#maglor/luthien is a tragedy

[superloves4]

Something that compels me so much about Maglor/Luthien is that if you change Beren with Maglor, the quest for the silmaril becomes so much more juicy

Because, yeah, on one hand it's still a suicide quest designated to either make Maglor give up Luthien or die in the process of the quest, thus freeing Luthien.

But on the other hand, this is Maglor's family treasure he is asking as bride price (which also makes it an actually accurate as a bride price is supposed to be something the groom's family already has yk), Thingol is asking Maglor to give him the whole reason the Feanorians even left Aman in the first place, the thing Feanor died trying to re-take, the reason he has been fighting for years.

Not to mention that depending on how you decide to read the oath, Thingol is asking him to not only curse himself but his entire family for Luthien, asking him if a life with Luthien is worth eternal damnation.

[valasania-the-pale]

do you have any galadriel brainrot rattling around that you want to share? I'm especially fascinated by any/all galadriel & maglor ideas either in the third age, or otherwise...chiefly bc of your portrayal of them in "the final verse" is so interesting ...Or just, brainrot in general? Always love hearing your takes on things <3 <3 <3

Always.

If I'm focusing on her relationship with Maglor however, I think it may be funny to share that I don't think Galadriel likes Maglor much at all, but rather pities him. He is, arguably, the most wretched elf alive by the end of things, and a decent reflection of what she could have been had she made different, probably tempting choices in her life. Maglor chose something over goodness (whether that was family, pride, loyalty, or whatever, it kind of depends on your reading of him, but whatever it was, he prioritized that thing over being a decent person), while Galadriel was faced with the choice of her ambition and pride over goodness - and in her case, where it mattered, she chose right. She knows how that temptation can feel, however, and I would imagine that Maglor (and Maedhros, back when he was around) were and are very personal cautionary examples of where personal desire can lead when not tempered by wisdom and care.

You know, I like to think that it would be Galadriel to drag Maglor back to Valinor? Not because she likes him, or because she thinks he deserves it, but because my picture of Galadriel is someone who has seen so many loose ends left untied, between Morgoth's escape, the Valar leaving Middle Earth and its people in the lurch of Morgoth's hatred and warring, and the aftermath of the War of Wrath (e.g. Sauron was left unaccounted for, enabling all of the sorrow to come). Leaving Maglor behind means that the story isn't done, the elves will never fully leave, he'll just fade away into a vague sea-voice, an unending, quavering note, held past the point of breaking, never finished. I think that, where Elrond would honor Maglor's grief and choice, Galadriel would be just unimpressed and impatient with it all. "No, we're not doing this again, get on the damn boat. Mourn in Lorien if you must, but I'll be damned again before I leave you here."

I think it also stems from the idea that, by the end of the third age, I think Galadriel is tired of almost everything, tired enough that old grudges - however deserved - are just not worth clinging to. He's done awful things, but depending on how you read her, hasn't Galadriel also? She's either a bit player in the Silmarillion or she abandoned her family entirely - for someone so skilled, and who later (in her fading years) demonstrates such will and power, it implies a personal history of just generally keeping her hands off. And if she was hands-on, then she failed like everyone else. She's connected to everything intimately, so no matter the reading, there's pain and failure there. Maglor has obviously done more, but understanding doesn't come from equivalence, it comes from kinship.

And, I think the last reason she'd do it, is because Galadriel almost certainly knew Nerdanel. After having to endure Celebrian's situation, after Luthien's departure (and presumably the grief that caused Melian), and now having to face telling Celebrian that she'll never see Arwen again, I don't think Galadriel would just accept Maglor's self-imposed exile knowing it would harm Nerdanel as well. It would be one last, unnecessary tragedy to pile onto an exorbitant pile (and, in my headcanons of Galadriel's history, I like to imagine that she and Nerdanel had a connection of friendship for various reasons). There's a whole sub-narrative about mothers having to just accept the loss of their daughters in the Silmarillion (Earwen joins the list, and Anaire, and--), and if Galadriel has shown anything, it's that she strongly defies convention.

[polutrope]

⭐️ anything about Daeron and how you approach writing him?

Oh, Daeron! You really are indulging me with this ask 😁. Sorry this is long but you must have expected it would be...

All right, so, generally speaking I write from a very close/limited POV (I think it's because my first form of creative expression was acting -- which I don't do anymore, but it's how my brain first learned to tell stories). Anyway, I get stuck writing almost immediately if I don't feel I have a really good grasp of a character's inner life: what are their core values, what motivates them as a person, what stands in their way?

I never got stuck with Daeron. For reasons that are difficult to pinpoint, he's one of a handful of characters that just flows out of me without much thought (others, like Maedhros and Fingolfin, took a lot of effort to wrap my head around).

Here's a summary then of how I see Daeron's inner life, and it lies behind pretty much anything I write him in, even if it takes very different forms depending on the genre:

Core values: telling and preserving the truth; being authentic. He's a minstrel and a loremaster. This is why he invents the Cirth, even though his people (tragically) don't really feel the need for it. This drives his curiosity about everything. This is why he had no choice (in his mind) but to tell Thingol about Beren. He's jealous, yes, but mostly he (briefly) hates Luthien for hiding this from everyone and cannot understand why she would. (The irony, in my Daemags verse, is that he also hides the truth about loving someone he shouldn't.)

What motivates him: the attainment of perfection. This is where his love / idolisation of Luthien comes from. To him, she is the embodiment of perfection (ahem, as she was to Tolkien). This is why he falls apart when she falls in love with a mortal. He knows, at least subconsciously, right away that this means he is going to lose her forever. That the world is going to lose her. He panics. This is also why he is the best minstrel of all time. The tragedy is that even being the 'best' will never be enough for him.

What stands in his way: well, broadly speaking, Arda Marred. He will never reach or achieve the perfection he strives for because it doesn't exist. But because he's so closely connected to Song, he can catch glimpses of What Could Have Been. Being able to see that and realising at the same that it is impossible is what eventually drives him to despair.

But he does get past it! I have written this in a couple different ways (both of them involving the influence of Maglor, heh). Basically, after thousands of years of suffering, he is able to see the beauty in Arda Marred and to 'go with the flow' (like the dark waters beside which he sings) of fate.

[novemberthecatadmirer]

My completely personal opinion is Celegorm does not need get together with Aredhel to become a good person

Because love cannot and probably should not narratively save someone from their crime or fix their moral issues or inspire them to become a hero

Fingon killed innocents for Maedhros. He went out to save Maedhros despite being abandoned on the ice. He supported Maedhros in so many ways and died in a war Maedhros planned

But Maedhros still started falling into a dark pit after Fingon’s death

I think love maybe can stop someone from doing bad things for a period of time. But ultimately it meant little if the person still refused to change their way of thinking and was just doing things for their loved one’s sake

Celegorm should not become a good person because Aredhel asked him to. It rarely works that way

(Also don’t like the implication that Aredhel’s absence had anything to do with Celegorm becoming more and more unhinged. She’s not responsible for fixing him)

(HATE the suggestion that Celegorm tried to force Luthien into marriage because he wanted to avenge Aredhel. I think unless Aredhel was a true psychopath she would only want to punch him for that. Even she was really raped (I tend to think her relationship was just an ordinary consensual relationship that went very sour) she would not want that to happen to any other girl.)

