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doodle-pops · 1 year ago

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Elrond With A Modern Medical!Reader in Valinor

Request: Not sure if this is fic or just headcanons but: Modern!reader in middle earth who was a neurosurgeon in her old life and is now in Valinor working with Elrond to translate medical concepts to elven language before she dies and help advance their medical practice. Some differences between elven and human biology are found out in the process, it’s all quite fascinating to them both. She assists in a few operations but I imagine they don’t have many surgical operations to do in times of peace because people just aren’t getting injured like they used to during the famed battles against Morgoth and Sauron in middle earth. She helps on occasion but them elves are graceful and not injury-prone. - Anon

A/N: I was having trouble turning this into a fic, and since you gave me the option, not minding if I did a headcanon, I went with the latter. I had fun writing this, I also made their relationship ambiguous. Enjoy!

When you happen to arrive in Valinor, dazed by its eternal beauty and tranquillity, Elrond, with all his calming presence and wise demeanour was the first to greet and help you settle down. He was kind to welcome you into his new home.

During your time there, you and Elrond spend countless hours in his extensive library, trying to translate complex medical texts and concepts into Quenya, while he marvels at the intricacies of human detail in neurosurgery. To him, the ability to heal the brain by getting so practical and up close was fascinating.

“You humans certainly love your precision and details,” he would say as he smiled while reading through a description of a delicate brain surgery. You on the other hand would laugh and tell him that not all humans are so meticulous, following up your comment by sharing more medical mishaps from your world.

It is when you discover the biological differences between elves and humans, that things in the work become all the more interesting. You discover that elves’ regenerative abilities allow for healing preparations to be cut down and rushed to the healing wing, unimportant. Just knowing this, leaves you speechless as he casually mentions recovering from an injury that would have left a human incapacitated.

“So you’re telling me that you can heal from a stab wound in a matter of days?” you ask, incredulously with jealousy lingering. Elrond would simply nod along with a serene smile as he continued to translate the prewritten text on the paper you provided. “I wish I had that. Would have saved me all those trips to the ER.”

Assisting in medical practices in Valinor is rare but rewarding. Elrond’s precise, yet holistic approach to medicine complements your surgical expertise perfectly. Together, you manage to save a few elves who came in with nasty injuries, mostly from hunting trips gone bad.

As time passes, you are further blown away when Elrond teaches you their famous art of healing through song and rare herbs, enchanting your understanding of medicine. You do find the elves’ ability to enter healing trances particularly fascinating.

“So you just…sing them better? Like kumbaya and poof! Healed?!” you asked one day as you attempted to wrap your head around the concept, prompting Elrond to chuckle. “In a manner of speaking, yes.”

As time passes, your collaboration deepens both your understanding and respect for each other’s knowledge and expertise. Elrond is continually impressed but your surgical and modern techniques, while you are captivated by the elves’ natural form of advanced healing practices. This welcomed late nights in the library often turning into philosophical discussions as Elrond is thrilled by your stories of modern technology, and you are equally captivated by his tales of Middle-Earth.

You even meet a few of his family members during your stay as words of another human dwelling in Valinor. “Wait, you all fought a literal Balrog? Those fiery beasts?” you asked one evening as you sat around a table chatting with those who encountered the creature. “If you all were in my world, you could have used a fire extinguisher to put the flames out, or just douse water on them.” You leave most of them in laughter and confusion.

Due to meeting other elves beside him, you get the opportunity to practice your healing methods on them, though, they rarely allow you to since they usually appear fine even when injured. “So you couldn’t have hit your head a little harder for me to have something to examine instead of magically healing?” you disappointedly asked one of Elrond’s family members.

That has been the relationship for most of the encounters when an elf decides to come in sporting an ‘injury’. “You said you cracked your skull four days ago while hunting but I’m not seeing any injury. Do you mind if I hit you so I can have an actual injury to work with?”

Like you, even Elrond has his moments of being light-hearted, despite his dry sense of humour, when things don’t go according to plan. If the technique is too complex, he’ll jokingly say, “Of course, if all else fails, we just use magic.” Of course, you blink at him wondering if he was being serious or joking.

The partnership between you and Elrond as your work in Valinor developed certain areas of elven magical was tedious but also worthwhile. Even the relationship between you brought each other comfort and upliftment. “I suppose I’ll be remembered as the strange human who brought surgical scalpels to the Blessed Realm and threatened to beat people in their heads,” you joked.

Elrond usual response is filled with a sense of gratitude as he makes a toast in your honour. “You will be remembered as a pioneer and someone we are grateful to have encountered. I am glad you were brought here,” he fondly cheered.

Even as your time in Valinor progresses, you and Elrond continue to explore new ways to incorporate your medical practices into their elven healing. Each time an elf stops by for healing, you sometimes have to threaten them to come in with noticeable head injuries or you’d give them, while other times, you are lucky to have something to deal with. At least, during your years there, you managed to get a lot done.

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apoloadonisandnarcissus · 7 months ago

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“I have many names”: Halbrand, the Repentant Mairon in “Rings of Power”

The themes of redemption, second chances and forgiveness are major in Tolkien legendarium. This is due to Tolkien’s Catholic faith, and the belief that no one is irredeemable in the eyes of God, no matter how low they might have fallen.

And we see “Rings of Power” exploring these themes with Sauron’s character in Season 1. Or better yet, with Halbrand, which is the name the show chose for “Repentant Mairon” (Sauron’s original name) of Tolkien lore.

Nothing is Evil in the Beginning

This is the first quote in “Rings of Power”, narrated by Galadriel. This is a reference to Elrond’s quote in “Fellowship of the Ring” book: “For nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so.”

In the beginning of time, in the Days before Days, Mairon (the admirable) was created by Eru (God) as a Maia of Aulë, and he was one of the most powerful Maiar (demigods or angels). He was a Maia of smithing, perfection, order and beauty, with qualities like goodness, purity of heart and loyalty, and a dislike for wastefulness. He helped shape Eä (the material universe) alongside the Valar and the other Maiar, during the Ainulindalë (the music of the Ainur), and these qualities (smithing, perfection, order and beauty) were, most likely, his contributions.

Due to his power, he was targeted by the Dark Lord Melkor/Morgoth (the most powerful of the Valar), who seduced him, with promises of greater power. Morgoth is the Satan of Tolkien lore; he was envious of Eru’s capacity of creation, and wanted it for himself. Unable to have it, he devoted himself to corrupt it (which included the corruption of several Maiar), and destroy it.

Becoming Sauron

Mairon, being an idealist, betrayed the Valar and joined Melkor, seeing in him the opportunity to make his ideas a reality. He went on to become Morgoth’s most devoted servant and chief lieutenant, in charge of Angband fortress, in Middle-earth, during the First Age.

Mairon was corrupted by Morgoth, and reshaped into darkness, and all of his qualities reversed: his love became obsession; of order and perfection into dominion and tyranny; beauty into ugliness and monstrosity (by the breeding of the Orcs), goodness into evil, and his loyalty and purity of heart into treachery and deception, becoming the “great deceiver”. The Elves created the name “Sauron” (the abhorrent), as a mockery of his own.

Eventually, Mairon started to resent Melkor, because their goals turned out to be opposite: while Melkor is chaos and destruction, Mairon is order and perfection. Melkor is brute force, Mairon is the brain. What Melkor wanted to destroy, Mairon wished to perfect. Melkor is chaotic evil, while Mairon is lawful evil.

Mairon’s whereabouts are unknown during several periods of time, especially after his defeat at the hands of Lúthien and Huan, the Hound of Valinor (so it’s uncertain if he was hiding from Morgoth, or if Morgoth locked him up somewhere).

Season 2 of “Rings of Power” has already began shedding some light on this, in 2x07:

Sauron: Be not afraid. This too shall pass. I promise you, when Middle-earth is healed, and its people see what you and I did here… all our sufferings will be worth it. Celebrimbor: “Our sufferings”?

