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undercat-overdog · 10 months

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Paging through a timeline today and the First Age was so very long ago even in what you might call the early Second Age. There is more time between the founding of Eregion (c SA 700) and the War of Wrath than there was in time in the entire First Age (about 600 years); Aldarion, living around the same time as the raising of Ost-in-Edhil, is six generations removed from Elros and the five generations between were all born in the Second Age: how different the lives of our own great-great-great-grandparents! And that's the earliest Second Age. By the time Eregion falls, 1700 years have passed since the Silmarils were set in their resting places; the Last Alliance happened around 3600 years after the Nirnaeth. And another three millenia in the Third Age! "Before the fall of Gondolin and Nargothrond in elder days" has very much the air of "a long time ago."

The First Age is so removed in time - and space! - from later events. Sometimes I feel this isn't appreciated enough. The Second and Third Ages have their own stories.

If anything, I think the First Age can be overrated in importance? Well, not in its own right, but in discussing later events.

#meta #i do think that for all that the creation of the silmarils and the creation of the rings are closer together in time #than either is to the destruction of the one ring #(probably. let's ignore valarin years)#the rings are part of one story and the silmarils another #when it comes to the ~story of arda or whatever #the dividing line is the war of wrath not the destruction of the trees or the akallabeth #(imo ofc!)#i admit to getting frustrated at times #galadriel giving three hairs to gimli can be seen in light of her refusing feanor but it's about *her and gimli*#there's lots to compare and contrast between the three rings and the silmarils if you want #but the three and their creation have meaning and value in their own right and you can talk about them meaningfully w/o reference to feanor #if you say 'maglor' to legolas his first association might be 'who?' or it might be 'oh yeah great songwriter love his stuff!'#(it's not all about the sons of feanor. who are secondary characters even in age one.)#(unlike feanor who's not at all secondary. but feanor's story is quite separate from that of the sons in some if not all ways)

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plussizefantasia · 3 months

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Unsure Hearts

Read Part One Here: Fluttering Hearts

Warnings: Reader gets grabbed, alcohol, I think that's it tbh

an: heyyyy... sorry I was MIA, lots of stuff going on I'll post an update about it soon. In the meantime enjoy part two of the Kili x reader fic from Flufftober. I think this will be a five-part fic including an epilogue and the next two parts are already underway. I've also got some requests ready to be edited and posted soon. Thank you for bearing with me, much love <3

Kili Durin x Human!Soulmate!reader

Word Count: 1.8K

Thorin was getting worried, Kili had become somewhat of a ghost story over the past month. He had assumed that his nephew was simply doing his duty. Kili had volunteered to be the envoy between Dale and Erebor for the discussions of armament and training. However, that treaty was signed a week ago, and said envoy position was no longer needed. So why in all of Arda was Kili still going to Dale every day? The young prince left as soon as he was finished with his daily tasks and didn’t return to the mountain until well after the sun had set. Thorin was not worried for his nephew's safety, after all, Kili was an excellent warrior and could take care of himself, no, Thorin was worried for Kili’s heart.

Fili had also noticed his brother’s absence but the blonde prince had always been a bit more perceptive than his surly uncle. Fili had noticed that Kili was missing, but he also noticed that every time he returned to the mountain it was with the most dopey grin that he had ever seen. A grin that he recognized, for it had also graced his face a few months ago when he met his beloved Alma. Fili would bet his beard on it, Kili was in love.

You on the other hand were getting more and more annoyed each time the brown-haired dwarf walked through the front door. He was charming sure, and polite. But he stared. At you. The whole time he was there. And he was there a lot. His attempts to engage you in conversation were far and few between, the few times he was able to grab your attention away from the bustling building he became tongue-tied the moment your eyes landed on his.

Kili didn’t understand why he couldn’t say more than a few words to you without choking on his words. Your eyes had to hold some kind of spell within them. They enchanted him and left him bewitched every time he caught their gaze. It left him frustrated, he had never had this much trouble with women before, why were you so different? Deep down he knew though, you weren’t just any woman. He was afraid though, afraid that naming what you were to him out loud would make it real. And when it is real, it can hurt you.

There weren’t very many stories on One’s where the love didn’t end up requited, either because it just simply never happened. Dwarves were incredibly stubborn creatures after all, and it was entirely possible that they just wore down their other half until some sort of connection formed. It was also possible that those unfortunate few who weren’t able to woo their other half died of broken hearts. The former was unlikely as Kili kept having to remind himself, he couldn’t die of a broken heart. Right?

He was determined tonight though, to find out definitively if the sparks he felt for you were just interest in the handsome woman from Bree, or if you truly were the other half of his soul. To do that though he would need to say more than a few words to you. The problem with that was that you seemed exceptionally busy tonight.

Busy you were, Brant had told you last night that he was going to be leaving today to go to visit family for some type of emergency.

“If the place is still standing when I get back, we’ll talk more about it becoming yours someday.” He had said. You were hoping that that ‘someday’ was sooner rather than later. Brant was getting up there in years. Just last week he had hurt himself trying to lift one of the barrels of ale that had been shipped in from the Iron Hills. You had been taking on more and more of his old tasks and to be completely honest, it felt like you did the job of an owner anyway, just without all the benefits.

You weren’t going to let the man down though, even if it did mean rushing back and forth all night trying to keep up with demand all by yourself.

“Another! Y/N,” was yelled in front the back of the room. Roland was a boisterous man who got along with everyone, he was only a year or two older than you and was currently on his eighth pint of the night. He had a large countenance and seemed to fill up whatever space he occupied, he was handsome but the more and more he drank the less his looks mattered. Usually, this is the point in the night where he starts bordering more on unruly rather than fun-loving. Nevertheless, he was a paying customer and as long as he could still walk on his own out the doors, you weren’t going to say no to his money.

You grabbed another pint glass and poured one for him, balancing it and several other drinks on a tray. You steeled yourself with a deep breath before running back out into the fray.

Walking close to the stool he was sat on you leaned slightly over him and placed his pint down on the counter beside him. He was engrossed in the conversation between the large group of men, something about the best way to skin a buck, you weren’t really listening. As you grabbed his empty glass to take back to the kitchen to be washed, his large hand encircled your wrist none too gently.

“A pint is a wonderful thing, but it is even more delicious when served by a beautiful lady,” He whispered into your ear. You grit your teeth and roughly pull your hand back.

“Now, Roland, what have we said about touching things that don’t belong to you? Huh? Touch the wrong thing and you might just lose your hand.” You spit back at him. Cutting your eyes up at the mounted swords that rest above the fireplace only a few steps from where the two of you are. “I’d hate to have to clean those swords, they are sharp.” You look back into his eyes, satisfied with the fear that you see within them. You stand back up and place your tray back upon your shoulder.