Celegorm was an adult and knew what was right and what was wrong. Maybe even more than all his brothers because of him serving Orome in the past.

He was responsible for his decisions.

I actually like him because of all his horrible evil acts. Him being the one that convinced his brother to do the second kinslaying. The one who restart the tragedy.

He was a person of action! He chose to do evil, actively, again and again. (Meanwhile Maglor was just tagging along singing sentimental melodies.)

If there’s an redemption arc for him he had to actively chose so himself. Although I cannot see it to easily happen.

[amethysttribble]

List ten different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media, and tag ten people!  

Thank you so much @himemiyaaah for the tag, I’m sorry I took forever to do this! We’re organizing these by piece of media

Celegorm: by god, if you look at his character for a little bit, there is so much going on with him! He’s friends with Orome, he has a magic angel dog, he’s super close with Curufin despite the age difference, he’s friendly with his cousins and he gets Finrod killed, he’s an elegant speaker, his followers commit the most abhorrent crime of the kinslayings, he’s assaults Luthien, he’s close with Aredhel, he’s a renowned hunter and failure as a military general. There’s so many layers and contradictions and I love him. (Silm)

Elwing: She is my baby girl, and once I write my ‘conversations between Elwing and Maglor’s Wife’ fic, it’s over for you bitches. She’s just... so resolute, and so sad, and so angry, and she turns into a BIRD and I don’t know what more you want from me. (Silm)

Curufin: Every time I write Curufin I black out and then pages upon pages of the most miserable words on the planet are recorded on screen, and I don’t know what that says about me (Silm)

 Percy de Rolo: this tragic white-haired anime boy with a gun has entranced me, mind body and soul. He really misses his family, you guys T_T (Critical Role, C1)

 Veth Brenatto: This woman is one of the most fascinating characters at the Critical Role table, and that she gets reduced to “Caleb’s mom” so often is fucking criminal, I LOVE her and want her to be happy and blow shit up (Critical Role, C2)

Hubert von Vestra: listen... I’m a sucker for the loyal (male) retainer to the driven at all costs, morally questionable (female) leader. And also they were platonic soulmates. Hubert is a spooky vampire who lives on devotion, and I fucking love him. (fe3h)

Catherine Morland: I recently remembered why Northanger Abbey is my favorite Austen book, she’s just a fucking hoot, I wish I could be her (Northanger Abbey)

Sanji: Sanji, sanji, sanji, WHAT am I to do with you? The most character of all time, so well written sometimes, so poorly written on others. He is forever and always my One Piece blorbo (One Piece)

Catelyn Stark: This woman... Need it be said how goddamn amazing Cat is? I’m not sure it does, my the unbridled tragedy of her watching lose her family one by one, how war steals her young son from her and she is forced to watch, rattling against the bars of the patriarchal cage, and she STILL has a higher on page kill count than Robb? She was already perfect and then she died and cam back a wraith bent on revenge, no one is doing it like her. (asoiaf)

Shimura Shinpachi: MY FUCKING SON! The most important Gintama character and also the most underrated, he’s just a sweet lad, doing his best!! He’s so good to Kagura, and so good to his sister, and so good his friends, and he just wants to be a samurai but also he’s a son of the new age, and he’s trying so hard and I LOVE HIM. (Gintama)

Again, can’t do 10 people, I can give you 5. @agroupofcrows, @aipilosse, @arofili, @shrikeseams, @shiroandblack, feel free to answer or ignore at your leisure!

[imakemywings]

For the tolkein bingo, as you said you love sinda, celegorm and feanor

Haha nice play Anon

Feanor:

Feanor is probably actually one of my favorite Tolkien characters XD I don't stand either by "Feanor did nothing wrong" nor "Feanor did everything wrong" because to me the tragedy of his character is that he was good and he did a lot of good things for the Noldor but he also was susceptible to being corrupted by Melkor and having his abilities turned to terrible ends.

He's just so interesting. He has always struck me as someone who is not especially easy to get along with, and yet we know he must be able to inspire significant loyalty, based on how many of the Noldor are swayed to his argument for leaving Aman and how intensely his children adhere to his aims. Hell, the kids were eager to take the oath after Feanor did!

He feels so much all the time and he's terrible at processing that and he's so invested in learning and discovering and creating and he can be a real asshat but boy when he went down he went down hard and it was fantastic this boy really imploded in on himself like a dying star and sucked in everything around him too.

I don't think the Valar victimized Feanor and I don't think Feanor victimized his kids. I don't think Melkor is 100% responsible for what Feanor did, but I do think it's relevant to remember the text explicitly refers to the "corruption" of Feanor by Melkor, which has always made me think Melkor's influence drove Feanor to do things he would not have done otherwise. Not that that makes him not responsible for those things, but merely as a reflection on his character. I think he spends a lot of time in Mandos being horrified by both his own and his children's actions.

Anyway I could ramble about him a lot longer but I'll leave it there lol

Celegorm:

Celegorm is a character that initially I was very willing to write off as one I just didn't like and wasn't worth thinking about, but I've returned to him since then.

Frankly, I tend to believe all of Feanor's kids have a prominent douchebag streak and that was present even in Tirion. They were all talented, royalty, ambitious, and very smart people--they were probably fucking insufferable. Still, Celegorm and Curufin in particular seem to speedrun the Feanorian path from "general douchebag but still likeable" to "irredeemable asshole."

But why?

My general belief is that it's because Celegorm, after Alqualonde, essentially surrendered any version of this story where he and his family are the heroes. He saw them as villains at Alqualonde and just embraced that as their new identity. They're the dangerous violent Elves on a quest and he will use that to his every advantage, whereas I think some of his brothers--Maedhros and Maglor in particular--were still hanging onto this idea of nobility in their duty and being good (or at least not awful) people.

This is where you get things like his reciting the Oath in Nargothrond and plotting to use Luthien to force Thingol to ally with the Feanorians (the closest we get to a threat of Elf-on-Elf sexual assault in the book), chasing down Luthien and Beren for the crime of escaping that shit plan, and pushing hard for the Second Kinslaying. Celegorm basically accepts that they are not good people and is then willing to use that wherever he can to get what he wants/what the Feanorians need. If he had survived Doriath, I think he would have been on board for the Third Kinslaying.

So now I find him kind of interesting for his general awfulness and moral bankruptcy. He's someone who will smile at you while he puts a sword through your gut. I love the idea of Celegorm as someone who is disarmingly jovial even when angry, which definitely leads to people underestimating him (Curufin is the only one who can tell unerringly when Celegorm is pissed) and mishandling him. I think there are times when he is tormented by what they've done, but he doesn't want to think about that, so he crushes it down to embrace their new status as amoral war criminals and never really reflects much on all that because he doesn't want to deal with it.

