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The reasons why the first, second and third are most different may be noble or unpleasant.

When I think about why Eönwë, or the general opinion of the Valar, viewed the second and third as worse than the first Kinslaying…..I think there are two major differences.

Collateral damage

Child deaths, whether intentional or unintentional The first Kinslaying was likely a mistake to begin with, and was essentially a fight for what the adults wanted, risking their lives. But the second and third were wars, and innocent civilians would have been caught up in them. And there were children in them. Unlike politicians who are experts at blurring the essence of things with euphemisms, and us who are accustomed to nationalism and total war, the Valar may have honestly and clearly counted only who suffered from it, and only saw how much the suffering deserved. They may have been able to count the sands.

…….But maybe not. Eönwë's only words were the death of noble Dior. And before, it was the half-Maia who moved the hearts of the Valar. Many poor mortals died, and the Valar stood by until they saw the Silmaril. Perhaps they simply considered the kin of noble Maia to be tormenting them. Usually, when there is room for interpretation like this, one should look not at the words of the person concerned, but at their actions…. Oh! Their actions are too few to know!

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Reblog for sample size, and share your thoughts if you want to!

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Sleepy cat , curious mouse

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Snowy stream, foraging fowl

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Of the stayed and the departed.

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good > finally building the habit of checking my trouser pockets for tissues and stuff before putting them in the washing machine

bad > being unable to do so without saying "what's it got in its nasty little pocketses" in a gollum voice

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Galadriel was wary of Annatar, but was unable to drive him away.

Yes. This time, it was Annatar's turn to wake up from his sleep to a ridiculous noise. He wasn't really sleeping. He was just going into a state of energy conservation for rest, or rather recovery or organization, or he was so deep in thought that he left his fana as an emergency link to the outside world and withdrew inside, and that was just a rough way of saying sleeping. That's why Annatar was hurriedly rising up inside when someone touched his fana and he couldn't ignore the signal, and of course it was Celebrimbor, and he was annoyed. If it wasn't Celebrimbor, then something extremely urgent had probably happened to him, and Celebrimbor shaking his fana with all his limbs intact could just be because he was bored. He was the only one in Ost-in-Edhil who wasn't afraid to offend Annatar. So he considered getting annoyed at Annatar, but then changed his mind. He joked that he didn't (he wasn't lying. He was joking and teasing), but it was true that he woke him up because he was bored. Annatar tries to be fair.

And he became really serious. Celebrimbor looked as if he was panicking. It was to the point where He wondered if he was going to fade away and disappear. His heavy breathing made him wonder if he was spitting out all his lungs. "Tyelpe?"

Celebrimbor looked at Annatar. When Annatar called him cautiously, he looked at him with burning eyes. And Annatar feeled like looking at the Silmarils' burning. He really did. He did not use such expressions lightly. They were eyes that seemed to be passing down a terrible judgment on Annatar for a crime he had not committed. It was amazing how one can become accustomed to such things. The tension Annatar had felt when he saw it had not disappeared, but it had lessened. On the other hand, his whispering voice was like a groan. "I had a terrible dream."

"……"

"It was the Void. My father, my uncles, my grandfather. They were all in the Void."

It definitely wasn't the first time it happened. And yet Annatar dealt with it gently and carefully, as if it were the first time. He calmed him down when he was panicking. He relaxed his tense muscles, hugged him, and gave him comfort. At first, I tried to reassure them by explaining logically, but after trial and error, I learned that I had to give them reassurance to be able to persuade them. It doesn't happen often, but it happens occasionally.

That's because even if you don't panic, if you have family members who might have fallen into the Void and you meet a Maia who is easy-talking (Annatar isn't exactly talkative, but he is willing to tell Celebrimbor if he want him to), your job is simple. Ask them what happened to them or find out. And Annatar tells the truth.

Even as Sauron, he didn't like lying. It wasn't his style, and it made things complicated.

"They aren't in the Void, not even in the Eternal Darkness. I looked into it, and it's clear that they went to Mandos's Hall."

"If they really did go to the Void, you would know it, would you?"

"I know. Fëanor is mad. He swore without even knowing what the Eternal Darkness is. If they really fall into the Eternal Darkness or the Void, it will be a loss to Arda that will require Eru themself to intervene. No one can be unaware of it. the Eternal Darkness is something that could make the Valar of Arda and the Maiar and the Children of Ilúvatar all brothers before it. The Valar cast Melkor into the Void, for the great harm and the blow to Arda and themselves. The Eternal Darkness is more than that. He saw the Silmarils and knew that the Eternal Darkness exists, and that even the Valar fear it, but he did not know what it truly was. So he swore. Or was he really so arrogant?"

