#i think it's time for another break from the silmarillion

[arlenianchronicles]

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

-- Dylan Thomas

Another painting for my nursery rhyme AU! A dying Dawn bids farewell to Night; respectively, Elros and Eärendil (right and left). I personally see it as Dawn no longer being an anthropomorphic personification, so the event itself will just happen naturally without Elros’ influence.

But you could also just see it as Night passing into Dawn, and they only get to see each other for a brief moment before Dawn passes into Day. At least Elros is still around that way! XDD

[echo-bleu]

Hey, thank you for writing Elrond vs. the Valar, i totally support your points! Especially wanted to thank you for bringing up the horrible fate Earendil suffers, so glad to see another person talking about it!

I'm very glad I'm not alone in feeling that way!!

Eärendil's fate really broke my heart the first time I read the Silmarillion. It's even presented as a punishment, too! He and Elwing have to choose to be judged as Elves or Men, it's not just a choice of whether they'll be immortal. Elwing chooses for them both explicitly because Eärendil is tired of the world and lets her, even though he feels more Man. And then their sentence is to never set foot on Middle-Earth where their sons are, and for Eärendil to carry the star... basically to sail and fight without respite for eternity, he doesn't even canonically have days off. All for daring to ask for help.

Elrond has only heard the stories of course, and maybe a second-hand account from Arafinwë or something, so I'm not sure that he has a complete picture until he makes it to the Undying Lands. Maybe (I haven't written that bit yet) that's even the breaking point for him. The Exiles stuck in Mandos, Maglor being imprisoned, he disagrees and thinks it unfair but he can't deny the harm that they did. But Eärendil? Literally only tried to help.

[eunoiaastralwings]

Hey! First time requesting here, so I hope this one will be okay. How about Rog reuniting with reader he met during his captivity in Angband? He hasn't seen them ever since he escaped until one day reader finds their way to Gondolin. Reader is scarred and scared, but happy to see him and maybe it's a heartwarming reunion. And maybe after taking reader in, he made a habit to read for them since they had a poor eye sight so they couldn't see words properly and because they find his voice soothing like all those years ago in Angband.

Found Again

featuring rog x fem reader

fandom tolkien-the silmarillion

warnings slight angst, fluff, mention of captivity and torture, silm AU

a/n @animatorweirdo i hope you enjoy hun- changed it up just minor

Rog had been the forges as per usual – keeping the energy alive with his casual jokes but focus on his hammering on the iron still running through.

But the moment he heard the other smiths speaking of the lost and battered elf found near the gates of the hidden city – his voice and hammering slowly died down.

His eyes widened at the description that matched you without fail – his whole body was rigid for a moment as he let out shaky unbelieving breath.

Without another words – his body rushed out he doors of the forges his entire being bouncing joy to the depths of his soul.

His beat rapidly with each step.

Rog quickly asking for the directions to where you could be to many people – he couldn’t control his excitement today as he hastily asked and thanked him for letting him know about you – only to leave King Turgon rather confused and taken back at the head of the dinner table.

Even Princess Idril giggled at his antics as Rog was in and out the moment he heard of your placement.

His feet ran towards in the infirmary fast – as if he waited any longer his poor heart would break out of his own ribcage.

He remembered the countless nights together with you during the captivity – even though the dark and run-down walls of the cell you were the light that told him to keep fighting.

He remembered how you allowed him to hold you when you needed comfort – his strong arms would instantly wrap around you, and he would tell your great stories filled with only joy and laughter to make you smile when you were hurting.

Rog remembered how your eyes would shine every time he started telling you a story – smiling even as you fell asleep in his arms despite the pain you experienced earlier.

Rog rushed through the doors of infirmary – almost startling the healer in sights – the smile on his lips only growing as his eyes met with yours.

You sat quietly on the bed – almost afraid of the healers to touch you, jumping as the doors opened so suddenly.

Your eyes only widened more in recognition of you stood before you.

Your dry mouth refused to form words – but Rog was beside you in seconds, kneeing before you on the side of the bed – his hands gently cupping yours bruised hands.

“Y/N. . .?”

His voice was gentle and soothing – just like you always remembered it was.

His eyes sparkling like you remembered many a times – enough for you dream them.

You truly could not believe your eyes – your hands somewhat trembled in his before you slowly left then away from his hands and gently – and shakily – brought him to his face.

Though quite intimate you couldn’t stop yourself from cupping strong jawline and cheeks of his jawline – his smooth skin underneath your fingertips once again.

“. . . Rōka.”

You gently whispered – your voice meek and raspy from your journey to here.

He almost sighed in relief – not minding how your hands cupped his face. He frowned although he couldn’t deny how touch your hands on his face felt good and reviving.

“You’re safe. . . you’re here. . .”

Rog whispered – almost convincing himself before he grinned up at you excitedly.

Your heart fluttered seeing that smile again – how beautiful is was just as the day you last saw it.

Never in your wildest dreams did you think you’ll see that smile again – probably having to live again if possible, to see so – you thanked whatever luck you had by your side as you saw it again.

Rog stayed with you that afternoon – refusing to leave until you did was your healer instructed so.

Somethings frightened you – tools that looked strikingly like the weapons used in your captivity.

You were more than positive – if it weren’t for Rog’s comforting and familiar arms around you, you would have surely screamed and hit the healer’s hands or even kicked by self-defence – thinking the worst possible.

Rog had to even gently hold your arms sometimes – seeing how violently tried to jerk away anything sharp or crushed plants.

You had refused to leave Rog’s side the following days – thinking it was only a dream and you truly hadn’t found his hidden elven paradise.

It was as if Rog was your only strength and courage to walk through and find yourself again.

Sometimes you had even stuck by his side in the forges – Rog did not seem to mind however, rather he was excited to show anything and everything.

You were a little afraid of the fire however – so he only kept you to see the little things.

He was always looking for ways to make you smile – make you feel welcome and at home.

It was Rog who took the initiative to help you introduce yourself to King Turgon – it was common curtesy after all to meet and acknowledge your king.

Rog stood tall beside you – aiding you in whatever you needed to say or do.

When Rog heard you had trouble sleeping it was broken his heart.

“Do try and rest, Y/N. . .”

He said gently after the healer once again instructed you to rest.

“I can’t. . .”

You mumbled quietly – your voice barely audible.

“I’m scared to. . .”

You admitted.

“Scared of what, elen?” (star).

He asked – his voice was tender laced with concern.

“Scared it’s. . . all a dream. . .”

You almost whimpered.

“Scared. . .I’ll close my eyes. . .then open them again only to see you gone. . .and I’m alone. . .*again*.”