[tolkien-feels]

Would you do Aredhel, Nerdanel, Amrod, Celegorm, Maglor, Amras Beren, Luthien, Namo, Sauron, Morgoth, Melian, Thingol, Daeron, and Mim for the ask game please? (I apologize for the laundry list; I'm just really curious about what you think about them!) (I'm not intending for them to be done all at once!)

That is quite a list. Okay, let's try to do this, but I apologize for the length. I've tried my best to be brief but if you follow me you know I don't know how to shut up. You can watch in real time how I manage to be concise for a little bit and then gradually derange into rambling

Already done: Ambarussa and Luthien

Aredhel

Sexuality Headcanon: Straight, allo, just very vanilla

Gender Headcanon: She's cis in both identity and presentation, but aggressively anti restrictive gender roles

A ship I have with said character: Lowkey Eol in a messed up way (exactly in what way they're messed up changes depending on my mood), but I'm generally uninterested in shipping Aredhel

A BROTP I have with said character: *gestures broadly at the Finwean family tree* All my shipping interest with this character went into family brotps I think! I'll just highlight a somewhat unusual relationship I'm really interested in: Curufin. Oh, and Idril.

A NOTP I have with said character: In terms of romantic, none. In terms of friendship - Aredhel & Galadriel. I have complex thoughts about their relationship but I actively dislike them as besties.

A random headcanon: I've spoken a little about this before, but you know the relationship Celegorm has with Orome? I headcanon Aredhel has something similar with Nessa

General Opinion over said character: I have no idea why I don't talk about her more often, because I find her super interesting. I'm very particular about fanon takes on her, but I'm very much into canon!Aredhel

Nerdanel

Sexuality Headcanon: I don't actually vibe with the Kinsey scale, but for the sake of simplicity: she's like a 1. I don't think she would label herself as anything more detailed than queer, though

Gender Headcanon: It's complicated. Other people might assume she's gnc, but she's cis. She's just... not very good at performing Valinorean gender, and generally interested in trying very hard to. But she very much identifies as female

A ship I have with said character: FEANOR!!! And that's it. But that's one of my favorite otps across all my fandoms

A BROTP I have with said character: ...also Feanor. Her children as well. MAHTAN. Aule. My completely made up post-Darkening friendship between Nerdanel and Manwe

A NOTP I have with said character: Anaire and/or Earwen. I'm not a huge fan of them as friends (I find it more interesting if they are not) and I'm definitely not into them as romantic ship(s)

A random headcanon: She has a pad and charcoal with her pretty much at all times and is semi-constantly taking down quick sketches of things that interest her. They're studies for future sculptures, but she favors abstract sculptures so very few people can see the relationship between sketches and final products

General Opinion over said character: Love of my life. Blorbo. I once worked myself up to tears just by thinking about her tragedy. Would kill and die for her.

Celegorm

Sexuality Headcanon: Pan but also poly (in the sense of polyamory), which is a major taboo in Valinor and messes him up quite a bit.

Gender Headcanon: I'm a huge fan of transmasc Celegorm tbh, I have a whole post about it

A ship I have with said character: None? Not in particular. I deeply enjoy the idea of Celegorm, in one of his creepiest moments, deciding if he ever can become Not Poly, it will be by loving Luthien, the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, who comes with a crown. But that's not a ship, that's a plot point headcanon, I wouldn't even want this plot point to last long.

A BROTP I have with said character: Other than his family? Orome, I guess. I will say, though, that I enjoy Celegorm getting along with his cousins more than other Feanorians do

A NOTP I have with said character: Aredhel. I like him seeing her as a little sister so much I genuinely forget this is a popular ship until I see it

A random headcanon: Adores children. Ever since childhood, he just loves everyone who's younger than him. And yes, he's fun and has unusual ideas about safety, but he's actually extremely protective and will never put a child in actual danger. He gives them the illusion of danger without ever actually endangering them

General Opinion over said character: I mean, my blog is like 90% Feanorians at some points, do you even have to ask? I love him. My own son, I love him

Maglor

Sexuality Headcanon: I have two answers for this. The actual headcanon is bi. The funny headcanon is that he's aroace but assumes he's pan because "equal amounts of attraction equals pan, right?" when the amount of attraction is actually zero. The reason why this is funny is because I always headcanon Maedhros as aroace, and I deeply enjoy the idea of the two of them having the same identity but having no clue of it until like, halfway through adulthood

Gender Headcanon: Very much cismale

A ship I have with said character: Daeron, but in a very specific way, and it's a ship I enjoy a lot, but not quite an otp

A BROTP I have with said character: As with all Finweans, his whole family. I have to mention kidnap fam, but I only enjoy it if it's messed up. Also - Daeron again

A NOTP I have with said character: His semi-canonical spouse. I never remember they exist and when I do, I just say "No, thanks."

A random headcanon: Absolutely deadly on the battlefield. He doesn't enjoy violence, but being ruthless won't keep him up at night. And mercy killings are kind of his thing.

General Opinion over said character: Same as Celegorm - my own son. But I feel like almost all the headcanons I have about Maglor are almost the opposite of the most popular fanons

Beren

Sexuality Headcanon: ...PTSD. No, just kidding. But kind of not. I headcanon Beren simply hasn't had the opportunity to even meet people he could conceivably be attracted to. I headcanon him as bi, but does he know that? Nope. As far as he's concerned, he's stayingalivesexual at first and then Luthiensexual later

Gender Headcanon: Cis, but after his first death, he generally stops caring and is curious enough about Luthien's weird, half-Maia gender to try out some minor gender presentation things. But it does nothing for him, really, he's just curious and after trying it once he pretty much loses interest. A case could be made for some flavor of enby.

A ship I have with said character: Luthien, of course. Daeron/Beren is a crackship that I take more seriously every time I joke about it and one of these days I'll end up unironically getting into it and crying over the tragedy of it all

A BROTP I have with said character: Barahir's outlaws as a group. Finrod and his elves, too. Thingol and Melian (trust me, I can make it work.) And I have many thoughts about him and Dior. As always, I gravitate around family groups. Oh, and I have an entire au in my head where he basically adopts Turin, and I love it

A NOTP I have with said character: Interestingly, Finrod. They have a lot of elements that usually would make them otp material for me, but somehow I can't get into it

A random headcanon: Could give some of the best archers in Tolkien a run for their money

General Opinion over said character: From my hyperspecific ramblings you can probably guess I'm always thinking about him. I love him both for who he is and for how he parallels ten thousand characters. Parallels make brain go brr

Namo

Sexuality Headcanon: Vala. I headcanon no Vala can feel attraction, romantic or sexual. They experience attraction rather in the way their roles in the Song are structured, and I can't wrap my mind around it

Gender Headcanon: Similar to the above. I headcanon the Valar only really started doing gender based on their understanding of how the Children of Iluvatar would be like, and they're all outside of the gender spectrum we could understand. No, they aren't agender, either. Nor xenogender. They're Something Else.