Annatar waited for the next step. Celebrimbor tore his hair. "What if he had not answered the summons? They hated the Valar. Uncle Nelyo said they were indifferent to our suffering. If they saved us, they would only use it to prepare for greater destruction……"

"They would have answered the summons. Finwë was there. Fëanor could not disobey his father, and your father and uncles could not deny their father's. The Valar respect free will, but they are not so picky about the means at their disposal. If there is a cause."

"Are you sure?"

Annatar does not lie. Celebrimbor's trust is too precious a resource to bet on trivial things. Even if he is so afraid that it will happen, he cannot waste it. "……. It is certain that they are not in the Void, and it is certain that they are not in the Eternal Darkness…..but if they have not answered the summons…..it will be all right. You know I have searched for you whenever I have time. they will be safe in Mandos. I will search again when I leave next time."

Often Annatar wanted to reveal everything at such times. If Celebrimbor was in this state, he might forgive everything and even be happy if he revealed that he was a necromancer. Celebrimbor's wet eyes shone with dependence and trust, having endured his lover's disappointment and sorrow. Celebrimbor took his hand on his knee.

"Thank you. I wish I could find it too…"

"It's okay. And you need to practice more. You're one of the Amaneldi."

"I can't. I tried, but I'm too weak for that." There was an omission. He was The Dispossessed. Even if he wasn't a Fëanorian, the elves of Middle Earth couldn't see the other worlds well unless they were skilled in Osanwë and other things like Galadriel. If Celebrimbor had been able to see well, he might have rejected Annatar like Galadriel. Annatar often wondered if one of the reasons he had accepted him was because he could not see the other world well and needed Maia to see him instead. Celebrimbor smiled at him as he thought. It was a weak smile, but it was one. "Isn't there a way? You always have a way?"

"No. No."

"I'll wait."

“Speaking arbitrarily. Go and sleep.”

"Yes, Daddy."

"Where did you learn such things?!"

Celebrimbor chuckled, ignoring the horrified Annatar and faithfully going to sleep as he was told. Now it was Annatar's turn to not sleep (although he wasn't supposed to be sleeping anyway).

Because Galadriel had no need for Annatar, and because she saw other worlds so well, she felt and did not accept the lingering shadow he cast. Celebrimbor needed him, because he could answer his long-standing questions.

It is clear that the sons of Fëanor did not fall into the Void, for there is no mention of Celebrimbor spending his days weeping after meeting Annatar… Well, Sauron is a liar, but not a low-level liar. He is a high-level liar who enjoys telling lies by using truths…

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On Dwarves and Glass-making

A while ago, I read an article about the Lycurgus Cup, and I had some thoughts about it that I've finally gathered and organized in this meta. For background, the Lycurgus Cup is a 1,700 year-old Roman chalice that looks green when lit from the front, but looks red when lit from behind. According to the article, this is because the Romans suffused the glass "with particles of silver and gold, ground down until they were as small as 50 nanometers in diameter…The work was so precise that there was no way that the resulting effect was an accident. In fact, the exact mixture of the previous metals suggests that the Romans had perfected the use of nanoparticles…" My thought was that if the Romans could create color-changing glass like this, what are the chances that Dwarves could have done the same? Especially given the Dwarves' expertise with working with metals, it seems not unlikely that they would have the capability to create such small particles and use them in making such glass. And I could imagine it becoming a specialized product they are famous for once they begin trading with the Elves, as it seems like a product the Elves, including Caranthir would enjoy. It would be particularly notable in large quantities in a western window; appearing green in the morning, but shifting to red as the day progresses.

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HOLIDAY SPECIAL! 🎄✨️🎄✨️ I have these five Environmental Art Tutorials in my shop for this month of December! LAST DAY to grab all tutorials is DECEMBER 31st! I'll be moving onto new tutorials next month! Shop link below!

SHOP

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“Midnight Blues”, a series of nightly landscape illustrations at the beach.

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some pollinator wolves, watercolor overlaid on photo inspired by this post by @botanyshitposts

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Hello 👋,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Aziz, and I’m reaching out with a heartfelt plea to help my family find safety and reunite with our mother. 😞

The ongoing war in Gaza has torn my family apart. My mother and newborn sister are stranded in Egypt, while I, along with the rest of my sex family members, am trapped in the midst of the genocide in Gaza. We have not only been separated but have also lost our home and are enduring unimaginable hardships. 💔

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[dlatl98]

Fibers in Fiction - A Silmarillion Writer’s Guide to Þerindë's Craft

It's the @silmarillionwritersguild's Meta Week, and I wanted to contribute my two special interests -- fiber art and Tolkien -- and my real world degree in Medieval European Women's History. So here's a essay with writing resources for Day 6 - apply real-world disciplines to Middle-earth.