You said scared – your bottom lip quivering.

Rog’s heart ached that your words and he gently shook his head.

“Never, elen. . .you have my word. . .you shall never be alone again – I’ll never let you be alone again. I’m right here, elen, always – I shall promise you that with my soul. . .”

He smiled – promising you tenderly with an unyielding determination within his voice.

A determination that inspired you.

“Read to me. . .?”

You smiled – your eyes softly connecting with his eyes.

“I was hoping you would ask.”

He grinned – pulling out the book he was eager to read to you.

You giggled at his excitement as you settled comfortably - listening to his voice bringing you to a safe slumber.

Your lips forming a fond smile as your eyes closed listening to every word that fell from his lips.

You finally felt safe once again. . . and it was all because of your Rōka. . . finally you were found again. . .

Taglist form

tara's taglist:@mismaeve @fizzyxcustard @wandererindreams @ranhanabi777 @spidergirla5 @asianbutnotjapanese @bunson-burner @floraroselaughter

silm taglist: @doodle-pops

[polutrope]

20 questions for fic writers

Thank you @niennawept @melestasflight @sallysavestheday @spiritofwhitefire @grey-gazania for the tag! I've enjoyed reading all of yours.

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 89 on main, 12 on my pseud, 2 anon.

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 284k on main.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Silmarillion.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

The Seven Trials of Fingon the Valiant (Fingon/Sons of Feanor humour)

Who Shall Release Us? (Maedhros post-reembodiment angst)

A Gift (M&M childhood fluff)

Improving Relations (Maglor & Caranthir fluff)

A Proposition (Russinglor smut)

Y'all are predictable, but I do enjoy all of these myself so. Good choices. 

5. Do you respond to comments? Always. Unless they're rude, in which case I delete them without replying.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm reading the last lines of my fics trying to find one that ends with pure angst and laughing because they're all like "... but there was hope."

Anyway, The Marks that Bind Us (Celegorm/OC) and His Hour Had Come (Saeros & OC) end on a sinister note.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Pretty much everything in my Sex Is Fun series. People have sex, it's fun, the end :).

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not hate, but I've had a couple people be rude, like commenting on a word choice they didn't like and nothing else. *Delete*.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Shamelessly. Prolifically. Joyfully. I co-mod @silmsmutweek with the marvellously shameless @ettelene. I'd say my niche is fun sex... hot elves + open communication + laughter. I've written dark stuff too though.

As with most in this fandom, my smut is mostly M/M but I'm proud of the amount of F/M smut I've written. Which is a weird thing to be proud of, if this weren't Silm fandom.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? No. Keep thinking about doing something with Silm + Greek myth but it's amorphous.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? No.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! The Seven Trials of Fingon the Valiant with @melestasflight and currently co-writing with the same. I love it.

Besides that, almost everything I've ever posted is some level of collaborative, whether it be with some big-brained anonymous prompter on silmkinkmeme or by shoving a mess of words at a friend and crying, "Help!" etc etc. I cannot and do not create in a vacuum, at all.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Maglor/Most Anyone.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? If I want to finish it, I probably will. There are a lot of things I don't want to finish, and I won't.

16. What are your writing strengths? Language and characterisation. Editing.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I was going to say "Perfectionism", then started questioning if that made me sound like an asshole, and whether people would get what I meant by that, and so then I started making a whole list of things I don't think I am good at, and have so far spent about 10 minutes on this question, and ... you see the irony here?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I don't know, I wouldn't do it (unless my universal disclaimer -- "Except if it's funny." -- applies.)

19. First fandom you wrote for? Silmarillion, in 2003. There was then a 17 year break. I have no other fandoms and need no other fandoms.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Refuse to answer.

I have a feeling a lot of people have done this over the last week while I have been buried in work but @ettelene @tethysresort @millenariumhappinesstheorem @a-tehta @gwaedhannen @zealouswerewolfcollector I don't think I saw one from you so please feel welcome to share these, if you like.

[starsuncounted]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for tagging me @bywayofmemory!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 82.

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 128,198.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently, LOTR, Silmarillion, Narnia, and Timeless. I'd like to get back to writing Turn fics, though. I have a couple ideas for oneshots that have been rattling around in my brain.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

winter-touched, frost-bitten (Spinning Silver, T, Miryem/the Staryk Lord, 1.1k): A missing scene in which Miryem strikes a new bargain with the Staryk Lord.

As the Hare Flees Before the Wolf (Silmarillion, T, Eöl & Celegorm, 1.8k): Curufin is not the only son of Fëanor Eöl meets upon the plains of Himlad. Or, Eöl meets Celegorm while pursuing Aredhel and Maeglin, and things go very badly for him.

Here at Journey's End (LOTR, G, Frodo & Legolas, 1.6k): They stay for those they love.

West, West Away (LOTR, G, Sam & Thranduil, 3.6k): Sam meets an unlikely kindred spirit on the journey West.

and I will love with urgency, but not with haste (Silmarillion, T, Andreth/Aegnor, 3.1k): A summer evening spent in a glade near the shores of the Aeluin.

5. Do you respond to comments? Yep! It may take me a while, but I always do. The only exceptions are for cryptic comments that I don't understand and have no idea what to reply with.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Lol. Lmao, even. At least half of my fics are nothing but angst. So...*spins wheel* Let's go with darkness lies on the foaming waves between us (LOTR, G, Arwen & Celebrían & Elwing, 1k), in which Arwen shares the news of her choice with her mother.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I do actually have a couple fics that would qualify for this (shocking, I know), but I have a special place in my heart for And There Make a Garden (LOTR, G, Éowyn, <1k). Éowyn finally being happy and content is everything to me.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not since I returned to fandom in 2020 and started posting on AO3 (unless some of those aforementioned cryptic comments are badly worded hate). But I did get the occasional hateful comment back when I posted on FFN.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Occasionally and it's very vanilla.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Never written one.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? I hope not!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? I must be loyal to my thirteen-year-old self and say Faramir/Éowyn, my forever OTP.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I really would like to finish And Every Winter Turn to Spring (Turn, Anna/Hewlett), but I don't think I can rekindle the same enthusiasm I had for it during the height of my Turn fixation in 2020/2021. That, and I'm sure that if I were to pick it up again, I'd want to tear it apart and fix it up because it was one of the first fics I started writing after a years-long break from fic writing, and I'm certain I'd be embarrassed by parts of it now. And doing heavy editing like that feels overwhelming right now.