A ship I have with said character: Again, none. Vaire, I suppose, but that falls between ship and brotp

A BROTP I have with said character: See above on Vaire. Other relationships I enjoy are Lorien and Nienna, as well as Manwe

A NOTP I have with said character: Um... none? Nothing I can think of

A random headcanon: He's gentler with the dead than with the living. Not because he's awkward or anything. He's just conscious of the power he has over the dead and is more careful not to misuse it, while the living are free real estate to treat in any way he sees fit depending on the person

General Opinion over said character: I love the Valar in general, although they break my brain. Mandos is one of the ones I think the least often about, but whenever I do think about him I go "Oh he's fun, I should think about him more often!"

Sauron

Sexuality Headcanon: See Namo. I think Maiar can feel attraction, though, it's just extremely rare, and tends to be for other Maiar. I headcanon Sauron is one of those who has never felt any kind of non-Song-related attraction towards anyone, really. But he's keenly aware of how to be attractive and enjoys it, but from a power rush standpoint only

Gender Headcanon: See Namo again. But I think Sauron finds gender annoyingly messy (what do you mean each culture sees it differently? That's inefficient. No.) and struggles to commit to it in the way most other other Ainur do. Left to his own devices he nopes out of gender; when he's among people (eg Eregion, or Numenor) he performs gender perfectly while finding the whole thing absurd. He defaults to male gender exclusively because of the societal benefits; he would default to female in a matriarchal society, probably.

A ship I have with said character: None

A BROTP I have with said character: Um... Also none? I deeply enjoy the idea of Morgoth and Sauron being a twisted version of Manwe and Eonwe (which is a brotp I have) but it's not a brotp as much as a trainwreck dynamic. I also enjoy Sauron and Celebrimbor having messed up dynamics, but again, trainwreck. Aule and Sauron can be fun but I'm picky.

A NOTP I have with said character: I'm not at all into Sauron being actively in love with someone, so. All of them.

A random headcanon: Ironically for a crafter, he sort of. sucks. at creating realistic fanar for himself. He always ends up in uncanny valley territory due to compulsively wanting to have no flaws - he looks computer-generated, basically. He was better at this when the world was young, but the more he corrupts himself, the worst he becomes at it (while he still can change his fana, anyway)

General Opinion over said character: I wouldn't say I don't like Sauron, but I'm fairly uninterested in straight up villains, while being uninterested in making Sauron anything but the embodiment of a specific kind of evil (though that depends on when in the timeline we're talking about), so I tend not to give him too much thought. He's fun to play with, though, philosophically speaking

Morgoth

Sexuality Headcanon: Again. Vala. Does not apply.

Gender Headcanon: Vala. Does not apply. But he's a huge fan of how gender opens the door for comprehensive oppression in new and fresh ways. Up there with jewelry in the list of best things the elves came up with.

A ship I have with said character: Oh, none. I can crackship him and Gothmog exclusively because I think it'd be funny to ship an Angband ship that isn't Angbang, but that's just to laugh about, I wouldn't be interested in actually exploring it

A BROTP I have with said character: Like I said, Sauron, in a twisting of a Vala-Maia relationship. MANWE MANWE MANWE MANWE. Nienna. Recently, Indis. Hate-brotp with too many characters to count - I love people pissing Morgoth off

A NOTP I have with said character: None? All? I'm unlikely to either enjoy a Morgoth ship or hate it enough to run away

A random headcanon: He genuinely cannot feel love anymore, but he badly wants Manwe under his command because their connection is part of the fabric of the universe, and servitude is the only way Morgoth can conceptualize wanting Manwe near now he can't understand brotherhood anymore (actually I should make a post about this, I have many thoughts on this)

General Opinion over said character: Pretty much exactly the same opinion as what I said about Sauron, but I'll add Book of Lost Tales Melko entertains me a lot

Melian

Sexuality Headcanon: One of the rare Maiar who feels attraction, and the Ainur judge her for directing it at an elf. Having said that, Thingol is an anomaly, and she is attracted to no other being in the world, although she intellectually understands the concept of attraction better than most Ainur

Gender Headcanon: Maia. Does not apply, really, but she delights in something similar to elven womanhood. She would probably consider herself trans, though, because she's chasing a gender euphoria that she does not get with whatever is going on with the Ainur concept of gender

A ship I have with said character: Thingol. That's literally it.

A BROTP I have with said character: Essentially anyone who's ever stepped in Doriath, I kid you not. The instant someone steps in Doriath I start inventing a relationship they could have with Melian. Also, Yavanna and Orome

A NOTP I have with said character: Um... none? ...actually. Thingol/Melian done wrong. I nope out of a lot of portrayals of them as much as I get into portrayals of them I enjoy.

A random headcanon: Her voice is rather deep and quiet and creepily melodic. It's the clearest giveaway she's not actually an elf

General Opinion over said character: I have always enjoyed Melian, but the older I get, the more fond I become of her tbh. Not sure why but it's been a clear tendency for the past decade of my life

Thingol

Sexuality Headcanon: Uh... queer. Some flavor of. But I can't pin it down and I think he definitely wouldn't.

Gender Headcanon: Manflux, but on an elvish scale of time. He can occasionally spend a mortal lifetime without any changes to how he feels about his gender, for example

A ship I have with said character: Melian. Other than that, Finwe (sometimes including Miriel as an OT3, but I tend to headcanon Thingol/Miriel as qp)

A BROTP I have with said character: Same as Melian - everybody who's ever been in Doriath. Also his family (Thingol and Elwe in particular break my heart), and Finwe and Ingwe

A NOTP I have with said character: Same as Melian: Thingol/Melian done wrong. I don't know, I feel like there are some ships I'd consider notps, but none is coming to mind

A random headcanon: Local tall elf uses disturbing height to perfect the art of forehead kisses. No, really. Not many people get them but it's pretty unforgettable if you can manage to get one. (This goes hand-in-hand with my headcanon forehead kisses were the go-to way to wish someone well in Cuivienen, and that tradition stuck in most of Beleriand, though not in Aman.)

General Opinion over said character: I really like him! I mean, very flawed character who is doing his best but that's really inadequate for the situations he finds himself in? That's My Type. I can also be very protective of him because I think he has enough flaws without people bad-faith interpretations of every single thing he does. (But also he's a mess, don't make him perfect either. I'm picky.)

Daeron

Sexuality Headcanon: Demi

Gender Headcanon: You know what? This is the first time I'm thinking about Daeron's gender. I have no idea. Masc-presenting, I think, but there's something... unusual about how I picture his gender? Like, I would describe his gender as "boy" very comfortably, but "man" feels off, but I don't headcanon him as particularly childish, so I don't know. Something.

A ship I have with said character: When it's done in the particular way I like, Luthien. As I've mentioned, I might end up going for Daeron/Beren too. I've mentioned Daeron/Maglor, too. And I'm not sure whether to go on ship or on brotp but I have a friend who is trying to sell me on qp Beleg/Daeron and they're being successful

A BROTP I have with said character: LUTHIEN LUTHIEN LUTHIEN. Thingol and Melian. Occasionally, I get in a mood to explore Beleg and Mablung too. Oh, Maglor, too, in a specific way.