Most of this I had sitting in the back of my head and do not have quality, academic sources for. Links are either to written or video resources, or to picture credits.

Intro

What is fiber art? My personal definition is the manipulation of some sort of fiber into something functional and/or beautiful. There are a few characters in Tolkien’s works that are associated with a fiber craft of some sort – Vairë the Weaver, Míriel Þerindë, and Arwen Undómiel come to mind the easiest. I've seen various fanworks that have Caranthir also be a needle-worker, but that's not canon the way these three women are. There's a lot to be said about the intersection between "women's work" and needlework and feminism, and Tolkien's inclusion of those patriarchal standards, but ... that's not this essay.

There’s a lot of methods and a lot of disciplines that can be put under the umbrella of fiber art. The purpose of this essay is to help fic writers expound on the process of a fiber craft using the correct terminology, gain an understanding of period(ish) appropriate tools/techniques, and the differences between some of the major forms of fiber arts.  

What is a fiber? 

Starting with the basics. A fiber is a material that is longer than it is wide and typically used in textiles or electronics. This is Tolkien’s world, we’re not worrying about electronics, so let’s turn to textile fibers. There are four main types of textile fibers: 

natural fibers - flax, hemp, cotton, jute

animal fibers - silk, wool, catgut (not made from cats), angora rabbit fur, goat hair (mohair, cashmere)

synthetic fibers. - polyester, acrylic, nylon, rayon

Metallic fibers - gold, silver, copper, mithril that have been formed into a very thin wire

Obviously, unless the Valar let Fëanor get into oil extraction, all those synthetic fibers are right out. Leatherwork does not count as a fiber art, since true leather is a processed animal skin. Cords can be cut from leather to act like string, but that’s not a true fiber. And don’t talk to me about pleather or vegan leather. That’s just plastic and it’s bad for the environment. 

Spin a Thread, Draw a Wire

For the three types of fiber that could be used in Arda, there are two methods to turn these materials into thread: drawing and spinning.

Drawing a wire: a small piece of metal is pulled through a device called a draw plate. A draw plate may have many holes through which the wire is pulled, each getting successively smaller and smaller until you reach the gauge (size) you desire. As you pull the wire through each smaller hole, the wire gets thinner and longer. Rinse and repeat until you have a wire of the desired thickness. If you’re combining a wire with some sort of flexible fiber (couching, weaving, etc, see below) it needs to be extremely thin in order to be flexible enough to bend with the fiber it’s attached to. 

You need a lubricant to ensure the wire doesn’t get stuck in the draw plate. Covering the wire in oil is a good way to go (this is called dry drawing. Wet drawing is when the draw plate and the wire are both submerged in oil as you work). Application of heat can make this process easier, but depending on the metal, you might not need very much. 

Gold, silver, and copper are all very soft metals in their purest form -- alloys will make them stronger, less malleable, and harder to draw. Mithril, given that it’s a fictional metal, I can’t confidently comment on, but it’s said to have been very malleable, so I would imagine that the same process for creating very thin wires would also work in the same way as it would for the other metals listed.

A spun thread is an assortment of individual fibers that have been twisted together to make a stronger unit. Natural, animal, and synthetic fibers can all be spun. 

Usually when we describe something as a thread, we’re talking about a spun fiber that is fine/thin and smooth enough for sewing or weaving applications. Spinning a thread involves taking a pile of washed and combed but loose fibers (a bundle of these is called a roving) and literally twisting it until it forms a thread. This can be done with a drop spindle or a spinning wheel. A drop spindle is the more mobile form of spinning, and simple enough that medieval families would often have children spin. With practice you could even do it while walking. Imagine, for a moment, Míriel Þerindë walking through Beleriand during the Great Journey, drop spindle in hand, making the thread she is known for. That’s some good stuff. I’m begging somebody to write this. 

Here’s some video tutorials on how to use a drop spindle and how to use a spinning wheel. I can’t explain it succinctly, and a visual is always a good tool. 

Plyed Threads Make a Yarn

Yarn is several threads counter-twisted around each other. Counter twisting is what holds the yarn’s structure. If the individual thread is twisted clockwise, the yarn must twist all those clockwise threads counterclockwise. The tension holds the shape of the yarn.

