#[yes edennill it's you]

[eri-pl]

This reminds me of a famous quote from most famous and kinda overhyped but still really good Polish poet ever:

Nasz naród jak lawa: Z wierzchu zimna i twarda, sucha i plugawa, Lecz wewnętrznego ognia sto lat nie wyziębi[…] [Adam Mickiewicz, "Dziady III"]

(It's basically what you said about Sauron, but said about our nation.)

I worked on a third design a bit

I imagine Sauron used this form after Melkor was banished. His appearance should resemble lava: the surface is cold and dark, but there is still a fierce flame underneath.

[eri-pl]

@edennill inspired by your tags, and wanting to give you something more Silm-related to see today: here's your second(?) fav Vala and his wife, smol, commenting on the state of Tumblr today.

Also for everyone else who needs a pair of Valar to look at them with kindness (they do, ok? Námo simply isn't very good at showing empathy).

I hope it doesn't count as spam, even though, yes, I did draw it with the election in mind. But it's applicable as well to many other worries. And it is Silm. And technically they could be talking about the Noldor or whatever.

[a-world-of-whimsy-5]

For the Vampire au

Can you do (trick) for vampFinrod x reader

With prompt "Why are you impressed? You should be terrified."

Not dark please and thank you

"Revelation"

Pairing: Vampire! Finrod x Reader (Guest of Finrod / Second person POV)

Location and time: 19th century England

Prompt : 6 - " Why are you impressed? You should be terrified."

Themes: Angst-ish | Happy ending

Warnings: Vampirism

Wordcount: 1000+ words

Summary:

Minors DNI | You are responsible for the media you consume

A/n: this is for the @fellowshipofthefics October challenge. Two more slots are available for requests, but prompts 4 and 6 (for Vampire! Manwë and Vampire! Finrod) are out. The rules and prompts for requests can be read here.

Divider by @firefly-graphics

Finrod's study was a dimly lit sea of wonders, full of ancient treasures. There was an impressive tapestry covering the expanse of one wall. A dark but mighty beast lay on the ground. Above it, a magnificent white horse reared, its rider bringing down their sword to deliver the killing blow. You could not help but walk up to it and admire the scene portrayed in centuries-old wool.

The tapestry was always there whenever you called on your mentor of an evening, but you never thought to observe its beauty so closely till now.

“Ahh! I see you have found the Demon of the Island."

You shivered. “Was that its name?”

“That and worse.” Finrod appeared by your shoulder without even making a sound. It was as if he moved without even stirring the air around him. You startled. “My ancestor slayed it many a century ago and was richly rewarded for it.”

You turned to face him and gave him a measured look. “What happened?”

“A werewolf happened. That was what the beast was. A werewolf.” Finrod walked over to a chest of drawers by the window and picked up a crystal decanter full of clear, amber liquid. He offered you a glass. You refused. “He terrorized the good people of Tol-in-Gaurhoth for months before my ancestor brought it to heel.”

“Your ancestor slayed him?” You looked at the tapestry again. The warrior was exceedingly fair to look upon, and his hair fell free about his shoulders like molten gold. His eyes were a vivid cornflower blue. They also looked familiar. Too familiar. You study it even more, taking in the warrior’s countenance, the shape of his eyes, his lips. Finrod’s own was a replica of them all.

It is as if I am staring at the same person. 

“Indeed.” Finrod moved to sit by a large fireplace, and invited you to join him. “Lord Edennil was the only warrior who challenged the creature and lived to talk of it.”

“Edennil?” Fear slowly bloomed and surged just beneath your skin, prompting you to stop mid-stride. “Is that not one of your names, sir?”

It was Finrod’s turn to startle, but he quickly regained his composure. “I do not know what you mean, y/n.”

“Yes, you do.” You continued with growing alarm after stealing another glance at the tapestry. The hair, the sword, and the demeanor all screamed of him. “Edennil. It was what that stranger called you when they stopped by your door two nights ago. I know of that word. My governess taught me. It means friend of men.”