A NOTP I have with said character: None?

A random headcanon: There is not a person Daeron has ever met he cannot make laugh or at least smile given enough time

General Opinion over said character: I'M A PROUD MEMBER OF THE DAERON DEFENSE SQUAD. I'm just that meme of the samurai holding the cat, you know the one? I love him so much and people are so mean to him. Also, I draw a lot of my characterization for him by comparing the evolution of other Leithian characters through drafts, and considering how Daeron might have evolved if Tolkien gave him as much attention as I wish he had - and that's just intellectually fun

Mim

Are you part of the rock opera discord?

Sexuality & Gender Headcanon: Lumping these together because I'm so torn. I have headcanons about how dwarrow genders work but they're very... Durin line-centric. I'm not sure how much they'd apply to Mim's own culture, nor how he would relate to genders outside of his own culture. So um... I guess further worldbuilding is required for me to be able to answer this.

A ship I have with said character: SIGH. I hate my life, but. Mim/Finrod. Listen. It has potential. It has! The tragedy of it al!!!!! (Let this be a lesson that if you crackship something for long enough you'll end up really shipping it.) I could also, I think, ship Mim/Beleg but exclusively in the context of a mutually destructive ship where Mim is just taking out his Finrod issues on somebody else and Beleg..... no idea, I haven't thought that far. The ship has just now occurred to me, don't ask difficult questions.

A BROTP I have with said character: I very much enjoy his relationship with Turin and the rest of his crew, but it's very important that not a single person under Mim's roof behaves in a hinged way, so jot that down. (I also wish I spent more time thinking about his relationship with his sons, but I haven't really done that yet.)

A NOTP I have with said character: None. Listen, after Mim/Finrod I think it's been conclusively proved I will ship Mim with anyone given enough incentive

A random headcanon: He enjoys epic poetry/music as defined by his people. I feel very strongly about it. It's important to him, and the loss of the songs he's never learned grieves him.

General Opinion over said character: I've been looking forward to meeting him in my CoH re-read! I find him very tragic, and he always reminds me Norse mythology, which I used to love as a child. Also, I have to read his Complaint one of these days, if I can find a re-translation and the right mood to read it

[in-the-glow-of-a-silmaril]

Masterlist of My Silmarillion Posts

A few thoughts on Melian, Elros, and aging

The silmarils would have rejected the sons of feanor the whole time they were in Beleriand

Beren and Luthien appreciation

Generational knowledge in Luthien's line

The Tragedy of Dior Eluchil

Feral Dior

More Dior feelings

Dior & Earendil

A brief argument for Dior/Turin (and one for Dior/Nienor in the notes)

Doriath's terrible, no good, very bad year

More crying over Doriath

On Thingol

Thingol's death, a summary and analysis

Thingol loves his grandson

Elros and Elwing

Nimloth

Elrohir and Elladan

The graves of Elros and Elrond

Elrond, Elros, and healing

Elwing's PTSD

Elros and Ulmo

Earendil's silmaril

Earendilyon

Btw Gondolin might have had a secret language 👀

Expeditions on Vingilote

Fave Elwing Post

Thoughts on Finwe: 1 2

The Oath

Feanor perspective flash fic

Feanor characterization regarding conflict with Indis' line

Feanor height hc

Feanor and Gandalf

Feanor/Nerdanel wedding rings

Feanor and the children of Indis

Feanor and Nolofinwe

Feanor, Manwe, and thralldom

Feanor and the impetus for the silmarils

On Feanor's refusal to give up the silmarils

In (further) defense of Feanor: part 1 part 2

Maedhros the tenacious

Maedhros and repentance

Maglor and Nimrodel

Curufin and Dior

Celegorm and Dior

Celegorm’s name

Celegorm and messiness

Celegorm and Ambarussa

Ambarussa: On burning

On Celebrimbor and Trauma

Thoughts on an AU where celebrimbor dies in place of finwe

The Acquisition of Elrond and Elros

A Brief Critique of Nolofinwe

Elven sayings

Elves and the sun

On Melkor

Criticisms of Manwe 1 2 3 4 5

Finwe and Manwe (anti valar)

Valar and elves

Ingwe and Manwe

Celebrimbor never meets Annatar AU fic idea

Celebrimbor and Sauron's meticulous torture of him (no methods of torture are discussed. Non explicit.)

Melkor kidnaps Feanor AU fic idea

The Silmaril is canonically cursed after Beren reclaims it

Eru picking favorites

Character fan mix!

Chaos pairings

Early elven burial rites (check notes!)

List of wips!

Art

Portrait of Caranthir

Queen Berúthiel

Huan and Celebrimbor

Huan and Dior

Saint Celebrimbor

Elros looking to Earendil for guidance

Elurín and Eluréd in watercolor

Portrait of Feanor

Elros, Earendil, and memories

Polls

Celegorm's hair color

How long did Celebrimbor take to be reembodied?

If Dior could shape-shift, what would he turn into?

What happened to Eluréd and Elurín?

Would Feanor ultimately regret his oath?

Did Varda ask permission to hallow the silmarils?

Do elves who have seen the Silmarils have gem-light caught in their eyes?

Fics

Ao3 is Passion_Fruit_Headquarters

Celegorm ×Oromë post canon wip

Dior/Celegorm, a dark fairy tale

Dior&Celegorm time loop fic

[maglorslostsilmaril]

I posted 6,819 times in 2022

That's 6,688 more posts than 2021!

341 posts created (5%)

6,478 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@i-did-not-mean-to

@when-wax-wings-melt

@thedragonemperess

@tolkien-feels

@camelspit

I tagged 2,624 of my posts in 2022

#the sillymarilly - 717 posts

#tolkien - 642 posts

#lotr - 267 posts

#the silmarillion - 266 posts

#maglor - 210 posts

#lord of the rings - 179 posts

#maedhros - 153 posts

#silmarillion - 117 posts

#!!! - 111 posts

#elrond - 106 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#so they inherited ouranous’s himbo energy but unlike him did not call their kids ugly and throw them into the pits of hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So some of my family members decided to watch rings of power and here is my review based on the snippets I saw:

first of all: the production quality is great, seeing as they poured millions of dollars into this

however they made some extremely questionable choices with a number of things that make it really hard to enjoy the show

(apart from the fact that amazon is massively benefiting from this already has my disdain)

NUMBER ONE: the character dynamics: galadriel, celebrimbor, gil galad and elrond treat each other as acquaintances at best. they’re literally cousins?? why are they described as nothing except friends???

NUMBER TWO: “elf lords only” wtf. elrond is literally heir to all three houses of finwe and all the great lines of men and he’s not important enough to be at a meeting for elf lords?? he’s literally the most qualified one there is.

NUMBER THREE: galadriel is treated as younger than everybody. gil-galad and elrond almost act like authority figures to her, and celebrimbor literally looks like he could be her father when in reality she probably has at least a century on him, and even more on elrond and gil galad.