Do you know what it is to be tortured at the hands of a god?

Sauron mentioning Morgoth next and how he treated him, seems to indicate that’s what he meant by “all our sufferings will be worth it”. And this idea goes on in this dialogue:

Sauron: Sometimes, the pain almost became a reward. Became a game. A contest, to see whose will was the mightier. Celebrimbor: And after all that, you would still choose to inflict the same pain upon me? Sauron: No. You chose it. Not I. Celebrimbor: What?

I already analyzed this scene from Tolkien theological views of this dynamic, but we can also talk about the wild amount of projection Sauron is doing here. Because the core theme of this scene is Morgoth’s treatment of Sauron, and how he’s replicating that with Celebrimbor. Which might indicate these were things Sauron himself heard from Morgoth in the past: the pain is a reward; you chose it; you [are] the true author of your own torment.

And Celebrimbor saw through this, which explains his reply to Sauron’s nonsense:

And his advise to Galadriel, in the same episode:

We also see Sauron crying while hearing Adar’s tale, in 2x01: “I was in your place once. In the eldest of the Elder Days. Thirteen of us were chosen to be blessed of Morgoth’s hand, with the promise of power. A new birth. I was led up to a dark and nameless peak. Chained and left.”

There are many interpretations on why Sauron cries, but I think it’s because he’s recalling his own experience of being “blessed by Morgoth’s hand”, which might have been somewhat similar, but far worse, because Mairon is truly immortal, meaning he can be subjected to every sort of torture imaginable, without truly dying, because he can always re-embody.

And even before any explicit mention of torture, this was already clear when we saw Sauron being resistant to extreme physical pain, hinting it’s something he’s very familiar with: not only he was tortured by Morgoth, but his previous physical form got stabbed into oblivion by the Orcs, without him making a sound.

@love-and-doom asked me why didn’t the Valar or other Maiar intervene when Mairon was being corrupted/tortured by Morgoth? Or why didn’t Aulë tried to get Mairon back? Sauron himself answered to that: because he “chose it”, and he’s the true author of [his] own torment.

Free will is another major theme in Tolkien lore. And neither the Valar, and less alone any Maia, could do anything without Eru’s permission. And the moment a character sides with evil in Tolkien lore, it’s stuck with the consequences. And this goes for Marion, Adar and Celebrimbor. Because all of these characters are both victims and accomplices of Morgoth (the original source of evil), directly (Mairon and Adar), or indirectly (Celebrimbor).

Which also explains why Sauron hates and resents the Gods so much; he probably feels they have forsaken him, like they did with Middle-earth after the War of Wrath, hence him stepping in to rebuild and heal it (because no other Vala would); symbolizing his own desire of healing himself from Morgoth’s corruption.

Sauron in Truth Repented

In 2x01, we saw Sauron getting taught some humility by Adar and the Orcs unionizing against him, when he gets his physical form destroyed, by the means of Morgoth’s crown. Afterwards, Sauron is trapped in a cave for centuries, until he’s able to get out.

He, eventually, re-embodies and is able to recover his physical “fair form”, after centuries as a slimy dark substance.

When Morgoth was defeated, it was as if a great, clenched fist had released its grasp from my neck. And in the stillness of that first sunrise, at last, I felt the light of The One again. And I knew if ever I was to be forgiven... That I had to heal everything that I had helped ruin. Sauron tells Galadriel, 1x08

Soon, we see him brought low, depressed and unsure on what path to take; having a identity crisis. Some centuries trapped in a cave being goo will do that, even to a demigod (Maia).

We see him lingering on Middle-earth, and by the visual clues (wardrobe and sword) it can indicate that he might have dwelled among humans for a unknown period of time, and even found himself work as smith (sword).

The passage of time is not only hinted by his clothes, but when we, the audience, last saw him he was at Forodwaith (Northern Waste), and when he meets Diarmid, he’s in the Southlands; which means, he traveled all the way from the north to the southeast of Middle-earth.

The Trials of Mairon: Diarmid

When Thangorodrim was broken and Morgoth overthrown, Sauron put on his fair hue again and did obeisance to Eönwë, the herald of Manwë, and abjured all his evil deeds. And some hold that this was not at first falsely done, but that Sauron in truth repented, if only out of fear, being dismayed by the fall of Morgoth and the great wrath of the Lords of the West. But it was not within the power of Eönwë to pardon those of his own order, and he commanded Sauron to return to Aman and there receive the judgment of Manwë. Then Sauron was ashamed, and he was unwilling to return in humiliation and to receive from the Valar a sentence, in might be, of long servitude in proof of his good faith; for under Morgoth his power had been great. Therefore when Eönwë departed he hid himself in Middle-Earth. The Silmarillion

There is a theory that Diarmid might have been Eönwë in disguise, sent by Manwë, and his mission was to test Mairon and bring him home to Aman. I subscribe to this theory, because not only it’s aligned with what Tolkien wrote, but because Amazon has limited rights to “The Silmarillion”, and needs to adapt and work around it.

And there’s some clues towards this in the dialogue itself:

That way lies death, friend. […] I know you’ve suffered. I can see it in your eyes. There’s another life waiting for you. You just have to turn toward it. […] A sure path may crumble, but there’s always another. Often, it can lead us someplace better. Someplace good. They say there’s places across the sea, a man can escape himself. Find another path. Perhaps another life. Come with us, if you like. Or, walk on. And keep chasing death. Choice is yours, friend.

Diarmid also wears the pouch of the King of the Southlands, which might be another clue; “A symbol of kings, long-dead […] My family served them.”

This is also connected with what Mairon tells Galadriel in 1x03: Be careful, Elf. The heir to this mark is heir to more than just nobility. For it was his ancestor who swore a blood oath to Morgoth. I am not the hero you seek. For it was my family that lost the war.

In "Rings of Power"; this pouch is symbolical of Mairon's blowing up his redemption, and falling back into evil.

The connection between the Southlanders and Morgoth was also a major theme throughout Season 1. This was, after all, the reason why the Elves kept watch over them for centuries: It has changed much, Watch warden. But the Men who live here have not. The blood of those who stood with Morgoth still darkens their veins. (Revion to Arondir; 1x01).

You were right to watch us. Because we are destined for the darkness. It's how we survive. Perhaps it's who we are. Who we will always be. Bronwyn to Arondir, 1x05

What we see here is that Southlanders were kept watch by the Elves to make sure they were fulfilling their penitence for siding with Morgoth, and obtaining their pardon from the Valar.

Hence Diarmid/Eönwë wearing the pouch of the King of the Southlands, as a test for Mairon: will you choose good and redemption (save Diarmid)? Or will you choose evil and Morgoth (the pouch)?

Diarmid: Nightmares again? What haunts you so? Mairon: I've done evil. Diarmid: All of us have done things that we care not to admit. Mairon: Not like I have. Diarmid: Find forgiveness. You are alive because you have chosen good. Mairon: But what of tomorrow? Diarmid: You have to choose it again. And the next day. And the next. Until it becomes a part of your nature.

And this makes even more sense with the sea serpent destroying the ship Diarmid and Mairon were traveling on, in the Sundering Seas, near Valinor. A sea creature, most likely, sent by Ulmo, the Vala of the sea. Or even Ossë, the Maia of Inner Seas, himself.

We have the Gods uniting to test Mairon and killing a bunch of humans in the process. Why I’m telling you this? Because the “Rings of Power” fandom has not yet grasped the concept of “being a God” and how Gods are d*cks, overall, who don’t care about individual lives, they look at the full picture and see reality in 5D. Like Sauron himself. And if they need to kill a bunch of people to accomplish their goals, they will. Even Eru sinks an entire island to punish its people, and He’s the ultimate good (and authority) in Tolkien lore.

And Mairon failed the test, because he chose Morgoth (the pouch), and left Diarmid to die.

