#I LOVE ELROND SO MUCH BTW

[donsgraveyard]

I watched Lotr and the hobbit like …two months ago and only made a handful of fanart which I just remembered I made

[galadriel-blue]

A Small but Lovely Detail from The Rings Of Power That I Love Is...

The way Elrond says Galadriel's name. The way he says it is just so pretty. He speaks it so uniquely compared to the other characters and I adore how beautiful he makes it sound. I don't know, it's just something I love, and it is satisfying to hear when I watch the show. I think it's in his pronunciation, like he says every piece of her name separately but together at the same time. Does that make sense?? This might be a whole lot of my overanalyzing every tiny detail nonsense and it may be such a small thing to note, but I can't help but admire it every time I hear him say "Galadriel." I don't know if that's a weird thing to think about, but it's something that's stuck with me ever since I watched the show.

And even the way Galadriel says Elrond's name is wonderful too. You can tell how close these two are just by how they address each other each time they reunite. They are THE besties of all time and their friendship means everything to me.

If there are two things I am always going to be obsessed with it's going to be people's/character's names and people's/character's voices and/or speaking traits. I always find it fascinating.

[kat651]

Hi,

I just reread your self harm elf posts again and was wondering if you would write something similar but with the reader being the one self harming?

Just thought I’d ask since I myself have struggled with this. If not that’s fine but I figured I’d ask

Love your writing so much btw

Elrond:

Elrond had spent the last hour searching for you. It was strange that you were able to do this to him, make him worried beyond what felt reasonable. Rivendell was a safe place. He knew that. But you always managed to make him panic. Always. 

Finally he decided to check your room. Occasionally you’d go in there during the day just to get some quiet. 

As he opened the door the sight before him caused him to gasp and tears to well up in his eyes. “Meleth, why?” He asked, briskly walking over to you and taking the knife before kneeling in front of you and gently taking your hands. “Why are you hurting yourself?” His eyes were brimmed with tears and his usual strong voice was wavering and choked. 

You didn’t answer and it felt like a punch to the gut for him. Elrond stood before lifting you out of the seat and seating you on your bed. “Don’t move I’ll be right back.” He whispered, kissing your cheek before running off. 

When Elrond returned he had everything he would need to take care of your wounds. He knelt before you and gently began to clean and wrap your wrists. When he finished he rose and sat next to you. “What’s wrong my love? Why are you doing this?”

You looked up at him for a moment before sighing and hiding your face in his chest. “It’s all too much right now. I can’t take it.” You sobbed. 

“I’m here…you don’t have to do this alone.”

Lindir:

You tried to hide it from him. but of course, being the observant person he was, he noticed. 

“Love, what happened to your wrist?” He asked, gently grabbing your hand. 

You looked away refusing to answer and it broke Lindir’s fraigile heart. He gently cupped your face and placed a kiss on your nose. 

You sighed and hugged yourself. 

“Hey… look at me…” he whispered, gently tilting your chin up. “I’m not mad. You know that… right?”

You nodded. 

Lindir put an arm around you and pulled you out of the room. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Thranduil:

When he first saw the cuts on your wrists he panicked. “Y/n, what happened? Why would you- are you ok?!” 

For a regal elf lord he sure did panic when it came to you. 

Once he calmed down enough he looked at you with sad eyes. “How long? How long have you been doing this and not telling me?”

Of course you didn’t answer which caused him to worry again. “Is it me? Am I the reason?”

You shook your head and he visibly relaxed. “I- ok…I just… I worry. A lot.”

“I know” you said, leaning against him.

Legolas:

Caught. 

Legolas had caught you red handed. Quite literally. “Y/n!” He yelled in a panic. Which of course caused tears to well in your eyes. 

“I’m sorry!” You sobbed. 

Realizing he had caused you to panic, he slowly wrapped you in his arms. “Darling what’s wrong?” He whispered as he subconsciously inspected your wrists before sliding his bag off his shoulder and digging through it with one hand until he located some bandages. “Talk to me sweetheart.” He whispered as he gently wrapped your arms. 

Haldir:

When he noticed the scars on your wrists he hesitated to say anything at first. He knew all too well that kind of pain. 

After a few days he finally spoke up. “Don’t do it again.” He said, not even looking over. 

“Do what?” You asked confused. 

Haldir grabbed your hand and slid up your shirt sleeve. “This. Don’t do it.”

You pulled away and looked at your hands. 

Haldir sighed. Emotions were hard but he needed to try. He knelt in front of you and gently took your hands. “Look at me…”

You slowly met his gaze and to your surprise there was pain etched in his eyes. “Please don’t hurt yourself. If you want to hurt someone hurt me.”

“What? No!” 

Haldir gently took your face in his hands and placed a kiss on your forehead. “Please don’t do this to yourself. I…” he paused and took a breath. “I love you too much to watch you do this… please, if you’re struggling come talk to me. I’ll listen…”

[pavooko]

I love some aspects of Tolkien fandom in 90s Russia so much. Like wdym there’s a dude with a nickname Sauronich and he wrote a song about how an orc-woman wanted to start working in the fields of Anfauglith and such elves as Celeborn, Galadriel, Elrond and the others were bothering her so she casually sent them to the Halls of Mandos? Sure thing I’m illustrating it!

Btw if you’re curious you can check the song here https://youtu.be/fWS9zv0UBsk?si=y7eXXrwNJotJ2gpN

[neyafromfrance95]

Can I just say I kind of feel sorry for the writers because you can tell they conceived the show as revolving around Haladriel and they really don’t want to deal with the Celeborn issue so they play lip service while writing something completely different lol.

To be fair though Tolkien himself wasn’t interested in him or him and Galadriel as a pairing especially when you compare how he writes his epic romances. It really feels like he was put there so we can get Arwen pretty much. And then she leaves without him to Valinor while he’s left mourning her which 🤣.

