. It's having so many family members and neighbors that murdered their other neighbors and did terrible deeds that not all of their family has repented of - and how to accept or forgive the ones that have. It's about that cultural guilt.

It's that the main character's best friend is the sole 'surviving' heir of a large family that followed Fëanor into murdering Teleri and stealing the Swanships and who all drowned when Ossë sank that stolen blood-stained vessel. (He's not the only family member alive because a brother was on Fëanor's ship and thus is living untouchable to justice somewhere in Beleriand. And he also drowned, but as the only child is the only innocent one, is reborn around the same time as main character ex-orc). It's that the main character's idol (and would-be adopted father in another life) is another Noldo who, though he himself chose to stay, had his entire family and uncle-figures leave with either Fëanor or Fingolfin. Said idol figure is now caretaker and heir to multiple vast fortunes and responsibilities, none of which he wanted, from extended family that he both loved and respected and those that he had mutual disdain and hatred for even before the Darkening. It's that said idol's best friend, love-of-his-life, the person that would have been the main character's other father in another life, is a Teleri. One who did not die in the First Kin-slaying, but who lost family and the lifestyle that he planned to have - and because of the trauma around the Kin-slaying rejected his best friend and refuses to be anywhere near him until the arrival of the main character and the kickoff of the plot. That the main character will reignite that love story. That all of these characters had their lives upended because of the actions of the Noldor that chose to leave and chose to steal the Swan-ships, mostly but not all for ill.

That the two love interest girls are daughters born long after the creation of Sun and Moon, to the rare families of the Noldor that refused to listen to any of Fëanor's fearmongering. Who stayed loyal to the Valar and can walk Tirion without shame. Who have at most an uncle that followed but turned back with Finarfin. Young women without that darkness, to whom the equivalent of great deeds of worthiness must be taken in which to become acceptable bridegrooms.

That there are Noldor families reduced to one or two women that stayed- but that's not all that was left in Tirion and the city isn't just frozen into a bunch of widows patiently waiting for their husbands, brothers, and children to return.

That the Hiding of Valinor physically isolated it from Middle-earth, but ironically grew less isolated with the rebuilding after the Death of the Trees, clean-up of Alqualondë post-Kinslaying, building and launching of the Sun and Moon, replanting crops, that with only ten percent of the Noldor remaining there are so many gaps in craft and art and governance. The pull for remaining Noldor to follow Finarfin or Nerdanel and Indis's leads and go to the Vanyar in Valmar or try to repair relationships with Alqualondë is one side, but also that the Vanyar will start the greater exposure and friendship with the Teleri that the War of Wrath will strengthen. This blending and multiculturalism ironically personified by the main character himself, because his first life was as an elf-turned-orc. And the majority of those first captured by Melkor were Minyar. And though he is raised in Tirion and his idol, friends, and love interest are all Noldor, the goal that he wants to achieve to metaphorically prove that he is an elf of Aman and not tied to the sins and horrors of his previous life is a championship of Valmar, won almost exclusively by Vanyar athletes. Will the past define the present and future.

[squirrelwrangler]

The Opening Pages of "The Gallant Tale of Tolumasso"

(I will have such formatting issues when I figure out how to really write this fic because it is an in-universe story that I am forcing myself to keep as secondary canon only because of the fun and silly reader reactions from other OCs to said characters and as the meta-narrative of Findis making some pointed social commentary about the Noldor as well as a loving tribute to her Vanyar grandfather and a gift to Nerdanel's extended birth family, or else it would be as canon as any other fic of mine. But have to start compiling the pieces somewhere)

...

OF the elves leaving the Halls of Awaiting to walk once more among their living kin in a new body, what was once rare and remarkable has become a not uncommon occurrence in this New Age, though the peculiars have shifted. Death, though being lamentably common outside of Aman, is not unheard of on these shores, to our most profound and bitterest regret. In the Time of the Trees, fatal accidents did occur, and after a stint of healing first within the Halls of Awaiting and then within the Gardens of Lorien, the afflicted elf returned to their family a bit sheepish and hopefully wiser. Such misfortune almost always afflicted adults during the peaceful years of the Time of Trees, usually involving an absurd bet and alcohol in which to facilitate the instigating misjudgement. This is the Rebirth most accustomed to us nowadays, sought by veterans of the wars of Beleriand and victims of the Kinslayings.