The Trials of Mairon: Galadriel and Númenor

Sauron was of course not 'evil' in origin. He was a 'spirit' corrupted by the Prime Dark Lord (the Prime sub-creative Rebel) Morgoth. He was given an opportunity of repentance, when Morgoth was overcome, but could not face the humiliation of recantation, and suing for pardon; and so his temporary turn to good and 'benevolence' ended in a greater relapse. Tolkien Letter 153

Having failed one test, the Valar didn’t give up on Mairon, for they send him another: Galadriel. Who also turned her back on Heaven, by choosing to remain in Middle-earth due to her pride, and desire of hunting down Sauron. And, so, this time, they were both getting tested by the Gods. And even Mairon sees through her, in 1x02: At last, a little honesty. If you want to murder Orcs and settle a score, that's your affair. Don't dress it up as heroism.

When Mairon arrives at Númenor, he sees it as “the place across the sea” Diarmid told him about. Where he can find another path, another life. A island gifted by the Valar themselves to Men, and where they are ever watchful. And so, he believes this is where he can prove his good faith to the Valar and sought their forgiveness for his past sins and crimes under Morgoth.

However, Mairon recognizes that Galadriel can be a liability on his plan of staying at Númenor, not only due to her antagonistic atitude towards the Númenóreans, but also the bad blood between them and the Elves. And that explains his advises to her, in 1x03: “I suggest we set history aside for the moment and show some restraint. Let's try not to antagonize these people.”

When things turn sour in their meeting with Tar-Míriel, we see him employing his charming ways, and acting the diplomat: “It seems to me that our leaving presents some complications. Perhaps it'd be better if we stayed... […] Long enough, good Queen, to give you and your advisors adequate time to weigh our request. A few days, perhaps?”

Of course, Mairon’s intention is not to stay in Númenor for just a “few days”. He wants to stay there in servitude, and prove his good will to the Valar: “I have been searching for my peace for longer than you know. Please, for both our sakes, let me keep it.”

to receive from the Valar a sentence, in might be, of long servitude in proof of his [Sauron] good faith; The Silmarillion

When the petals of Nimloth, the White Tree of Númenor, fall, according to Queen-regent Míriel, the Faithful see in them the tears of the Valar, “a living reminder that their eyes and judgment are ever upon us.”

Which explains Mairon's next actions: after the meeting, he goes straight to Númenor forge, to find himself work there:

There is not another man on this isle that knows this craft better than I. I will shovel coal if needs be, I’ll splinter wood, I’ll shape a sea anchor for you, free of charge, sturdier than anything you have ever seen. How’s that? I’m here to start anew. Lend me that chance. Please. And I won’t forget it. Halbrand/Mairon asks for work at Númenor forge, 1x03

Mairon is told he needs a guild crest in order to be a smith in Númenor, and he’ll do just about anything to get it. And this is when his bounds to Morgoth and his old ways come to the surface: not only does he steal the crest from one of the smiths (and gets into a bloody street fight), but he also tells Ar-Pharazôn of Galadriel’s plans. And this was confirmed by Galadriel herself in 1x05: I wondered how the queen knew to waylay me at her father's bedside. It never occurred to me you'd hand me over for a guild crest.

And we see Mairon working at the forge, and he’s happy. It’s not random that the times we see Mairon truly happy in Season 1 is when he’s smithing; both in Númenor, and at Eregion, alongside Celebrimbor. This was what he was created to do and to be, by Eru himself. This is his purpose, and what’s he’s meant to be doing. Not getting high on power trips (Morgoth).

And this is a great contrast with Season 2: as Mairon goes deeper into evil, he embraces the sorcerer and neglects the smith. We barely saw him doing any actual smithing in Eregion, in Season 2, while in Season 1, he was involved in the entire process.

And, as Galadriel leaves, the petals of Nimloth, the White Tree of Númenor, fall. The Valar “cry”: my theory it’s in approval of Mairon’s decision of staying in Númenor, in servitude. He has proven his good will (“in truth repented”) and needs to stay on his current path (redemption is a process). But Míriel looks at it, all wrong (like her father will warn her about), and thinks it’s a warning to follow Galadriel, when it’s actually the other way around.

And 1x05, we see Galadriel acting behind his back and involving Míriel, Queen regent of Númenor, in her plans of getting herself an army to fight “Sauron” in the Southlands (the army she claims Sauron promised her, in 2x06).

And Mairon is vexed. He doesn’t want any part in this; he wants his redemption. And this is very clear in this scene:

Míriel: My thanks, Lord Halbrand. I'm certain your fellowship will prove just as invaluable once we make landfall. Mairon: "Landfall?" Míriel: Galadriel informed us of your aspiration to unite your people. Mairon: Did she now? Galadriel: I trust she was not speaking in haste? Mairon: As a matter of fact, it was my intention... [to stay in Númenor] Galadriel: My companion is merely feeling the weight of his task. I have no doubt, come time, he will do his part. Míriel: Given that I've staked my name upon it, I should hope so. Edda: Queen Regent, your father has requested your presence in the tower. Mairon: "Galadriel informed us." Galadriel: I wondered how the queen knew to waylay me at her father's bedside. It never occurred to me you'd hand me over for a guild crest. Mairon: You used me. After I all but begged you to let me be. Galadriel: I have just convinced Númenor to send five ships and 500 men to aid your people and place a crown upon your head. Many might assume you used me. Mairon: Find another head to crown.

This is Mairon symbolically rejecting Morgoth. And this is the “good” he should have chosen. This is him passing the test, and a step closer to his redemption.

But Morgoth/Galadriel won’t give up, and she goes to the forge to persuade him into taking up the role of King of the Southlands.

I already talked about this on several posts; in Season 1, we see Galadriel being the “Morgoth” to Mairon’s “Sauron” on several occasions, by tempting him with promises of power. And this Númenor forge scene is a direct parallel with Morgoth tempting Mairon with promises of power in Aulë forge.

This idea is also present in Míriel's scene with her father, the king of Númenor, on the same episode, when Tar-Palantir warns her against going to Middle-earth and follow Galadriel:

Tar-Palantir: The kingdom! The kingdom is in danger. I must... Míriel: The danger has passed, Father. We are doing now what you always believed we must. We're restoring our connection with the Elves. I'm going to Middle-earth. Tar-Palantir: Míriel? Míriel: Yes, Father. It's me. Tar-Palantir: Don't go to Middle-earth. All that awaits you there is... Míriel: What, Father? What awaits me? Tar-Palantir: Darkness.

And this is true to both Míriel and Mairon, because darkness is what awaits for them there, should they follow Galadriel. Because, just like Adar tells her, in 1x06: It would seem I'm not the only Elf alive who has been transformed by darkness. Perhaps your search for Morgoth's successor should have ended in your own mirror.

And we see this dynamic with Galadriel and Mairon in the forge scene, where the pouch (Morgoth) is used as a plot device; while Galadriel wants him to take it, Mairon rejects it.

Galadriel: I was wrong to use you. For that, I'm sorry. Tomorrow, the queen will call you to audience. Your voice at that meeting may well decide whether this mission stands or falls. Help me. Mairon: I think I've helped you quite enough. Galadriel: Then help yourself. Stop fighting me, and together, let us fight them.

And this is when Galadriel tells him about her brother's death (although Mairon was already aware of this). But that's not what makes him reconsider, and essentially ruin his redemption. It’s when Galadriel says this:

The company I led mutinied against me. My closest friend conspired with the king to exile me. And each of them acted as they did… Because I believe they could no longer distinguish me… from the evil I was fighting.

And this is personal to Mairon. Because of what happened with Adar and Orcs; not only they mutinied against him, but they could no longer distinguish him from Morgoth.

And this is related with what Adar himself tells Galadriel in 1x06: After Morgoth's defeat, the one you call Sauron… Devoted himself to healing Middle-earth, bringing its ruined lands together in perfect order. He sought to craft a power not of the flesh… But over flesh. A power of the Unseen World. He bid as many as he could to follow him far north. But try as he might… Something was missing […] For my part… I sacrificed enough of my children for his aspirations. I split him open. I killed Sauron.