Finrod took a step toward you, his eyes widening in shock. “That visit was in the dead of night! How did you even know of it?”

“I was in the library searching for a book.” You took a step back and looked for the doors. They were near, but if Finrod was not what he appeared to be, a mild-mannered wealthy nobleman from a foreign land, would you have time to make it to the doors and the outside world? “And that warrior looks like you in every way. Is it you, sir? Are you the warrior in that tapestry?"

Finrod blanched.

“What are you, sir?” You demanded and took a another step toward the doors. “The truth, now. All of it. That is all I ask.”

The nobleman made no move to come near you. He stood where he was, his eyes full of gloom, and said, “Yes. Yes. I am the warrior in the tapestry. Is that what you wanted to hear? I slayed the werewolf. All of that was my doing.”

“And your late-night visitor?”

“A fellow warrior met by chance on the road. He stood beside me, shoulder to shoulder, as we fought the beast and its minions. Beren was badly wounded, and I…I saved his life. He has been a faithful friend since then.”

“That is all well and good, but it still does not answer my question.”

“Which is?”

“What are you?”

Finrod sighed in defeat. “I suppose my secret would come into the light sooner or later. Very well. You desire to know the real me. Well, this is the real me, y/n.”

He hissed like a large, wild cat and bared his teeth. Pearly white fangs glistened in the light of the fire. You took a step toward him, curious despite your fear.

A vampire. My host is a vampire. After so many years of us writing letters and him teaching me music, I remained in the dark until now.

“Most impressive,” you declared after your curiosity had been satisfied.

"Why are you impressed?” Finrod sputtered in disbelief. “You should be terrified."

“Should I be terrified?”

“No. I would never harm you, y/n.” He went back to his place by the fire. “But I cannot let you go, either. Not when you know what I am.”

Can I blame him for wanting to shield himself from the judgment and fear of others? And perhaps living with him may not be so terrible, after all. I could learn so much from him.

“Then... Then perhaps I can make myself useful to you,” you offered. “You rarely go out during the day because—"

"Sunlight weakens my constitution," he supplied.

"I see." It certainly provided more clarity and explained some of his strange behavior, like the thick curtains that were always drawn together during lessons in his music room. "I could run errands for you. See to any visitors that come calling during that time. Mind the house and the servants for you while you rest.”

Finrod regarded you with suspicion. “Is this a trick?”

“No, sir,” you told him. “I give you my word that it is not.”

He turned away and took his time to consider your proposal. Finally, after what seemed like an age, he said, “There will be a ceremony binding you and me as master and familiar. No harm will come to you, but this ritual is necessary. Do you understand?”

You nodded and wondered what this ceremony would entail and what you would have to dress. “I accept.”

“Good. Now come, join me by the fire.” Finrod smiled mildly. “I have much to tell you about me and my strange life."

[eilinelsghost]

Hello!! Sorry to hear ur fic is giving you trouble. Have u considered. beating up finrod about it? (worked for me 😂)

Would u pls do 👀 💞 🧠 🤲 🎉 😈 ?

Thanks for the asks, @actual-bill-potts! And yes, I have indeed considered that strategy! He is getting quite emotionally bruised here, don't you worry. 😉

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please! One that I am looking forward to is Balan's arrival in Nargothrond. It's going to really settle in on him that he pretty much abandoned his sons with very little notice and he will also be navigating how to interact with Nóm-as-Finrod, who seems nearly a stranger to him in this completely overwhelming and foreign setting. So he will have a lot of grief to navigate, as well as wondering whether he's having second thoughts.

💞 Who’s your comfort character? lmao as if you even need to ask 😆 Findaráto Ingoldo Artafindë Finrod Angolodh Firindil Nóm Atandil Felagund Edennil...pick which name you prefer. He's the one.

