#It was Varda's way of telling Melkor that she's never coming back to him Tolkien told me himself | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fireeaglespirit · 5 years

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@beyond-far-horizons

I do. I’ve always shied away from the LOTR/Sil community on tumblr or anywhere cos I want to keep my attachment to them all to myself given how formative they were for me and still are. Never the less I do like this interpretation of Melkor’s actions over Tolkien’s “he is Satan and darn right bad!” cos I have always been a fangirl of Melkor esp because most of the Valar are such stuck up good too shoes (apart from Ulmo - love you Ulmo!) Basically I adore Melkor (even though I don’t justify what he did) and Ulmo, like Nienna, Aule, Yavanna and Varda but Manwe….Manwe…just too good…and ‘the Windlord’ just isn’t a good title in some senses of the word hehe. It’s just the selfish way they acted towards the elves and especially humanity - no special treatment for them, no guidance (apart from Ulmo - what a dude) and then they wake up and get dragged into the war between Melkor and the elves - even though they didn’t start it and will not get reborn if killed. Okay okay Melkor was terrible and did terrible things but I’ve never liked that dualistic way of thinking as much as i admire the Professor.

I’m replying here as to avoid any problems with the og of the post or whatever, but yeah... this is as far as I go concerning fandom right now but it was very worthy reading the book, I did enjoy it when I got a hold on how to read it properly.

I must be honest and say, some parts were a chore to get through but others were so delightful it paid off in the end, much like other books I’ve enjoyed including ASOIAF which had painfully lackluster parts, I do dig for the gems and its always worthy.

I did write a huge post concerning the first parts of it and my thoughts, but I don’t know if I’ll post it as its a bit too harsh (extremely delicate subject for some, I know but for me nothing is sacred on this regard) on some elements which after some research made more sense to me. Also, taking in consideration the time period it was written and some info about the author made it much better for me to get into it, etc... I’m also highly tolerant of different world views (for real) so even thought I don’t agree with some of his concepts and I oppose some of them, I can sort of ‘ignore them’ in order to enjoy my cherry picked favorite aspects of the creation and even taking them into consideration is interesting for the ‘different point of view’ I mentioned.

As you wisely notice I don’t have much love for the whole bible-like aspects which by any means pertain just to the structure of the early parts of the book, but to the ongoing theme of the battle of good x evil, including most of the morale of the book itself which feels very ‘christian’ and monotheistic despite the presence of the Valar as god-like figures, which superficially might look polytheistic, Eru’s influence is undeniable even when he’s not actively present in the narrative: All good stems from Eru, or being close to him and following his way and almost every bad thing that happens is due to the meddling of a single guy whose own very existence was allowed by Eru and who opposes him... In the end, all evil comes from not following god’s will or not believing him. Don’t need to say I’m not a huge fan of the concept *coughs*

Anyway, I also recently read through the parts concerning Numenor and it made me angry also, especially concerning the way humans were left with no guidance at all, it no wonder they feel prey to manipulation, they were starved for something they could never achieved and they could never be enlightened on the reason for that.

I don’t know and never understood why ‘faith’ or believing without at sort of clue or proof is held in such a high stem by most people, so its hard for me to swallow the way the humans were just told to never fucking go to west and to not desire immortality which was just natural for elves and spirits and they were not given a proper explanation or reason why... they just had to believe it. I know the Valar aren't omniscient too so they don’t know Eru’s reason either, but they could've been more helpful concerning the subject of the undying lands, I know at some point they are more open about it but perhaps it was way too late. LOL. What would it cost for a higher being to just go there and tell them the story and functioning of the world, etc... I don’t know if this sounds stupid or even makes sense but I felt sorry for the guys in Numenor who died in the collective murder by Eru (this stank of bible but wasn't nearly as bad since well just a little part of the world was swallowed up :l and god basically killed everyone save a guy and his little family so props to Eru). I feel weird.

The problem to me is not the monotheistic setting itself, but the fact its endorsed and not ever criticized, etc.. I could enjoy any book with any world view as long as it challenges itself and Tolkien just goes straight away and never look back in this. I guess I just have a more ‘cynical’ or ‘doubtful’ point of view regarding deities in general, esp. monotheistic ones so I’d rather have some more shades of gray concerning those who oppose the all powerful god, just like you did regarding the demons on the DMC fic verse where you can see there are multiple forces at play and its not so simple, but I digress its just the way things are and that’s what the book is and its a relatively old book with different mindset and cultural references than we commonly have today.