But yeah as far as the show goes if they didn’t want fans to see Haladriel as romantic they would have shown her grieving Celeborn…instead of falling in love with her arch enemy. This is just my opinion though but you can’t say how much she loves and grieves Celeborn while showing the complete opposite on the show. There was a way to center the relationship between her and Sauron without it being framed as romantic/soulmates but they didn’t which tells you everything you need to know.

exactly!

even before trop, it has been believed that the only reason tolkien wrote celeb0rn was to somehow connect galadriel to arwen and elrond.

the initial plan was for gal to marry elrond, but tolkien wanted galadriel to be the leader in her own right (it is her main defining trait) and keep doing her own thing. he did not want her to be defined by her husband/child. if she was married to elrond, she would be known as elrond's wife/arwen's mother first. so he gave her a npc family in the background instead.

but even then, i'd say her relationship with elrond is still more important in the books. and in the movies, she even seems closer to gandalf, lmao. so i'd say it would be better to focus on her relationship with elrond and establish her friendship with gandalf rather than introduce a new love interest (bc yeah, even if it's not explicitly romantic, haladriel is romantically framed).

btw, don't even get me started about how everyone seems to forget about finrod??? the one galadriel misses, the real "third" between her and sauron, her "guiding light" IS FINROD! nenya symbolizes galadriel's desire for power = sauron and galadriel's light/wisdom she got from finrod! nenya was made by sauron's design and using finrod's dagger! it's like sauron and finrod's battle continues within galadriel.

i don't dislike celeb0rn, but i think it's crazy that he was created so that galadriel can't be reduced to the domestic role and yet certain segments of the fandom do that anyways - reduce her to being her npc family's wife/mother in the show that intends to explore other aspects of her story and identity!

and idk man, but i feel like tolkien must have had some ideas for sauron and galadriel. "he gropes ever to see me and my thought" feels very significant. and they mirror each other in several ways as well.

trop does a fantastic job at giving this dynamic context. galadriel's greatest desire is to possess power, sauron's greatest desire is to posses the light. it makes sense for them to have a push-pull dynamic that's both intimate and cosmic in its' essence. the perfect way to expand on all the little details connecting sauron and galadriel in the lore. and it's just a fascinating story on its' own!

it would be such a waste to discard this dynamic for the sake of introducing the character that was never supposed to be that important. especially considering that the writers seem to have the show conceived with haladriel as its' core in their minds.

[hikarielizabethbloom]

Thoughts on the finale

I liked this season much more than the first one (which I love, btw).

Some things felt a bit rushed but I know that's because a show like The rings of power needs more than 8 eps to tell its stories but that's how what the entrainment system does now. They did very good with the time they had.

I cried, I laughed, I screamed...

Duran and Disa need to rest. It has not been an easy season for them! But I'm excited to see what will happen next season. And Durin and Elrond need to meet again and talk.

Celebrimbor and Sauron's scenes were the highlights of the season and I'm so sad Charles is leaving. Also give this man a couple of awards. He deserves it

We didn't see much of Numenors's and Elendil/Isildur's in the finale but what we saw was good. Elendil like Aragorn. We're going to Meet Anarion next season. Isildur is coming home. And poor Eärien she was just trying to easy her pain and save her father.

Elrond is me, I'm Elrond. This broke me.

Watching the destruction of Eregion was painful but expected.

Adar, my beloved. You will be missed... I can't express how much.

I love them. This is everything I wanted for them... And they delivered. I will be talking about this for years...

Gandalf!!! Brief note. Gandalf and Nori's relationship is so sweet and tender.

Galadriel got engaged, again.

Arondir joined the big girls club now and I'm so here for this! You don't understand how much I love him, and how much I crave for a friendship between him and Galadriel. Also loved the moment where Gil-galad was there trying to formulate a plan and he was like 'Cool, cool, but Commander, what do YOU think we should do?'

[numenoria]

The Rings of Power Thoughts ✨ Season 1 EP 7&8:

Season 1 Finale let's gooo! There's so much going on I struggled to condense these two episodes into one post! This is a looong post so strap in! Credit: Lovely dividers made by @zaldritzosrose 🌹

Episode 7: The Eye 👁️

-This episodes picks up where we left off in ep 6. A scene of absolute destruction as Galadriel wakes up covered in soot/ash/dust. Theo is calling for his mother. Queen Regent Miriel helps Isildur save Valandil. Oh man Isildur's friend Ontamo didn't make it. (RIP).

-A fiery explosion seemingly takes out Isildur (I don't think he died here).

-For a brief second it looked like Miriel may have gotten scorched by the fire. I couldn't tell.

-Back with the Hartfoots. The halflings convince The Stranger/Gandalf to save a tree. It looks like its starting to work- WHOSE CHILD IS THIS??? A bite sized halfling almost gets crushed by the tree and everyone looks at the Stranger like it's his fault. >:(

-Apparently this little bean is Nori's sibling? How the hell did I not notice them six episodes ago??

-Elrond pleads his case to Durin III. Very classy very demure.

-Durin III declines and Durin IV loses it. I love this scene btw. Props to both actors.

-Disa gets upset on Durin and Elrond's behalf and refers to her father-in-law as "Lice bearded" and a "fool" lmaooo. I love her I love her! Durin still has respect for his dad as their king and Disa apologises. Elrond bid Durin and Disa goodbye.

-Elrond's leaf is healed/restored by the Mithril (def intentional via Elrond lol) .

-Elendil notices his son is not with the survivors when he sees Isildur's horse. Valandil struggles to tell Elendil Isildur didn't survive. Queen Miriel has survived, but she's acting strangely? Like she's dissociated or traumatized? (understandable ofc).

-"It darkens the heart to call dark deeds good. It gives place for evil to thrive inside us. Of that every, soldier must be mindful. Even I. Even You." OoOF Galadriel baby girl you just explained your entire plotline. We love a self-aware queen!!

-Queen Regent Miriel is blind. Holy shit. This will NOT go over well once they get back to Numenor. Elendil becomes her eyes in a metaphorical and physical sense.

-Sadoc Burrows sends the Stranger on his way. Nori hesitantly gives him an apple. No one really wants him to leave but their fear of him (or fear of change?) is to strong.

-Theo and Galadriel become a team and bond through their shared tragedies and burdens. Galadriel off-handedly mentions her HUSBAND?? Celeborn? A name I haven't heard all season. Maybe we'll see more of him in S2 or the upcoming S3?

-Elrond and Durin IV sneak off to mine for mithril. Durin IV realizes Elrond lost the contest on purpose 😂 There's mithril out the wazoo in them there mines!

-Durin IV and Elron get caught by a very pissed off King Durin III.

-King Durin III: "Seize the Elf" Elrond:

-"How do you expect me to move mountains Father, if you fall to pieces when I dig a single hole. You speak of greatness for me but you suffocate in me any ambition, any desire, any thought that does not originate in you."

-WHOA. As the child of a parent similar to King Durin III (We're in a muuuch better place now), I fucking felt that! I felt that hard. It feels like nothing you ever do will be good enough for them because you didn't do it "their way." They may love you but they will always think their way is the best. {Shut up Davi stop projecting on main.} - Durin IV proclaims Elrond as a brother from another. King Durin III delivers a cold fucking scolding to Durin IV. Ultimately disowning him. 😪

-Again these actors' performance moved me in this scene. Damn family drama/trauma is running wild in this episode.