🧠 Pick a character, and I’ll tell you my favorite headcanon for them. You've said Finrod, so YAY! Ok, so one of my favorites lately is that he was a very shy child (this shows up a bit in A Heady Fragrance of Honey). And one of the ways he grew into being friends with everyone was through his childhood admiration of/friendship with Nerdanel. I talked about this a bit in this post and really want to explore this in a fic at some point.

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip? This one is extremely difficult because there are so many little snippets I'd like to put here since you're my fellow Balan/Finrod enthusiast and I love sharing my obsession, haha. So I'll indulge and allow myself two snippets - one snarky and one angsty (these are both from later installments, not the upcoming one).

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1. The first is from when Belen visits Nargothrond about a year after Balan and Finrod depart Estolad:

“They mostly call you Dar Bëor now.”

Balan snorted. “Lord Vassal,” he translated in an aside to Finrod, then grinned at his son. “I scent your aunt’s humor in that.”

“Nay.” Belen looked chagrined and turned to fiddle with the parchment, avoiding his father's eye.

“Ah. I see.”

“He doesn’t mean anything by it,” Belen said quickly, then blanched at the obvious untruth. “Or rather, he does but…What I mean is his anger is only for the moment. It won’t last.”

“Your brother is as stubborn as I am, Bel. It will not pass in a hurry.” Then his tired smile turned contrarian and he leaned back in his chair. “Nay rather, tell him not to leave off. I’ll not scorn a name once given. Instead, bring my greetings to Baran Balanion, first lord of the House of Bëor.” He lifted his glass pointedly and sipped. “Sama’nd sá.”

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2. And the second is your bit of weekend angst:

“Too bright are the eyes of the Sun, too scorching her heat.” His lips were nearly against Balan’s, dizzy with the the nearness of him, the touch of him. Almost the taste of him. “It would consume us, Anarinya.”

“And scorching too are the stars, are they not? They too were woven of such light. But should not Light treat with Light, Elenya, and find itself only brighter in the mingling?”

“Or bring a double fire, burning all that dared near it.”

“Take me then,” Balan said, “and if I burn, I burn.”

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success? I would like this answer to be something other than "if the comments restore my self-confidence once I hit the post-publishing conviction that it's all trash," but sadly that's usually what does it. But more generally, I think if I can go back and read it a few weeks after and have that surprise of actually enjoying it as a reader, that is a success.

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers? Ha! Oh absolutely the ending of A Heady Fragrance of Honey. That was deliberately mean and I enjoyed every moment of it - and every comment that vented about it. 😂

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Thanks so much for the asks!

[eri-pl]

Yay, color palettes!

Hmm. I do like drinking milk (just normal cow's milk, not even a shake. Yes, I can do it.)

I did something with it, because color palettes:

No pressure tagging everyone who draws stuff, get a pallette + do something with it! Especially @eloquentsisyphianturmoil bc I think you're not tagged yet, and @edennill if you want to do a tag game. Also @daily-smol-silm if you take tags from non-moots and want inspiration.

Also whoever did it already but wants to add a drawing.

Which oddly specific colour palette are you?

Thank you for the tag, @citrus-moonlight!!! This is... quite literally my wardrobe color on top of the eyeshadows/lipsticks I wear on the daily so this is actually quite spooky skfjsdkf

Link to quiz.

No pressure tags (and you if you see this!): @sixpennydame @nube55 @littlerequiem @pinkberryfox @thechaoticarchivist

[legolasgoldy]

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻.

repost, don’t reblog

BASICS.