NUMBER FOUR: aka issues surrounding galadriel. why did finrod call her galadriel in valinor. they don’t even speak sindarin in valinor yet. also, why is she sailing back to valinor in the middle of the second age. she’s literally exiled.

NUMBER FIVE: “there have only been two man/elf couples and they all ended in tragedy” sorry what?? beren and luthien: ended happily. idril and tuor: ended happily. aegnor and andreth and nimloth and dior ended sadly but that’s still 4 man/elf couples.

NUMBER SIX: celebrimbor in general. why does he look like a grandpa 😑

also, why do so many elves have short hair?? i get that that’s just a stylistic choice, so i’m not gonna add it to the list bc it’s just my opinion but really?

apart from those things, the show is…honestly just not that interesting to me. i love disa and nori, and the scenery is great, but honestly overall the show is pretty mid. i feel like it had a lot to live up to, and just didn’t really get there.

of course, i didn’t really have high expectations, and it’s amazon so i’m not really all that upset about it…

412 notes - Posted September 3, 2022

#4

Gimli: So… I’ve seen you’ve been spending a lot of time with Aragorn recently.

Legolas: No, Gimli, it's not what it looks like, I swear.

Gimli: Oh really? So no reason for me to be jealous?

Legolas: No! You’re the only one for me.

Gimli: Is that so?

Legolas: I promise! Aragorn and I are just dating, okay? They’re my partner.

Gimli: So there are no best-friends-feelings involved?

Legolas: You are still my one and only best friend! They’re just the love of my life, nothing more!

Gimli: But I’m still the platonic love of your life, right?

Legolas: Of course bro!

Gimli: Bro...

Aragorn: What the-

478 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

#3

barduil and aralas? no no no. i think you mean “redneck elf and his feral dirt man” and “redneck elf and his feral dirt man: the sequel.”

522 notes - Posted July 7, 2022

#2

The room is dark. My face is hidden in shadow as a sit on the couch across from me.

"I'm a sexual..." I say. Your face goes white.

"A sexual what?" You ask nervously.

The lights blink on to reveal that the shadow across my face is cast by the hood of my fuzzy sweatshirt. I look at you in confusion.

"No no no," I tell you. "I'm asexual. I'd rather watch a movie and cuddle than hook up."

You relax, and follow me into the kitchen to bake some cookies to eat while we watch the Lord of the Rings. (The extended editions, obviously.)

628 notes - Posted January 19, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

me: yeah, i feel like i’ve kind of overcome my musical theatre phase-

*literally anything musical theatre related starts to play*

me:

1,897 notes - Posted January 30, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[victorie552]

Silmarils - cursed or hallowed?

So I put my chaotic thoughts on hallowing of Silmarils here. There is one thing more about the topic that has been keeping me awake. (Attention, this is conspiracy theory)

What if Silmarils WEREN’T hallowed? What if they were only pretty and shiny and so on, with no blessing from the Valar on them? What then?

First of all, my blorbos Maedhros&Maglor would not be burned, so that’s a good thing in my book (thought in Silm it would probably end in an even bigger tragedy. Somehow).

But really, if I didn’t know they were hallowed, I would say they were CURSED. I mean. How many cities and kingdoms fell because of these shiny rocks? A lot. How many lives ended because of that Silmaril Beren and Luthien stole? A lot (Including Beren and Luthien. Feanorians weren’t even involved in that one). Whoever gets in contact with Silmarils is usually offed, crippled or lost to the world. Silmarils are Turin Turambar of jewels.

So when one think about it that way, saying that Silmarils - Silmarils, that were in Morgoths possesion for 400 years - can’t be touched by evil or cause evil or whatever evil, because THEY WERE HALLOWED GUYS sounds a little sketchy.

[lidoshka]

@feanorianweek #3: Celegorm - Indemnización | Indemnity

Lo justo es justo: si privas a Luthien de su libertad, ella te va a privar de tu perro y de tus pantalones.

+

Fair is fair: if you rob Luthien of her freedom, she's gonna rob you of your dog and your pants.

[dialux]

Oh, sure, the Feanorians might have chosen to commit the Second Kinslaying but there’s this awful awful ironic tragedy there isn’t it??? Anyways. Have some angst.

...

Maglor hears the howl come from the east. He does not flinch, even as his ears bleed. Just bows his head, and bears the brunt of the lament like the blow it is meant to be.

It hurts: for, as Maglor knows, it is meant to hurt.

But just for a moment. For a breath he allows himself to mourn. Then he raises his head, and he gestures for his army to follow him in retreat.

There is nothing more to be won here.

...

Here is a secret that nobody knows: even though Celegorm is not a musician, he has much power in his voice. It’s rough and untrained and punches out of him in moments of great distress. Luthien had sensed it in him and gagged him as she fled; his scream when their father burned to ash had blinded half of his brothers.

Caranthir slips in the blood of Menegroth’s defenders. Dior’s sword flashes, one gleam of silver and scarlet, and Caranthir’s throat is ripped open.

Celegorm and Curufin, who’d been incapable of entering the furious melee simply due to the speed at which Caranthir’s sword was moving, leap forwards as one: Celegorm to clutch at Caranthir’s throat and hold it closed, and Curufin to defend against Dior.

It shouldn’t have ended like this, Celegorm thinks numbly. He’d imagined returning to Amon Ereb on his warhorse, the Silmaril hanging from Maedhros’ clenched fist, gleaming even through bone and sinew. He’d imagined the sun, catching on Amrod’s hair and turning it to liquid fire. He’d imagined- victory, and the kind of joy that came from triumph, and the kind of satisfaction from accomplishing a job long centuries in the making.

Not this.

Not this!

Blood and mud, death like a swan circling over them. Darkness swallowing them whole. His brother- his younger brother- dead in his hands, blood still warm, skin cool, eyes open.

“No,” says Celegorm, distantly aware of his quiet rage turning not-so-quiet. It’ll be a death sentence underground. He knows this, and so he says, again: “No.”

But he never learned to control it as Maglor did. And his hands are sticky with Caranthir’s lifeblood. And there’s no Silmaril lighting up the darkness. And everything they’ve bet has come up blank, and the day of reckoning has come, and Celegorm finds he has enough anger left in him to forget the restraint.

He throws his head back.

He sings.

Caranthir’s skin peels away under the force of his Song. Celegorm can feel his own skin disintegrating, too lost under the power of his raging fea. He can see Curufin fly across the room and hit a stalactite, crunch to a halt. Dior crumples over his throne, neck at an impossible angle. And beneath it all, rumbling like a thousand hungry monsters, are the foundations of Doriath, laid by Melian the Maia and her husband Elwe Singollo, maintained with love and care for such long Ages, that now crumble beneath Celegorm Feanorian’s rage.

...

Historians write that less than half the population of Doriath escaped the Second Kinslaying. Historians write that there are no cairns left in Beleriand- for however long it remained in those years- for the Feanorians. Historians write that no pyres lit the freezing nights of that year, and that the sinking of Beleriand by the Valar was mostly spurred by a desperate wish to erase the monstrous graveyard of Menegroth. Historians write that the Feanorians, too, lost too many forces in the attack and spent decades licking their wounds in Amon Ereb.