Your sorrow cannot ease my pain. And nor will a hammer and tongs ease yours. There is no peace to be found for you here. And nor for me. No lasting peace in any path, but that which lies across the sea. I have fought for centuries, seeking to earn mine. This is how you earn yours.

Find Forgiveness

And this is when everything collapses, and changes for Mairon. He now believes his redemption is connected to Galadriel and her forgiveness. But he’s deeply mistaken, because by following Galadriel and going to Middle-earth, all that awaits him there is darkness, like Tar-Palantir prophesied.

And that’s why Galadriel is connected to the Fall of Númenor visions: she's the “Morgoth” who brings "Sauron" back, like Gil-galad foresaw, in 1x01: “We foresaw that if it had, she [Galadriel] might have inadvertently kept alive the very evil she sought to defeat [Sauron]. For the same wind that seeks to blow out a fire may also cause its spread.”

By following Galadriel, Mairon chooses deception over redemption. And it’s like Elrond says to Galadriel in 2x02: “It was entirely of your choosing. Sauron looked inside you, plucked the very song of your soul, note by note, making himself out to be exactly what you needed. "The Lost King" who could ride you to victory.”

And this is exactly what Mairon does, hoping to earn Galadriel’s forgiveness, and redeem himself. And he makes his choice. And he chooses wrong. He fails the test; and he chooses Morgoth (the pouch), all over again.

And in 1x06, we see Mairon helping people, and guiding them to safety. And he thinks it’s because of Galadriel’s influence on him, and not of his own doing. Because he’s a Maia, he was created as a servant, and he needs to serve someone, otherwise he’s lost.

Galadriel: Whatever it was he did to you, and whatever it was you did... Be free of it. Mairon: I never believed I could be... Until today. Fighting at your side, I... I felt... If I could just hold on to that feeling, keep it with me always, bind it to my very being, then I...

And when Galadriel tells him “I’ve felt it too”; it’s the confirmation and validation Mairon needed. He thinks she’ll be willing to bind herself to him, and keep him in the light, and he'll achieve the redemption he so desperately wants.

But Galadriel’s light is merely aesthetic; it’s the light of the Two Trees of Valinor, who shines on every Elf who was born during the Years of the Trees. But in her case it’s more perceptible, because of her legendary golden, shot with silver, hair. And it’s her beauty that blinds Mairon; the Maia who loves beautiful things.

Forgiveness takes an Age

Forgiveness doesn't come to folk like me. Sooner or later, they'll cast me out, you know they will. Estrid to Isildur, 2x03

In Tolkien legendarium “forgiveness” is not just “earned”, it’s given, as well. And we see this with Frodo and Gollum in “Lord of the Rings”: it’s Frodo’s mercy and pity that ultimately allow Gollum to “redeem” himself, because he's the one who destroys the Ring, by falling down the volcano with it. Frodo, in “Fellowship of the Ring” believed Gollum deserved death and that Bilbo should have killed him when he got the chance, but Gandalf shares some wisdom with him on that topic. However, after he meets Gollum, he pities him and takes mercy on him.

And when Galadriel rejects his offer, Mairon sees it as a rejection of her forgiveness. She tells him: No penance could ever erase the evil you have done; and he sees this as confirmation of his worse fears, on a subconscious level (because he’ll try to redeem himself through the “rings of power” masterplan, still); he’s not worthy of redemption, and others will always cast him out. This is the turning point for him.

Because this is also a theme morally gray or villainous characters face in Tolkien lore (especially in The Silmarillion): they are always seen as irredeemable by others, and must die. But these characters are wrong, due to Tolkien’s ideas of redemption, rooted in Catholic faith (and this is what is called “unreliable narrators”, because “The Silmarillion” is written by the Eldar POV, and is a collection of facts, myths and gossip, essentially).

In Tolkien lore, “redemption” is a process, and a nuanced and complex idea. It’s broader than just one villain turning good overnight, because in the legendarium this process is not instantaneous. It’s pretty much like Diarmid tells Mairon in 2x01: it’s a process where the character has to progress towards good by conscious choice and free will: “you have to chose it again, until it becomes part of your nature”.

But Mairon never chooses this. And in Season 1 of “Rings of Power”, it’s exactly what Tolkien wrote: he in truth repents, temporarily turns to good and benevolence, but doesn’t see his redemption through as a result of his own choices. And the “pride” Tolkien talks about is personified in Galadriel, and him choosing to follow her, instead of staying in Númenor in servitude. But he means well throughout Season 1 and Season 2, too; when he embraces the next plot of his character arc, “Annatar the reformer”.

And this is Halbrand. And he was very much real, and not one of “Sauron’s illusions” or deceptions. He was Mairon seeking redemption and pardon from the Valar due to his crimes under Morgoth.

I'm planning on doing meta on "Annatar the Reformer" of Tolkien lore, too. But I got a feeling "he" is not over in "Rings of Power", just yet. I think that plot will continue in Season 3.

#the rings of power #rings of power #Sauron #sauron rings of power #rop sauron #sauron trop #Mairon rings of power #Halbrand #celebrimbor #Celebrimbor rings of power #Galadriel #Galadriel rings of power #diarmid #haladriel

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valar-did-me-wrong · 4 months ago

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I just burned my hand while thinking of this Adar headcanon.. (RIP my chai) So now I'm gonna bore you all with it to distribute the suffering :3

So there are 2 major Adar origin headcanons in the fandom rn in my knowledge..

The one most people (including me a few months ago) follow in one version or another is: Adar was among the first elves who woke up in Cuvienen & got captured by Morgoth. Cuvienen Adar

Then there's a minority opinion I've heard come up sometimes (and has me in its grasp since I heard it) that Adar is a nobody Fëanorian who got taken in one of the early wars between Noldor & Morgoth. Noldo Adar

Now I love the angst of Cuvienen Adar, Eldest elf on Middle Earth not quite an elf anymore... It hurts so good 🤌🏽 but there's just something so Noldo about him too! Like his innovativeness in finding unique solutions, his fury, his burning love that keeps him going & his sheer willpower to survive so much torture.. it's VERY Fëanorian coded in my eyes!! ❤️‍🔥

So in an attempt to make both of them work, I created this headcanon which is kinda the best of both worlds for me personally!

I'd love lore experts to correct me if I'm wrong anywhere & for my fellow Adarlings to just take this as a not too serious exploration of yet another version of Adar :))

So my personal headcanon now goes that:

Yes Adar was among the first elves that woke up in Cuvienen, but specifically he was a Tatyar (2nd of the 3 groups of elves in Cuvienen with the leader Tata who was the 2nd ever elf to wake up)

A Tatyar who actually stayed behind instead of following Finwe to Valinor after Oromë had come to take the elves. So in my headcanon he is specifically a Tatyar Avari.

Which makes him kin to Noldor.

As when Oromë came to take the elves with him, half the Tatyar that went with him became Noldor in Valinor (also some parts of the 3rd group also went and became Teleri in Valinor) while those who stayed behind (from both the 2nd and 3rd groups) became Avari. So the Tatyar Avari were related to Noldor.

Now Avari in general are mentioned in some versions to be the elves who got captured by Morgoth to create orcs.. 👀

So it kinda fits the lore too, which is a bonus!

To me this headcanon adds so much more angst to Adar. Specially to his & Galadriel's interactions.

Like not only is Galadriel an elf but she is also a Noldo, from Finwë's line, who lead half the Tatyar to Valinor.. it's everything Adar gave up or lost.

He must look at Galadriel and feel like almost everything he could have been in another life is standing infront of him personified!

I wonder if he ever regretted remaining back in Middle Earth & being an Avari. If he ever regret not following Finwe to Valinor.