full name. Finrod Ingoldo Felagund  ( Findaráto Artafinde Ingoldo Arafinwean; Finrod is the Sindarin translation of Findarato that he uses instead once in middle earth)

pronunciation. Fin-rod In-gol-doe Fell-ah-gund

nickname(s). Findo, his Favorite being ‘ Fin ‘ spoken by few very close friends and lovers. other nicknames being things like ‘ wolfy’ said by friends or lovers. Highly depends on person. ( Finda, Findo, Ingo ( which he doesnt really like), Nóm, Nómin, Felagund, Edennil, Atandil )

gender. Cisgendered Male 

height. 6′1, also depends on age

age. Verse dependent, teens to 20s sometimes 30s

zodiac. Taurus, April 23rd

spoken languages. English, decently fluent in french and spanish. A little Gaelic when dating his boyfriend Rhys Brennan. ( Obviously in Tolkien aus he speaks Elvish which includes Telerin, Noldorin, Sindarin, etc, Early dwarven tongues like Khuzdul, common/westron, pretty much anything he can learn even the language of the enemy. He however does not know the change in certain languages or new languages that occurs over the ages hes dead. Not until Galadriel, Gimli, and/or one of the hobbits tell him.)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair color. Golden blonde

eye color. Emerald green

skin tone. Not pale but fair with a semi neutral and slightly peachy undertone.

body type. Tall and toned. He is muscular but not super buff depending on what you consider to be buff. Body claim pics are in his pages. Hes very soft yet firm, strong, and warm for cuddling.

accent.  A mix between american and european english. He was born and raised in Maine until 7 years old then they moved to lower states. His parents have heavy english accents, which he acquired as a small child, and as he grew older it developed into a soft neutral-ish american accent with english attributes. For example, he will say eye-ther instead of ee-ther for Either. Sometimes he’ll also catch himself saying Tom-AH-toes instead of Tom-Aye-toes.

voice. Very kind, gentle, medium deepness of a tone. He doesnt sound excessively deep but not high pitched either, its a very cozy warm mid-way deepness that’ll make you feel safe and soothed. However, it can get a deeper when angry or..during intimate activities.

dominant hand. He is Ambidextrous 

posture. somewhere between casual and proper

scars: A few random small scars from childhood, after his mutation kicked in he can no longer get scarring which is fortunate considering the amount of times hes bitten completely through his tongue or lips with his fangs when he first got his mutation. Not to mention times hes been hurt in the future. ( depends on time period, sometimes none at all but others he can have scarring from fighting, any type of misc scar, but not an over abundance of them where you can see.)

tattoos. None, his skin wont hold tattoos after his mutation. 

birthmarks. None

most noticeable feature(s). hair, eyes, and fangs. ( Hair, eyes, jewelry.)

CHILDHOOD.

place of birth. Maine, US. ( Tirion in Valinor )

hometown. On the coast of Maine; i havent decided a city/town.

birth weight. 6.9lbs (3.1kg)

birth height. 18.6 lbs (47.2cm)

first words. Mommy or Daddy. ( Amme or Atya)

siblings. Twin brothers Aegnor and Angrod, and little sister Galadriel. ( Twin brothers Ambaráto Aikanáro Arafinwean, Angaráto Arafinwean, and little sister Artanis Nerwen Arafinwean; translated into Sindarin their names are Aegnor and Angrod. Artanis chooses the name Galadriel for herself and does not use her birth names)

parents. Finarfin and Earwen Felagund. ( Arafinwë Ingoldo Finwean and Eärwen Olwean)

parental involvement. Finrod’s parents are both Aquatic Biologists, so he often spent time with them at work as a child. Whether that was near fresh water or salt water, if it was safe for him to go he went. They have always been very close and supportive to each other.  ( His parents have always been supportive of him and they have always been very close. They would live in either Tirion or Alqualondë during different seasons so Finrod and his siblings could grow to be apart of both cultures.)

ADULT LIFE.

occupation. Verse and timeline dependent. Generally, Finrod works in a greenhouse & landscaping company. Later on he’ll may get a job as a music teacher. In the rockstar branch of the x-men au he is just that, a Rockstar. ( He is a prince of the Noldor and Teleri. Later he is the King of Nargothrond.)

close friends / family.  Yes. Who that is, is very much Thread and verse dependent. 

relationship status. In a long term relationship with his boyfriend Rhys Brennan. ( Unofficially married to Makalaurë Kanafinwë Feanorian. Can be verse dependent.)

financial status. His parents had to make a lot of money to support four kids, so it was comfortable enough. However when he moves out he begins making his own money, and he isnt rich by any means but happy with where hes at. ( Timeline dependent, but usually very wealthy.)

driver’s license. Yes, hes a very good driver.

criminal record. None. 