-The bald pale mystics are on the Stranger's path. Nori and Poppy distract them. The other Hartfoots come to their rescue. These bald headed goons set the Halfling's settlement ablaze. Very ashy behavior! Sadoc is weeping!! Oh my heart I want to hug all of them. 😖

-Elendil lets Berek go. I think Berek knows Isildur is still alive.

-Theo thankfully finds Bronwyn and Arondir alive and (seemingly) well.

-Bronwyn the woman that you are! She was stabbed by an Uruk blade, had it pulled from her body w/no anesthetic and is out here helping in the infirmary. What a champion!

-Elendil regrets saving Galadriel. Galadriel takes ownership for the disaster.

-Miriel and Galadriel have a moment. A scene that lives rent free in my mind #Miridriel

-Miriel vows revenge on the enemy and that Numenor will return. Elendil wants no part of this.

-Papa Largo encourages the Hartfoots to keep walking. I love this man and his busted ankle 💛

-Nori, Poppy, Marigold and Sadoc band together to go warn the Stranger.

-Galadriel doubts Miriel will keep her promise. That was a strange comment to make? Unless she's already foreseen the potential fallout in Numenor upon Miriel's return.

-Halbrand is in bad shape. Galadriel wants to take him to the Elves for healing. Hmm....

-Galadriel gives Theo her sword. The People give strength to the king. Theo declarers strength to the Southlands (fuck yes!). Theo the brave young man you are becoming! I just hate the situations that made you that way.

-Disa gives a hellava pep talk to Durin IV. Hell I wanted to dig for Mithril after that!

-Lucky Dwarf gets to suck face with Disa 😠

-Is that a fucking Balog?? Thee Balog??

-Adar renames the Southlands to Mordor

-Complementary Adar shot:

Episode 8: Alloyed

-The Stranger nearly gets caught in the mystic's trap. The mystic morphing from Nori to their bald-headed self was fucking nightmare fuel!

-These goons think the Stranger is Sauron??? My sweet summer children I'm pretty sure that's Gandalf!

-This horseback ride has got to be HELL for Halbrand. Imagine bobbing up and down on a horse with that would?? I would simply ascend to the heavenly gates.

-Eregion Scenery Porn:

-Galadriel and Elrond reunite! Yay besties!

-HE NEEDS SOME MILK!!

-Elrond has questions that need answering. Galadriel opens up to Elrond.

-Celebrimbor catches Halbrand out of bed?? How is he walking?? Halbrand becomes infatuated w/Celebrimbor's workshop.

-Halbrand has never heard of the Silmarils. Bro where have you been under a rock or sumn?? Everyone knows about the Silmarils. Touch grass! (/j).

-Halbrand gives Celebrimbor a suggestion on how to enhance the mithril properties. Celebrimbor Sir do not trust this man!!!

-Celebrimbor seems infatuated w/Halbrand??

-Evidence:

-Back in Numenor the King is dying. Fuck Miriel isn't here :(

-The King starts talking out of his head. He gives "Miriel" a warning and unintentionally exposes the palantir to Earien. Oh fuck!

-Celebrimbor proposes a crown or something of a circular form. Yeah that's not gonna work. I can already see that.

-"Not of the flesh, but over flesh" Celebrimbor?? Gir-

-Live reaction from me and Galadriel:

-Celebrimbor acted as if he was in a trance or under someone's influence. Halbrand sweaty you're not doing a good job of hiding your intentions...

-Galadriel fashionably watches as Halbrand and Celebrimbor flirt work.

-Who are you? You're gorgeous! Serving cunt on a silver platter. Look at those cheekbones! Look at that drip!

-Galadriel commissions the gorgeous elf assistant to dig up some dirt on Halbrand's background.

-Halbrand is unusually cheerful. He says he'll never forget what Galadriel has done for him. He touches Galadriel's shoulder, leans in and eerily whispers "And I'll see to it that no one else does either."

-I am as unsettled as Galadriel is right now. Um..okay

-Back w/the Stranger and mystics. They still think he's Sauron. I think yall are lost. They try to awaken his power but the Stranger has not yet harnessed control over them so they make him go night night.

-Nori & Co attempt to rescue the Stranger but it's a trap. Fuck! Sadoc gets hit with a dagger. The Stranger wakes up in time to rescue Nori. A showdown between the two sides ensues.

-One of the mystics attempts to kill Poppy. Sadoc ambushes them and stabs them in the foot. They howl like a banshee! Yeah that shit hurted! 😂

-Nori steals the staff from the lead mystic and encourages The Stranger to chose who he becomes. The Stranger banishes the mystics back to the shadow realm. They realize he's not Sauron but a Wizard. But it's too late. Byeeeee!

-Sadoc is too injured to make it back. He wants to watch the sunrise one more time. The ladies sit with him. He peacefully passes away. Aww man :(

-Miriel is trying to navigate the lower deck by counting her steps. Elendil laments his son but declarers his loyalty to Miriel. Miriel does the same in return. Lowkey I think they declared their love for each other?? Idk their dynamic reminds me of Queen Clarisse and Joe from the Princess Diaries. And I love that kind of dynamic!!

-NUMENOR IS IN SHAMBLES!!!! Elendil is speechless. Miriel can't see but her jaw trembles as if she knows what awaits her. Elendil senses it too

-The King has passed away as Pharazon stands at his bedside with his eyes filled with tears.

-Celebrimbor and Halbrand are blowing up the workshop like a meth lab

-The gorgeous elf assistant returns and hands Galadriel a scroll. Halbrand seems to know what's up and follows Galadriel.

-There's no king of the Southlands and the LINE WAS BROKEN??? NO HEIR??? AWW SHIT AWWW SHIT!!!!

-"I told you I found this on a dead man" "I have had many names"

-Halbrand is Sauron ladies and gentlefolk! Naur like I knew he was Sauron but like I didn't KNOW he was Sauron!! If that makes sense?? The reveal was absolutely bonkers!

-This bastard then transforms into Finrod and tries to seduce Galadriel in a weird Eve vs Serpent kind of way. Not a sexual seduction but a psychological and emotional one? Taking the form of her beloved brother, her mentor, whose life she swore to avenge. The very life that you took. That's nasty work!

-Notice Galadriel's eyes here. He's in her head but he hasn't fully taken over. That's why she has two different eye colors. Wow!