16. What are your writing strengths? Usually characterization and description, but I've been having trouble with my descriptions lately, and in a very strange twist, dialogue has—for the first time ever—been easier for me.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Plots. You will be getting no 100k+ longfics from me. Sorry. Oneshots or bust.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I only use other languages when writing Tolkien fic and do so sparingly and always with translations in the author notes. All phrases are yoinked from RealElvish.net because I can't be assed to put Elvish sentences together myself. Sorry JRRT.

19. First fandom you wrote for? LOTR. A couple of ancient fics that have never and will never see the light of day.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? It changes by the day, but I am very fond of On These Hither Shores (LOTR, G, Frodo & Boromir, 3.2k). It took a while to come together, but I'm so happy with how it turned out and that I finally achieved my goal of writing Frodo and Boromir getting to know each other before everything went to hell in a handbasket.

Tagging @tortoisesshells @boltlightning @aloveforjaneausten @dreamingthroughthenoise if you'd like to do this!

[cycas]

Elwing, Elros & Elrond ramblings

I imagine that Elwing and Elrond were interested to meet one another when Elrond finally sailed to Valinor. There would be some big emotions flying around there.

But I don't believe that Elwing has been longing for her son for six thousand years, or that their relationship would immediately be warm. That's not because of Elwing's choices, which seem legendary but unimpeachable. It's because of Elrond's choices.

My big question with Elrond is why is he still there in Middle-earth?

He could have left with his brother at the end of the War of Wrath, gone to Numenor, then perhaps sailed west to rejoin his mother when his brother died, or when his nephews or grand-nephews did.

That would be entirely in keeping with an Elrond who missed his parents, loved his brother, felt reasonably confident in the power of the Valar, and was obedient to their counsel that the Elves should sail to Valinor.

The threat in middle-earth was, so far as anyone knew, ended. His childhood and youth were spent in a place increasingly overwhelmed by war, and his original childhood home was lost.

But OK, maybe he wants to enjoy the peace, with Galadriel, Celeborn, Cirdan & Celebrimbor, who have their own reasons not to leave, plus Gil-galad and whatever Noldor and Sindar chose to linger in the Hither Lands. Maybe Elrond likes Men and Dwarves, and wants to stay with them too. (Maybe he's even spending time with Maglor, if the 1937 Silmarillion has that bit right.)

All reasonable feelings for Elrond. After all, people don't generally come back once they have sailed into the West.

(I think? It has just occurred to me that since there is a long period when elven ships regularly visited Numenor from Valinor, and Mannish ships visited Lindon, and Elrond has chosen to be an Elf, it is possible that he visited Valinor, or at least the Lonely Isle.

Perhaps Elrond's departure at the end of the Third Age was a journey to a home that he had visited regularly in the Second Age? I don't think I've seen that interpretation before but I can't see anything to entirely rule it out! However, this intriguing theory breaks the theory I was typing so let us ignore it.) So. Assuming that Elrond remains in Middle-earth throughout his life until his final journey after the War of the Ring, that does mean he prioritised life in Middle-earth over re-union with his mother and possibly father (if you assume Earendil gets breaks from being a star).

Elwing can't return, but Elrond could leave. Elros did, after all, and moved to an island as close as possible to Valinor, even if his ultimate decision to become a Man took him away from his parents in the end.

So, in the Second Age, Elrond makes his own choices, and they don't involve reunions with his parents, so far as we can tell.

Then Sauron falls, Gil-galad falls. Elrond could quite easily sail at that point. But there is Celebrian. Perhaps she doesn't want to leave her mother - though you wonder. If Celebrian and Elrond had married and then gone to Valinor, then very likely all their children would have chosen to be Elves. But Elrond, again, makes the reasonable adult choice to prioritise his wife, friends, perhaps family responsibilities, over safety and reunion with his parents across the Sea.

And he sticks it out in Middle-earth right to the bitter end. Even after Celebrian is wounded and has to sail to Valinor. Elrond is very definitely not someone in a rush to get to Valinor.

So, really, I very much hope that Elwing had friends and occupations and enjoyment that did not in any way centre around her children.

I can't really see why she should not. She spent seven years with her children, and seven thousand without them. Mothers are also people! I hope she had a period where she was able to come to grips with her grief, and then went on with her life.

[vellaphoria]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag @waffleinator-inator! <3

20 Questions for Fic Writers

How many works do you have on AO3?

There are 40 that I’ve solo-authored, and 9 that I did varying degrees of work on when a group of dc writers doing a round robin fic collaboration thing

What’s your total A03 word count?

It’s a bit thrown off by the aforementioned colabs, but I don’t want to go through and do the math, so the overall total is 567,072

What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly DC! The comics variant, that is. And within that, mostly Batman-adjacent characters. Though I also have one fic each for the avengers, the silmarillion, and haikuu

What are your top five fics by kudos?

Excluding the collaborations, it’s:

Cut and Run (Bruce crashes Tim and Ra’s’ dinner/business meeting; T, gen, 1.6k)

Deadfall (Canon divergence where Tim died in Red Robin and was resurrected/kidnapped by Ra’s; M, gen, 125k, on hiatus)

Recursion (Tim accidentally travels back in time to when Dick was just starting out as Nightwing, which is complicated by the fact that they still haven’t made up after Damian became Robin; M for mild nsfw, DickTim, 20k)

Complications (Outsider POV of post RR-canon divergence, ft. morally grey Tim; G, gen, 1.7k)

This Whole Damn City Thinks It Needs You (But Not as Much as I Do) (There has been a fair amount of building ust between Dick and Tim after Red Robin. Dick decides to do something about that; E for blatant nsfw, DickTim, 23k)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, but very slowly!

I respond because is someone took the time to engage with my work and actually write one, then it feels like it’s only right for me to put in an equal amount of effort to respond.

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That would probably be the DickBabs with unrequited DickTim wedding Tumblr fic (here, if you like pain)

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

It’s hard to say. Since I tend to be averse to bad endings, most of my fics have happy endings of one sort or another

Do you get hate on your fic?

Sometimes. Usually from people who can’t grasp that limited third person POV means that the narrating character doesn’t have perfect information at all times, or people who are upset that characters don’t make 100% rational decisions 100% of the time.

Do you write smut?

Yep! <3

Do you write crossovers?

Depends on how you define them. I tend to do a lot of AUs which blend elements from other settings with DC, but I don’t really enjoy writing characters from different, unrelated media meeting.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! My Running (and when to stop) DickTim series was translated into 中文-普通话 國語 by SummerVapour and tiktiktiktiktam, which is linked on the fic itself

Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yes; I helped write a few fics in the round robin collaboration series A Journey of Personal Discovery Through Social Isolation. Amusingly, we named it that a year before the pandemic started.