Maybe he did not go because he didn't want to follow but rather lead and couldn't.

Maybe thats why he was so unhappy in his existence (along with ofcourse the whole inability to have children thing which implies queerness) and could get corrupted successfully, survive so long & become Sauron's lieutenant; he was an innate leader (but the elves chose the direct descendant of Tata, Finwë instead)

There are so many stories & what ifs to be explored here tbh.

If anyone knows fics that have used this premises please do share with me!!

And if there aren't fics yet, I hope this little attempt of mine at headcanoning reaches and touches someone talented to become a fic now!

Thoughts, discussions and tears most welcome 🫶🏽

#the rings of power #trop #rings of power #rop #adar #sam hazeldine #adariel #joseph mawle #my ramblings #tolkien legendarium #uruk #orcs #noldor #avari #galadriel

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welcomingdisaster · 2 years ago

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second age middle-earth tumblr simulator

🪷 theancientarts Follow

i miss beleriand fr

🪷 theancientarts Follow

do you kids even know about the pools of ivrin

( 10 notes )

#used to make fun of people who said they feel old #joke on me ig

🔨 gettinghammered Follow

You go to Eregion to marvel at the fruits of elven-craft. I go to Eregion to FUCK DWARVES. We are not the same

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#nsft mention #thirsty posting

🐻tinnilinthewoods Follow

portrait of elros half-elven got me yearning for the fate of man in the club tonight...

❄️tinuvielstanaccount Follow

do you know he has a twin brother

🐻tinnilinthewoods Follow

girl i'm not gonna lie to you the salt and pepper is literally 80% of the appeal

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🌊beachsidewanderer Follow

anyone who says morgoth was the epitome of evil has never met a seagull

🌊beachsidewanderer Follow

stop reblogging this i cannot afford to go even a little viral right now

( 1 3 8 9 notes )

💥 butthatsjustanelftheory Follow

Soo....

( 18 notes )

🌌starmirror Follow

#i swear everyone cares more about who my dad is than my ability to do my thrice-cursed job #shut up!! shut up!! #sooo close to just fucking with people about this

( 4 notes )

☘️ cloverthorns Follow

i could get that old man sopping wet and pregnant

☘️ cloverthorns Follow

✨this post is about lord celebrimbor of eregion ✨

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#lena speaks #silly shit tag #sorry for doing another these are so fun

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hailturinturambar · 5 months ago

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Thoughts on J.D and Patrick's interview

Loving the new interviews and I hope we get more content. It will be a while before season 3 is released, so anything we get is very important. And since an interview with J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay came out, I decided to share my opinions again.

I'm biased, because I have a visceral obsession with Jack Lowden, but I agree with Patrick and J.D. Jack as Sauron/Mairon rescued the beauty of the Elder Days and the delicacy of the Maiar and Elves of the First Age.

When we look at Jack Lowden's Sauron, we glimpse what Tolkien described in his books. As Patrick and J.D. say, aneglical, cherub. And this is how I imagine Sauron when he was in the service of Morgoth.

It is interesting the changes that Sauron undergoes physically when his new form is destroyed. And not only in appearance, but we have a change in his characteristics. Jack and Charlie are Sauron and the similarities are obvious, but we still notice that each one represents a phase of Sauron.

As for the time in Númenor, I admit I'm worried they'll change the actor, but considering Charlie remained as Annatar, I don't see why it would be any different. After all, he's now known in Númenor as Sauron in his Halbrand form. Charlie mentioned in an interview (I don't remember which one) that he's looking forward to the Sauron armor. So I assume he'll remain as the main form.

In my opinion, one of the biggest hits of the second season was Sauron's prologue. In the first season, we have Galadriel's prologue and she is narrating her story and the Elder Days.

This point of view, let's say, is the point of view of the heroes. Of the Elves who knew the beauty of Valinor and witnessed the evils caused by Morgoth and Sauron in Arda. This changes abruptly in the second season.

It's like one book told by the hero and the other by the villain. It's Sauron who is now telling his story. We get a more detailed introduction to Adar and his sons, how they were in Sauron's service and why they betrayed him.

What interests me most about the prologue is that we get an explanation for how Sauron came to be the mortal man Halbrand. We have a Sauron who is without a master and has to make his own way in Middle-earth, and then we see a broken Sauron struggling to survive. Until we finally meet Halbrand.

And indeed, Sauron's past explains much about his hatred of Elves and Orcs, and how he sees himself and the goals that will guide Sauron to Celebrimbor's path in Eregion.

When Tom's first episode came out, I saw a lot of negative comments about the character's portrayal. I like almost all of Trop's decisions in how the characters are presented, so I can't be impartial at times, but I still don't understand the criticism.

When we think about Tom Bombadil, we can't base ourselves on all previous sources. PJ fans often criticize the choices made by TROP, but Tom was an interesting addition. Is he different from the LOTR period? Of course he is! We are too far removed from Frodo to use such a comparison. LOTR Tom is not TROP Tom. He still has a long way to go.

Saruman was a general assumption, I would say. But I wouldn't want it to be Saruman. That character, in my opinion, can wait. I don't see a need for him in the plot right now. And I would like to know who this new character is in TROP. I like the characters created in the show, so I'm curious.

My opinion on this point may be a bit controversial. The mystery of who Sauron is in the first season was intriguing, I think for all of us. Even though we suspected Halbrand, we thought that many characters could be Sauron or that perhaps Sauron would not be introduced at all.

And I particularly enjoyed the reveal of Sauron at the end of season 1. This new form with new traits and deceptions was different from the Sauron in the books and I enjoyed how they set up the Halbrand/Sauron storyline.

As for Gandalf/The Stranger, well, I found it a bit tiresome in the second season. It was generally obvious in the first season and I was following the revelation closely. But I don't think it needed to be dragged out until the second season. Anyway, it wasn't that bad and maybe I'm being harsh.

I don't see how this could have worked and I don't like it one bit. I'm glad they changed it.

Sauron in Adar's camp doesn't make sense to me. Sauron was in Eregion forging the rings, why go to Adar's camp? We already had Halbrand meeting Adar at the beginning of the season. Galadriel and Adar meeting again didn't need Sauron's intervention or influence. It was time for us to glimpse the reunion of these two.

I can't think of Sauron in Adar's camp as anything other than an attempt to maintain the idea of Sauron and Galadriel's romance. Other than that, it wouldn't add anything to the story. And I liked how they did it better.

I love SW, so I think this was the ideal reunion. Two opposing forces of Light and Darkness dueling, each trying to resist the temptation of the other, while being influenced by them.

I never thought of Elendil and Míriel as a couple when I read the books that featured the tales of Númenor. But as soon as I laid eyes on them in the series, oh my!

The chemistry was right there, being rubbed in my face. And if we think about Míriel and Elendil's future after the arrival of Sauron and the Fall of Númenor, that's what attracts everyone the most, isn't it? All the anguish and the impossibility of being together. I'll pick up my crumbs!

I was so infuriated by the comments on the internet when the Orc family was introduced. In short, I think it proves how ignorant people are of Tolkien's work if they didn't understand what was being represented there.

Everything in TROP talks about the tragedy that befalls all beings in Middle-earth. Why would it be any different with the Orcs? We know about all the evils caused by the Orcs, but in a war, evil comes from all sides, right? Comments about "TROP humanizing the Orcs" make no sense and are only said to harm the audience's view of the series.

TROP simply presents the point of view of all the characters and how they see themselves. Feeling sympathy or not for each one is not forced, it is just presented. And I like this dynamic.

The most important thing in Tolkien is the duality of the characters. Even though in the Third Age the line between black and white is more defined, in the first stories it is not. And TROP explores this well.

Because for Adar, they are not Orcs, they are children, and that is how they also see themselves. Because they are like the Elves, they have lives and families and live like all beings. But it is their choices that separate them from Men and Elves and that is where we enter the tragedy.