-Galadriel is transported back to the raft. Sauron/Halbrand tries to manipulate Galadriel to become his hot enemy with benefits. Galadriel rightfully refuses. These two are in each other's heads soooo bad! Sauron's mind games aren't effective in winning her over yet he's under Galadriel's skin. Galadriel's will is strong and that frustrates the hell out of Sauron. He might piss her off but he can't break her. It's cat and mouse with these two. Except both the cat and mouse are armed with nukes. 😳

-Galadriel almost stabs Elrond after coming out of her trance!! Elrond proves its him. WHEW

-"True creation requires sacrifice" There's that fucking line again! Galadriel sacrifices Finrod's dagger for the creation of the three rings.

-The Stranger and Nori depart. He asks her to come but she decides to stay with the Hartfoots. GIRL YOU THOUGHT! Nori's family encourages her to adventure on with the Stranger and bid her a very heartfelt farewell. Poppy gives Nori a dry ass hug :( Aww she can't stand to tell her goodbye. NOPE! Poppy comes running back and gives her bestie a tearful and loving goodbye. "Why does everyone I love the most always have to go away?" Poppy babygirl lemme hug you!!! Ugh my abandonment issues! 😭My heart my soul!

-Nori and The Stranger depart for their journey.

-Celebrimbor starts foraging the rings. Elrond reads the scroll regarding Sauron/Halbrand. He gives Galadriel a look >.>

-The rings are complete. They are BEAUTIFUL!

-Halbrand/Sauron arrives in Mordor. Oooooh hell...

-The end credits song goes hard as fuck!

-🎵Threeeee rings for the Elveeen-kings🎵

Overall Thoughts:

{Jeez Davi what MORE could you possibly have to say??}

I know I know this was a lot of thoughts! Word vomit even lmaoo. Initially, when the show came out I wasn't interested in watching it. I wasn't fully in my Tolkien era then lol. Plus I don't normally watch new shows right when they drop. I wait after the hype or controversy dies down and then I watch them if I'm still interested. Idk why I'm like that probably a neurodivergent thing.

Anyway I kept seeing some interesting posts, meta, memes and beautiful fanart from the show and I got curious and decided to check it out. I don't regret a moment of it. Season 1 was great! I'd give it a 8/10. I enjoyed this journey!

As of typing this I'm on Season 2 EP 2. I may write something like this again for S2 or just post about random moments that stand out to me. Thank you for reading and I hope your day/night is lovely. Rest well. Drink water and stretch. Not to be corny on main but the world is a better place with you in it. I'm glad you exist.

-Davi ☽♡☾

S/N: I'm soo sorry for the amount of images in this post! I just love making gifs and screencaps for this series. I had more but tumblr only allows so many images in one post. Alright I'll shut up now 🙅🏾‍♀️

[ladysternchen]

The adaptation of Elves in Peter Jackson's movies and how it influences my (and I would guess our?) perception

Ok, I wanted to write a semi-sophisticated post about this, but I'm simply too tired for that today (and my brain refuses to english at the moment in general), so it's bullet points only, I'm afraid.

So Peter Jackson's interpretation massively influenced our perception of Tolkien's Elves. Here are a few examples how he defined how I imagine Elves in general and certain characters in particular (and I guess many share that experience):

Elves have pointed ears (it's never written explicitly in the books, but I can't imagine them not being pointy-eared)

Elves have long hair per default (again, stated nowhere. We know some individuals had long hair, but all of them? We know it not. But that perception was still enough to make many people -me included- being put off when RoP-Elves had short hair. Nope, nothing doing. To me, if they have short hair, it is for a reason.

Legolas is blonde (yes yes, the infamous dark head- discussion. We just don't know!) I really do some mental gymnastics to erase Orlando Bloom from my imagination of Legolas but I can't do it. I'll explain later. Oh, and btw, this has nothing to do with me not liking the PJ LotR-movies or Orlando Bloom's performance, I love both, I just want to get away from seeing a human actor when imagining and elf.

Elrond looks somewhat older and is generally a bit grumpy. Uuuhh, this one is so hard to get out of. Again, I loved Hugo Weaving's performance as Elrond, but it has little to do with book-Elrond, and I want to be able to see/imagine book-Elrond. Gnaaaahhhhh. (see, that's why I'm not a massive fan of movie-adaptations in general. I have a form of face-blindness that makes it very hard for me to see someone's face in my head. And somehow, that makes unseeing actors even harder)

Liv Tyler totally defined how not only Arwen, but also Lúthien is imagined (not just by me)

this one is a bit of a personal and really silly one, but in my imagination, Beleg Cúthalion looks very Orlando Bloom:ish 🤣 Idk why, maybe it's just the archer, but I can imagine Beleg even less not looking like movie Legolas than Legolas himself 🤦‍♀️

not something that changed our perception but just a random adaptation-point: much as I find PJ's Legolas to be spot on, he absolutely ruined Thranduil imo. Like, movie Thranduil has nothing (like zero) in common with book-Thranduil. Just WHY? And why did PJ have to butcher two characters in one here, one of which has no business being anywhere near The Hobbit. (Yeah, that's also the reason why I don't ever want to see the Silmarillion made into a movie, and much less see PJ do that)

RoP portrayed Galadriel more in-character than PJ did (I'm NOT saying Cate Blanchett didn't do an absolutely superb job). Galadriel is not that wise beyond anything ethereal being at all. She is headstrong and bold and angry and quite likes to tease people. That is missing from the PJ's adaptation, while RoP totally exaggerate it 🙄 I know it is usually argued that Galadriel did grow out of her hot head, but idk, did she? In the book, she still makes fun of Celeborn about his people's attitude towards Dwarves when the Fellowship seeks shelter in Lórien. It's the good-natured teasing between lovers, sure, but still shows her character well.

oh, and speaking of possible adaptations of the Silmarillion- I never thought I'd hear me say that, but IF there is an actress that could possibly portray Melian and not have me hide on a lonely isle with no wifi-connection, it must be Caitríona Balfe. Or it would have had to be, as people are not getting younger. Ah well, not happening anyway, and you all never heard me say that. Forget all about it