MISCELLANEOUS.

character’s theme song. Not really sure, but most likely something along the lines of ‘ I want to know what love is’ by Foreigner ( The song he sang to Sauron)

hobbies to pass time. Singing, playing instruments, Reading, Spending time with his family and friends.

mental illnesses. Not that he knows of ( PTSD, depression.)

physical illnesses. None, as a healing mutant he is unable to get illnesses. ( No illnesses but he does have pain caused by PTSD ranging from light to severe. The pain mostly occurs in his hands and feet, but radiates throughout depending how strong the attack lasts. At times it may only be a very mild ache, and others debilitating paired with mental state. The last being less common and can be accompanied by sleep paralysis and/or night terrors)

left or right-brained. Right-brained

self-confidence level. Depends on time period but normally pretty high? Hes very confident in himself aside from when he started mutating and ran away from home, his confidence was pretty low then. Its usually when hes under personal distress due to someone he cares about being hurt in some way that his confidence dips down. Highly depends on scenario though. ( Pretty high aside from times of extreme distress and depression. e.i. 1. After the first Kin Slaying. 2.Traveling through the helcaraxë he had to force it high because he couldnt lose confidence in a time like that, so it was simultaneously low and high at the same time. 3. After he lost his brothers and many of his family.)

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation. Demisexual + Bisexual 

romantic orientation. Biromantic

preferred emotional role. submissive | dominant | switch

preferred sexual role. submissive | dominant | switch which ever he and his partner prefer hes more than happy with

libido. When single and has no one hes attracted to, virtually non existent. Sure, the need arises every now and then, but the want not so much. When in love its endless if his partner wants it too.

turn on’s. Seeing his partner smile. Especially if its a very wide unadulterated happy smile, even more so if the smile is towards him. Watching his partner walk and/or bend over. He loves being teased, whether its a sultry look, pose, touch, kiss, or words. His partner sitting in his lap. Watching his partner just be beautiful, which can be as simple as them sitting in the sun content or just quietly enjoying themselves in some way. Anything sensual. Getting lost in a happy moment together.

turn off’s. His partner not being in the mood bc he doesnt want to if his partner doesnt, excessively disgusting dirty talk, his partner being upset or hurt, purposeful pain.

love language. Sensuality. Frequent touches, quality time together and doing special things that they consider ‘ their thing’, talking and listening, supporting each others hobbies and dreams, and helping each other with every day domestic activities.

relationship tendencies. Finrod is drawn to unique people even though he doesnt necessarily realize he is at the time. Something will grab his interest and he’ll try to get to know them, it all goes from there. Since he is a creative individual hes just naturally drawn to other creative people whether they use their creativity in the same way or not. The people he has fallen for have all been unique, talented, and inspiring even if they dont know it or downright deny it. They all have a depth to them and they may have a darkness inside them but he loves them, and who they are, darkness and all. He sees so much light and love in his partners. As far as physical type, it doesnt really matter much but hes very taken by pretty hair, eyes, and smiles. 

Tagged By: @blind-mutant ty! <3 @

Tagging: @mikhailvalhidris, @driftinglightofthewoods, @truesanguinesoul, @admirable-mairon, @bouncingbeleg, @first-son-of-finwe And anyone i missed or who wants too!! :D

[eri-pl]

Ar-Pharazôn's mother

(Lady not-appearing-in-the-canon*, I'll probably devise a name for her soon.)

(Late Numenor, but in terms of things explicitely mentioned we aren't going beyond speculated murder + some emotional abuse. Not a veeery long post, but long enough that it would get the cut even without the TWs.)

So, I was thinking about Pharazôn (as you do).