“Anything else I can get you gents?” You question the other men scattered about the space. Silence reigned over the air for a few moments.

“Alrighty then.”

A pint here, a glass of wine there, and two hot meals delivered later, your tray was empty and everyone in the place seemed momentarily satisfied.

Letting out a breath you lean up against the counter.

“What did you say to him?” A somewhat familiar voice pipes up beside you. You turn your head towards the voice. It's the dwarf prince, and you are once again struck with just how handsome he is. You are also struck with the familiar feeling of annoyance, of course, he picked now to talk to you. Just when you had finally afforded yourself a break.

“Hmm?” You raise a singular eyebrow at him. “Who?”

“That large and very drunk man in the back, I couldn’t hear what you said but I could see the look on his face. It was similar to my brother’s when our mother would scold him for forgetting his manners.”

“That’s not too far off actually, Roland over there got a little too comfortable and touched something that didn’t belong to him, I had to remind him of the rules.”

“And what exactly did he touch that was so forbidden?” The prince smirks and laughs.

You smirk back and lift a glass to your lips before uttering one single word, “Me.”

All of the laughter drained from Kili’s face, “He touched you?” His voice had gotten much lower, his eyes darkened right before you.

You rolled your eyes. “I’m going to stop you right there Your Highness, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’ve been doing it for years. I don’t need some man, no matter how handsome he is coming to defend my honor every time I’m even remotely slighted. The trail of bodies will get far too long.” You stare into his eyes as you speak, putting all the righteous fury you’ve got stored inside into each word.

Seconds tick by before he opens his mouth to speak again.

“You think I’m handsome?”

“I think that we have bigger problems if that is the only thing you got from that.” You took another sip.

“No, no, no I got the point, you don’t need a big strong man to come to your rescue. Lucky for you, I am not big.”

The laugh that sprung from the back of your throat caught you off guard, you slap a hand over your mouth in an impossible effort to catch it and shove it back inside. He was funny, he had never been funny before.

Kili liked your laugh even though it was closer to a snort than an actual laugh, and he would be foolish to ignore the way his heart picked up at the thought that he was the one who made you laugh.

“You- I- I have never heard of a dwarf who makes fun of themselves, in my limited experience your lot are very prideful.”

“Not as prideful as some other races, I should think.”

“No, you’re not nearly as prideful as the pointy-eared bastards who hole themselves up in that accursed forest.” Your words held a healthy amount of rage as well as teasing.

“I sense that there is a story there somewhere.” Kili raised an eyebrow, mimicking your face from earlier. He was desperately trying not to think about the fact that this was the longest conversation the two of you had had up to date.

“One that I’m going to need a lot more liquid courage before divulging, I’m afraid.”

“We can make that happen.” Kili wiggled his eyebrows and pointed at the bottles of liquor behind the bar that separated the two of you.

At that very moment, a shout from the rowdy bunch of men in the back rang out, calling for another round.

“Duty calls your highness, but perhaps I will tell you that story… another time.” You winked at him and grabbed for your tray again, beginning to load it up once more. If that is how conversations with the dwarf prince went all the time, you wouldn’t mind having them more often.

You walked away before Kili could come up with a response, but he was more certain than he ever had been that your heart called to his. Why else would the very sight of you walking away feel like his heart was leaving too?

tags: @bunnybabe-babydoll @kokochanel111 @shiinata-library @oneiratxxia10

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rachelillustrates · 8 days

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My top 7 Faerie stories/worlds atm 🦋

**Note, I am super dupes aware that I haven't read/watched everything, so please feel free to reblog/comment with recommendations!**

Faerie is the pulse of my heart, and my mind/spirit/etc. spends a LOT of time thinking about it, SO here's the most resonant of depictions of the realm/faeries themselves in my current opinion (and why).

(And not in any particular order:)

Elfhame, @hollyblack 's "Folk of the Air" series and all related books

Arda, Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and all related adaptations

"Suitor Armor" by @thepurpah

Studio Ghibli's take on spirits in Japanese folklore

Brian and Wendy Froud's take on Faerie

"Fraggle Rock"

"Tock the Gnome," by myself!

Thoughts:

(Art by Rovina Cai, from "How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories")

I feel very much that Holly Black gets the lushness and richness of Faerie, plus the trickery of it, and that level of dangerous beauty - what attracts humanity to it, etc. How everything is in extremes, too, but also how parts of it echo the human experience - both in terms of courts, but also in terms of the heart, and the emotional impact of intense circumstances and intense feelings.

I am, admittedly, not all caught up yet since I haven't read her earlier works, but of course I recommend starting with "The Cruel Prince" and reading forward from there (the more recent "Stolen Heir Duology" having an extra special place in my esteem)!

(Also special shoutout to the fact that there are Nisse - Gnomes! - in the recent books, AND that her take on Redcaps is absolutely Orcish 💚)

(Also also, cw: Changelings. They can be a triggering/upsetting subject, considering how our concept of them as humans seems to have come about. She does make pretty heavy use of them, but not in the ways that one might expect, and always from a very emotionally-centered space - not a humans-abusing-potential-fae space.)

So, Tolkien - yes, I am including the world of his works in this because even though he considered them religious and specifically-denominational, he took SO MUCH inspiration from folklore and faerie tales (do not even get me started on what got edited out of "The Silmarillion" istg) that Arda is not wholly Christian, from my Faerie-worshiping queer-ass faerie perspective thankyouverymuch. Not to mention what is being done in fandom with the faerie-races, especially the Dwarves and the Hobbits, AND what recent adaptations are opening up with the Orcs!! Obviously, his take on Faerie is a much more literally-grounded reality - they exist in the Earth-based world (as if Faerie has bled into what we expect Earth to be), they have magic (at least the Elves and Dwarves do) but it's both somehow super ethereal and super physical at once. And divinely connected, since the biggest magic in Middle-earth (or any part of Arda) comes from the lesser Gods - the Valar, and the Maiar who serve under them as well as from Big Sky Daddy Eru, but we're not talking about him right now. So that, to me, really speaks to the spiritual nature of Faerie too - which is always always always personally interesting to me, and Jrrt's take on the fae was absolutely foundational in my budding concept of them, before I even really thought about who they are in a conscious way.