The death of children which is so common as to be unremarkable among mortals is a rarity to us elves, of which illness is the main culprit and to which this author confesses a difficulty to achieve full understanding, being so alien. Perhaps there is a parallel for mortals in that our deaths, of those few that experience it, must seem but a mild illness to which most can recover given the time and aid to heal. But as illness may ravage one mortal and barely inconvenience another, or a body may weaken faster from lack of food or extreme cold while others persevere, so too is the variation of the elven soul when faced with the trauma of death. Lord Mandos reminds us that the necessary periods in the Halls of Awaiting are unique to each soul and not ours to pressure or judge. That a variable flood of the Reborn exits the Garden of Lorien these days is in part due to the greater practice that the servants of the Fëanturi have to skillfully aid the overwhelming number of dead following the re-imprisonment of Morgoth. And the reality of war’s effect in creating mass casualties with the relief of its end, that with the conclusion of war and the Pardon, many now have the confidence to seek healing. In the Time of the Trees, decades could pass between the need for any soul to pass through the Halls of Awaiting.

Rare still but not unknown to us are those that chose to be reborn as infants with all memories of their life before that unfortunate death locked away until proper healing could address those traumas, if indeed any memories were returned.  Total rejection of memories is, according to Mandos, impossible, but not a burden foisted upon the young and of which the songs of Lorien could greatly reduce. A certain grief, irrevocable separation, or quirk of history could make this choice the preferable option as opposed to the normal process of rebirth to which we are so accustomed nowadays. Only those that choose this second infancy are commonly referred to as the Twice-born Children.

Such rebirth was more common, if one dared use that adjective, during the Time of the Trees when those spirits that found themselves in the Halls of Awaiting were few. The ratio compared to those rehoused quickly after a foolish mishap was twenty to one, according to a helpful Maia that this author interviewed. Of those afforded this second childhood with a clean slate of memory, most common were the dead from Cuiviènen and the Great Journey that heeded the call of Mandos or those that had died in the Moonless dark of Middle-earth and braved the journey to Valinor. We know that not all elven souls reach the Halls of Mandos; some dawdle and some reject His call, though He shall never forsake any one of His charges. For those souls, the memories of the abandoned Far Shore (this being the time before the Exile and the coming of Eärendil) were too painful or brief to hold, and happiness was to be found in relinquishing those memories. Otherwise the memory of those who were lost to the Far Shore and the sorrow on their behalf would poison the joy and healing of Aman. Often enough, these souls did not have family in Valinor to take them in, or the separation had occurred in those earliest of times when Imin still ruled, or as in one particular case in which this author is intimately familiar with, the elf died while still in his infancy before the Arrival of Oromë and thus had no memories of to whom could rightfully claim him as their lost child. As in the case of that particular infant, these newborns from the Hall of Awaiting found new and eager parents in Valinor. The Twice-born were joyously adopted by those couples that could not or chose not to conceive. The lord of Sornion, this author can attest, is the son of two great-hearted women. Rarer still, but not unheard of, was the case of an unmarried couple or single parent adopting a child. It is a stereotype to claim all parents of the infants that come from the Halls of Awaiting are those that feel desire for others of their own gender, but it is undeniable that those particular married couples are encouraged to adopt by well-meaning relatives who assume that every marriage wants children. Thus Twice-born Children are not left in want of warm homes in our fair cities of Valmar, Tirion, and Alqualondë, often with siblings of the same origin. Nor was there a stigma to be found against these adopted children, quite the opposite, for they often had a cleverness and speed to re-learn skills that set them above their peers. 

As the number of war-dead returning to us from the care of Mandos grew at the end of the old era and start of the new, so too grows the inhabitants of Tol Eressëa and Valinor itself who can recall the wilds of Beleriand and the struggles of life beyond our idyllic shore. Thus fewer infants with bleached memories exit the Gates of Mandos in the arms of Maiar eager to present the child to an awaiting parent to raise. Fewer are the Sindar or Silvan to make the choice to be Twice-born, and by the dawn of this New Age, most who died before the coming or Oromë or during the Great Journey had vacated the Halls. There was only one category of elf awaiting rebirth that would choose the older method of full memory renunciation. When in a crowd after reaching adulthood, most would be indistinguishable from the many Vanyar veterans who needed healing and/or rebirth following the War of Wrath.

