#out of arda

[sesamenom]

Noldo Miku, also with a sword

inspired by @tar-thelien's Sinda Miku

[edennill]

cultural headcanon of the day: the teleri absolutely have a sign language for communicating underwater

[anti-rop]

truly do not understand modern Hollywood's obsession with equating a 'strong' female character with having no other option or role but to swing a sword and be a warrior. how can people earnestly look at characters like Galadriel, Arwen, Éowyn, Ioreth, Lúthien, etc., and argue there are no strong, 'feminist icons' and stories within Tolkien's writing—that his works are not 'female-character friendly'. truly living in one of the worst timelines.

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[pilkypills]

Feeling very emotional about Thorin today thinking about who he was before Smaug and how those decades of poverty and hard living crushed all his warmth and tenderness to the back of his heart. And! AND! how if he’d survived undergoing madness and making horrible mistakes and being forced into vulnerability he hasn’t felt since he was a child he could have learned to accept help and live with himself and become the gentle person he once was again. Bro has been on survival mode for so long. He deserved that chance to get better 🙁

[an-eldritch-peredhel]

The thing that draws me most to this fandom, and the things that makes it unique, is that by the mere nature of the works we love, everyone's Arda is different. And not just in the usual headcanon-y ways that are typical of every story, but even down to important plot and characterization points.

Who is Gil-Galad? What is the Oath and what does it have power to do? What really is the Dagor Dagorath? How do the Laws Of The Universe work?

And beyond that- what parts of HoME do you pick and choose? LaCE? Does anyone try and work with Tolkien's horrendous math? Have you taken parts of your Arda from older or other worlds, with the Cottage of Lost Play and the exile of the Gnomes?

Have you given names to the wives and daughters? What do they mean- who are they? Mother-names or father-names for those who only had one?

I just really love how even when two interpretations of the same world seem utterly incompatible, they aren't. I'd love to see other additions/headcanons!

[l-l-s]

“I don’t think that’s what I was asking,” he says. “That isn’t what I meant.”

“You should be very careful,” Annatar says, making his voice serious in a way that he hopes will be at least a little funny, “when you strike bargains with Sauron. The terms may be interpreted more broadly than you expect.”

Finrod leans forward and buries his face in his knees and laughs, helpless and high-pitched, the kind of laugh that sobs in one’s throat.

- The Harrowing [Ch. 29] by @chthonion

A talk just outside of Mandos.

If you squint and tilt your head a bit, their hair kinda looks like neapolitan ice cream haha

[arda-ancalima]

Fowl Language

Rating: G Characters: Kazuma Asogi, Gina Lestrade, Barok van Zieks Words: 1,293

For @tgaa-gen-week Day 7 - Free Day (just a little something silly to finish off the week!)

-

When the work day had come to an end at last, Kazuma tried to shake off his irritations. Van Zieks had been especially petty lately, at least it seemed to him, and his patience with the man was wearing thin.

Kazuma paid for the fish and chips and sat down next to Gina on a bench where she was winding her watch.

“Ta,” she mumbled, slipping the watch in her pocket and taking the cone he handed her.

Taking a bite of his piping hot chips, Kazuma watched her through the corner of his eye. She was idly munching on her food while watching people pass with a wistful look in her eye. It didn’t take a great detective to guess she was thinking about the watch’s previous owner.

“Lestrade,” Kazuma said, deciding to cheer her up. “I want you to help me with something.”

“Wot,” she said disinterestedly.

“I want to know how to swear in English.”

Gina glanced at him sidelong. “Come on. You must know. Ya learned English in that fancy university o’ yours, didn’t ya?”

“They don’t teach crude language in the classroom,” Kazuma said, crossing his arms.

“Sure, but weren’t you a sailor and all? You must’ve ‘eard ‘em all then.”

Technically deck hand, a much less impressive job, but he wasn’t about to correct her. “The crew communicated in English, but no one spoke it as their native language. I learned to swear in Russian, Chinese, and Dutch, but not English.”

“Then wot ‘bout while you’ve been livin’ ‘ere? Just go down t’ the pub or somethin’.”

Maybe if he had someone to go with, or had any energy left after a day of keeping up with his mentor’s unrelenting pace. “Look, I know a few words, but you have the most colorful language of anyone I know. I just want a handful of expressions I can use when Lord van Zieks is being a pain. Rattle him a little.”