I don't know where to recommend starting, since I got into the world through the Jackson films, first, and I wouldn't change my experience for anything because it's given me SO much. But in fandom, shoutout to the works of @conkers-thecosy (read her fics here!) as well as "A Long List of Happy Endings" by vicious_summer and "The Mushroom Mine" series by @chrononautintraining for Dwarf Stuff - and "Splint" by HelenaMarkos for Orc Stuff. Plus, as much as I know it's divisive, "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is - again - doing wonders about the Orcs AND doing very well by the Dwarves too, in my opinion, showing them as a fully realized and thriving people (though Dwarf women should still have beards, Amazon!! And there seems to be some confusion around how the name of Durin functions...)!! Available to stream on Prime, here.

"Suitor Armor" takes place in a world that appears very similar to medieval Earth, and as such the worldbuilding itself doesn't feel very specifically Faerie - yet. However, with the main character having significant ties to the fae, and with the story still having space to explore their culture once the tale takes the characters there, I have faith that we are gonna see more of this take on Faerie specifically soon. In the meantime, what we have seen so far - how faerie magic works, how they relate to each other, etc. - rings true for me, and is lovely to behold, especially in the face of the tragedy around their circumstances in the Big Plot.

Free to read here (and coming to bookshelves in 2025!!).

As for Studio Ghibli - Miyazaki's take on the spirits of Japanese folklore - which are absolutely Faerie - was SO formative for me growing up. I don't have anything else to say about that except that he's right!!

I recommend "Princess Mononoke," "Spirited Away" and "My Neighbor Totoro," particularly. All available to stream on Max right now (but buying physical media is better, and they're very likely available to rent other places, too).

Brian and Wendy Froud's work has, of course, also been absolutely formative for me - especially when I started getting into Faerie properly. Their work doesn't require much commentary either - they're just correct 💗 Nothing I've experienced has ever contradicted what I've read in their books, and I feel like their work really, really gets the energy of the fae and the liminality of their existence. And that there is kindness, and light, as well as danger.

I recommend "Trolls" and "Faeries' Tales," to start with, and of course the quintessential "Faeries" by Brian Froud and Alan Lee, which started it all.

(Also, considering what's below, special honorary shoutout to their work on "The Dark Crystal." Definite overlap there and absolutely counts.)

Obviously there's some crossover with The Muppets here, considering they come from the same studio, BUT if we're looking at just "Fraggle Rock" on its own - absolutely. Though a very different take than those mentioned above, if you're looking for the whimsy and delight at the heart of the fae, the Fraggles have it.

Both the original series and the reboot are currently available to stream on AppleTV.

Okay, and my own! What I'm doing with the world of "Tock the Gnome" is a little bit different - again, we're looking at a realm that isn't free from some of the physical bounds we find on Earth - but in its vast history there is Faerie at its purest, and the characters are on a Big Quest that will be instrumental in restoring the realm to what one would expect of Faerieland (all wrapped up in a body-positive, sapphic-presenting queer romance, btw). My focus is on Gnomes and Orcs, in particular, since the fact that they're also fae is a big part of my message. Recognizing that, as well as recognizing the importance of connectedness between people and the balance of that and personal sovereignty, and how damage to those things might impact the whole of a magical realm.

All pages available to read for free here, across several platforms (with print issues available here).

🦋💗🦋👏👏

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kaleb-is-definitely-sane · 1 year

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Welcome to the Family

If you want your description changed just tell me <3

According to @justarandomhumanpassingby I'm the paradesi philosopher <3

This is a (in progress) list of my tumblr family:

@dori-and-gray: my irreplaceable bestie who i love to the moon and back

@goodoldfashionedluvergirl: the beautiful, talented, lovable and honey voiced older sister

@the-eternal-seeker: the chill, oldest and wisest quadruplet who's always there to help; the only one in this family possessing anything resembling sanity

@technically-bean: my incredible quadruplet sister who always laughing and crying with me and whose probably either covered in dirt or reading another sad book)

@maddipoof: my other incredible twin quadruplet who thinks on the same wave length as me

@anyavaramyr: he therapist of my friend group who needs therapy herself heh(I'm broke, tumblr is less expensive than therapy). That one anxiety riddled perfectionist of the group tbh but I've been told I'm like the chaotic yet caring younger sister<3

@loverliner: my lil sister whos always vibing

@just-another-godless-god: my mischievous lil sister

@king-of-dholakpur: the oldest, deep thinking cousin who always knows what to say

@non-possum-invenire-bonum-url: the older, unhinged cousin who says everything i think but would never say (love your bio by the way)

@starlit-epiphany: my amazing supportive cousin who's been helping me in my identity crisis

@remen-nyoodles: my secret keeping cousin who I love dearly

@writingwitch007: my other secret keeping cousin who i love dearly and teases me incessantly

@chandrayee: the slightly fucked in the head cousin who randomly drops by animal facts!! (her words not mine; i can't tell you how hard i laughed at that 🤣)

@merapehlapyaarwaapasaagaya: my wonderful mother who i'd never forget

@midnight-rainnnn: the adorable cousin who is loved by everyone

@ishqhai-aapse: roach in my house that is secretly your granny that likes to sit in silence and read books xD

@yehdilkahehaye: the fun trying-to-act-like-an-adult cousin who will give you wise advices from time to time but will actually end up supporting you in all your insane decisions <3

@the-phantom-of-arda: The creative cousin who is quietly supportive of whatever you do. Who's DMs are a judgment-free zone and are willing to talk about anything.. she's too shy to DM first but wants to be friends.

Indumathi: my secret, anonymous admirer 🌕💘

@sincerelyyoursg: my beloved wife 💍

@shyamsakhii: hill dude who just likes to rant to friends and gossip and always misses it when the gc comes alive 😀🔫

@ell0ra-br3kk3r: the neighbor friend who's part time musician, part time author part time sane but unhinged at the same time; love to go by their house when they're back from paris

@ultimategenius: neighbor who i've adopted (welcome to the family)

@offo-yashika: one of the cousin's queer girlfriend who always rocks the stage with their dance<3

@kaagazkefool: the beloved latest addition to the fam who's excited and nervous of they'd fit

@thebestieyoureinlovewith: the friend that will give endless headpats

@mee-iykyk: the extroverted friend who adopts introverts

@insanity-is-my-vanity: my new friend (you’re mine now)

@inxj-ghxfa: the mom friend who gives out questionable, but reliable advice

@justarandomhumanpassingby: some person i claimed off the streets; saw them and was like "you're mine now" <3

@morningmiss: the cousin who checks up on me from time to time ♥

@vamp-rom-stuff: ellora's friend she brought back from her trip to France

@a-really-hot-caterpillar: we ain't mutuals yet but i'd be an idiot not to add him so he's my newest unhinged brother (adopted <3)

@hopefulmillennial: my favorite aunt (you remind me of my favorite aunt irl <3)

I love that like 80 percent of my tumblr family is desi 💖💝💕

reply what description you wanna be added with <3

@yehdilkahehaye, @humapkehaikaun, @hell-lit011019, @shyamsakhii, @anyavaramyr, @bookish-alone, @bibliophile-dendrophile, @iservemydog, @oh-sita, @moons-scar, @loverliner, @woahlifehitsyahuh, @the-phantom-of-arda, @puppy-coded, @sanskari-kanya

literally anyone who wants to join can join :)

If your name isn't up here please tell me; some of them are just disappearing.