What‘s your all-time favourite ship?

DickTim, to absolutely no one’s surprise :D

What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Probably To Break Every Bended Knee; or, Apocrypha. I really love the setting, but the fic is supposed to be JayTimDick and all the endings I plotted for it ended up being DickTim with Jason kind of doing his own thing. That doesn’t seem like a particularly satisfying conclusion to anyone interested in the story, so I decided to put my time elsewhere.

What’s your writing strengths?

Comments that have gone into specifics have said that my fics have good characterization, visualization, and engrossing plots.

What’s your writing weaknesses?

I’m very bad at brevity, so writing short, snappy fics that also make sense doesn’t usually work out for me.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I pretty much only speak English, so I don’t tend to do it. If I ever had a fic that absolutely needed it, then I’d ask for writing support from someone who actually does speak the language in question.

First fandom you wrote for?

Depends on how you define wrote. If you mean wrote and published, then it’s DC. If you mean wrote when I was a kid and then let disappear into the files of a long-defunct computer, then probably Stargate SG-1.

Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Of the stuff I have published, probably Recursion. Though if I’m allowed to include WIPs, then I’ve been working on a DickTim slowburn on and off for a while now. It’s meant to cover things from when they meet to post-Red Robin, with a fair amount of mini canon divergences throughout. Currently it’s somewhere upwards of 50k, but I haven’t had a chance to work on it in a while. If you're in the mood for it, no pressure tagging @gerryrigged, @marirah, and @themandylion :D

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

Finwe, Ingwe, Olwe, and Elwe (The -We’s) are all emotionally stunted and have untreated PTSD.

Seriously though, most of their subjects don’t realize it because they were born in valinor/the girdle, while the -we’s were born before the valar discovered the elves.

Let me tell you what indicates that the -we’s are emotionally stunted.

In the girdle/valinor, the elves were safe for the first time in existence. And this safety allowed them to focus on fostering positive and emotionally healthy relationships with one another because they no longer needed to fear death around every corner. For once, whole families could grow together with no chance of a member being killed due to the darkness. The elves even had time to foster skills and explore at their leisure, instead of being solely focused on “survive, survive, survive”.

All in all, this means that those who were born/grew up in valinor/the girdle were the first elves with the chance to grow up emotionally healthy, with proper communication and relationship skills. Because they actually have the time and energy needed to learn these skills.

The -we’s (finwe, ingwe, olwe, and elwe) however, were born and grew up during a time where they were in constant survive mode, fight or flight. Their priority was living to see another day, and they likely were surrounded by constant death/disappearances of their family members/people they cared about. AND while the elves may have spawned in cuvinan fully grown, they still have absolutely no life experience then, nor did they magically know how society and their fellow elves worked.

They essentially had the cognative function of an adult, yet were as dumb as babies, because they didn’t just immediatly know everything. They had to figure everything out. Like cave men, kinda. So yeah, these first elves are absolutely useless when it comes to being emotionally healthy and well developed. It wasn’t until they were safe (in the girdle/valinor) that they really started to develop society as a whole, with kings and queens and governments, etc. Before that, they had a loose-ish leadership going on. Heck, the -we’s only really became the leader bc they were the first to follow the valar.

Now, you’re probably wondering “well what about the other elves that went on the great journey? Are they emotionally stunted to?” Probably to some extent, but the -we’s are by far the worst. And the reason is because they are the kings (I guess Miriel probably also falls in this category).

No one’s going to go up to the leader of a nation and say “hey, you need therapy”. That and the pressure of being perfect leaders means that they never got the chance to really become emotionally healthy and be able to form healthy relationships with their family, because they couldn’t admit that they weren’t perfectly mentally healthy in the first place.

Now, why is it important that finwe, ingwe, olwe, and elwe are emotionally stunted? What affect does it have on the story/silmarillion? Well-

*points at Miriel breaking down and fading*

*points at finwe’s crap handling of his family*

*points at elwe’s crap handling of his family/people* *in all honesty, his refusal to make peace with the noldor might be a result of his pre-valar’s arrival all-or-nothing survival drive* (don’t get me wrong, I still think he was dumb for some acts, but somethings I understand)

*idk a lot about olwe or ingwe, but olwe’s fear of returning to the pre-great journey days would explain his refusal to allow feanor the boats*

So I guess what I’m saying is that finwe, ingwe, olwe, and elwe (and Miriel) are emotionally stunted and have untreated ptsd from the days before the valar arrived, and no one’s forcing them to go to therapy bc 1. They’re kings and 2. Most elves (especially those born in valinor/the girdle) probably don’t even realize they have it, and it resulted in a lot of problems.

Side note: this either means that the silvans/avari/cirdan’s people are either the most emotionally healthy as a whole OR the most emotionally stunted. For the sake of my feral silvan au, I’m going with stunted, yet acutely aware of other elves’ emotional needs.

[qprsmackdown]

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli (Lord of the Rings) vs Gil Galad, Elrond, and Celebrian (Silmarillion)

I am going to cry. -🦊

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli propaganda: i likea them a lot :) • three dudes going on a road trip i hope nothing bond making happens • they can all braid each others hair • i don't know what the actual shipname is but gigolaron sounds funny youve opened my eyes youre so so so right. theyre just sooooooo. THEY ARE SO QPR FOR REALSIES. legolas and gimli devoted their whole lives to one another and legolas took gimli to essentially elf heaven with him. legolas and aragorn were amazing friends and i think they kissed. the three hunters are so qpr coded to me. they care so much for one another. i have not watched lotr in too long i should rewatch it again but Trust Me Bro theyre SO in love for realsies i got told to vote this by one of the mods. also aragorngimlilegolas resembles my qpr thank you tolkien for making these bitches sooo qpr roadtrip material

Gil Galad, Elrond, and Celebrian propagada: theyre soooo. the high king and his herald, facing unimaginable enemies that have killed all of their families. theyre both so trans also. they can only try to support each other even though the work keeps piling on and people keep dying and all they can do is try to live for each other. elrond has pledged his life to gilgalad and he will always be loyal. gilgalad would die for elrond but he has too many responsibilities and it breaks his heart that he cant say it back. when he does die it is for the world and for love and for elrond. to make a safe world for everyone. when they reunite in valinor they will have changed and learned so much but will still be there for each other, even though they are no longer king and herald.a king and a herald and their best friend. one has pledged their life to the people, the other to him, and the last is just trying to support them. in the midst of so much fear and destruction and uncertainty they stick together and support each other. gil galad dies before them and his loss will stay with them forever. celebrian has to sail to valinor and she must leave behind one for the other. but when elrond sails they will finally all be reunited. gil galad will never meet arwen but she grew up hearing stories about her second father, and strives to be as fair and just a ruler as he. elrohir and elladan are grown by the time they sail but they have until the end of days to make up for lost time. they get a happy ending, even through so much pain and strife. gil galad and celebrian know about elros and his decision to become mortal and how elrond knows it was the right choice for him but has a broken heart anyways. they knew but they didn't realize it would happen to them too. but they love each other and their children and they just want whats best for them. and they take solace in each other, they who still remain even through death. and they hope that when the dagor dagorath comes they can finally see all of their loved ones return from the great adventure of man and fight alongside each other, for even the destruction and renewal of arda cannot mar the happiness at being all together once more.