This tale, however, begins four hundred and some-odd years after the Raising of the Moon and Sun, more than a century before the start of the War of Wrath. It concerns the deeds of a Twice-born Child, and he is not alone of his companions to have once passed through the Halls of Awaiting, which is a claim that few in Aman could make before the coming of Eärendil. No solid understanding of this tale can exist without a grounding in the different options, frequencies of occurrence, and social expectations surrounding elven rebirth and that the circumstances in the Second Age have changed.

Still, this author wagers, the peculiarities of this tale will stand out:

During the month of Narquelië, the Sun-fading, a newborn infant wailed for the first time in the night sky of Valinor on the doorstep of the Halls of Awaiting. But no one was coming to claim the infant boy. The Maia informed those that asked about the red-faced infant, for a small crowd keeping an unfriendly distance had formed, that the infant’s name was Tolumasso. The Maia had named the newborn for how the thick bright yellow hair whorled atop the crown of the baby’s head just like the spiral of that innocuous bread-roll. An amusing name for a child and proof that the naming of children should not be delegated to the Maiar of Mandos, yet it was most ill-befitting to the hostile stares given to this screaming, lonely infant. One would be forgiven for doubting that an elf not even an hour old could be the object of revulsion and dismay, but by unhappy Doom a rumor had been unleashed and the origins of this sun-haired infant known. No family would rush to take in this Tolumasso, despite the subtle pleading of the hapless Maia.

Who would wish to raise an orc?

- So begins the opening paragraph of the best-selling romance series in Valinor, by the prolific Finvain, with copies distributed by enthusiastic mariners throughout Númenor and subsequent retellings and re-imaginings making it one of the most popular purely fictional epic adventures found throughout the island, especially among young people, even if the plot of said tale shifted genres and focus - until the cultural backlash against the elves from the King’s Men meant that all versions of the tale were burned and the only surviving copy of The Gallant Tale of Tolumasso that one could read east of the Straight Road was a dog-eared book, signed by the author, in Master Elrond’s personal library.

[squirrelwrangler]

she

[squirrelwrangler]

Which still begs the question of how reasonable was the remaining elves to expect everyone who left to just die and wait for them to be reborn? Or that not everyone was leaving behind a wife when the ratio of those going into Exile was so high. Not everyone would have a convenient spouse of the patriarch left behind, because 90% leaving meant there wasn’t the gender divide as seen in the Royals. And the religious and political loyalty angle - those that left were committing acts of illegality and heresy to which rights and claims could arguably been relinquished. Especially if, as was probable for some, the remaining family was not wishing to be tainted by association with their Kin-slayer relations. Was someone -a family member or not- appointed as legal guardian for what was left during the madness of following Fëanor? What if no one was or conflicts of people claiming to be the designee. Additionally even assuming a high degree of communal property run by collectives and or the crown still falls back on the number of royal Noldor employees remaining becoming a tiny fraction of what it once had. Who bothers to maintain the wide swathes of depopulated Tirion?

Is the greatest political influence and/or money to be made by the elf who watches the royal warehouses for all the belongings of disloyal citizens that is hopefully not pointless to keep around until Arda Remade? The Storage Mogul

And it is the question of personal property- are tools like hammers and lions claimed? What of personal valuables? How common was theft? Or debates among those few that remained or turned back with Finarfin over what now belonged to whom? What are the pawn shops like?

Silm headcanon debate (extremely relevant for upcoming fic):

What's your stance on property seizure of the 90% of Noldor that went into Exile? Obviously the rare relative that stayed behind could claim it, even if just housing in Tirion and sure most would be abandoned but eventually it places claimed the population growth not big enough for squatters, but we're also talking about other land holdings and especially goods and businesses, all the jewels and clothing left in those houses. Which then we get into the character of those who remained and if they thought it at all likely that the family members leaving were ever going to return, especially when the Doom was proclaimed and if said Exiled remained any rights or claims that said Loyal Family Member would honor. (The reader has foresight that the Doom will be lifted). But a majority of departing Noldor would not have family staying to inherit or said family want to keep it, for prosaic manpower reasons as much as tainted memories. Reverts to crown? Rampant speculation? Property and inheritance hell or heaven for lawyers?