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tanoraqui · 6 months

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Trick or Treat! Something Silmarillion?

In the early Third Age when Turgon has returned to life and he and Elenwë and Finrod & Amarië are finally fulfilling their long-held plan of having children at the same time, that they might grow up close as siblings like Finrod and Turgon had, Idril and Tuor say, "Hey, we could also do that! We always meant to have more than one child, and there's nothing actually stopping us!"

So they do. Now, there actually is something stopping them a little - the bearing of Elvish or half-Elvish children is more...metaphysically participatory? than that of Men (or Dwarves, etc). For both parents. Tuor had done it once and been fine, but that was in his native land, and even with Ulmo's guardianship and life on Tol Eressëa, which was fairly mild in terms of blessing-intensity, at roughly 3,500 years of age, his fëa is now worn a little thin.

But their daughter is born hearty and whole, and if Tuor is abed for a few weeks with weariness, well, he's back on his feet soon, and Idril is more than strong enough to bear a single mother's spiritual burden now that the babe is born. Indeed, she insists. Unequivocally.

Moriwen ("dark-crowned maiden") is named for her grandmother Rian and the dark brown hair she inherited from her (to no small amusement to many, given that her parents were both very blond). Her hair never quite achieves the natural luster of Elvish locks - instead, it easily gets tangled, bedraggled, and encrusted with sea-salt like her father's.

She grows up on Tol Eressëa at a nearly Elvish pace, because that feels most natural to her, and chooses to live and die (or not) as an Elf. All her friends and family are Elves (or as close as one semi-retired prophet of the sea can be) so why should she wish to be otherwise?

(The Choice is natural to all first-generation half-bloods, though after that, majority-genetics determines it unequivocally, and mortality wins in a coincidentally 50/50 balance...unless complicated by Maiaran blood, see: the heirs of Lúthien. That extends the Choice for a couple more generations, though mortality is still a heavy draw. Usually. Several Valar very quietly wish those guys would stop reproducing because tbh it's freaking them out.)

But the Mannish half of her heritage did enrapture her as well, and even more eagerly than Tuor, she sought tales of mortal Arda from every newcomer to the immortal shores. What were her distant cousins up to now? How was their mastery of metallurgy going? Were Elrond's youngest (her great-niece!) walking yet? Was that cathedral in Osgiliath still under construction?

She started recording accounts, new and old, and copying any books people brought with them when they Sailed. She blinked and she'd founded a library, soon the greatest in Aman for records of mortal lands. She was called Moriwen Peradan ("half-Man"), and for at least half of the Third Age had a thriving covert correspondence with Elrond via specially bred seabirds. (If you combine the migratory endurance of the arctic tern with the seagull's ability to get everywhere, and you're very patient, long-lived, determined, and by a precise intersection of Ainu blood and favor have a particular knack with seabirds, you can create an all-new species that can travel back and forth along the Straight Road, and discreetly share them with family!)

Moriwen ends up marrying Maeglin about a century after his re-embodiment, after he awkwardly shyly sidles into the Great Library of Tol Eressëa to find out (without, god forbid, talking to anyone involved) what happened to Idril's descendants after they survived, y'know, Stuff; and some rom-com mistaken identity shenanigans ensue.

#aniseandspearmint #ask meme #idril #tuor #my fic #ficlet #aman ever after #the silmarillion #peredhil

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aragornsrockcollection · 2 years

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Why didn’t Durin’s Bane seemingly have any ambition of his own, like his fellow Maiar in Sauron or Saruman? Obviously Gandalf, Radagast and the Blue Wizards all had their own thing going on as well, but the Balrog was seemingly content to chill in Moria for thousands of years, for some reason? In theory, would the Balrog have been cognisant enough to seek rehabilitation in Valinor, as Sauron was offered during the First Age?

Omg another question about Maiar! I could speculate on this stuff all day. Also, I am a Tolkien textwall waiting to happen I’m so sorry.

So I’m not sure Durin’s bane would have been offered the same deal as Sauron, and hiding was probably their best bet for not being thrown into the void.

First, Sauron had to pretend to repent to get offered that deal, and there is no reason to believe the Maia later known as Durin’s Bane would have been willing to do that, or that he would be able to pull it off- Sauron being absolutely unmatched when it comes to persuasion is a plot point multiple times, thus ‘Sauron the Deciever.’

Second, even after obtaining mercy Sauron just uses seemingly coming quietly as a smoke screen to escape and do basically the same thing as the Balrog for a while- lay low and lick his wounds.

I do think the Balrog from Moria has more agency than we might think. They’re definitely not a brainless monster, it’s just we only see them for like, a page, and Durin’s Bane was a mystery prior to the Fellowship encountering them.

But I don’t think it’s unfair to say Melkor’s original Maia might be more intrinsically tied to his will than Sauron, who was originally Mairon, Maia of Aule, and defected in the years of the lamps. At the very least, despite how loyal Sauron was (and he was pretty loyal, he gets Numenor to worship Melkor, not him) he did have thousands of years of existence outside of Melkor’s service, which makes him probably more versed in making his own decisions and plans.

Whereas Melkor’s Balrogs were the Ainur who sang along to his theme of discord in the original music, so they are more directly tied to him, never existed as something not his servant, and I doubt had much hope of not being thrown into the void to join their master, even if they went to Valinor to be judged.

SPEAKING OF THE VOID

I do have a theory with no real textual support about what the Balrog was doing down there, and it was not just chilling.

I have mentioned this tinfoil hat theory in another post about the “Nameless things” that “gnaw at the world” under Moria that Gandalf mentions only to be like “but I am not gonna talk about that.”

So the theory is based on the fact that in the second age, the world is flat. So if you were trying to create a pathway back into the world from the void, down is a legitimate direction to go.

The idea that barriers of the world are thin beneath Moria is really backed up by those nameless things gnawing at existence like parasites down there- if this is a weak spot in the walls of the world, either because of those nameless things or perhaps the nameless things are there because it is a weak spot, then I think it’s very suggestive that the last Balrog, one of Morgoth’s original servants, is there.