[90shaladriel]

writer asks

thanks so much @pursuitseternal and @myfavouritelunatic for tagging me!

I am not sure I really qualify as a writer 😂 , this is something I started within the last 12 months as a response to diving into Rings of Power / Haladriel shipping and fanfiction.

How many works do you have on AO3? 3

What's your total AO3 words count? 61,841 !

What fandoms do you write for? The Rings of Power, Silmarillion. I have some wip drafts for something from the Halo universe (my ao3 account name “NobleOne_Carter” was one of the Spartans from the game Halo: Reach)

What are your top five fics by kudos? - I only have 3 😭… 1) A Lord and his Builder 2) First Fire in the Void 3) Strays at Sea

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Absolutely, it drives me to keep writing almost more than anything else and I sometimes like expanding on the backstory or my approach when people ask good questions about my fics.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I haven’t finished it yet but I am pretty sure First Fire in the Void will be the one 😉

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Again it hasn’t been written yet but I think A Lord and his Builder will have an upbeat but open ending.

Do you get hate on fics? Not any really

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I have mostly been afraid to because I feel my writing is so inadequate for it, and or I kind of embarrassed about what cringe I imagine a sexy scene to be. I am trying to get over this anxiety and get out of my comfort zone. In my last chapter of First Fire in the Void I wrote a detailed make-out kind of scene between Melkor and Mairon. Which was a challenging one in many ways for me. I am thinking of going full smut later in that fic (I think that is obligatory for Angbang? 🍆)

Do you write crossovers? If so, what's the craziest one you've written? I haven’t. However I always have an overactive imagination. One crossover I would love to write is Darth Vader (Star Wars) on a space freighter full of Xenomorphs (Aliens) 🤣

Have you ever had a fic stolen? No I don’t think so. I have actually come across similar scenes to mine in a few fics which has given me of deja vu once or twice. I mostly think it’s because we all are working from the same set of tropes and plot lines from the media we all consume.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not yet!

Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, that could be fun

What's your all time favourite ship? Haladriel. I can’t even think of another ship that comes close. Honestly, the other onscreen relationship I spent a lot of time thinking about was Inuyasha x Kagome from the Inuyasha anime which came out when I was in university 20 years ago. I downloaded and watched over a hundred subbed episodes of that show and I don’t think they ever once kissed? Talk about slow burn!

What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I have two main WIPs that I hope I can finish. I am basically able to write 1 chapter per month with work and life stuff, I hope I can finish these and then I might take a break or focus on one-shots rather than long multi chapter fics.

What are your writing strengths? I’m not sure, I think I do a pretty good job describing how characters subjectively experience a situation or thought. I dunno if that’s what others think though. My writing style is heavily influenced by imagining the words as if Frank Herbert (Dune) had written it. I like to think my plot ideas are pretty creative, I am always trying to find a way to be different or unconventional in terms of plot.

What are your writing weaknesses? Run on sentences, trying to write banter, trying to write something romantic 💀

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? It’s probably more work than I would want to do. There were times I wanted to use some Black Speech for the Orcs or Sauron in A Lord and his Builder, but actually Tolkien never really completely described this language so there’s not like a Google translate for English to Black Speech unfortunately.

First fandom you wrote for? Rings of Power / Haladriel!

Favourite fic you've ever written? I only have 3 but I guess I would say the one that started it all was A Lord and his Builder. My first ever fic that I wrote and published anywhere, and the fact that people seemed so positive in the comments. I was really excited to bring this different sort of story to the Haladriel / RoP fandom which was heavy on the Sauron x Galadriel romance that I love, but I felt the Orc stuff was a niche that could be explored in an interesting way. Since I started writing this fic I have read a lot of other great fanfics which incorporate the Orc culture into this fandom and I love it, though maybe my ideas are not niche anymore? Everyone’s take on the Orc culture is a bit different because again Tolkien left a lot of blank spaces on the canvas when it came to the lives of the Orcs.

[thelordofgifs]

Round 6 of stupid decisions in the Silmarillion!

"Throwing racial slurs at Dwarves" has won out as Thingol's stupidest decision against a CROWDED field, so next up is another character I've been looking forward to: Maedhros!

This was a really interesting one to make; this poll series is definitely making me think a lot about characters' intent, and also about which characters make significant impacts on the plot. Notably missing from this poll are swearing the Oath itself, because that was in Fëanor's poll and, however you interpret power dynamics and the agency of the sons of Fëanor when they swore it, I think it's fair to say Fëanor was the ringleader there; the Second Kinslaying, since Celegorm was the ringleader for that one so it will be in his poll; and standing aside at Losgar, since that seemed less like a decision by itself and more a reaction to Fëanor's decision - and a mostly ineffectual one, since the political consequences of Maedhros having stood aside couldn't have been foreseen at the time he did it. I also left out searching for Dior's sons and attempting to forswear the Oath pre-Third Kinslaying, since these both ultimately failed and ended up not having much impact on anything other than Maedhros' mental state :(

"Driving out the Orcs from North Beleriand pre-Nirnaeth" might require some explanation. From the Silmarillion: "But Maedhros made trial of his strength too soon, ere his plans were fullwrought; and though the Orcs were driven out of all the northward regions of Beleriand, and even Dorthonion was freed for a while, Morgoth was warned of the uprising of the Eldar and the Elf-friends, and took counsel against them. Many spies and workers of treason he sent forth among them, as he was the better able now to do, for the faithless Men of his secret allegiance were yet deep in the secrets of the sons of Fëanor." According to Tolkien Gateway, this was three years before the Nirnaeth. Since the Nirnaeth was Maedhros' biggest military failure, I tried to break it down into a few separate decisions in the poll.