@silmarillionwritersguild

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

ran to your inbox after reading a thingol is reimbodied fic where all the kinslaying feanorians have not only been reimbodied before thingol (putting the FAN in FIC, the delusion and cope is fucking real) and the kinslayings have been entirely forgiven by the time elrond makes it there (i need to know what crack people are smoking) but dior. you know the one who was murdered and had his wife and kids murdered by the feanorians. THAT DIOR!!!!! is in valinor and is not only good friends with celegorm and curufin (!!!????) but he had the audacity to chide thingol for questioning it and being skeptical!!!! and had the audacity to blame thingol for the destruction of doriath like it wasn’t the fucking feanorians who murdered everyone there… i swear these people who hate thingol and his line LOVE infiltrated their tags and writing their anti-iathrim noldor propagandist bullshit as if no one can see straight through it. it’s like writing elrond coming to valinor and chiding celebrian for disliking the orcs who tormented and possibly SA-ed her. “wow celebrian i expected so much better of you after all these years in aman. that your heart is filled with so much bigotry and hate disappoints me :/“ ahhh people.

lmaoooo the idea of dior just being buddy buddy with the men who kidnapped, planned to rape, and tried to murder his mom 😭 😭 😭 and him blaming thingol... this is the dude who took up his grandfather's mantle as king despite the staggering odds against him. the dude who in a version of the story proudly styled himself as thingol's heir!!! ("i am the first of the peredhil, but i am also the heir of king elwe, the eluchil.") that dior being mad at thingol for the destruction of doriath instead of the actual people who were doing the attacking and murdering??? lol

but yeah what you've got to understand about feanorian stans is that they have no real interest in engaging in any meaningful way with the feanorians' crimes. it's always about how angsty bad boys heal from their trauma and find peace uwu while all their victims -- whose trauma the feanorians caused -- are conveniently flattened into paragons of nonsensical amounts of forgiveness and understanding whose strongest acknowledgment of the feanorians slaughtering all their family and friends comes down to the bottom line of "but you guys were sad 🥹" (even though the feanorians literally have no more reason than anyone else in beleriand to be sad and they're the only ones who resorted to ambushing refugee camps and committing mass murder against their inhabitants. somehow i don't think the grief is the problem here...) like note all the hate against thingol, someone who canonically voices and acts on his disdain for the feanorians. what do they do? they cry about him being racist to the noldor and about how if he had only been reasonable and listen to the feanorians' polite entreaties (lmfao), things would have turned out better and it's all his fault. dude isn't even allowed to be hold a grudge against them for trying to rape his daughter, it's beyond ridiculous. same for someone like elwing! one of the characters who loses the most because of the feanorians' entitlement, arrogance, and cowardice. what's their response? she's vilified. she's twisted into a horrible mother who abandoned her sons, a silmaril-addicted junkie who couldn't see past her obsession with it (saying this about any character while glazing the feanorians is hilarious, btw), etc. etc. and i remember reading a fic (wonderful fic, btw) that takes place in valinor, where re-embodied maedhros comes to elwing for forgiveness and she refuses him. you guessed it, there were comments getting mad at her because how dare she not forgive the person who orphaned her, took everything from her twice, and ruined her life twice???? and thennn you have whatever the fuck they did with dior lol, turning him into a mouthpiece to prop up the feanorians as if he isn't one of the people in arda with the most reason to despise them.

you see the trend? the feanorians' victims, and/or families of their victims, aren't allowed to truly hold the feanorians responsible for their actions. they aren't allowed to hate and blame them for the grief they very directly and indubitably caused. when they justifiably do, they get slammed by butthurt stans whitewashing the feanorians and straight up lying about what happened in the silm. it's to the point that you'll inevitably get people complaining in the comments if you have a fic that's in any way critical of feanor, the feanorians, and their actions. (got personal experience with how far they'll stretch that btw... i still think about the fact someone claimed with their whole chest that feanor's mind was altered by morgoth because the valar forced feanor to hang out with him, and expected me to just. not point out that that's not what happened?) feanorian stans don't actually want the feanorians to be held responsible for their actions; they want them to be coddled, their actions and crimes softened, their culpability glossed over. and that desire is probably exacerbated by the fact that the narrative itself directly contradicts the version they want to push. the narrative itself treats the feanorians as failures and villains! tragic, yes, but ultimately responsible for their own wrongdoings. their deaths, and the downfall and eventual obscurity of their house (celebrimbor, their only surviving member post first-age, actively renounces his father's actions) is what they get for their moral failures and their refusal to do better. not exactly the story that feanorian stans want, since they hate the idea of whatever meow meow sadboy ocs they call the feanorians being held accountable in any substantial way. which is why they double down with their victim-blaming, usually paired with a copious heap of misogyny for good measure. at the core of it, they really just don't like the silm as it is in canon, and so they try to force in their wish fulfillment version and convince everyone else that it's the actual canon

[greenleaf4stuff]

It’s New Year’s Eve in Middle Earth and midnight approaches.

Who is grabbing whom for a smooch? How does it go down?

If you can give three pairings that’s great, no limit though 😉 repeats are fine too.

Hi and thank you so much @gauntletgirlie for sending me this lovely ask game! It is truly the time of giving (smooches) <3 Again, lots of fun to think up some kissing scenarios for this one! I'll put them behind the cut again, and as the prompt implies, there be kissing ahead! All of these are Adar-related btw :) (I wrote these down in like an hour) (also each ask game the answers are getting longer oops)

The pairings:

Adar/Celebrimbor/Elrond

Adar/Celebrimbor (established, modern!AU)

Adar/Elrond (canon!AU)

...

...

Adar/Celebrimbor/Elrond

Elrond glanced between the older elf and the uruk, a look of indecision on his face. "Um-"

There wasn't a way to kiss both of them at the same time, was there? Not without crushing their noses and possibly knocking their teeth against each other, at least. But who should he kiss? He couldn't deny either of them. He just couldn't!

They might both be different in character, temperament, appearance, but he liked them equally. He'd just told them as much recently, for Eru's sake! He couldn't choose one over the other now! Not for something important as this!

He heard counting in the background, a countdown not into the New Year but to his own doom, or so it felt.

In a panic, he did the only thing he thought he could do-

And grabbed the back of both their heads in each of his hands, and gently but insistently moved their faces together until they kissed (with a look of surprise on their faces, but even so-).

'There! Problem solved!' he thought, adrenaline briefly surging and then falling in relief. (He knew they wanted each other too. They'd discussed this. The only thing they hadn't discussed was that blasted New Year's kiss.)

"Oh no, wait- my bad-," he suddenly heard behind himself. It was Círdan. "I miscalculated it seems! It's actually still one minute to midnight. Well, that gives us the chance to count once more, doesn't it?"

Elrond felt himself blanch slightly as Adar and Celebrimbor turned towards him, eyebrows raised. "What was that?" Adar asked. It didn't sound accusing, but oddly curious. A bit amused.