“Oh. Oh, I get it. It’ll be a prank, then?” Gina got a little gleam in her eye. “I’ll help ya, ‘Sogi.”

Kazuma was pleased to see her perk up. “Great. So what’s a decent insult I could use?”

Humming, Gina considered a moment, then said something in his ear.

“Why are you whispering?” Kazuma said, drawing back.

“It’s impolite t’ say these in public, ya know,” Gina said. “There’s kiddies around.”

There weren’t any within earshot of their bench, but then again she understood British culture better than he did. “I guess so. But that doesn’t sound very rude.”

“Oi, you’re askin’ my advice. I’m the expert ‘ere.”

“Right, right.” Kazuma put up his hands. “How about an exclamation of surprise?”

“Surprise, eh? Ooh, I got one for ya!” She whispered something else to him.

“Hm. I suppose that does sound a bit off-color. Any others I should know?”

“One ya say when you’re proper angry. The worst o’ the lot.” Gina lowered her voice. “The F word.”

Kazuma was intrigued. “What is it?”

Gina glanced around, then pulled him close and whispered a word in his ear.

“Is it really that bad?” Kazuma pulled back with a raised eyebrow. “That sounds like two ordinary words.”

Nodding seriously, Gina said, “Oh yeah. That’ll scandalize ‘im for sure.”

“Good. Well, thanks. He’s going to be shocked when I throw these at him.”

“Oh, ‘e’ll be surprised, all right.”

“I can’t wait to see the look on his face.”

“Ha! I’d like to see that.” Gina went back to her food, munching with more vigor, and Kazuma was satisfied that he had accomplished his mission. At least the first part.

He didn’t have to wait long for the second part, as van Zieks was in a mood again the next day.

“Mr. Asogi, go pick up the autopsy report.”

“Yes, I’ll do that as soon as I’ve—”

“No, do it now.”

Every word of his since he arrived had felt short and prickly, and his instructions were more like demands. Kazuma had enough.

“Fine,” he said. Then just loud enough for van Zieks to hear, he added, “Son of a motherless goat.”

Van Zieks glanced up from his desk with a brief look of bafflement, but his ever present scowl slid back into place. “Why are you still standing there?”

Kazuma sighed and grabbed his coat. It wasn’t as satisfying a reaction as he hoped for, but it was a start.

On another occasion, they were at a crime scene where they learned of evidence that changed their entire understanding of the case.

Kazuma shook his head. “Gee willikers.”

Van Zieks narrowed his eyes as he took in the scene. “That’s certainly one way of putting it.”

Kazuma was a bit surprised van Zieks didn’t chide him for his rude language. It seemed like the sort of thing he would take issue with in his apprentice. But maybe he was so distracted by rethinking the case that he didn���t fully take in what Kazuma said.

Another day, Kazuma had spent hours working out an approach to their prosecution, writing a lengthy report explaining it and double checking his work. When he finished, he explained his theory to van Zieks, going point by point through his argument. Van Zieks listened without interruption, sitting back in his chair with his face as impassive as usual.

“Mr. Asogi,” he said at last. “The argument you have laid out is impressive, and you’ve improved in your presentation.”

Kazuma would have been pleased by the praise, had he not been able to hear the “but” coming from a mile away. He sighed. “What is it?”

“I wonder if you’ve forgotten the first witness we spoke to.”

It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head. He had completely forgotten. It dismantled his entire case, and he would have to start over from the beginning.

He was so upset with himself that without thinking he swore terribly.

“Fiddlesticks.”

Van Zieks’ eyes were on him immediately and Kazuma realized what he said. He had been hoping to save that one for when van Zieks really deserved it, and this had been Kazuma’s fault entirely. He would just have to make the most of it.

But van Zieks’ expression changed from neutrality to mirth, and to Kazuma’s great astonishment, he laughed.

It was brief and quickly hidden behind the grim set of his mouth, but Kazuma knew he didn’t imagine it.

Once he had recovered from the shock, he remembered what had made him laugh in the first place and grew indignant.

“W-What’s so funny about all this? I spent all day on that report!”

“It’s not that, it’s—” Van Zieks’ lip quirked upward again. “Where did you learn that word?”