[thekingofwinterblog]

Do you think the Silmarilion is worth reading as its own book? Once tried to as a kid but found it boring as if I was reading a fictional bible or something (ironic considering Im reading the real thing for the second time right now lol)

P.S. Also sorry if I came of as a dick in some of the replys to your post, wont happen again

Yes and no. There are some interesting stories there, but i cannot under any circumstances advice you to read the whole thing through from cover to cover. It's a history book, and it reads like one.

There are tales in it worth reading though, but i would far more advice you to instead read the actual books Christopher hammered together out of his father's work before his death, before trying to read the equivelant of their stories in the silmarillion.

The children of Hurin is not a perfect read(it has a couple of timeskips where it's clear tolkien had things planned, but because he didnt get it done before it finished, the book basically sums up a time of war and adventure in narration. Think how LOTR's early chapters had a passage where 17 years passes as Gandalf came and went as he tried to figure out Bilbo's ring, and you have it), but it's overall a pretty good book, that covers the important parts of Turin's life, even if it's a greek styled tragedy.

I havent actually gotten around to reading the Fall of Gondolin, but from what i hear it does a much better job of hammering in the point that the battle of the unnumbered tears really was the last chance the forces oppossing Morgoth had a chance to win in a conventional war, and it was impossible after.

as for the book version of Beren and luthien, from what i hear it has the problem that Christopher was unwilling to just hammer out one, definite version out of his father's many, many takes, so the version we got here is a sorta frankenstein of the many texts, where it's treated as all the various in universe legends about this tale in one, sorta overlapping book. all fine and dandy, except there are part that are extremely confusing, as there were versions where Beren was an elf as well, removing a lot of the logical reasons why the plot happens.

honestly, i would recommend just reading the lay of leithian, https://tolkienleithian.blogspot.com/2013/03/canto-i.html which tells most of the important and interesting part of the story, and has a summary for the second and less interesting part. it is a story told in song though.

as for the rest, there arent more direct books, but there is an alternative to the first part of the silmarillion, The Ainulindale. the creation of the world.

it unfortunately only covers the first part, and doesnt go far enough to cover the age of the lamps, the awakening of the elves and melkor's first imprisonment, but it's a far more engaging alternative and coherent retelling of the making of the world than the more abstract yet dry telling from the silmarillion.

as for the rest of the silmarillion, there is worth to most of the stories, but if you read the ones i recommended above, the only one i would say are must read, are:

chapter 2: which retells how the dwarves and ents came to be.

Chapter 5-9, and then 13, which tells the story of feanor and his sons from valinor to their siege of angband(narratively its far and away the most coherent part of the story, even with that skip between 9 and 13).

chapter 17-18 which tells about how men came to the west and became part of the political world there, the breaking of the great siege, and Fingolfin's famous duel with morgoth.

Also if you just wanna read the duel in song form as Tolkien originally intended, here's another lay of just that.

chapter 20: The battle of the unnumbered tears, the last shot of victory. Also told in Children of Hurin, but this chapter is actually good, so i'd recommend reading it regardless.

chapter 22: which explains what the hell happened to Doriath, and sees the story of the sons of feanor reach it's end.

chapter 23: The story of Earendil the mariner, and the war of wrath that ended Morgoth's reign, and sunk beleriand under the sea.

after that, if you want to read about the second age, go read fall of numenor instead. its a way better source, even if not hammered together by Christopher.

[imakemywings]

Fandom: The Silmarillion

Characters: Elwing, Elros, Elrond

Summary: Elwing lets the twins help her in the kitchen.

AO3 | Pillowfort

_______________________________________________________

           Flour falls like powdery, early winter snow over the counter. Elwing’s hands are gentle kneading the dough. When she gathers it into a lump in the center of the workspace, Elros’ hands splat into the center of the wad. He tips his head back to grin up at his mother, flour on his nose, all around his fingers, up his brown forearms, dusting the fringe of his hair. She’s not quite sure how that happened.

           “Help me break it up?” she says. She shows Elros what size to make the pieces and they divvy up half the loaf of dough that way. It takes much longer with her “help” participating.

           “Nana, what if we made one big one?” Elros says, showing her a chunk of dough the size of his small fist.

           “Then we shall have to give that one more time to cook than the others,” says Elwing, but she doesn’t make him divide it up to match the size of the others. He takes very well to smashing the balls of dough to flatten them out, though she has to warn him more than once not to make them too thin. Even so, he tears several and Elwing patiently rolls them back into balls so he can flatten them out anew.

           As they work, another sleek black head pops up at her elbow, hands grasping at the tray of dough circles.

           “Nana, Elrond wants to help also,” says Elros as his brother wordlessly reaches for the dough.

           “Does Elrond want to use his words?” Elwing asks. When she looks down at her other son, Elrond gazes back with wide gray eyes framed in thick dark lashes; such serious expressions for one so small! It makes her smile inwardly. Neither she nor her father had grandmother Lúthien’s gray eyes, but Elrond and Elros both have them. She doesn’t remember what color Elured and Elurin’s eyes were.

            “Well, give him some room then, little minnow,” says Elwing, nudging Elros. He scoots aside duly to allow Elrond to join him on the step stool, and promptly begins to repeat the instructions Elwing had just given him, showing Elrond how to flatten out the dough circles and even how to re-roll them when they were flattened too thin. Golden sunlight beams through the window onto their glossy heads, illuminating the dust drifting through the air—of which a significant portion is flour, she’s sure.

           “No, no, like this,” Elros says, taking one from Elrond’s hands to demonstrate. Elrond simply picks up another and goes about his own way, though in the end both dough circles look the same. Elwing leaves the rest to the boys. Elrond leans back against her as he works, occasionally tilting his head to look up at her, a smear of flour appearing on the end of his nose. Elwing bends over to kiss the top of his head and brings a smile to his face. When they have finished flattening the dough, they both turn to her in sync, saying nothing. They’ll need a thorough scrubbing before bed she thinks to herself. They look as if they’ve been rolling about in fine, white sand.

          Now, the filling,” says Elwing. She picks up the big bowl she had filled earlier in the day and sets it nearby, handing each of them a small spoon. “Only a little now,” she says, scraping a bit of cabbage and mushroom out of the bowl and laying it in the center of one of the circles. “Then I will fold them over like this…” She presses the edges together with a fork, leaving a trail of ridges on the lip of the dumpling. “But you must only use a little filling, or they won’t close properly.” She hears in her mind the echo of Idril Celebrindal’s voice and the floral smell clinging to her as she directs Elwing’s little hands, the guiding instructions of Elwing’s old nurse as she imparted old Doriathrin recipes on all of them. She remembers the sight of Eärendil sitting on the counter, nudging spilled chunks of onion back into the dough.