...

When they rode out for Sirion, Maedhros gagged Maglor lest he bring the same fate upon them.

It’s the only reason why Elwing escaped.

[polutrope]

for the character asks, Melian!

You and @undercat-overdog both sent me this one! And it's a good one. A complicated character I've thought a lot about and still don't feel much closer to understanding.

Sexuality Headcanon: idk, pansexual I guess? she does not understand this question.

Gender Headcanon: Ainu (Generally fem-presenting. Sometimes tree-presenting, bird-presenting, etc.)

A ship: Not to be boring, but Thingol. It's a fascinating relationship to explore - just, WHY? I interpret their relationship as ultimately very tragic. I believe she had good intentions and did really love him, in her eldritch way, and it just goes so badly.

A BROTP A Gen relationship: Daeron. [put this explanation under a cut because it got a bit long - how shocking]

A NOTP A rarepairing: Eöl. I have this one cracky theory that she met Eöl before she met Thingol and it didn't work out. An unrequited situation would be interesting here also.

A random headcanon: I think she feels a lot of guilt for her unique 'intervention' in the affairs of the Children largely failing. Also I think the starry ceiling of Menelrond changes based on what's going on in her mind.

General Opinion: I find her the most sympathetic of the Ainur, whom I tend to side-eye quite intensely. [Also putting the rest of this below the cut].

A BROTP A Gen relationship: Daeron. Because:

... there were none more beautiful than Melian, nor more wise, nor more skilled in songs of enchantment. It is told that the Valar would leave their works, and the birds of Valinor their mirth, that the bells of Valmar were silent and the fountains ceased to flow, when at the mingling of the lights Melian sang in Lorien. (Of Thingol and Melian)

and although [the Sindar] were Moriquendi, under the lordship of Thingol and the teaching of Melian they became the fairest and the most wise and skilful of all the Elves of Middle-earth. (Of the Sindar)

[Daeron] it was that made music for the dance and song of Luthien, before Beren came to Doriath; and he had loved her, and set all his thought of her in his music. He became the greatest of all the minstrels of the Elves east of the Sea, named even before Maglor son of Feanor. (Of Beren and Luthien)

I know the implication of the last is that Daeron became great because of his love for Lúthien (I want to talk about this so bad right now but focus!) but I think it's no coincidence that the greatest elf minstrel ever had the goddess of song for a queen.

I have written their relationship as a complicated mentor-student type of thing with a maternal figure flavouring. My hc is that he's a bit of a prodigy from birth but Melian picks him out when she first shows up with Thingol. She takes him under her wing and turns him into a supercharged Song-wielder. More supercharged, perhaps, than a poor Child of Eru can handle. Oops?

General Opinion: I love how she interacts with the Children in a totally unique and intimate way; I love that she messes up; I love that she is the only Ainu to procreate (excluding Ungoliant maybe) and the tragedy of a being older than Arda, who will exist beyond Arda, losing her child; I love that she holds it down in Beleriand, defying Morgoth's power, through the whole First Age while all the other Ainur are, at best, sending dreams on streams and, at worst, binge-watching the Doom of the Noldor from on high.

Oh! And I love the stuff in NoMe about her being the leader of the guardians sent to Cuiviénen - the others being the Maiar who would later be the Istari (!!). I think it says a lot about how Tolkien saw her character that he gives her that role. Melian and Olórin would be another amazing relationship to explore.

[undercat-overdog]

Elros or Elrond for the character ask?

I am so late to answering this, sorry... And Elros!

How I feel about this character

Peredhil feels! He chooses the fate of humans for its own sake. Arwen and Earendil made their choice based on love of another person, but what went into Elros's? He’s the one that chooses to die. I haven't come up with a headcanon I'm quite certain with yet. (Though based on when his children were born, it wouldn't have been for love; I doubt his wife was born yet.)

All the people I ship romantically with this character

His wife. Who I have no thoughts about!

My non-romantic OTP for this character

I suppose I should say Elrond here, but honestly I think I'm more interested in his relationships with some of the Edain he fought with during the War of Wrath and any human mentors he had.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Well I have some likely unpopular kidnap family thoughts. Brushing on them briefly, I don't think the twins called either Maedhros or Maglor "father" and I think that along with that love were things like fear (I am curious what Elrond and Elros's reactions were to learning about how Elured and Elurin were murdered.)

Other than that... idek what the popular opinions of Elros are. I think there was a part of him that was just done with the Elves.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I am, as usual, generally satisfied with canon. I quite like how he never sees Elrond again after sailing to Numenor, though, ok, I have Elwing and Earendil making some surreptitious trips to Numenor to visit Elros and be grandparents (if anyone's looking the other way, it's Ulmo).

So what I want to know more about: Numenor! The early days of Numenor!! How Elros and others integrated all the various groups - in particular, the Edain who had Easterling ancestors (I also wonder if some Easterlings assimilated into Edainic society during the War of Wrath?) There's also the incredible cultural trauma and ptsd and the generational gap between those who remember the 1st Age and those born after. I'm curious if Elros promoted propaganda or certain cults (I am very curious how Numenor's attitude and interpretation of Elros's peredhil heritage changed over time) (And with cults, though this isn’t really related to Elros, I’m curious when the Uinen veneration started; the Numenoreans more or less considered her of equal status to the Valar and I highly suspect veneration of her continued well into late Numenor, possibly up to and through Pharazon’s time.) Also - parallels and perpendiculars between Elros and the various other Edainic kings that were descended from him?

Would love more on the War of Wrath. Generally, not just with regards to Elros.

The names of his kids are super interesting. All peredhil names are, really, but with Elros we get two kids - incl the eldest - named after Valar (Vardamir, Manwendil), one named after Luthien (Tindomiel), and one named "glory of humanity" (lit. man-glory, where man means human not male). A part of me wonders if Vardamir and Manwendil are apotropaic names, or names of appeasement, as well as being names of thanks and recognition. The Valar had given a blessed island to the Edain, but before that they had destroyed the continent they lived on*. Maybe Elros had the wave dream.

*not saying that Beleriand could have been saved given Morgoth corruption or that the Valar didn't make the right call there. It was still an unimaginable tragedy on top of more unimaginable tragedies for the Edain.