Yarns (usually made from an animal fiber like wool, goat, or angora) and twines (usually made from natural fibers like hemp or jute or cotton) are made the same way because they make the threads stronger and more durable than they would be as individual threads, but their material usually dictates how they’re used. Yarns are softer, better for knitting or crochet or weaving. Twines and cords tend to be rougher, better for securing things to other things, for outdoor use, or … you know. The things they do in Angband.

Weaving a fabric

So you’ve got your thread and/or yarn. Now what? Well, you can dye it now (see next section), you can start knitting a garment (you need good socks on the Helcaraxë), or you can start weaving a fabric. Fabric has two components, both made by individual threads in sequence. The warp is generally static, and the vertical thread in most diagrams, including the ones I’m including here. The weft is the thread that passes back and forth horizontally. You can have the weft go over/under/over/under like this diagram (this is called a plain weave) or you can have the weft skip over a number of warp threads to create a pattern or a texture (satin or twill or denim weaves skip warp threads). The pattern depends on which warp threads get lifted or lowered with each pass of the weft, which is typically attached to a shuttle that glides through the shed. 

Weaving requires a loom, but that loom can come in various form-factors. A backstrap loom maintains tension in the warp by the position of the weaver, who has a strap attached to the loom going around her back while she manipulates the weft in front of her. This was, and still is, commonly used in native South American communities.

Early medieval Europe typically used a warp-weighted loom, where the warp threads were tied to a loom weight that dangled off the back of the loom frame. This was replaced later with the horizontal loom, which included the invention of heddles (loops that lifted warp threads in sequence to make a shed (opening) so as to make a pattern) and treadles (foot pedals that control the heddles). 

Later, the horizontal loom gets mechanized, and somehow we got computer programs out of Jacquard looms. Fascinating, but not relevant here. 

One of my favorite types of weaving is tablet weaving, which instead of heddles or treadles to form the shed, uses square cards. Four threads go through the corners of the cards to form alternating sheds that can form complex patterns. Tablet weaving is great for decorative trim and edges. You can use a backstrap method, a warp weighted method, or an inkle loom to create tablet woven articles. This video is a gorgeous introduction, but a bit long. 

What about Vairë’s tapestries, I hear you cry out into the Void? See below :) 

Add a splash of color, become ungovernable 

Color! The world can create rainbows, and we’ve been trying to make thread to match for ages. Luckily you can make most colors with natural dyes. Purple is the hardest color to get with a natural dye, along with blacks; yellows and reds and browns are easiest.

You have to prepare your dye (usually taking some natural material (onion, cochineal insects, gallnuts, walnuts, marigold flowers, woad, madder, whatever you have) and your thread/yarn/fabric separately before combining them with heat. 

Prepping your dye depends on the material you’re using. Sometimes it’s just an overnight soak in a pot, sometimes it’s crushing beetle carcasses into a fine powder, sometimes it’s boiling. I leave it to you, friend, to research the exact color you’re looking to make with a natural dye and how to get that, but this chart might be a good start. 

Most thread/yarn/fabric needs a mordant. Mordant is a dye fixative. After all that work making the fabric, you don’t want that gorgeous Fëanorian red (madder root) to come out in the wash water, right? Mordants are acids that can be found naturally, either by processing some plant materials to create tannic acid (oak trees and oak galls) or oxalic acid (wood sorrels), or by working a chemical process using alum, chrome alum, or sodium chloride, or ammonia (stale urine was commonly used before modern chemical processes). Mordants stink to Angband and back, so historically dyers would be outside town or in their own district as to not offend everyone elses noses. 

You can get a richer, more saturated color by overdyeing – dying twice or even three times. Dyes are hard to color match; each batch is going to have its own variables (weather, temperature, concentration of the dye, concentration of the mordant, quality of the fiber, etc). 

I’ve found this website that goes into a lot more detail. I’m not affiliated with them, but it’s a good starting point.  

Tools

A non-exhaustive list of standard tools a fiber artist may use and material it could be/typically is made of: 

Thread, yarn, or fabric (described above)

Scissors/shears (metal)

Sharp sewing needle in various sizes (bone or metal)

Blunt needle in various sizes (sometimes called a tapestry needle, bone or metal)

Spindle (wood)

Loom in various sizes (wood, wire, thread)

Shuttle (wood)

Knitting needles (bone, wood, or metal)

Nalbinding needle (bone, metal) (nalbinding is a cousin of knitting and crochet, good for hats and socks)

Crochet hook (bone, metal, wood)

Bobbin (wood, bone)

Lace pins (metal)

Lace pillow (fabric)

Embroidery hoop (wood)