Trying to make a path back from the void for their master perhaps? And it seems like they might even be making progress if those creatures that are OLDER THAN THE AINUR (Gandalf says they are older than Sauron, and this means they must have dwelt in the void before existence) are slipping through the cracks into Arda.

But then at the end of the second age, the world is made round by Eru Iluvitar. Ostensibly so Valinor cannot be invaded like Numenor is attempting, but why can’t it serve numerous purposes? If a servant of Morgoth is close to creating a means for his return at the bottom of the world, folding existence around that point so that now instead of being at the edge of the world they are at the heart of it, with nowhere to go? That solves that problem. And some void creatures, nameless things, get trapped there too.

After all, the sinking of Numenor does feel pretty harsh. If you can sink a continent you can sink a fleet just as easily, and that spares the innocent. Hell, the Valar barred the shores of Valinor on their own in the first age pretty easily, and Numenor didn’t have a Silmaril to cheat with like Earendil.

But if there were multiple reasons for the rounding of the world and the sectioning off of Valinor, then Numenor could be a victim of just being too close to the point where the world doubled over itself. Two seas become one with a tidal wave that conveniently drowns Sauron.

Note: I do not think Tolkien intended it to be seen as an overreaction, this sort of thing happens in the Bible Old Testament all the time, and he has a very “talk shit get hit” attitude to going against divine power. But it doesn’t sit well with me personally if you want me to see Eru and the Valar as compassionate, which he clearly does intend, so I’m tacking on the idea that the world needed to be round for more than one reason and Numenor was in part collateral damage to preventing the possible return of Morgoth for my own enjoyment of the story. This theory doesn’t need this detail to float, but I like it, this entire thing has no proof anyways, and you can’t stop me.

It would also make sense that we weren’t aware of this, because we are reading about the rounding of the world in the histories of the elves, and this plot to burrow out of the world would have taken place in the dark, with none save Eru the wiser.

So that’s my completely unsubstantiated take on what the Balrog of Moria was up to. They were digging Morgoth an escape tunnel, were foiled, took their frustration out on the dwarves who discovered their operation, then slept with no better options available than to bide their time. They probably had no knowledge of Sauron’s shenanigans, but perhaps awakening to the greater part of Morgoth’s old lieutenant’s power being carried under their nose was enough to stir interest in what was going on in the world.

Certainly if they’d gotten hands on the Ring middle earth would have been screwed, so moral of the story is:

Glorfindel would have been very useful at this point and it’s hilarious that Gandalf shoots down his inclusion in the fellowship and pats the price by having to fight the Balrog himself.

#tolkien #the silmarillion #jirt #lotr #silm #jrr tolkien #nameless things #baseless theories #the Balrog #Durin’s bane #my phone tried to autocorrect that to Durin’s babe 3 times I’m dying #Gandalf #Numenor #the sinking of Numenor #ask me questions at your own risk #but please do I love my dumb theories and will share them at the drop of a hat #melkor #Morgoth #that’s probably enough tags

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cilil · 6 months

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How would a Yandere Fëanor/Manwë relationship work anyways?

𝓐𝓝 ~ A really interesting one to think and write about and I may have gone slightly overboard. Hope you enjoy!

𝓕𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 ~ Fëanor being too ambitious and Manwë being too innocent for their own good, sex for "science"; also we're ignoring LaCE for these

𝓣𝓦𝓼 ~ Yandere, obsessive & possessive behavior, possibly infidelity (depending on where exactly you put this on the timeline and how you interpret Ainur marriages), references to avian traits in avian Ainur, breeding kink and potential future mpreg(g)

.ᐟ I put the smut and kink related stuff under an additional divider (watch out for the sparkles) so those of you who aren't comfortable with it can avoid it. You can scroll to the end from there, those are the last two bullet points ♡

✦ Fëanor has always been ambitious in all things and never settles for second best.

✦ Blessed with a sharp mind, a thirst for knowledge and a need to explore and understand the world around him, Fëanor soon found himself curious about the Ainur - beings who are like Elves in many things, yet so different in others.

✦ His main areas of interest in regards to Ainur were not only spiritual matters, but also the mysterious and alien Valarin language, the history of Arda before the Elves' awakening, Songs of Power and the making of the world through the Ainur's angelic abilities.

✦ While there was certainly a whole lot to learn from Aulë who has always been rather fond of Fëanor and the Maiar he came across in day-to-day life, Fëanor decided that none other than the Elder King himself would be an acceptable teacher, especially in matters of song and language, as he's known to be a poet and mighty singer.

✦ Whereas some found Fëanor's request to be quite audacious or even rude, Manwë was swiftly charmed by him and willing to teach. He had always perceived and loved that spark of greatness within Fëanor, being reminded of his brother whom he still misses dearly, and showered him with attention and affection rather quickly.

✦ Under his tutelage, Fëanor proceeded to practice his linguistic skills, worked hard to understand and learn Valarin and asked many questions about Arda, even convincing Manwë to show him some of his own memories so he could get a better understanding than a second hand account could provide.

✦ Shrewd and perceptive as he is, Fëanor didn't fail to realize that the Elder King was rather taken with him, most likely even seeing through him enough to understand why and recognizing that Manwë felt a strong need to have someone like him in his life to soothe an old wound.

✦ He had also long since felt another ambition sparking within him: Being the holiest among the Holy Ones and Ilúvatar's favorite, Manwë was, in his eyes, a most exquisitely designed being, the one the Creator himself considered to be the most beloved offspring of his thought. And seeing Manwë giving him whatever he asked for so readily and willingly, with such innocent trust and love despite his divine wisdom, Fëanor wondered if, just like the light he had trapped in his Silmarils, he might have the Elder King as well.

✦ Some might have called it hubris or folly, but when he began to take control of their relationship and brazenly ask for more intimate favors, Manwë yielded with little to no resistance. In fact, Fëanor got the impression that he was used to submitting to others, most likely his wife and brother, but found that he wanted this all to himself instead and felt jealous whenever Manwë - neither understanding nor perceiving the dark, possessive tendencies he was developing - talked about other people close to him.

✦ It was at this point that even Fëanor questioned himself. Could he really lay claim to the King of the Valar? Yet he swiftly remembered that there were ways to bind and possess even a Vala, just like Manwë's mightier brother had been subdued and captured, and surely someone as good, pure and agreeable as the Lord of Winds could be his.

˚ ੈ✧̣̇·˖ 　˚ .　　　✶ ˚　　✦　. 　 ˚　.　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔　. ˚　

✦ Fëanor eased Manwë into more intimate scenarios by pretending to be merely interested in studying his anatomy - which was not untrue, but not the whole truth either - and quickly found out how he liked to be touched. Love is freely given and shared among the Ainur, as he had previously learned from those in Irmo's service, so he wasn't worried about incurring the wrath of other Valar; his mind was more focused on taking what he wanted and perhaps even being able to have Manwë to himself in the future.