[stormwarnings]

elwing. elwing means star spray. 

it is right. for she carried the silmaril with her, that gleaming horrible light in her hands. she carries the blood of dior with her, that shining terrible brightness in her eyes. yes, she claims the right to star, and she claims the right to spray, for she walked the sea many a year, waiting for her husband to return to her, waiting for her people to become strong, waiting for her soul to settle beneath her skin but it never does, it never does, it moves and crashes against her like the waves. even earth, even stone, are worn away by the sea. so was her body. no wonder she glows. 

then came the kinslayers and elros, elrond, where are you? echoed elladan, elrohir, where are you? echoed eluréd, elurín, where are you? and that was one of those things, wasn’t it. elwing had the blood of men and elves in her, and the skeins of time are woven differently for each. she doesn’t have to conform to one, especially when the present echoes the future echoes the past -

elwing jumps. elwing says, i will not let you take this from me. elwing is luthien and tindomiel and arwen and elwing shines from within, because the silmarils are not of this earth, and neither is she. elwing says, i will not let you take my choice away. elwing jumps.

and elwing is given grace to the sky, wings to the sea - and the thing is, it’s a fluke. it’s a one time thing. it’s pity, it’s mercy, it’s vicious. her life has been full of this. things given to her because what a poor girl. what a tragedy. 

elwing likes to bare bloody teeth at those people (the same way elrond and elros will) and let them remember who she is. what she has survived. 

she finds the shores of aman with her husband, and she has carried this light for so long. they say your part is played. your job is done. they bow to her. they take the silmaril, but they cannot take her light. she walks away and says i will make my own choice.

because elwing, elwing sees, in a way that she always has, that which does not exist yet. that which has always existed. perhaps she has more eyes than she should, or perhaps it is the light, or perhaps it is the lineage that she lays claim to. elwing sees twin brothers, twin sons, twin grandchildren. she sees a girl with melian’s face, and a girl with melian’s face, and a girl with melian’s face -

she sees her father. he forced himself into a shape that was not his own, much like her grandmother did too. she sees her sons like her father, and she wonders what would her brothers have been, had they the choice? 

elwing has the choice. elwing takes all the blood of dior and melian and lúthien that runs through her veins, and she takes hold of this form, these feathers, this freedom, and makes her body remember it. that’s what being a half-elven is, after all. making your own choice. (never, really, having a choice. where do you belong?) 

and perhaps she is strange. perhaps she rises into the sky and meets her husband when he returns home. perhaps she has a voice that is harsh, that cuts to the soul and to the bone, if you aren’t careful, because both are a feast. perhaps she has three heads, sometimes, a woman with dark hair and a gull with a mourning song and a shadow that is not the absence of light but rather the wealth of it -

(but eärendil, he with the silmaril on his brow, he would have no other.)

when war comes to beleriand, elwing is there. when her sons kill and then build empires upon empires, she is there. when maedhros and maglor steal the silmarils, those holy lights, she is there. when the land finally gives way to the ocean, she is there.

elwing is proud, and bright, and connected to her kin with blood like fire. (arwen and tindomiel share a dream, centuries apart, of that fall. how it felt not like a fall, but like liberation. like she was always meant to fly.)

elwing means star spray and hunger and making your own choice. elwing is a legend along the seas, the three-headed woman, the queen to a king, a star in the same way eärendil is a comet.

elwing is something else. elrond and elros are like her in a way, but they are more like dior. elrond’s children - those are hers. 

elwing swallows her pride. elwing remembers her choice, and her kin. (she is not the only haunting on these shores.)

in middle earth, twins (two after two after two, elwing thinks, dark-haired and many-eyed and sharp-toothed) look each other in the eye. mirror images. past and present. 

elladan and elrohir say to eluréd and elurín, it’s time to come home.

in middle earth, elwing forces herself into that first form. dark hair, a woman with few enough eyes to seem normal. she stands by the sea, and he stands by the sea, and perhaps her form reflects his and that desperation to be released. that anguish to be free. 

elwing says to maglor, it’s time to come home.

[sniperct]

I like thinking about the LOTR aspects of RWBY, like Salem/Sauron and Blake/Aragorn, but I was laying in bed and thinking ‘okay what about characters taken by the enemy?’

There are a few that pop immediately to mind.

In general:

Orcs and goblins are descended from corrupted elves. (all of the ‘evil’ creatures of Morgoth and Sauron are in fact corrupted creatures twisted by the Dark Lords. Heck, Gollum is probably the baselines of what Sauron could make Hobbits into if he wanted. Makes you wonder what the Dark Lord based Dragons on! I might have a fic where I answered that question...)

But, remember what happens when Salem gets her hands on SEWs?

Specifically:

Hurin - Father of Turin and Nienor. Captured by Morgoth, he refused to reveal the location of the hidden city of Gondolin even under torture and so was cursed (or more specifically, his children were).

Chained to a chair high atop a mountain he was forced to watch the tragedies that would befall his children(there's literally an entire book about this). Morgoth twisted the visions so that he saw lies mixed with the truth.

'But upon all whom you love my thought shall weigh as a cloud of Doom, and it shall bring them down into darkness and despair. Wherever they go, evil shall arise. Whenever they speak, their words shall bring ill counsel. Whatsoever they do shall turn against them. They shall die without hope, cursing both life and death.'

After his children died, he was released and in his madness sowed the seeds that would destroy the people of Haleth as well as seal the eventual fall of Doriath (an underground elven city and home of Luthien and Very Important Place in the history of Middle-earth)

Who comes to mind in this one, to me, is Summer Rose.

Of the others, I’m not sure what if anything fits, though I’m sure I could potentially apply parts of these to Pyrrha if I tried.

Maedhros:

A son of Feanor, took a terrible oath to get back his father's jewels(the silmarils), did things both horrific and heroic and along with Maglor was one of the few actually regretful of his actions.

Captured by Morgoth and hung by his hand from that same mountain for about 30 years. Eventually freed by his cousin who had to cut his hand off to get him down. Eventually got ahold of a Silmaril but because of the actions he'd taken over the oath was burned by it's purity. Flung himself into a fiery chasm in despair.

Celebrian:

Daughter of Galadriel and mother of Arwen and the twins Elrohir and Elladan.

Captured and tormented by orcs and poisoned by a fell wound. Rescued by her sons and physically healed by Elrond, but unable to fully recover her mind or spirit. Sailed West within a year to the Undying Lands in the hopes it might help her recover. As we know from the Ringbearers, the nature of Valinor probably helped set her at ease, as they were specifically granted permission to journey there to ease their suffering.

Finduilas

Sister to Gil-Galad the last High King of the Noldor, and a niece of sorts to Galadriel (Her father's uncle was Galadriel's older brother)

Fell for the mortal Turin, mentioned above, who was oblivious to her feelings though they became friends. Her fortress city home was sacked by the dragon Glaurung. She was captured by orcs but Turin was enthralled by the dragon and so didn't notice, abandoning her (remember that curse?).

The orcs were waylaid by the Haladin, and so killed their captives (pretty much any woman they'd found in the city who hadn't escaped, see point #1 for their likely fate if this hadn’t happened). Finduilas was pinned to a tree with a spear and Turin regained his senses too late.

She was buried in a mound they called the "Mound of the Elf-maiden"

Fun fact! With the exception of an Aunt who we don't actually know the fate of, Galadriel was the only survivor of her family (including extended) except for those that stayed in the Undying Lands and did not sail to Middle-earth :D

When she sailed, she did get to see her daughter, parents, and some other family members who had remained, at least. But of her siblings she only has one left, and that was a sister who stayed in Valinor.