Am thinking about the period during the First Age a few centuries after the First Kinslaying but before Eärendil's arrival when the status quo has settled (and before the start of the Second Age destabilizes it, but this does suggest the reason why returning Noldor from Beleriand are told to settle Tol Eressea)

[squirrelwrangler]

[squirrelwrangler]

Silm headcanon debate (extremely relevant for upcoming fic):

What's your stance on property seizure of the 90% of Noldor that went into Exile? Obviously the rare relative that stayed behind could claim it, even if just housing in Tirion and sure most would be abandoned but eventually it places claimed the population growth not big enough for squatters, but we're also talking about other land holdings and especially goods and businesses, all the jewels and clothing left in those houses. Which then we get into the character of those who remained and if they thought it at all likely that the family members leaving were ever going to return, especially when the Doom was proclaimed and if said Exiled remained any rights or claims that said Loyal Family Member would honor. (The reader has foresight that the Doom will be lifted). But a majority of departing Noldor would not have family staying to inherit or said family want to keep it, for prosaic manpower reasons as much as tainted memories. Reverts to crown? Rampant speculation? Property and inheritance hell or heaven for lawyers?

Am thinking about the period during the First Age a few centuries after the First Kinslaying but before Eärendil's arrival when the status quo has settled (and before the start of the Second Age destabilizes it, but this does suggest the reason why returning Noldor from Beleriand are told to settle Tol Eressea)

[squirrelwrangler]

Star-spray

[squirrelwrangler]

Hand for scale again 😅

I finished the fill work, but my mom said I should highlight the eyes, and honestly I got to agree

I added a few darker stitches and line stitches instead of filling stiches and I think despite the pretty subtle effect it looks much better

Soooo close! Just the border now 😃 (and ironing)

[squirrelwrangler]

Started listening to the medieval podcast episode on Hungary: “hey there’s a direct line between my love for the Bór and that of the widespread European family ancestry I have the dark brown hair and eyes shared only by my father and a few paternal relatives when everyone else on both sides is light eyed blondes or redheads and thus from childhood since I was told that was my Hungarian/Magyar ancestry as opposed to the Swiss, Sweden, German, Slovak, English, etc and so this thin romantic attachment will manifest itself into arguing that Númenoreans have fantasy Magyar-expy ancestry mix too.”

[squirrelwrangler]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien, TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Elrond Peredhel, Elros Tar-Minyatur, Maedhros (Tolkien), Maglor (Tolkien), Original Elf Character(s), Original Human Character(s), Green Elves of Ossiriand | Laiquendi Characters (Tolkien), the Bór - Character, Meleth | Nurse of Eärendil (Tolkien) Additional Tags: popular fanon will be treated like Amrod because I’m tossing it in a fire to die forgotten, Childhood Trauma, allusions to canon events of genocide including cultural, sadly not an Eluréd and Elurín Lives AU, pointed usage of thou Series: Part 4 of pray for elrond y'all, Part 6 of Bór Summary:

Elros and Elrond enact their plan to escape from their kidnappers and find allies along the way. Reunions are made in the dense forest of southernmost Ossiriand, just not the ones that were expected.

[squirrelwrangler]

Look at these cool ornaments! And the rest of the decor as well, of course, love the flowers! But the hobbit doors and sigils and mushrooms and leaves pair nicely

So I was raised in a Seasonal Decorations household, but alas, I am not a spring girlie like, at all. What's a nerd to do?

Come up with a Tolkien-themed set of decor for my living room!

Featuring, most especially, tiny elven heraldry ornaments handdrawn by me based off the beautiful designs by @squirrelwrangler and JRRT himself.

[squirrelwrangler]

I swear I need to teach myself how to paint on a truly miniature scale, then find a banner that works. And make more than one hundred versions to have physical manifestations of the sigils.

[squirrelwrangler]

Titania