"Erm-"

"I suppose he thought this was a clever solution. Have us kiss so he wouldn't have to choose one of us over the other," Celebrimbor deduced and Elrond silently cursed himself because his friend knew him too well to not have figured it out. Again.

"Oh, is that so?" Adar asked, and he sounded just as amused as Celebrimbor had. "Well too 'bad' that we get a second chance then."

Elrond blinked at them in surprise and question, and only realised what was going on when he felt two hands at the back of his head just as the countdown neared "3...2...1" again.

...it was, indeed, a mess of noses knocking together and teeth clicking and even a bit of spit getting smeared, between the three of them. Messy, uncoordinated, but somehow - it still worked out.

Elrond moaned in delight, smiled into the kiss, and let the other two pull him closer into an embrace.

Adar/Celebrimbor (established, modern!AU)

The party had nearly reached it's apex, which meant Adar was close to having reached his maximum amount of social interactions for the night and was beginning to eagerly await going home with his fiancé.

As it stood, he couldn't find Celebrimbor amidst the crowd of people as he scanned it, making him frown. Galadriel must have seen the way he wandered around searching for the smith, because she caught his eye and motioned towards the kitchen with her glass of champagne, a small smile on her face.

Adar followed her pointing, and indeed, he could hear puttering and the sound of dishes getting cleaned coming from there - in combination with some truly awful music from the radio. He exchanged a mildly exasperated glance with the blonde elf, before he thanked her with a nod and walked into the kitchen.

Celebrimbor stood at the sink, garishly golden rubber gloves on his hands - where did Gil-Galad even *find* those things!? - as he hummed along to some corny pop music while he scrubbed at a plate from their dinner earlier.

Adar shook his head, but his expression was one of fondness. He turned down the radio to announce himself and stepped up behind the elf, wrapping his arms around the other's waist, head coming to rest on his fiancé's shoulder in an easy display of intimacy.

"Why am I not surprised to find you here?" he murmured, and pressed a kiss to Celebrimbor's cheek. The smith smiled as turned over his shoulder to look at the uruk. "You know you don't have to clean those dishes now, do you?"

"Hm," Celebrimbor replied, and leant back into the embrace. "I needed a bit of time away from the noise I suppose. Thought nobody would begrudge me that if I did something useful."

"Clever," Adar admired him, and his smile turned soft. "Remarkably selfless, too."

"Well, I suppose you'd know about all that as well, wouldn't you?" They stared at each other lovingly. They were so enarmoed with one another, they almost missed it when loud, shouted counting began in the living room.

"10...9...8..."

They didn't have to ask. Aside from a moment of surprise, nothing much changed. They remained as they were.

"7...6...5.."

Their noses brushed, eyes half-lidded. Neither had seen the other look so soft before. "A good way to end the year, don't you think?" Celebrimbor murmured.

"4...3...2..."

"Couldn't imagine a better one," Adar answered, and smiled as a leant forward.

"1...0!"

They kissed. Celebrimbor still had his hands in the soapy water of the sink as they stood in the kitchen amidst dirty dishes and empty cups, god-awful music quietly playing in the background. The position of the embrace would give the smith a slightly sore neck later, but-

Neither of them cared for the moment. This, right here - was perfect.

Adar/Elrond (canon!AU)

New Year's was a surprisingly official and festive affair in Lindon, Adar had quickly learned. He and his children had rarely celebrated the turning of the year before, but their treaty with the elves was beginning to influence their traditions.

Unlike the elves with their harps and flutes and harmonious singing, their festive modes of dress and expertly prepared feasts, the uruk had taken a much more grounded approach to the festivities.

Adar could hear them belt out yet another battle song, and judging by the barrels that got rolled towards the improvised 'tavern', the drink was flowing freely as well. Everywhere he went, he saw celebrations of the peace, open fires that cooked delicious-smelling stews and roasted meat, groups of uruk gathered together.

He himself would let his children enjoy the time of levity - but he found himself too tired to join in. The noise, how they all wanted to draw him to their sides so he might join them in song and drink, it was - just too much. As much as he loved them.

He paused in surprise when he finally arrived at his own tent and found he had a visitor.

"What brings you here?" He asked, surprised to find Elrond at the entrance. He hoped the other knew the visit was not an unwelcome one - the two of them had danced around one another for weeks now. Adar had hoped to see the other again, but had expected the peredhel to spend this time with his family and friends in Lindon.

Elrond smiled and offered a greeting. "My friend. It is good to see you," he paused. Adar noticed the other was breathing heavily and had a flushed face, as if he'd hurried to get here. "I- there is something important I wished to do. I feared I might have been too late."

Adar immediately raised his eyebrows and focused on the herald in concern. "Is something the matter?"

The other waved him off, but gently so. "No, no- nothing that should alarm you. Just something that was important to me, is all-"

Adar wanted to ask another question, but the uruk in the wider vicinity around them erupted into loud counting - it seemed the turning of the year was almost complete.

The leader of the uruk startled slightly when he felt gentle, wind-chilled hands on his face, and turned towards the herald only to find the other looking at him with hopeful eyes.

With a start, he understood. "May I kiss you?" How brave this one was, to hurry over here and place all his hopes on a kiss.

"I'd like nothing more," the uruk breathed back, and framed Elrond's face with his own hands, mindful of the gauntlet, before he pulled the other closer.

Elrond was smiling into the kiss, Adar could tell. His face felt chilled too, and Adar thought that he would like nothing more than to take the herald inside and wrap him into warg furs before offering him a warm drink and some food.

But that could wait. For now, there was only the press of soft lips on his own, hands that held him gently as if he was precious, and something blooming in his own chest as the countdown ran down to midnight.

[butterflydm]

Rings of Power - s1 eps 5-6

This is not exactly a liveblog, but I am going to write down my thoughts about each episode before I move on to the next one.

(spoilers for the whole rings of power show and for LotR)

Episode 5 continues the trend of strong episodes. Very good episode. The Harfoot song in the beginning was pretty touching and a nice way of showing that time was passing in that storyline.

This was a great episode for Elrond, who really goes through a lot of stress. He learns that his king was hiding information from him because he wants mithril from the dwarves; he learns that his people are dying/fading. Gil-Galad says here that he was hoping that sending away Galadriel and her soldiers -- the last remnants of the war -- would make the blight stop spreading on the tree. And I continue to love Elrond and Durin's relationship - <3 <3 <3 <3.