           Elros immediately goes to fill his overlarge dumpling skin with as much as he can manage, squeezing it out the sides when he tries to close it. They aren’t quite coordinated enough yet to spoon the filling out without making a great mess, and Elwing should stop them; they’re wasting food and she’ll have to clean it all up later, but Eärendil is out to sea and the boys are happy to be helping, so she says nothing.

           They work quietly, making little noises or gestures that must mean something to each other, and only once devolving into a wordless squabble of hand slaps that they resolve before she intervenes. They are very focused on their task.

           She wonders if Elured and Elurin were the same, working in silent tandem with each other at their chores, speaking in ways no one else could see or understand.

           When they’ve filled each piece of dough, she reaches around them to begin pressing them shut, while both boys point as soon as one hasn’t been closed properly or has leaked out some filling. Elrond tugs at her tunic to point out the unsatisfactory dumplings and she’s fairly sure Elros is trying to wipe dough off his hands on her. She pinches a bit of spilled cabbage off the tray and holds it up to Elrond’s lips; he nibbles it off her fingers and smiles, showing a flash of teeth.

           “They’re lumpy,” Elros says with a frown.

           “They’re a little full,” says Elwing. “But they’ll taste the same once we’ve cooked them.” Elros is still frowning. Elwing cards a hand back through his fine hair. “Aren’t you pleased, little minnow?” she asks. “Look how many you made.”

           “They’re lumpy,” Elros insists. They aren’t lumpy when Elwing makes them.

           “So?” she says. Elros frowns up at her, his dark brows furrowed. “Not everything has to look perfect,” she tells him. “Wait and see how they look when they’re finished.”

           She sends them off because they are too young yet to be fishing dumplings out of a pot of boiling water or a pan of hot butter, but when the dumplings are cooked and sightly cooled she calls them both back in.

           “Here you are, chipmunk,” she says to Elrond, handing him one which he bites into immediately, licking the warm butter off his lips. “Will you take one as well, or are they still too lumpy for you?” she asks Elros. He makes a moue at her, as if he knows he’s being teased, and sullenly holds his hand out for a dumpling. Very seriously, Elwing places one in his hand.

           “What do you think?” she asks after he’s taken two bites. “Is it terrible? Shall I throw it out for the goats?”

           “No!” the twins say together. Elrond grabs Elros’ wrist with his oily hand and pulls him towards the doorway, and they vanish off to make a tent out of their bed blankets, or collect seed pods, or concoct one of their elaborate pretend games together, leaving Elwing to clean the dishes and prepare the rest of dinner. As she gathers the basket of over-stuffed, lumpy dumplings, she thinks of little hands pressing out the dough and smiles to herself.

[eunoiaastralwings]

Can I get a platonic Eonwe x adopted girl child apprentice reader, where the child asks him a complicated question like " why can't elves men and dwarves all get along and be friends instead of living separately" being a Maiar, he is supposed to be wiser than most elves and others, but even then, there are some questions that are too complicated, and he has to explain how things aren't that simple.

EÖNWË WITH AN ADOPTED CHILD:

featuring eöwnë and adopted female child

fandom tolkien — the silmarillion

Eönwë had known the hardship of taking care of children - he had watched many children bearing and struggling with them. Manwë had even warned him.

But when he met you - the little girl mesmerized by his wings and pulling at it - he felt a sudden urge to protect you and keep you away from all harm, to wrap his wings around you and carry you away from the place that gave you no home.

He took care of you and loved you as his own - knowing very well this is what he wanted.

Eönwë didn’t care for you bundles of energy - or excitement to learn anything and everything. In fact, he encouraged it.

Eönwë knew children weren’t an easy job - to be honest he would definitely say being the herald was much easier than being a father to a child.

Eönwë prepared himself for everything - the laughs, the crying, the screaming and the whining - but the end of the day when he returns to see your wide sparkling eyes and smile with small arms that wrap tightly with all your might around his neck calling him ‘atya’ is when he knows he always did the right thing.

The herald loved being home to his little chick that was determined to get his attention on every little thing they found interesting - he loves when you come climb onto his lap and talk animatedly about your day.

But what he didn’t prepare himself for were the boundless questions of why. . . 

“Why can't elves, men and dwarves all get along and be friends instead of living separately?”

You suddenly asked one day as he explained to you about Middle Earth.

Eönwë looked at you shocked - then blinked, stammering for answer.

 He scratched the back of his neck - his eyes moving around the room trying to think of something to explain to you as you waited extra patiently for an answer.

The as if Manwë somehow had his back - or perhaps it was Queen Yavanna or her sister Queen Vána - but anyways his eyes landed on the slowly blooming flower nearby the windows

Eönwë softly hummed - then stood from his sitting position on the ground and sat on the chair.

He gently scooped you into his arms and placed you on his lap.

“You see that pretty flower?”

He asked - pointing to it after you settled on his lap.

Eönwë smiled as you nodded your head enthusiastically.

“Well we know flowers like spring, don’t we?”

Again you nodded your head.

“But did you know some flowers like winter too?”

You frowned.

“But won’t they die?

You asked - rather sad.

Eönwë quickly shook his head.

“No, some flowers like snowdrops love the cold. . .while some do not and love to grow in spring or summer.”

He explained carefully.

“Like flowers - we are all different, little one. We do not tend to like the same things - and sometimes there is nothing wrong with that. If we all liked the same things the world would be too boring.”

He tickled you - making you erupt into giggles.

“But even though we are different - in some way we get along. Like seasons give space to one another, comes and goes - the men, elves and dwarves tend to do the same. There are some harsh winters, but still they help to make sure the flower blooming spring can break through the icy winters and live. . .”

Eönwë sighed for a second.

“While it would be better for all of us to get alone, little one - it does take time, like the seasons take time. . .we must wait, especially when they are all so stubborn!”

He rolled his eyes, making you laugh again.

“One day, little one. . . One day all will be well.”

He said – stroking your hair. 

Eönwë prayed it will be because he wanted a better world for you. . .

Taglist form

tara's taglist: @wandererindreams @fizzyxcustard @ranhanabi777 @spidergirla5 @asianbutnotjapanese @floraroselaughter @mismaeve

silm taglist: @doodle-pops

Ainur taglist: @cilil

[rubychan228]

Post-S1 interview with Charlie Vickers

Sauron Actor Breaks Down the Big Reveal in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Finale

A few key excepts, with a little bit of emphasis by me.