To me, taking it away and just overlooking certain implications I can sort of get behind it, lol.

I’m also not a huge fan of the Valar, personally, they look cool as heck but most of them are indifferent AF and don’t act much. Worse than that, they don’t seem to hold much concern towards humanity... During the war of the wrath I just kept thinking “why haven’t you done this before??” and lol

I guess its a bit like my own Polaris whom after meddling with humanity for long just took a back seat, sort of understandable when things went awry before and you just don’t know if your meddling is causing good or bad anymore so you just let it be for a while, and for those beings a ‘while’ might mean centuries easy. The Valar, just like my dragons hold a lot of power, compared to ‘gods’ but neither hold omniscience so its understandable that they make mistakes, I just don’t necessarily agree with the position of utter indifference they took after some events... I mean to work with this theme concerning my dragons and how they deal with this so it was interesting nonetheless seeing the story evolve and what it leads to.

Anyway, the Silm. has a very interesting arc concerning its mythology since the higher power consecutively ‘take a back seat’ in order to let the world develop on its own, first of all is Eru himself and them slowly the ranks of spirits whom where once the focus of attention leave the picture one after the other until the story is taken over mostly by elves and afterwards even the elves leave the scene for humans to take over. This is very interesting and works to explain why the ‘powers that be’ are not as vivid as they were, etc... I really enjoyed reading the over arching theme and how it played out, it will definitely help me on my writing endeavors.

I totally agree on Ulmo like FFS he was the only guys still around when shit went down and he was always there trying to help the ‘good guys’, also Aule has some interesting facets early on and well... the Valar look incredible, especially Varda & birdy (fart) lord Manwe, but they don’t hold much more to me than cool looks, which is sad as they had potential. Also, I live for goth queen Nienna but she does nothing through the story...

Well, once more we’re left in the world of ‘what could've been’. I’m quite used to it and not complaining, just stating in my personal opinion the text could be easily turned into something much more interesting to me with minor tweaks.

#beyond-far-horizons #silmarillion #random

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littleshebear · 6 years

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Top ten ships

I was tagged by @dngrs-untld-hrshps-unnmbrd and @seigephoenix to name my top ten ships. Not in the mood for tagging but please do this if you feel like it. I like reading about ships.

1. Garrus/Shepard

This doesn’t really need any explanation does it? There’s no Shepard without Vakarian.

2. Roslin/Adama

Adversaries to enemies, to allies, to friends, to lovers, to pretty much married by the end, god they’re so sweet I love them so much, my heart. <333

3. Manwë/Varda

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“Manwë and Varda are seldom parted, and they remain in Valinor. Their halls are above the everlasting snow, upon Oiolossë, the uttermost tower of Taniquetil, tallest of all the mountains upon Earth. When Manwë there ascends his throne and looks forth, if Varda is beside him, he sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea. And if Manwë is with her, Varda hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west, from the hills and the valleys, and from the dark places that Melkor has made upon Earth.”

GOALS.

4. Saladin/Jolder

[Gorgeous painting by the lovely @crazy-bone-lady go forth and reblog!]

Time to break out the ship manifesto. Everything about the story of Rise of Iron is told through Saladin’s eyes and we keep coming back to Jolder. He’s always near her statue, he uses the gun that’s named for her, it’s her helm we recover and present to him. Honestly, I was a puddle of emotion during the opening cinematic, this entire DLC and the accompanying lore destroyed me. And let’s not forget the saddest line break in the history of line breaks: “Jolder’s smile.” *sobs*

5. Dottie Underwood/Peggy Carter

YOU CAN CUT THE SEXUAL TENSION WITH A KNIFE.

6. Zavala/Hawthorne

I’m sailing this ship all by myself but I’m nothing if not persistent. Time for the ship manifesto again. I just love that these two start out on opposite sides of an ideological divide but by the end of the main campaign, they’ve met somewhere in the middle. Hawthorne realises that the City has value and Guardians aren’t all terrible, arrogant nitwits. Zavala accepts that they need to look beyond the walls and that sticking with a siege mentality is self-defeating. I just love the effect Hawthorne has on Zavala’s arc. When we meet him on Titan, he poses the question that “without the Light, are we even guardians anymore?” But when he meets Hawthorne, he has his answer. The Light isn’t what makes you a Guardian, it’s willingness to fight, to take a stand for those weaker than yourself and that’s what Hawthorne embodies to him. And don’t get me started on the bit in “Unsafe at Any Speed” where she grudgingly admits he’s right and he laughs. I mean.