They are seen as monsters, so they do not fight for a different vision, because they would never be able to be seen any other way. Even though Adar's actions are wrong, like Sauron's, with both Adar and Sauron, we end up becoming attached to these damaged characters and we feel sorry for them.

No, don't be mean and tell me about season 3!

J.D. and Patrick's love for the history of Middle-earth is truly infectious. It's remarkable that they put their souls into the show and are committed to telling a beautiful story that honors Tolkien.

Don't judge me if you like the movies (I like LOTR, but not more than the series) but I feel that in TROP we really travel to Middle-earth, in a way that connects different people from different places and different ages.

I first watched the LOTR Trilogy (I hated The Hobbit movies, don't judge me) when I was a child or almost a teenager, I don't remember well. And although I liked it, I didn't feel completely connected.

But that's how I feel about TROP. When I watch an episode, I feel the same way I do when I'm reading one of Tolkien's countless books. And that feeling is so good.

TROP makes me feel at home, living the story. TROP means comfort to me and I hope the series lasts a long time.

#the rings of power #trop #the lord of the rings #tolkien #the silmarillion #sauron #annatar #galadriel #mairon #trop spoilers #morfydd clark #charlie vickers #lotr #j.d payne #patrick mckay #rop #adar #jack lowden #my analysis

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outofangband · 10 days ago

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Poisonous plants in Beleriand part two

Note: the information provided about the effects of poisonous plants are the effects for real humans; I headcanon that toxin tolerance varies far more widely among elven peoples so I’ll specify

Like with the first post, this isn't necessarily the most toxic plants, just ones that happen to be toxic though part three of this series will focus on the most toxic plants :)

This collection has a fun theme; these are all yellow flowers that appear canonically in Tolkien (though anything that is not a fact about the plant in real life is my headcanon as these plants do not appear in The Silmarillion and thus aren't mentioned in relation to Beleriand)

Part one

I'm really proud of this post, I have a large amount of topics I enjoy including symbolism in theater, wetland ecology, xenobiology…

Buttercup

Buttercups or Ranunculus is actually a genus of almost two thousand species, all of which are toxic to humans. They are found all throughout Beleriand as well as Valinor and the lands east of the Ered Luin, mostly in meadows, wet meadows, stream banks and wetlands.

The toxicity of buttercup to elves is relatively mild. The blistering effects that are recorded in humans is greatly mitigated in elves, often registering as mild inflammation (this is due in my opinion to differences in mucous lining in the mouth). Indeed, the elves of Doriath actually pick buttercup to decorate salads, ignoring the slight discomfort eating them can sometimes cause.

Buttercup was used as a failed treatment in Hithlum during the evil breath (the disease that killed Lalaith). It has been used somewhat more successfully against other fevers by humans in Beleriand and in later ages.

Buttercups are not infamous for toxicity to either humans or elves. Their meaning is often related to their appearance in spring and summer and their connection to water. Some depictions of Uinen in freshwater by the Sindar in western and central Beleriand depict her with buttercups, usually the couple species that grow in water, which is sometimes called water crowfoots.

Daffodil

Daffodils are flowering perennial plants that can be found in a variety of habitats including marshes, meadows and woodlands, often in warm temperate climates. The bulbs are the most notably toxic part of the plant however their leaves are also toxic. They contain the organic compound lycorine which can be fatal to humans.

In Beleriand, they grow primarily in Ossiriand but, just as in this world, have been imported as ornamental and garden plants and naturalized in the region of Nargothrond and other areas of western Beleriand.

The bulbs of daffodils are toxic to elves, much more so than buttercup, however have rarely caused significant injury as they are not ingested. Several deaths or serious injuries have occurred however, especially in the first few hundred to a thousand years of elven existence.

Their biggest danger therefore is the one they pose to livestock and animals belonging to both humans or elves. Indeed, some species contain such high amounts of toxin, they can damage or kill nearby plants including many species of rose.

This has been recorded by the Noldor and by the Silvan elves of Ossiriand, leading to the plants' reputation in art as a poor omen, not just for individuals but for larger groups or places. In some Noldorin theater, daffodils are painted upon the masks of villainous figures in place of overt symbols of Morgoth.

Sauron during his Annatar phase considered experimenting with extracts of daffodil (on that note I actually have a lot of ideas on poisonous plants used in Angband and experimentation in that regard but I'll make a separate post for that!)

Yellow Iris (flag lily)

Yellow iris is a yellow flower that grows in very wet environments including wetlands and the edges of ponds where it can grow in water. It can spread quickly and tolerate high levels of salinity in water, leading it to grow in some brackish conditions.

They are a wetland indicator species for ph levels and have been used to improve the health of wetlands as they absorb macronutrients

In Beleriand it primarily grows in Nevrast, the mouths of Sirion, and the Havens of the Falathrim. The Noldor and Sindar under Turgon's rule in his first settlement in Vinyamar painted yellow iris using weld, dyer's mulberry and occasionally inorganic pigments such as iron ocher found in clay.

The leaves and roots are poisonous to humans and many mammals though rarely lethally so (though they can be to domestic cats and dogs!). They are mildly toxic to elves. Its nectar, which it produces large quantities of, can cause irritation including to elves. Indeed, a word in the Falathrim language refers to the mild rashes that can plague foragers of native wetlands.

Laburnum

Laburnum is a genus of two small trees noted for their yellow flowers. They grow in temperate shrublands and prefer sunnier climates though they can tolerate mild shade. They often grow in montane regions.

In Beleriand they grow in the foothills of Dorthonion, in Maglor's Gap and along the Andram, the wall of hills and cliffs that stretches across southern Beleriand. They are mentioned in songs that come out of Dorthonion by both humans and elves, often representing the region's summer, abundance and vibrancy. They were also one of the only flowering trees to grow around Amon Ereb, the last Fëanorian settlement at the eastern edge of the Andram.

The pods of the tree which are considered legumes are toxic to humans and mildly toxic to elves. Most notably, the Bëorians who keep goats, warn in agricultural stories and text to keep these animals away from laburnum trees.

#the silmarillion #musing and meta #beleriand #the lord of the rings #lotr

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thesummerestsolstice · 1 year ago

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In my post about the strange residents of Rivendell, I mentioned a Feanorian die-hard and an old bodyguard of Thingol. I recently hit a thousand reblogs– which is amazing! So in honor of that, I'm writing their stories out. This is part one, I'll get the rest out over the next couple days.

The Feanorian Die-hard: Hrivossa

Maedhros' right hand at Himring, a dedicated captain with an axe and a burning hatred of Morgoth

Laiquendi former thrall, captured during the First Battle of Beleriand; when the Laiquendi king Denethor was killed

Was refused entry to Doriath after escaping from Angband– at this point, most escaped prisoners were thought to be sleeper agents sent to get information for Morgoth

Wandered for the next few years, mostly alone, occasionally finding Elvish towns that feared her because of the marks of Morgoth's torture and thought her one of his puppets

Ended up stumbling across one of Maedhros's orc hunting parties in the Early First Age, and jumped at the chance to actually fight Morgoth

Maedhros was also one of the only lords willing to help former thralls at that point; he gaze Hrivossa a new home and purpose, fighting alongside him against their shared tormentor

It's not hard to understand why she became so loyal to the Feanorian cause

This is also when she took the Quenya name Hrivossa, "winter wall," because she was as frigid and unbreakable as Himring's walls

(her original Nandor name is mostly for her close friends)

Between Denethor's death and hiding in Doriath with Melian instead of doing anything about Morgoth, Hrivossa absolutely hates Thingol

She's generally a cold person around strangers, but she warms up around her friends, and her wits and tongue are as sharp as her sword

Part of the general morbid humor culture that built up in First Age Himring

She does not have a soft spot for the Sindar claiming that the Silmaril belongs to them now

She does have a noticeable soft spot for small half-elves who keep pestering her for stories about what life was like in Beleriand before the sun and moon