About how his father was a nasty, opinionated guy hating the Faithful and yet Pharazôn in his youth spent time with Amandil, Elendil, Miriel etc, in Andunie. Why? Who took him there, who let him?

Not his father, obviously, so I assume it must have been his mother. I don't think she was one of the Faithful (his dad probably wouldn't marry her in that case, also I think it would lead to Pharazôn being a better person… maybe?). But I think she was quite neutral on the Faithful-King's Men divide—as neutral as one can be—and was close friends with some of them, probably related to some, and keeping close ties with friends and family was important to her.

Technically Miriel (and, more distantly, amandil) was Gimilkhâd's (Pharazôn's father's) family, but knowing Tolkien's family trees (only first cousins are a clear "nope") I would assume his mother was also related to them somehow. Even if not, she clearly liked them enough to keep strong contacts.

And then she died. Yes, I think she died relatively early.

If she leaned (even socially) towards the Faithful, or simply grew old and Gimilkhâd wanted a younger wife… we're talking late Numenor. There were surely many plants and substances he could have used to make it look natural.

Or she may have died giving birth to a daughter (the daughters and sisters are rarely mentioned even if they exist), which would lead Pharazôn to dislike the idea of having kids in general. (I have some HCs about it but that's another thing).

Or, tbh, it may have been both.

Anyway she died and Gimilkhâd had nobody to stop him from "teaching" his son "proper Númenorean values". Which unfortunately stuck, even after Pharazôn left to Middle Earth to prove himself… I imagine Gimilkhâd as the kind of guy who is never satisfied with his son (think: Oazi to Zuko, kind of, but there's no Azula), and his own upbringing hadn't been great either (think: Azula). It was a whole chain of emotional abuse and expectations.

And then Pharazôn returned and his father was dead but at this point he had internalized enough of the legacy. He chose to make the memory of Gimilkhâd proud, or maybe to prove it wrong. Same thing, in the end.

But the friendships ignited by his mother remained alive until almost the end. Almost.

I wonder if Sauron, when he got to know Pharazôn better, slowly changed his voice, every day making it closer to Gimilkhâd's. OK, I do not wonder. He did. He absolutely did.

*btw Edennill, don't ever watch Monty Python, you'd hate it in more than one way. Probably. Anyway, I do reference it sometimes.

[eri-pl]

A dictionary

I have a very… I think it's called "idiosyncratic" way of speaking. I use phrases that have meaning for me, but sometimes not for anyone else. So I decided to post a discionary of the most common ones (instead of IDK to stop using them).

Idiot, Idiot#1 — Melkor, later known as Morgoth, Dark Enemy etc etc. My problematic (oh, how so!) fave. I would never vote for him but I would definitely cry about him. I use both names, depending on which timeframe I'm talking about, also I use the Ao3 | spelling.

Idiot#2, Idiot Junior, or just Junior — Sauron. Also known as Mairon, but this feels like a more niche name. Not much of a fave, but also I would cry etc. Sometimes I use his other names too, based on context.

Fefe — Feanor, also know as Curufinwë Feanáro Finwion (did I put the ' right?). I don't remember who invented this name.

Lulu — Lúthien Tinuvíel (did I do the 's right???). This term thanks to @edennill

Birb — often, depending on the context, Manwë, the Elder King or Eonwë, his herald.

Tolkien would chase you (me) with an axe for this — the "this" in question is either deeply non-canon (or even subversive. Like: contains jazz.) or deals with Christianity more explicitely than Tolkien preferred it in the Legendarium. Or both. (Maybe allegory counts as axe-chaseable too :D)

[character] goes brrrr — the character in question dies in the way of Men and passes beyond the circles of Eä, but said shorter and in a less poetic way. Also, often some implication of "and other characters are confused/shocked by it". Like: Dior goes brr and Celegorm goes "???".

the Witch-King treatment — explicitely sending a character to Hell, (like the Witch-King in one fic*). Definitely falls under "chased with an axe by Tolkien" category, but is a small subset of it. (Yes, I don't mean characters in void/outer space/angband/dreamscape, I mean we are going explicitely theological about it.) (FYI Tolkien was very unwilling to answer any questions of this type, and people did ask, iirc about Gollum.)