We saw some significant cross-cutting between Gil-Galad and Halbrand (our High King and our "Lost King") as well as between Halbrand and the Southlanders who went to pledge themselves to Adar.

"Only blood can bind" -- Adar says that here and it feels pretty significant. I have seen some s2 gifsets that use that quote in a pretty clear and significant way. It was also implied that the Sauron-sympathizer killed the teenager to earn his place to Adar (though we only saw orcs marching later on, so we don't know if any of those who surrendered survived). The sword was revealed as a key in this episode and it uses blood to work whatever it does. Only blood can bind. From what Adar says, he plans to do something to blot out the sun in the lands -- I have my suspicions about that, based on what I think the Southlands end up being in LotR. We also had Miriel's father warn her of darkness if she goes to Middle-Earth.

Actually oaths in general seemed like a strong theme in this episode. We have Elrond's oath to Durin being a strong source of conflict for him, and Arondir warning Bronwyn that pledging themselves to the orcs will drag the Southlanders back down into the darkness.

We also get our big moment when Halbrand decides to be Galadriel's lost king. I do see a lot of conflict in him in this episode, especially in the scene in the forge where he talks to Galadriel. She convinced him that his fate belonged in Middle-Earth (which was "the one place I swore to never return" per Halbrand). This is when everyone's fate was sealed, because as soon as Halbrand goes back to Middle-Earth... that's a bell that can't be unrung. But I do feel like I watched him actively making his choice, and he made it because of Galadriel's passionate and vulnerable words to him. He wasn't at all involved in the fire on the boat that made the queen doubt herself and push harder on Galadriel to make sure the "King of the Southlands" was with them -- that was entirely due to the actions of Elendil's and the chancellor's kids. If the fire doesn't happen, then Galadriel doesn't go back and tempt Halbrand one last time.

btw, SUCH a great scene between Galadriel and Halbrand in the forge! He is trying so hard not to be tempted by what she's offering him but she's right that he yearns to be more than "common" (see: him feeling the need to show off that he can handle a sword after her training exercise with the soldiers). The real power that Halbrand fell from was even greater than being a mortal king.

Very strong episode.

Mom update: she's still inclined to believe that Adar is Sauron, though she has some doubts; and the Gandalf storyline is her least favorite because she feels like he's not learning the ropes of living in the world quickly enough. She did like the Harfoot song at the start of the episode. She's really into our other three storylines (Galadriel & Halbrand; Elrond, Durin, & Gil-Galad; and the Southlands).

Episode six was really powerful. Very much focused on the Southlands people and then the arrival of the Numenor back-up, and super-intense.

The big kaboom at the ending was... when I saw that water going through the channels and realized that Adar wasn't just creating a way for the orcs to move in daylight, but that this was part of his larger plan... I was aware that the Southlands didn't actually exist in LotR, at least not to my knowledge, but I wasn't certain that they would be Mordor until we saw that mountain blow.

Theo had a heartbreaking episode -- and we got a reminder/foreshadowing of the One Ring at the end, when he was talking about feeling a loss over the key/sword and how holding it made him feel powerful. That's Sauron's main temptation -- the allure of power, and the various things that can be done with it. (and that's also what Galadriel has been tempting him with)

Arondir and Bronwyn were both very brave and heroic, and got to finally openly acknowledge their attraction to each other and kiss, plus Arondir doing so much to try to look out for and support Theo. They are such a good little family unit. I'm gonna miss Bronwyn in s2! (I am aware that she doesn't come back)

Isildur also had a good episode, plus there were some visual reminders of what I vaguely remember from the LotR prologue about what he's going to do in the future. I actually also felt like we got a visual reminder of Sauron's tower in TRotK going down in this episode, when Arondir collapsed the watchtower. The Return of the King... and we did have a "king" return in this episode.

Galadriel and Halbrand were both heroic in saving the Southlanders... and both had intense moments of deeply desiring revenge that the other one pulls them back from. Halbrand is definitely not working with Adar at this point, since Adar is under the impression that he killed Sauron (and I've seen the gifsets of how!), so this plan is all about Adar using the bones of what was once Sauron's plan to instead conquer and create a homeland for orcs (killing and enslaving the current occupants).

If I had been watching this live and unspoiled, that scene in the woods would have made me ship Galadriel and Halbrand for sure... I mean, it still did, but you know. I know it's a lot more complicated than it looks, lol. I feel like I can safely say that I am ~into~ Galadriel/Halbrand (Sauron) at this point. Everything with them pulling each other back from the brink of revenge and then bonding over it... delicious. Honestly, even more delicious knowing the truth about him.

Adar using himself as the bait so that the human worshipper of Sauron could actually go and use the key to make the mountain go boom... that was very clever of him. (also, we see that the humans who surrendered to Adar were thrown out to be on the front lines of the assault against their own people; that's what surrendering gets you. it doesn't save anything)

Halbrand/Sauron assumed that Adar would recognize him, even in a different form. But he didn't (though Adar was clearly feeling some twinges of something by the end of their scenes together).

This is the second episode in a row where we've had Galadriel and Halbrand deeply bonding over something they have in common, so that is definitely a thing.

Adar telling Galadriel that maybe she should have looked for Morgoth's successor in her own mirror? Ooof.

But now that the mountain has blown up... Halbrand is very very good at noticing and taking opportunities when they arise. And I'm aware that he's not still being "the King of the Southlands" in s2. I'm aware of the actual reveal scene but not what exact events lead up to it, so I am interested to see how that goes.

Adar said that after Morgoth died, Sauron dedicated himself to healing Middle-Earth, but at the expense of the Orcs? I think I understood that correctly.

Sauron's intentions might be genuinely good but if he uses manipulation and violence to achieve them, then he poisons his own goals. We've already seen that Halbrand is just... effortlessly manipulative. During the scene where Galadriel escapes from the cell in Numenor, Halbrand wastes no time to find a way to get something out of the situation that benefits himself (the guild crest).

And that is maybe the key thing that Sauron never figured out after Morgoth died. That Morgoth's endgoal wasn't the only problem -- Sauron's methods are also a problem, also create and court evil results. He always looking for an angle that benefits himself and though violence isn't his first resort (manipulation would appear to be), once he does choose violence, he's brutal about it. He didn't just need to fix the endgoal of idk destroying the world (or whatever it was that Morgoth wanted, I'm not a Tolkien scholar). He also needed to fix the methods that he uses to interact with the world. It's not just the 'what' that matters but the 'how'.