✦ Aside from bedding the Elder King, Fëanor once again felt the desire to sire offspring returning to him, something he knew an Ainu would be capable of regardless of gender; and he had long since learned that Manwë's avian nature made him prone to going into heat during mating season. He intended to take full advantage of this, not only to satisfy his desires and fulfill his breeding fantasies, but also to bind the Lord of Winds to himself.

I'll leave it at that for now; if you'd like me to write more about specific aspects of this scenario or how canon events would play out, such the Flight of the Noldor or Fëanor raising a half-Ainu or whatever else, feel free to send another ask (that applies to all of you lovely people of course, not just anon).

˚ ੈ✧̣̇·˖ 　˚ .　　　✶ ˚　　✦　. 　 ˚　.　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔　. ˚　

Thanks for reading!♡ If you enjoyed, please consider liking and reblogging!

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taglist: @a-contemplation-upon-flowers @asianbutnotjapanese @a-world-of-whimsy-5 @bluezenzennie @i-did-not-mean-to @singleteapot

#cílil answers #manwe #manwë #feanor #fëanor #yandere!feanor #yandere #tw yandere #cw yandere #feanor x manwe #valar #ainur #silmarillion #headcanons #my headcanons

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thecurioustale · 8 months

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A Romance Story (No Not That Kind)

Tolkien considered "fantasy" to be different from "faerie-tales," namely in that he considered a fantasy to involve the sprawling and immersive development of what he called a "secondary world," i.e. a fictional world apart from our real one. Even if you didn't know that about his views, it should come as no surprise to you, given how deeply detailed Arda is, and how the few stories he wrote that were set in Arda were as much byproducts of the worldbuilding as endeavors in themselves.

I don't draw that same conceptual distinction myself but I see exactly what he's saying, and I do feel irrationally proud that my work would in fact qualify as a Tolkienian fantasy by his own criterion.

I feel very old-fashioned coming on Tumblr and talking over and over about JRR Tolkien, because I know a lot of people who see this are hip young things who are frankly Over It and are way more interested in contemporary stuff that's more inclusive / fits modern sensibilities better / etc. But I really never do seem to run out of things to say about Tolkien.

Today's saying is this: I too have an esoteric conceptual box that I set my work in. I consider After The Hero to be a "romance" in the vein of (but not identical to) the classical sense of the concept of literary romance: pomp and pageantry, a sweeping sprawl to the world, and epic adventures and quests within it. You might think of such a story as one that is told "for its own sake," as opposed to having a particular agenda in mind via the plot or a main character arc. There is a lot of spectacle all throughout The Curious Tale, with many scenes and moments being of the sort that would typically be omitted for length in most books. Last week, when I mentioned the scene of Sodish city runner Kayaju running alongside a bard as the bard sings her a song about the city's history as the Sun is rising, the reason I mentioned it is that it's just a really beautiful moment. But it doesn't do anything. There's no plot there. Kayaju is deep in the B-list of character importance. It's really just "Here's a beautiful moment I want to share." And that, for me, is the epitome of romance.

And it only works if the story is also a fantasy in the Tolkienian sense! 😂

I'm rereading one of my favorite novels of recent years, Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie, and it's even better than I remember it and I'll probably have something to say about it in this space soon, but it's so very much self-excluded from being romantic. Too practical, too cynical, too down-to-Earth, and too attached to the rails of the plot. No scenic detours, other than establishing paragraphs here and there. It's all very well done; don't get me wrong! But it takes real flagrance to write romance. You have to be prepared to put your readers through thousands and thousands of words that don't do anything.

It's a sacrifice I am willing for you to make! 😁

#The Curious Tale #Best Served Cold #Relancii worldbuilding #Can I just say that Monzcarro Murcatto is one of my favorite names in fiction?#It looks great #But it SOUNDS absolutely amazing

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animatorweirdo · 7 months

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Good morning/evening! It’s muffin anon and I have yet another weird idea for you.

So, what if Reader is a universe hopper? Like, they were just a regular person who happened to step on a crack in the universe and landed in the multiverse. They wanted to get back home but didn't know how to, so they just started to try out every single universe until they could find their homeland.

Also, in this multiverse, you cannot die unless you are in your homeworld and you do not age no matter how much time passes. Because of weird space-time shenanigans.

While they travel across the multiverse, the Reader stumbles across Arda, a very weird place as it is flat and not round like most other worlds. They know that this is definitely not their world but they decide to go in and see what this is about anyway.

They first land in the First Age and meet the Feanorians. (I am too lazy to write their reactions and it would be a delight if you could.) and one more time, after they have traveled a multitude of different worlds in the Third Age, during the War of the Ring. Surviving elves are very surprised to see the reader again, but they are delighted nonetheless. Reader takes a particular liking to Frodo and decides to be his guardian during his perilous quest.

BUT! There is a BUT!

The gods of the multiverse decide that Reader has been messing around with the balance of the multiverse and punish Reader by making them bound to Arda, meaning they become immortal. In a world that is losing all magic and immortality.

Reader helps to complete the quest and lives with their loved ones until they die. Then Reader goes to the very few elves remaining in Middle Earth to live with them as long as they can before those elves too, inevitably sail West.

After all elves either sail West or fade, dwarves delve too deep into their mountains and hobbits diminish, Reader starts to travel all across Arda as they are missing their freedom in the multiverse horribly. They only now understand that ‘going back home’ was only an excuse they used to travel around. And now that they are bound to a single world, they feel trapped.

Into the 5th or 6th age, Reader is very lonely and depressed. They try to talk to the gods of the multiverse and beg them to allow them to travel once more. But there is no answer.

For thousands of years, Reader traverses Arda alone and despairing until they meet a lone elf who did not sail or fade. Maglor. I can’t imagine what their reunion would be like. Both of them thought they would never see anyone they never ever again, and here they are.

From then, the two of them continue traveling together. They become very close as they bond over their shared trauma of the world going to fast and them never cathing it.

After that, I can imagine two endings:

Maglor and Reader’s burden becomes to much to bear and the two of them build a ship and sail to Valinor.

Reader’s punishment is finished and they are allowed to travel through the multiverse again on the condition they do not mess with anything. Reader asks if they can take Maglor. The multiverse gods take one look at the miserable face of Maglor and allow the two of them to face the eternal infinity together.

So, that was a lot! What do you think? Did I give Reader and Maglor too much trauma? Also, which ending do you prefer? I would love to hear your thoughts! (And possibly read a detailed reaction if that wouldn't be too much of a burden?)