Embroidery frame (scroll frame, slate frame, wood)

Embroidery stand (wood, metal)

Thimble (leather, metal)

Fiber Crafts seen in the Legendarium 

Tapestry Weaving

Tapestry weaving is different than standard weaving, because the weft does not go across the entire length of the working area in a shuttle. Tapestry weaving typically uses many, many bobbins or needles of colored thread worked in a plain weave in small areas to make an image. In medieval Europe, tapestries would be used as a form of insulation, to keep the cold out, and as a status symbol. (All I’m saying is, give Himring more tapestries, and maybe the Ever-Cold fortress would be a bit more homey). Here’s this article from the Metropolitan Museum of Art about tapestries, and here’s a video about the making of large scale tapestries, which is the technique I imagine Vairë and Míriel use for the Halls.

Embroidery

Embroidery is the practice of taking individual colored threads (usually cotton, wool, or silk) and sewing them into a ground fabric to decorate that fabric with a design of some sort. There’s SO MANY ways to embroider things. Cross stitch, which is what your author started out doing, uses stitched squares on a grid to effectively make pixel art with thread. You can do blackwork (which doesn’t necessarily need a black thread) which makes a repeating pattern on a grid but doesn’t make squares. Or there’s more freeform embroidery which lots of people use for natural scenes (flowers especially) but can be used for portraits, landscapes, silly sayings – the world is your oyster. The Royal School of Needlework in the UK has a Stitch Bank which documents how to accomplish many, many, many kinds of stitches. 

I’m going to highlight a few stitches that absolutely should be in your writing toolkit if you are working with a character doing embroidery. I’m not going to describe every stitch, but knowing what a stitch is called is half the battle. Okay, maybe a quarter of it, you still have to either do it, or write a good description of doing it, which may be the other 3/4ths of the battle.

Satin Stitch - a good, all purpose filler. Made by stitching parallel lines of thread. Uses a lot of thread, since you should be bringing your needle up through the ground on the same side of the thing you’re trying to fill every time. 

Couching - another good, all purpose filler. Made by laying thread or wire flat on the ground fabric, then taking another thread (close in color or not, depends on the vibe) and stitching it down in place securely. This is the main filling stitch in the Bayeux Tapestry (not a true tapestry, it’s just a really big embroidery) and undoubtedly how Arwen made part of Aragorn’s banner with mithril wire. 

Straight stitch - makes a dashed line

Back stitch - makes a solid straight line

Stem stitch - makes a solid straight line that can easily curve

Chain stitch - good filler, makes interlocking loops

Daisy stitch - a chain stitch that doesn’t interlock the loops, but stitches down the loop so it doesn’t move. Makes good simple flowers

French knots - tiny filler, lots of good texture. Tiny knots made by wrapping the thread around your needle.

Stump work - 3D effects for ages. Want flowers or leaves to literally jump off the ground fabric? Stump work is your friend, and my personal nemesis. 

Conclusion

Knowing the terminology of a craft is integral to learning more about it, and writing it accurately. My hope with this resource is that you might have learned a new term or two, or gotten a few new resources to use in your writing. Even better if this is something you don’t know a lot about, or have never given much thought to, then I hope you’ve learned something valuable here. 

[dlatl98]

waters so amazing because you can drink it really sloppy style and like spill it all over yourself and it doesnt even leave a stain. you dont even have to wash it out/ . because its already washed

[dlatl98]

For Maglor took pity upon Elros and Elrond, and he cherished them, and love grew after between them, as little might be thought;

Oh my, when the Silmarillion was written and circulated, most of the people who appeared there couldn't protest (mostly Mandos), but there were those who could. There were witnesses, testifiers, and censors. The first ones that come to mind are Glorfindel, Finrod and Finarfin, Galadriel and Celeborn, Idril and Tuor, Elwing and Earendil, and Elrond and Celebrian. Of these, Elwing and Earendil are semi-Maiar and barely interact with the others, and some who survived and had the right to write history… Glorfindel probably said everything, but he only knows the situation in Gondolin, and Finarfin probably doesn't know anything, and Finrod and Galadriel seem to have chosen to remain silent. The fact that Galadriel and Celeborn's actions are almost nonexistent throughout the Silmarillion may mean that they really didn't act, but we can look at it differently…

And Elrond mostly remained silent, but he made one thing clear. The two brothers' their love for Maglor. He was silent about everything, but he said this. He didn't say it out of thin air, so it's not unreasonable to imagine that he would periodically track Maglor down, and look straight into the eyes of anyone who asked why.

[dlatl98]

House of Finarfin💛