Trying to reign in his embarrassment, Kazuma said, “Wh— does that matter? It’s an expletive, everyone knows that. I might have picked it up in a pub or something.”

Van Zieks shook his head. “Someone has been pulling your chain. I had wondered where the sudden use of innocent exclamations came from.”

“Innocent?!” Kazuma tightened his fists. “You mean fiddlesticks isn’t a dirty word?!”

“I can’t say I know the meaning, but it is regarded as harmless.”

“You teach me something, then. Tell me the worst word you know!”

“No. Now I believe, Mr. Asogi, that you have a great deal of work to catch up on. You better get started.”

“Argh…” I have a certain Inspector I need to pay a visit.

When Kazuma stormed up to Gina’s desk at Scotland Yard, she took one look at his furious face and lit up in glee.

“Did you say ‘em?”

“Darn you, Gina Lestrade,” Kazuma growled, slamming her desk. “Darn you to hell!”

She laughed her face off.

-

Bonus incorrect quote:

Kazuma: Oh, spare me the sanctimonious lecture. You never cared about me. In the words of one of my actual friends: ya basic. It's a cockney insult. It's devastating. You're devastated right now.

Van Zieks: …?

[unx100to]

arda please bring back the eyebrow slit and the grown out hair IMMEDIATELY 🙏

[ardans]

dosed, covered by lowswimmer | arken as songs

[aspiringnexu]

LOTR but it works like Undertale in that when you die everything resets. But like a hardcore version of Undertale where you die and have to start at the very beginning.

Everyone in the Fellowship is aware of it and it first comes about because Gandalf dies and they all end up back in Imaldris and very confused (it happens in Lothlorien for them because Gandalf takes a few days to kill the Balrog and then die and it takes a bit for Manwe to kick him back). So they set out again with the weirdest sense of Deja Vu and this time they make it through Moria without even meeting the Balrog because Pippin remembers not to touch the arrow. Then Boromir dies and back to square one.

And this keeps repeating over and over and over as their actions to keep one from dying accidentally cause someone else to die until they have all of the steps down pat and no longer give a shit except managing to move on from the fucking Anduin. They’ve been stuck there for days (not counting the time it took to march there from Imladris, through Moria, and through Lothlorien, over and over and over and over again).

Rinse and repeat as Sam accidentally falls to his death via One Slippery Rock, Legolas gets nailed by a very lucky Orc in Moria, it turns out Gimli can’t swim and neither can Legolas or Aragorn when trying to pull a fully armoured dwarf to the surface, Aragorn gets run over by Eomer, Merry and Pippin take turns getting skewered by hungry orcs, and Frodo gets murdered by Gollum (who is the only other one to know about the resets and is pretty cranky by the time he catches up).

And without fail, every single time one of them dies they get sent back to Imladris. At first its terrifying, then just plain confusing, then terribly depressing, and then... well they get used to it. Death no longer has meaning. The Quest suddenly seems a lot more cheerful. The end of the world is a lot less daunting when you know you can perpetually keep it from ending until you make sure you can fix it.

Though it is a bit confusing for everyone else during the Battle of Helm’s Deep when Gimli and Legolas are having their competition.

“Legolas! Two already!”

“I’m on seventeen!”

“Eh! I’ll have no pointy-ear outscoring me!”

Later

“Final count fifty-one thousand two hundred and eighty-two.”

“Well that’s not bad for a pointy-eared elvish princeling! I myself am sitting pretty on fifty-one thousand two hundred and eighty-three.”

[edennill]

I love Tolkien's poem "The Hoard", because it's not about a specific event in the Legendarium; it may not even be entirely accurate to the general mythology -- but you can definitely see it as something written by someone in Middle-Earth, and I love in-universe folklore.

When the moon was new and the sun young of silver and gold the gods sung: in the green grass they silver spilled, and the white waters they with gold filled. Ere the pit was dug or Hell yawned, ere dwarf was bred or dragon spawned, there were Elves of old, and strong spells under green hills in hollow dells they sang as they wrought many fair things, and the bright crowns of the Elf-kings. But their doom fell, and their song waned, by iron hewn and by steel chained. Greed that sang not, nor with mouth smiled, in dark holes their wealth piled, graven silver and carven gold: over Elvenhome the shadow rolled.