She fought with Maedhros until the bloody, bitter end, being forcefully brought into the custody of Valinor's forces late in the War of Wrath

She was the leader of the Feanorian faction who chose not to submit to the Valar's judgement, or to willingly go to Aman to do penance

They generally made themselves trouble while in custody

To avoid any more ugly conflict, Elrond eventually took responsibility for this faction, becoming their lord (though Elrond did NOT become Lord of the House of Feanor) and promising to keep them from committing any more violent acts

Hrivossa and the others, all of whom had lived in Amon Ereb and helped raised Elrond, found this agreeable

All of these elves are still very much see Elrond as their Lords' child, who must be protected at all costs, so there's that

And that is the story of how Elrond became responsible for the remaining Feanorians, but only the really fucked up ones

Seriously, they don't do any other murders, but they do cause all sorts of other trouble

Also, how Elrond inherited one (1) extremely determined bodyguard

#silmarillion #silm headcanons #feanorians #morgoth #angband #maedhros #elrond #elrond peredhel #rivendell #himring #war of wrath #silm oc

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silmarillion-ways-to-die · 10 months ago

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"What wouldst thou have more? Dost thou desire all the world for thy belly? I did not vow to give thee that. I am its Lord." – Morgoth, The Silmarillion

"Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains." – Mandos, The Silmarillion

"Their swords and their counsels shall have two edges." – Melian, The Silmarillion

"Love not too well the work of thy hands and the devices of thy heart; and remember that the true hope of the Noldor lieth in the West, and cometh from the Sea." – Ulmo (through Tuor), The Silmarillion

"That is a small price for so great a treachery. So shall it surely be. Say on!" – Sauron, The Silmarillion

"Many are the strange chances of the world, and help oft shall come from the hands of the weak when the Wise falter." – Gandalf, The Silmarillion

"Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." – Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

"So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." – Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring.

"You have grown, Halfling. Yes, you have grown very much. You are wise, and cruel. You have robbed my revenge of sweetness, and now I must go hence in bitterness, in debt to your mercy. I hate it and you! Well, I go and I will trouble you no more. But do not expect me to wish you health and long life. You will have neither. But that is not my doing. I merely foretell." – Saruman, The Return of the King

"Behold! The shadow of my thought shall lie upon them wherever they go, and my hate shall pursue them to the ends of the world." – Morgoth, The Children of Hurin

"Fool of a Took! This is a serious journey, not a hobbit walking-party. Throw yourself in next time, and then you will be no further nuisance." – Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

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chaos-of-the-abyss · 9 months ago

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someone could write pages and pages and pages and pages on elu thingol's life. he could be the protagonist of like five book trilogies each with 600 words per book. he was born in cuivienen where the first non-divine life awakened; he lived through morgoth's earlier attempts to corrupt the elves and very likely lost people he cared about to them; he witnessed the war of the powers; he was among the first of his people to see valinor, having visited it under the invitation of the deities who helped originate the universe; he was the sole flesh-and-blood being in all!! of!!! history!!!! who met, fell in love with, and married a goddess that was there before creation even existed; he and said goddess were the progenitors of a unique bloodline that produced some of the legendarium's most famous figures; he separated from his brother for a very very long time; he was so loved by his people that they refused paradise if he wasn't there with them; he fought battles against morgoth's forces and saw loss as well as triumph during those battles; he was one of the oldest beings and longest-reigning kings in all of beleriand, not to mention he ruled its most ancient and most mystical, otherworldly kingdom; he was the father of two of the most famous heroes in-verse, whose deeds and stories continued to be told millennia after their deaths; he was again the first!! and!!! only!!!! elf-king in all of history to adopt a human as his own son. and throughout it all, he has a cohesive character arc. he grows to respect a people whom he once distrusted and looked down on; he comes to accept the choices of those he cares about even if he doesn't agree with said choices; he has to learn to let go of his loved ones no matter how much it grieves him. if those five trilogies existed i would be reading and rereading every single one obsessively

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kisses-in-the-void · 19 days ago

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AngbangWeek2025 - Friend/Enemy

"I put a spell on you (because you're mine)"

AU where Mairon is seduced by Melkor much later than in canon, after Melkor's imprisonment in Mandos and during his time living in Valinor, when he pretended to be a good guy. Inspired by a quote from "Morgoth’s Ring", where Christopher Tolkien said that his father considered having Mairon flee Valinor together with Melkor and Ungoliant, but later discarded the idea.

Rating : M (mentions of sexual activity and a bit of smut in the final scene, but nothing too explicit)

I struggled a lot with writing this one-shot, it took me a whole week, and I'm still not sure if I'm completely satisfied with the result. But I really wanted to take part in this event 😔

#angbangweek2025 #angbang #mairon #sauron #melkor #morgoth #silmarillion #angbang week 2025 #angbang text

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pollkien · 20 days ago

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FINGON PROPAGANDA:

High king of the Noldor at some point!

“Of all the children of Finwë he is justly most renowned: for his valour was as a fire and yet as steadfast as the hills of stone; wise he was and skilled in voice and hand; truth and justice he loved and bore good will to all, both Elves and Men, hating Morgoth only; he sought not his own, neither power nor glory, and death was his reward.” AND DEATH WAS HIS REWARD 🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭😭

Rescued Maedhros from that cliff. The best bro to have in a pinch. In fact he did it literally by himself under cover of darkness!!

Sang a fair song of Valinor so he must have a beautiful voice

“Then in defiance of the Orcs, who cowered still in the dark vaults beneath the earth, he took his harp and sang a song of Valinor that the Noldor made of old, before strife was born among the sons of Finwë; and his voice rang in the mournful hollows that had never heard before aught save cries of fear and woe.” Wuagggh…..

I mean even Thorondor loves him. Everyone loves him

Beat the shit out of baby Glaurung

Bold and fiery of heart!

“Then when Fingon heard afar the great trumpet of Turgon his brother, the shadow passed and his heart was uplifted, and he shouted aloud: ‘Utúlie’n aurë! Aiya Eldalië ar Atanatári, utúlie’n aurë! The day has come! Behold, people of the Eldar and Fathers of Men, the day has come!” Sorry km just gonna go cry now that’s the end of the propaganda

“Then Gothmog hewed him with his black axe, and a white flame sprang up from the helm of Fingon as it was cloven. Thus fell the High King of the Noldor; and they beat him into the dust with their maces, and his banner, blue and silver, they trod into the mire of his blood.” FINGONNN WUAGHGHAGHWHDGSHFJFG

CELEBRIMBOR PROPAGANDA:

Curufin’s special little son!

Have you seen his Shadow of Mordor elven model. He’s SO cute.

Dwarf friend like his dad <3 I’m sure he and Narvi were getting it on…

He made the three rings. I mean. Even Sauron thought he was hot let’s be honest. So hot he got Celebrimbannered. Unfortunate

His story is literally such a tragedy and if you think that’s hot he is The guy ever

Tyelpërinquar is such a cute name also

Disowned his dad. He doesn’t deal with toxicity. Fuck yeah Brimbor

A craftsman so great he was second only to Fëanor himself. Sorry Curufin.

Established Eregion.

Got tortured to death. Very hot.

He had so many different backstories there was one where he was from Gondolin. Also another one where he was a Teler I think? Or a Sinda, I don't remember. And then Tolkien wanted him to be related to Fëanor so he had no choice but to make Celebrimbor Curufin's son

Arm thick from smithing...

He is just so sad and wet and filled with immense trauma. Did I mention he disowned his dad. Actually Celebrimbor could've very well met Curufin again in Doriath, because the survivors of Nargothrond went to Doriath, so maybe Celebrimbor as also permitted to enter... and then the kinslaying >:)

Not racist <3

#silmarillion #the silmarillion #tolkien #tolkien polls #fingon #celebrimbor #poll tournament #silm sexyman tournament

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liveinfarbe · 8 months ago

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Adar and Galadriel reminiscing about their Beleriand days…

These are clips from episode 4 and 7 of season 1. Notice the knife/dagger-parallel.