Oh, dear Muffin. I can trust you to come up with sad stuff. You certain you aren't a bit of an angst demon?

I can definitely see reader and Maglor falling in love since living for centuries unable to die might not do well for mental health. However, I do not see Maglor willing to leave his world behind since his family is still bound to it, so maybe reader decided to make Arda their forever home and stay for Maglor. Also, they probably live long enough to catch up with the final battle with Morgoth, so maybe after that, they are allowed to live in happiness.

Or maybe during the final battle, Morgoth discovers the way of the universe hopping and intends to escape, and reader has to prevent it by breaking the bridge from the other side which results in reader being unable to come back.

But for the happy ending, reader travels through several universes to find a path back to Arda and reunite with Maglor.

(And for the reactions, the elves would probably feel weirded out by the whole universe hopping thing.)

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arda-ancalima · 4 months

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lol this sounds so much like a dracula daily email

#dracula daily #arda talks about stuff

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mk-writes-stuff · 21 days

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WIP Folders Game

Rules: post your WIP folders and people can ask questions if they want

Thanks @kaylinalexanderbooks and @modernwritercraft for the tags!

I don’t really have expansive WIP folders so y’all are getting my Stories folder which contains my old and abandoned stuff in addition to current WIPs, I hope you enjoy :)

Arda Tomorrow

Castlevania Stuff

Character Profiles

Discovery Stuff

Ellesmera’s Dark Tower

Good Omens Stuff

Grishaverse Stuff

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stuff

Legend of Zelda Stuff

LOTR Stuff

Magic: the Gathering Stuff

Mainland Island

Merlin Stuff

Mistborn Stuff

Pokémon Stuff

Prompts, Drabbles, Etc.

Short Stories

Shovel Knight Stuff

Sky City

Star Trek (Non-Discovery) Stuff

Stardell

The Masks We Wear

The Seven Station Chronicles

The Three Islands

TLOS Stuff

Underwater

Wacky Stories

Witch Hat Atelier Stuff

Words

In case you can’t tell, I’ve written a lot of fanfiction (any folder ending in “stuff” is fanfiction, the rest are original pieces). I’m happy to talk about any of it if y’all have questions but keep in mind most of these are dead WIPs. I can also share doc names of folder contents if people are interested.

(The Pirates’ Roost and To Kill a Dead Thing are both in Magic: the Gathering Stuff btw)

I think you’re supposed to tag equal to the number of folders but there’s 29 of them so I am Not doing that. I think I’ll just leave this one as an open tag :)

#writeblr #tag game

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histemar · 1 year

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How did the elves of Valinor teach anatomy? Nobody dies (before Finwë), soooo there’s no cadavers to experiment on. Presumably.

Did Sindar meet the Noldor fresh off the boat and quickly realise they knew nothing about battlefield medicine, surgery, or autopsies? After all the Sindar have been living in Arda under the stars alongside all the beasts of Morgoth you betcha they’ve seen battle wounds.

Then men came along and completely revolutionised medicine because they’re crazy and keep cutting each others dead bodies up out of sheer curiosity. Which is all to say, headcanon that Finrod spent a lot of time talking to the secondborn about anatomy. Fascinating stuff.

#tash rambles #this has been bothering me

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polutrope · 1 year

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for the character asks, Melian!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A BROTP A Gen relationship: Daeron. Because:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#asks #character asks #melian #thingol #daeron

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rivalsforlife · 1 year

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I’m getting into that stage where I’m starting to think about how lotrop could redeem itself for me and be a fantastic show (It’s Not Gonna Happen!) and setting myself up for disappointment in a couple of years. so here’s some random things I think would be cool in Season 2 (And Beyond):

- some actual episodes dedicated to actually focusing on actual celebrimbor and his actual motivations and what’s actually driving him as a character considering he’s actually probably the most important character of this first part of forging the rings. plus some more interesting annatar stuff. (likelihood: not to the degree I’d like. rights will get in the way of that. importance: I THINK PRETTY IMPORTANT WHEN YOUR STORY IS CALLED THE RINGS OF POWER TO HAVE MORE FOCUS ON THE GUY WHO MAKES THE RINGS OF POWER.)

- noldor infighting. noldor drama. noldor dealing with the fact that they’re officially considered Exiles and also that their drama helped sink a continent and now they’re trying to Deal with that. and that they still have problems with rebellion and blasphemy against the valar trying to make their own little paradises using magic. like they’re magic rings tell me more about the magic they’re putting into them!!! (likelihood: not high. because rights. but I think emphasis on the magic part of the magic rings is a low ask! importance: To Me. probably not to the story. but To Me.)

- galadriel hair in a braided crown because that’s what she was named for in some versions. maiden crowned with a garland of radiance!! (likelihood: probably highest out of any of these. importance: low)

- this one is actually related to the stuff the show HAS done. adar reluctant teamup with the other elves in an attempt to save his children from going back to sauron’s rule which is going to end horrifically tragically with his death but it’s going to be like. emotional about it. also includes theological discussion about Arda Remade and the place of the orcs in it. ideally this is galadriel because I think sticking the two (currently) most terrible elves together would result in some fun drama. also she could have some cool opinions on Arda Remade thanks to her life in Valinor. but she might not be practical. so there’s decent setup for this to be arondir because I do want to see more of what makes him work as a character and if he, like most elves, has Something Wrong With Him too. (likelihood: meh? possibly some points of this. but not likely a lot. importance: low)

- celeborn galadriel epic divorce hours. just an interesting celeborn in general. now that they’ve set up this “celeborn is missing!” plotline it’s going to be real pathetic if it’s just “omg celeborn’s back let’s go back to our nice relationship” I want them to make celeborn have Something Wrong With Him. other than hating dwarves. he’s no noldo but they’ve got to let me give the sindar a chance. (likelihood: decent. importance: it’s important to celeborn. so maybe not that important.)

- elendil talking to miriel about why she’s staying behind in numenor just pre-downfall and miriel having cool reasons for that. whatever that might be. (likelihood: pretty high. importance: will make miriel’s death scene hit harder. so pretty important.)

- this one’s not going to hit until a decade or so. in the last season. gil-galad leading the army for that Final Confrontation Against Sauron. his battle cry is “utulie’n aure!”, which both serves as a pseudo-parentage reveal while also making me actively hurl my body through the air at full speed into a wall in utter grief while I sob uncontrollably. like this would hurt so much I’ll forgive fingon’s son GG not being my preferred interpretation. (likelihood: low for rights reasons and confirming parentage reasons. importance: also low for the vast majority of people, but I think this would be the single most emotionally devastating thing this show could do to me.)