Like, idk, kinda — words that had been popular when I was young, so I use them as part of informal English XD The purpose is a) to convey lack of certainity or precision, b) to make the sentence rhythm more entertaining.

Jirt, Professor, Sir — various ways I adress Tolkien, usually when ranting at him. (Jirt is a name he invented himself or maybe his friends, ansyway it was a thing).

My guy (or "my gal", but for reasons that will become obvious, that one would be very rare) — the way I adress a character when I am really angry and/or worried at them. Generally when they do something problematic.

[capitalization in the tags] — usually fictional characters don't get capitalized, unless autocorrect does it or I copy someone's tags or some other reason. That's it. Also, Tolkien gets not-capitalized when I copy tags or click at the popular tags…. sorry, Professor.

#random — things less relevant to silm, or low-effort posts, generally the purpose of this tag is that someone may want to filter it out. I probably shouch change it to something less generic.

[some really weird word that doesn't make sense in the context] — I was very likely writing this on my phone and it autocorrected me, and I did not notice.

*This is not meant as critique of the fic, it just gave me a way to express it in a way I like. This is not a fic rec/ fic hate post.

[eri-pl]

Just a random observation, but: 9 big sources of light (2 lanterns, 2 trees, 3 gems, sun, moon), 7 tree-derived sources of light. Coincidence?

(@edennill you can thank you sister for this thought I'd you want, because it started with me wondering if I can find and HP - Slim parallels and this for me to think of the number 7. Yes, my brain jumps around a lot)

(also 5 is definitely a bad number. Not only is Melkor the 15th Vala (well, was), but also Ar-Pharazon was 25th king of Numenor)

[eri-pl]

Thank you! Yes, it's relevant, I shouldn't have gotten defensive, sorry. I unfortunately do that sometimes. Thank you for the quote.

And thank you for the dog! (It's bolt of course it's bolt I should have expected it, bolt is so wonderful, but I will absolutely HC the dog to be there in normal Silm!) (look @edennill Námo's dog, how cute is that!)

So I was thinking about Mandos and afterlife in Legendarium (as you do), and I came up with some HC/thoughts about Men.

Warnings: ghosts. Implied possibility of Hell??? (Those are two different things). Should this be a warning? It's creepy. And typically not talked about in the context of Legendarium, except some really weird questions people asked Tolkien and that one fic?

Those are all HCs based on vibe + what seems to make sense to me + what fits for me with other things. I think none of them contradicts canon, but they aren't very supported either.

First: ghosts. I wish I came up with it earlier, now it's probably a bit too late…. still, I hope to see that story someday!

So, Men have the thing that I quoted earlier today:

have a virtue to shape their life, amid the powers and chances of the world, beyond the Music of the Ainur, which is as fate to all things else

I read it as the Men can do a lot of things with their fate that the Elves cannot, and while they can't permanently bind themselves to Arda and become immortal, they can, in some circumstances, bind themselves temporarily. I'm not sure if it can be done on purpose, maybe it can (counterargument is that the Numenoreans tried to find a way to do it and failed), but we've seen it done accidentally.

We've seen: Aragorn's ghost army of Men who bound themselves to their oath (you know, who can't bind themselves to an oath this strongly? Yes, those 8 guys. Because the Men have safety switches turned off and can do more, for better and for worse.), Gorlim who bound himself by breaking his loyalty (idk if there was a formal oath involved), the Nine who bound themselves – well, accepted Sauron binding them, but it's much the same thing — with the rings.

Sidenote: The Norns are three kinds of (fate? something): things that have happenned, things that happen now, and debts/obligations/"should" (it's etymologically that!)

TBH I know very little about them, so I maybe misinterpreting. anyway, the point is that debts, oaths and obligations are a form of a self-imposed destiny. Or at least let's assume that they are.