I've been researching the Silmarillion a little bit, because I think it gives hints about time and place in Adar's flashback account. This got lengthy. I write about the questionable Moriondor assumption by Galadriel and the esteem for flowers, blossoms, willows, glades in the lives of Galadriel and Celeborn, in Beleriand and beyond, and a possible path for hope, forgiveness and growth after trauma, that would lie in a dark Celeborn meets dark Galadriel story: Adar informs Arondir that he's been young in Beleriand once and used to walk down the banks of the Sirion river for miles and miles. He noticed sage blossoms, apparently liked the view, because it left a lasting impression. What I get from this (given the cosmology of that world is actual history and not just mythical) is that it must've happened after the sun and the moon appeared and pulled Middle-Earth out of its darkness, or else there wouldn’t be miles of sage blossoming. It thrives in full sunlight. This puts the account at the end of the First Age, after the Years of the Trees. Interestingly, this is after the "creation" of the Orcs by Morgoth.

Whatever bond and similarity Adar has with the Uruks, he’s apparently not one of those Moriondor that Galadriel talked about to him. I assume the Moriondor concept reflects Tolkien’s idea (he had several) that elves were captured by Morgoth after their awakening in Cuiviénen under the starlight and before Oromë found them and then got corrupted and twisted and thus became the first Uruks. While Adar shares certain physical traits with them, he can’t be one of those first Uruks, because 1.) he lived far in the West, in Beleriand, 2.) the sun had risen, 3.) he’s lived among elves that spoke Sindarin and Quenya, since he speaks it too and not some Avari language, though he could've learned all that in Angband during idle hours, I don't know, he learned black speech too. Anyway, the first mentions of Orcs roaming Beleriand is in Y.T. (Years of the Trees) 1330, but Melkor (at this point in time he's not yet given the name Morgoth by Fëanor) is incarcerated in Valinor. Sauron is in Beleriand though, hiding out in Angband, waiting for Melkor's return, "breeding" Orcs apparently, because their numbers grow and they "roam" Beleriand. This is 200 Valian years before the sun. I'm no loremaster, but I know this is a long time. At this point and later, Adar is still, as he describes himself, young. So Orcs were breathing living creatures before that elf-man became Adar. "Young" I see as meaning before he got captured and tortured and then brainwashed by Sauron as part of the “13 of us” (ep. 2x2).

So something doesn't add up, and Adar implies that in his interaction with Arondir in ep. 1x4. Are the tales of Moriondor a widely spread myth created by Elves, since all accounts about Orcs mostly stem from Elvish chroniclers? Maybe this is what Adar hints at. He says to Arondir

“You have been told many lies. Some run so deep even the rocks and roots believe them. To untangle it all would all but require the creation of a new world.”

He thinks only gods can do that, and he ain’t one…yet. Unlike Morgoth who raised mountains, or other Valar whose wrath sank a whole landmass like Beleriand, and later Númenor. He's just doing what he must, realizing Morgoth's terraforming plan and resettling the Uruks so they can live freely.

The "many lies" that he mentions are reflected in the things that Galadriel - who’s famous as "the scourge of the Orcs", even in Númenor - says to him when she interrogates him in episode 1x6. She’s full of hate and delivers a truly genocidal speech to him that shocks herself in the aftermath. (She acknowledges that somewhat self-critically to Theo in ep. 1x7, and it might be one of the reasons she rejects Sauron's offer later)

The truth about Adar's origin story isn't yet revealed. I think it will be, because the writers put some effort in it, dropped cues and hints in excellent dialogue and made him a multilayered character. Finally, let’s come back to the flowers and blossom mentions in the clips above because they could very nicely tie back to Galadriel and Celeborn in Beleriand and beyond. Adar says he “went down that river once”. Let’s see, if he, for example, came from Doriath and went down the Sirion towards its mouth and saw a lush amount of flowers blossom, he could have come through a region called Nan-Tathren or Tarsarinan that is literally called Valley of the willows. Possibly the home to Galadriel’s “glades of flowers” she danced in.

Why would she dance there and not in Doriath? I don't know, but there's a clear hint that she was in that region and even made meaningful personal connections there. With Ents. And Celeborn, too. Tarsarinan, Valley of the willows, means something to the couple and Treebard, as mentioned in a passage in The Lord of the Rings. The memories of Celeborn, Galadriel and Treebard of that place are intimately entangled.

Then Treebeard said farewell to each of them in turn, and he bowed three times slowly and with great reverence to Celeborn and Galadriel. ‘It is long, long since we met by stock or by stone, A vanimar, vanimálion nostari!’ he said. 'It is sad that we should meet only thus at the ending. For the world is changing: I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, and I smell it in the air. I do not think we shall meet again.' And Celeborn said: 'I do not know, Eldest.' But Galadriel said: 'Not in Middle-earth, nor until the lands that lie under the wave are lifted up again. Then in the willow-meads of Tasarinan we may meet in the Spring. Farewell!

“Many Partings” - The Return Of The King - LOTR - J.R.R. Tolkien

Okay… 1.) Treebard's “It is long, long since we met by stock or by stone” sounds a lot like Adar’s words to Arondir "even the rocks and the roots believe them", 2.) A vanimar, vanimálion nostari! is translated as "Oh, beautiful ones, parents of beautiful children"

That last point reminds of Adar's relationship to the Uruks and the rhetoric surrounding it: Adar whose name translates as "father" calls the Uruks "my children", "my sons and daughters", main difference is that they’re not that beautiful, neither is he — but that lies in the eye of the beholder. Does Adar imply the propaganda about Uruks is so pervading that even the eldest Ents believe them? Possibly his old friend Treebard… ?

I mean he's certainly wreaked havoc in the woods, forced the felling of trees, displaying not much respect for the Ents. On the other hand, Adar is shown planting Alfirin seeds, that grow into flowers. He's still very Elvish, full of respect and longing for "new life, in defiance of death".

Finally… Lothlórien, Galadriel and Celeborn's later safe space, is literally meaning "Lórien of the Blossom". Treebard calls it "Dreamflower".

With all that cherishing of flowers - I think even his chain mail shirt displays flowery ornaments - could Adar be Celeborn in a rather depressing and long-lasting dark phase of his life in ROP? Explaining where he’s been all that time since she last mocked him as a “silver clam”? And if he is not, wouldn’t that be a really good story if he was? Adar doing the work could be an arc about hope and the possibility of healing and changing — it’s what Galadriel needs, too, in the long run.

At this point she’s confused and hurting after the betrayal by Sauron, because she liked him more than anyone in ages, but also because she had to witness herself being unreliable and, frankly, unwise. Yes, she’s vindicated for having always been right about Sauron, but the way she went about it fills her with shame, it’s gnawing at her, not primarily because of wounded pride, I believe, but out of compassion for the victims of her actions. Not unlike Míriel after her return to Númenor. It begs the question to them both if it was all needless, if there really is a greater good in what's unfolding now? At this point in the narrative, the Númenorian intervention that Galadriel pressed for must feel like a Pyrrhic victory with grave consequences and implications for the future of Middle-Earth as well as Númenor. It has caused immense trouble and pain already to many other people that Galadriel gave Sauron a clap on the back and an army. She still has to fully confront herself about that, she's still vulnerable to the darkness inside her, because she's hurting. She has Elrond to help and guard her, but other than that, who's there for her? I mean, in the end she has to accept that it's not her who can slay Sauron, she needs to come to that understanding. It's a battle within herself she hasn't yet had the courage to take up because she still can't face her lingering grief at this point in any other way than turning it into anger.

#galadriel x adar #adar #adar should be celeborn even if he is not #the rings of power #lotr trop #rings of power #lotr rings of power #trop meta #galadriel #adariel #Adarborn

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