Lore: Zavala never smiles. Hawthorne exists: Zavala laughs indulgently.

7. Ar-Pharazôn/ Tar-Míriel

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This one is a complicated one. There are two different versions in the Tolkien legendarium. In both versions, Pharazôn and Míriel were first cousins. Míriel’s father, Tar-Palantir was king and favoured the old ways of their ancestor Elros (brother of Elrond). His brother, Gimilkhâd led an opposing political faction who resented the fact that they were mortal and envied the elves their immortality. Míriel was next in line to the throne of Númenor.

In the version published in the Silmarillion, Pharazôn forced Míriel to marry him (which was illegal, being considered incest) and took her title by force.

There’s another version which I find way more interesting and was probably written after the published version. In this version, Pharazôn was best friends with, Amandil, a leading member of Tar-Palantir’s party, which suggests Pharazon’s relationship with his father wasn’t the best. Meanwhile, Míriel was engaged to be married to Amandil’s brother, Elentir. Míriel and Pharazôn had never met during their childhood owing to their family estrangement. Pharazon was visiting with Amandil while Miriel happened to be there and that as they say was was that. Míriel dumped Elentir and pined after Pharazôn, while Pharazôn started plotting. After Tar-Palantir died, Míriel took the ruling queen title of Tar- Míriel but willingly married Pharazôn , who became the ruling king Ar Pharazôn alongside her (still an illegal marriage but who’s going to tell them no?).

After that, things got super bad. Pharazôn invaded Middle Earth to wage war on Sauron (good!) and captured him (good!) then took him back to Numenor (bad), where Sauron used his wiles to corrupt Pharazôn (bad!). Eventually things got so bad, he built a temple to Morgoth and sacrificed Númenoreans who were still loyal to the Valar and the Elves. Sauron eventually persuaded him to invade Valinor and overthrow the Valar so he could sieze immortality for himself (very bad!). Manwe was so dismayed, he handed power back over to Eru (God, essentially), who destroyed Numenor by sinking it beneath the sea. Miriel was the last to die in the onslaught, she climbed the highest mountain, the Meneltarma, which is now the only part of Numenor visible from the sea.

Pharazon reached valinor but he and his men were imprisoned in caves, awaiting the Last Battle in a really on the nose case of Be Careful What You Wish For.

Anyway, I find the second version far more compelling because I love the, very tragic, idea of an essentially good man being slowly corrupted by evil. He was *this* close to defeating Sauron for good but he failed because of pride, and Sauron exploited that. And just imagine Míriel watching the man she loved, the man she went against her family and broke the law for, falling into darkeness and being unable to do anything about it. *sobs*

8. Elrond/Celebrían

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Another sad one but at least this one can have a happy ending. Celebrían and Elrond took forever and a day to get together, partly because of Elrond running around doing Herald of the King stuff and waging war on Sauron but I also like to think it’s because Elrond is a massive nerd and was too shy to ask the pretty girl out.

The reason this is a sad one is because she was captured by Orcs and tortured to within an inch of her life. Elrond was by this time the most skilled healer in Middle Earth but he realised he couldn’t save her so he sent her away to the Undying Lands. He knew he couldn’t go with her until Sauron had been defeated, so she waited patiently and she’s the reason Elrond was straight on that boat after the One Ring was destroyed.

9.Duke Leto/Jessica Atreides

More goals. This relationship didn’t exactly start out romantically (she was essentially sold to his royal house breeding stock) but these two fell for eachother hard. She disobeyed orders from the bene gesserits because she loved him so much, he refused to marry someone “more suitable” for a man of his station because he always wanted Jessica to be his no.1. One his last thoughts before he died was that he should have said to hell with convention and married her. Moar sobbing.

10. Amanda Ripley/Christopher Samuels.

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SAMUELS WANTED RIPLEY TO HAVE CLOSURE AND RIPLEY TREATED SAMUELS LIKE HE WAS REAL AND NOT “JUST AN ANDROID” AND HE THANKED HER FOR IT BEFORE HE DIED AND EVERYTHING HURTS, I JUST WANTED THEM TO BE HAPPY AND TAKE CARE OF EACHOTHER FOREVER MORE, AGGGGGGHHHHHH.

#muh ships #so much pain #why do i love tragedy so?

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