#lotrop #made this post solely so I could share my idea of gg utulie'n-aure-ing me at full speed through every stage of grief #also this is all elves. what did you expect from me. harfeets can do whatever the hell they want and I won't care #but I get PICKY about noldor

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marta-bee · 2 years

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Marta Rereads the Silmarillion: The Valaquenta

I’m finally getting back to rereading the Silmarillion, specifically the Valaquenta.

If you’ve never read it the Valaquenta is a sort of dramatis personae for the Valar and the more important Maiar, talking about their special domains, their relationships to each other, along with little bits and bobs of their doings from the early history of Ea. A lot of it’s pretty dry stuff, but one character always catches my fancy. Maybe it’s because for a god he’s a bit off the beaten path from what you’d expect. Maybe it’s his involvement much later in the Akallabeth (the Numenoreans along with the Gondorians have always been my first passion). Or maybe it’s just that Ulmo is just so ever-loving cool.

Here’s how Jirt introduces him:

Ulmo is the Lord of Waters. He is alone. He dwells nowhere long, but moves as he will in all the deep waters about the Earth or under the Earth. He is next in might to Manwe, and before Valinor was made he was closest to him in friendship; but thereafter he went seldom to the councils of the Valar, unless great matters were in debate. For he kept all Arda in thought, and he has no need of any resting-place. Moreover he does not love to walk upon land, and will seldom clothe himself in a body after the manner of his peers. If the Children of Eru beheld him they were filled with a great dread; for the arising of the King of the Sea was terrible, as a mounting wave that strides to the land, with dark helm foam-crested and raiment of mail shimmering from silver down into shadows of green. The trumpets of Manwe are loud, but Ulmo's voice is deep as the deeps of the ocean which he only has seen.

Nonetheless Ulmo loves both Elves and Men, and never abandons them, not even when they lay under the wrath of the Valar. At times he will come unseen to the shores of Middle-earth, or pass far inland up firths of the sea, and there make music upon his great horns, the Ulumuri, that are wrought of white shell; and those to whom that music comes hear it ever after in their hearts, and longing for the sea never leaves them again. But mostly Ulmo speaks to those who dwell in Middle-earth with voices that are heard only as the music of the water. For all seas, lakes, rivers, fountains and springs are in his government; so that the Elves say that the spirit of Ulmo runs in all the veins of the world. Thus news comes to Ulmo, even in the deeps, of all the needs and griefs of Arda, which otherwise would be hidden from Manwe.

So if you’re like me an often a bit irked by how standoffish a lot of the Valar are, good news: Ulmo’s not quite like that. He’s more aware of what Elves and Men are going to be dealing with, and while he’s not always hanging out with them, though he only rarely has close dealings with them. He’s sort of carved out his own domain in the waters of the deep.

That’s fascinating to me because it’s really close to what Melkor was after: a domain where he could be his own lord and create things that weren’t preordained by Eru. He wants to be master of his own domain, and because he was sensible enough to find a space no one was all that concerned with anyway, he’s sort of just allowed to do it. What’s he getting up to down there? No one really knows, and weirdly enough they’re okay with that.

(I’m imagining Aule’s crafting of the dwarves, which we’ll get to in a few chapters. For all we know Ulmo’s doing much the same thing. He seems like the type somehow; it’s just that because he’s not living in Valinor, it’s not going to be noticed.)

He’s also flat-out terrifying. There’s an echo of the Christian nativity story, of the angels telling the shepherds in the field “BE NOT AFRAID” as they hover overhead with their massive forms and thousands of all-seeing eyes and the ethereal/transcendent booming voice that is beyond the experience of the created kin. When Ulmo speaks up, you need to be reminded to “Be not afraid.” And speaking as someone who’s heard conch-shells being blown, describing it as music is a very generous description. This is the closest thing the Valar have to an emissary for the Eruhini, the Elves and Men, and isn’t that just lovely; and also, predictable.

For all that, his element of water is still highly connected to Iluvatar’s plan and the Great Song. Tolkien wrote in the Ainulindale how water would carry the imprint, the afterecho, of the Great Song, even long after it was over and the primary world was created. If anything, you’d think the master of waters would have less room to do his own things; but Ulmo’s going to end up more likely to go against the common opinion of the rest of the Valar. He’s not a rebel particularly, but definitely does his own Thing.

Speaking of rebels, no post about Ulmo would be complete without talking about his best-known Maiar:

But of all the Maiar Ossë and Uinen are best known to the Children of Ilúvatar.

Ossë is a vassal of Ulmo, and he is master of the seas that wash the shores of Middle-earth. He does not go in the deeps, but loves the coasts and the isles, and rejoices in the winds of Manwë; for in storm he delights, and laughs amid the roaring of the waves. His spouse is Uinen, the Lady of the Seas, whose hair lies spread through all waters under sky. All creatures she loves that live in the salt streams, and all weeds that grow there; to her mariners cry, for she can lay calm upon the waves, restraining the wildness of Ossë. The Númenóreans lived long in her protection, and held her in reverence equal to the Valar.

Melkor hated the Sea, for he could not subdue it. It is said that in the making of Arda he endeavoured to draw Ossë to his allegiance, promising to him all the realm and power of Ulmo, if he would serve him. So it was that long ago there arose great tumults in the sea that wrought ruin to the lands. But Uinen, at the prayer of Aulë, restrained Ossë and brought him before Ulmo; and he was pardoned and returned to his allegiance, to which he has remained faithful. For the most part; for the delight in violence has never wholly departed from him, and at times he will rage in his wilfulness without any command from Ulmo his lord. Therefore those who dwell by the sea or go up in ships may love him, but they do not trust him.

Maiar were originally described as children of specific Ainur, though that’s not hard and fast, and servants or lieutenants often works as well. And what a duo to have attached to your name! One flat out turncoat (later --and partially-- reformed), one wife restraining and pleading on behalf of said turncoat but never quite managing to keep him entirely in line, to the point you have to wonder just how hard she was trying. I can easily see Uinen putting a polite face after Osse runs amok and satisfying the social niceties, but quietly smiling at his shenanigans.

It’s a fun pair of minor characters to think about, especially as they’re just begging to be written into the folklore of men and elves along the coasts. I actually did just that: a Dol Amroth drinking song about how they might think of these masters of the shore. More fanfic authors should make use of them because they’re just that much fun.

Secretly, I suspect the only reason Ulmo doesn’t attract more flack is Aule’s Maiar are so much worse; but that’s for a later chapter. I doubt he minds, though.

#tolkien #the silmarillion #marta rereads #ulmo

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