But I would be lying if I said I didn't already have a big inkling that I was going to be Sauron by that point. My last two audition speeches were a Richard III speech, and then a poem from Paradise Lost where I was literally reading it as Satan. So I had an inkling that there was some darkness within the character already.

The research that I was able to do — The Silmarillion, I read the really relevant parts to Sauron. Rather than making my way through it as a whole, I reread the parts that are really relevant to him. Tolkien talks a lot about his intention behind the character in his Letters. He also talks about him a lot in Morgoth's Ring. So I did all my reading and basically let that inform my performances on the day, because I still have to fully embody Hal, because I think Sauron is fully embodying Halbrand in order to convince people like Galadriel that he's just a regular dude from the Southlands.

During their confrontation, Halbrand makes a pitch to Galadriel that he will make her his queen. What was he trying to do here? Vickers: I think he's trying to get her to join him. I think he's dropped his act as Halbrand, and Sauron has this intention to heal Middle-earth, and to rehabilitate and reorganize Middle-earth certainly during this period of his return to power. And I think he's making that pitch to her. He's saying, "This world, I can turn it into an independent paradise, somewhere that's even nicer than Valinor, nicer than heaven — as long as everyone listens to me." And in her, I think he sees a way into the Elves and a way into the trust of these people. He doesn't really like the Elves, between you and me. He hates them. But I think he sees a way into them with her, and if she joins him he could probably effect his designs faster. But then when she says no, I think it's not that much of a big deal to him. With or without her, he's going to try his utmost to achieve his objective by this point.

And of course, a lot of viewers have been shipping Halbrand and Galadriel. How would you describe their relationship from the start of the season to now? Vickers: Yes, I remember very well. I like to think of it as a cosmic connection, in that he has spent a lot of time by himself — a long, long time. And I think when he meets her, he's finally meeting someone that's on his level closer to him, who has been around for a very long time. They've had this real connection, and he sees in her an opportunity. While I don't think it's romantic, I think it's really interesting and cool that a lot of people read into it like that, and that's the beauty of making things like this — there's no right answer. But I think it's more on the level of, we're two very experienced people who know a lot more than most other people we meet. And also, I think when it comes down to it at the very end of the season, he thinks he can use her to get what he wants, as sad as that is. It's like a bit of a toxic relationship.

And I also think that there is something within him of, he now has a foe, which for him is really exciting. Or maybe he also thinks that she can join him further down the line, that if he has another crack at it he will be successful at it this time.

And I think it's interesting when Halbrand says, "Do you remember me?" There's a huge part of him that wants Adar to feel some recognition. And I think perhaps he does, when Adar says, "Who are you?" as Halbrand exits the barn. It's just like, come on man, even though I don't look the same, surely you must feel something.

I feel very privileged to be able to play Sauron during this era because we have seen him on screen and in a lot of adaptations without physical form. And we all know in the lore, and this is something I'm really excited for for next season, is you see him manipulating, you see him doing things in this form of a beautiful man.

So, he's in this form, but he's still a shapeshifter and will be manipulating others in a beautiful form next season. And, in Charlie's opinion at least, he does not have feelings for Galadriel, but does think she could be useful to his plans. And offering to make her his queen is a way to get her on board with said plans. (Charlie also did extensive homework on the character, so he hopefully does have a good sense of who he's meant to be playing, since it seems that we will see at least a bit more of Sauron, in his Halbrand form but openly Sauron, next season.)

[anna-dreamer]

More grumpy Valar thoughts

I’ll just vent here for a little bit

Had a little thought about the Valar, mercy, and judgement. (Still think the Valar do a rather poor job of being in charge of things, though i suppose it’s a discussion on its own what ‘in charge’ means in this case.)

I’ve encountered a notion that by releasing Melkor out of his confinement in the Void Manwe executed an act of estel, so it was a good thing actually, because themes and everything. I believe it very well might be a thematical thing, but the way the Valar executed it made it hardly moral or responsible from a leadership point of view. (Again, is it even a valid concern when it comes to Silmarillion, Doom and all? Dunno, just like to think about it.) 

Like, sure, it is incredibly virtuous of you guys to let your mortal enemy go and to believe him when he swears to never again, to give him a chance because everyone deserves one. But what about his victims who you specifically brought to the same place to protect from him? How is it a great idea to let Melkor lose, unsupervised, unchecked? Both Melkor and the Eldar are Valar’s responsibility, but the former they seem to favor more. And by the way, isn’t it clear that the confinement itself might have made Melkor extremely vengeful? Of course he would want revenge, and if he couldn’t touch the Valar themselves, he had the Eldar at hand. That should have been at least plausible for anyone who new Melkor, the rejected jealous child he was. But the Valar are apparently bad both at talking and at empathy, as Eru must have been not a great dad for any of them.

So Melkor does what he does, and as far as I am concerned the whole conundrum is Valar’s responsibility as much as his. 

Now, i thought of other times when the Valar had to seat in judgement. 

First case is Feanor, and frankly it seems to me it was absolutely not the Valar’s business to punish him at all. It doesn’t mean he did no wrong, but it all seems to be an internal Eldar affair which Melkor exploited. And the Eldar already have their own authority, their king. It must be he and them who decide what to do. But the Valar apparently strongly believe it is their right to interfere. I wonder, was there any rule or a law that prohibited weapons and armored assaults the the Valar previously imposed? Did they state that there would be times when their judgement precedes the one of Eldar’s authorities? Because if they didn’t it looks like another case of arbitrary unspoken rules based not on law but on faith, that apply to the flight of the Noldor. Essentially, nobody knows what the Valar’s rules are, but everybody will know once they’re broken. That is abuse. 

At last, Earendil and Elwing. Their case frankly makes me angry. They too broke the rules (finally some clearly spoken rules, though no clear punishment for breaking them), and the judgement was unfairly harsh. They were essentially both removed from the world they knew, parted from their children forever, Elwing was turned into a bird, and an ever solitary mission was imposed on Earendil which he can never abandon or complete. And for what? For them coming to plead for help and mercy. As if they were already guilty somehow. The Valar probably felt they were. 

Now, granted, Melkor was imprisoned for a long time, but he was released and fully pardoned as if nothing happened. And he tried to destroy an entire race. While Earendil just trespassed. And he is still up there in the sky.  

And, granted, I am not discussing any metaphysical reading of this story. Rather I am concerned for the implications it makes because i feel it is important. The Valar are willing to give a chance to one of their own, however fallen he might be; but when it comes to the Eldar, the Valar’s compulsion to judge and punish is without fail. 

Freaking pre-built inequality.