So yes, Men can linger as ghosts if there's something keeping them: some debt or obligation. And only as long as this thing is keeping them. When it ends, they land in the normal situation, same as Men who have just died.

And, strangely, I don't think Námo has a lot to do with those ghosts. Based on thematic and visual elements I would say: Vaire if any of the Valar deals with it. Because she reminds me of the Norns. (But this is a purely aestethical choice: you could have Námo managing all of those situation and it would still work. Just… debt-ghosts and Men who die properly are a different pipeline in the Halls.)

Námo deals with processing the Men who are leaving, not the Men who are bound (until they are not longer bound). And now we get to the stranger/less canon-based part: Men too can refuse the call of Mandos.

Why? Because I said so because this leaves space for … things I won't write about anyway? IDK. It would seem strange to me if the elves could and Men couldn't.

However, unlike Elves, they cannot linger on their own (as in: without the circumstances mentioned above), and the call is a one-time event for them*.

(And the debt-ghosts get the call when their debt is gone. Earlier it... blosks the call, sort of? Postpones it? IDK but it makes sense to me.) Edit: OK, this doens't make a lot of sense probably... Probably it makes more sense to be call→they talk with Námo→sent to linger because of their stuff→deal with their stuff. But this makes it harder to write. Or at least less fun to write because the ghosts don't have the type of agency that I like when writing? Hmm... I'm not sure I'll probably edit this part some more.

So the Men either go to Mandos, are processed (with more or less arguing with Námo and difficulty) and leave; or they refuse the call, but can't (as in: it's a law of (meta)physics, not just a moral law, Iforgot the Tolkien word… axan?) stay on Arda, so… something else happens with them? Probably not pleasant? I won't delve deeper into this question.

*For Elves the call of Mandos canonically a permanent thing and they can follow it at any time, it is said in one of NoME or similar book. If they don't follow it immediately, it's bad for their state and for their chances of reembodiment. And they can be caught and necromanced. But still, they can go to Mandos late.

[edennill]

#sauron #would conquer Russia and have the tzar kneel before him but it wouldn't be worth it anyway #but i'd read it #oh i'd read it #weirdly i think it could make a really good fic #starting with sauron and the Romantics... #i don't do RPF#but with histrical people it's not such a strong rule... #and tbh it's more like Konrad; Mickiewicz's-self-insert-OC; something like this #imagine sauron appearing before Mickiewicz and claiming to be an angel sent to free the Polish nation and all that #he would #oh he so would #and poor Adam would fall for it because come on #it's what his protagonists would do #and impatient Sauron finishing Adam's sentences like that one scene in Dziady #because he totally would that's so very very like him #iykyk #also Słowacki would try to kill Sauron; Kordian out; die [Mickiewicz is writing thi; he totally would] #problem is the only person I know with enough knowledge to write it does not like strange reality-based AUs #[yes edennill it's you] #[if you know someone who both could and would please tell me] #....Hmmm tbh if you read Dziady adding Sauron doesn't need much edits.... I might do it one day

Isn't Dziady itself a strange reality based AU, xd? In the sense of its relationship with reality being in multiple ways... creative to say the least? But yeah, I absolutely see what you're getting at.

With that in mind, it might not be as hard to write this for me (esp if keeping to Konrad vs. Adam), but I couldn't either way because I have two dozen projects on the backburner anyhow, *sighs*.

...I did have a historical AU based on Dziady floating around my head around the time I read it in school though (basically what would happen if Kordian was real and successful in his efforts, a.k.a. nothing great), so it does make for fertile ground in that sense...

And yeah, Sauron is already good at "masquerading as an angel of light" to quote whoever that was. The romantics would love him and the world would definitely suffer for it.

I worked on a third design a bit

I imagine Sauron used this form after Melkor was banished. His appearance should resemble lava: the surface is cold and dark, but there is still a fierce flame underneath.