This is, more or less, the history of the elder days on a very simplified level! Over Elvenhome the shadow rolled...

[youareunbearable]

I swear I wrote this down before, but I cant find it in any of my notes so here's a little fun idea! When the world gets recreated so its no longer Arda Marred, I think the Valar got together and Looked at the Finwe problem and shrugged and decided to make all of Miriel and her descendants Maiar to slove that tricky little problem of Remarriage.

Because the Feanorians are now Maiar, they aren't technically born, meaning they aren't really siblings and part of the same family so there is no real issue in separating them now is there?

Miriel is one of Vaire's weavers of course, and Feanor is one of Aule's most talented smiths, but that is understandable as he is the spirit of Hearth Fire itself. There are others within Aule's Halls, but their knowledge of each other is passing, for Celebrimbor tends to stay with the jewelry makers and Curufin likes creating hunting gear for Orome's hunt

Orome is almost never seen without his most prized hunter, Celegorm, who prefers a form that looks more wolf than Elf.

Vana, Orome's wife, herself has a pair of giggling and twittering songbirds that follow her around as she follows her husband's Hunt. They dance and sing and twirl in sync that many often just call the pair of them by a singular name, Ambarussa.

Irmo within his forest full of Song and Music has a very talented Maia that is so in tune with thr Song that they can play with it however they choose. Maglor only uses this ability to give the Elves good dreams, of course.

Este is forever thankful of her assistant Caranthir, who keeps all her medical necessities and books in order, so she is always prepared to help those in need, even if he himself doesn't have the best beside manner.

Lady Nienna’s Maia, Maedhros is a bit more of a recluse. He is charming when spoken too, but there is something distant, some type of lingering melancholy that clings to him, like a weak dawn in the deepest days of winter. He tends to hide himself away in the forests surrounding Formenos, helping those who are lost find their way back home.

Then there are Finwe and his beautiful wife Indis, their children, and many grandchildren. They are a stunning example of a happy family, and all the citizens of Tirion love having them as their royal family. Nothing is ever wrong, even when Fingolfin’s daughter Aredhel got lost during a hunt, she was lucky enough to be escorted back to her worried brothers' camp.

Fingon, who had never felt the degree of terror that flooded his veins at the thought of his sister lost in the woods, terror that was much stronger than what was called for because what could befell her in their peaceful land of Valinor?

She was being ferried on the back of a behemoth of a horse, pristine and laughing at the antics of the silver wolf-like Maia walking at her side. The horse was being led by a silent Maia, who smiled softly at the pair but made no move to include himself.

Fingon looked up at the tall Maia, and felt something in his fea shatter. He always had felt like something was missing, that he would havr an urge to go looking for someone he could never find, catch himself looking up to share an idea with someone who must have been taller than him only to look up at empty air. His bed felt so cold, but no matter how high he tended the hearth flames he knew it was because it was empty. He would look to the distant mountains and see a dawn peaking over their tops and weep as something in his fea ached.

Everything felt so overwhelming when he looked at this Maia, this being that looked cold, who wore furs and had snow dusting his shoulders even though it was a warm sunny summer day. Fingon was so lost in the sensations swirling within him that he was too slow to act before the Maia helped Aredhel off his horse, swung up himself and was out of the clearing. That wolfish Maia giving his sister a laughing twirl before bounding off into the thicket, chasing after the distant horn call.

Fingon’s knees felt weak, he found himself sinking to the forest floor. This world may be Arda Remade, but he still felt Marred.

[bonmatis]

[searchingforserendipity25]

Having cracky 'Maglor part-timing as a formal mourner at funerals for a quick buck and a hot meal' thoughts turning earnest really fast. Maybe partaking in other people's misery and the construction of the temporary compassionate communities that are wakes could fix him. The fraught family fights over baked apples and bad wine are probably nostalgic etc.

[breakintomyhead]

oh my sweet dear arda au main character (might delete this post one day I just need somewhere to post this shit) FUCK IT WE BALLLLLL

maybe I can call this ringfren bc yeah the second picture took so long. I tried to draw Randal killing an orc but drawing orcs are hard and I'm lazy he was named rothdok once but he is now Randal ivory. you can call him either one but it would hurt his feelings if you called him rothdok :( (there's real lore behind this)