So... if Halbrand had stayed in Numenor, what would have changed? The mountain would still blow, because that was Adar's plan, and he put it into motion before he was captured by Galadriel & Halbrand - he made himself into the bait to distract anyone from the real danger. The only thing that would have changed (so far) is that Galadriel might have actually killed Adar in the barn -- it was Halbrand who pulled her back from the edge, just like she was the one who pulled him back earlier. Everything else that happened in the battle and afterwards didn't need his involvement, not as long as Galadriel still brought the Numenor host. I suspect the answer to the question of "what would have changed" will rapidly change in the upcoming episodes, though.

It is also easy to picture a scenario where finding out about the mountain going boom leads to Halbrand going to the chancellor of Numenor and selling himself as the solution to this new problem of all his hopes and dreams of trade with the newly-rebuilt Southlands going up in flames. A road that would carry less guilt and turmoil for Galadriel specifically, since she would not be the reason that Sauron returned to Middle-Earth.

Mom update: she was feeling pretty stressed out about the mountain blowing up, so we will continue next week! She isn't sure what to think about Sauron at the moment, after Adar saying that he killed him. She knows that Sauron isn't dead, because of LotR, but she doesn't have any guesses as to what's going on with him. She is considering the idea that he's already basically disembodied, the way that he is in LotR. She DID have a critique about how quickly Bronwyn was on her feet after that terrible injury (my mom had a real bad shoulder injury when she was a kid, so she's experienced that kind of pain. Not an arrow, but there were broken bones and such).

So far, I feel like the episodes have been building on each other and getting better and this episode in particular was... so so intense.

[jandjsalmon]

FRC 2025 - January ❄️

Hello friends! I hope you've all been doing okay - given the state of the world and all. I am sending kind and loving thoughts to all of you who are worried, who are unsafe, and who are struggling. I see you, and I love you, and this is a safe place for you. 🖤

It's been a crazy month here - but I did take time to do some fun things... like going to rock concerts (see below - this is the fam at one of the last Sum41 concerts 😢).

So while year-end at the office and the Music Festival that I volunteer with have been keeping me SUPER busy - fandom life has also been intense. I may have accidentally made a viral post - which just cracked 50k notes this morning (and has completely murdered my Activity page) - and it even hit reddit - so now Bethy thinks she's famous. Ha ha. (for those of you new here - Bethy is the blonde one 4th from the front in the picture above)

Anyway, since I seem to have acquired a bunch of new followers, I apologize in advance for my blog not being what you probably expected it to be. But you're still welcome here. 👋🏻

Another year, another new task sheet for the @fanfic-reading-challenge - and boy is it hard! Super challenging - but it's definitely going to be fun. Remember, it's never too late to join up, and there is a Discord to ask for help and recs.

As I do every month, my progress and fic recs are below:

I was busy for the first half of the month creating a new spreadsheet to gather all my info - so that's why I haven't read as much I did last January. Still - I feel like this was a pretty great beginning.

One favourite fic I read this month was, Elf Lover by mildthemes. It's a Galadrial/Sauron fic from Rings of Power. Canon divergence pretty early on in Season 1. The inner workings of Sauron's head are fascinating and very funny. Instead of being unrepentantly obsessed with power, he's obsessed with equally obsessed "horse-girl" Galadriel instead. Some enemies to lovers for sure. There's some angst along the way (like when Sauron creates a single ring and gives it to Galadriel instead) and at one point Elrond essentially works as a couple's councillor but has to drink like 2 bottles of elf wine to do it, but their devotion is wonderful and their ending is domestic and happy. I made it a challenge to comment on every chapter and I got really emotional with the way they ended it. I highly recommend. 💯

I also read a few old favourites this month - one of which was I Will Follow You Into the Dark by my girl @feelavalanche. Violet/Tate (at the very highest level) from American Horror Story (which was my first tumblr fandom btw). This fic is a pretty big emotional rollercoaster. Pretend everything happened in Murder House like it did - except Violet lived. She got away and lived her life - but now she's going back for 'reasons'. There's a character death (but that's not news if you know the fandom). And CANCER is a big trigger warning for some folks. There are some GORGEOUS lines. Beautiful writing. Moments I've cried. It's from 2012 and I've read it more times than I can count. It just sticks with you. Sad. But with a happy ending (sorta?). I hope someone here will give it a try and enjoy!

[dangerliesbeforeyou]

top first-time watches tag ~

Rules: Post 9 of your favourite films you saw for the first time this year that are not new (2023/2024) but are new to you, and tag 9 others to do the same.

tagged by the amazing @illgiveyouahint thank you!!!

I didn't manage to watch as many films as I generally like to, and not much foreign stuff unfortunately :(( (I've been focusing on watching films on my ever growing watch list plus various short films I manage to stumble across!)

It was hard to narrow it down to just 9 ngl lol these were just the ones I think had the biggest emotional impact on me?

A Field In England (2013) dir. Ben Wheatley

Joy Street (1995) dir. Suzan Pitt (this is a short animated film, Suzan has a bunch of them which I watched back in March and they're honestly all incredible!!!)

Withnail & I (1987) dir. Bruce Robinson

An Adventure In Space And Time (2013) dir. Terry McDonough

Candyman (1992) dir. Bernard Rose

The Elephant Man (1980) dir. David Lynch

Saving Face (2004) dir. Alice Wu

Minotaur (1999) dir. Daniel Sousa (this is a short film someone mentioned on my letterboxd poll about least seen films btw!)

The Wicker Man (1973) dir. Robin Hardy

Special mentions (for films that came out 2023/2024 that I loved):

Bottoms (2023) dir. Emma Seligman

The Passenger (2023) dir. Carter Smith (not the best film BUT it did change my brain chemistry for a couple months lol)

Festival Of Slaps (2023) dir. Abdou Cisse (absolutely amazing short film that I'd HIGHLY recommend!)

Identiteaze (2024) dir. Jessie Earl (aka Jessie Gender on youtube! I really hope she gets to make more films tbh cos this was so queer and so delightful!)

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) dir. Nick Park & Merlin Crossingham

Tagging (no pressure ofc!): @trans-elrond @micamicster @rainbowconvection @silverview @dollopheadsandclotpoles @lapis-lazuliie @suburbanrot @coquelicoq @wintersoulwitch & honestly anyone else who wants to do it!!

[malkaleh]

Some more about Freyja, Bjorn and their parents. @themalhambird @nocompromise-noregrets

Freyja (“I am SIX and that means I can have SWORD”) very much wants to be a brave and honourable warrior general. Sven worries about her because well, Freyja is not one even at six to not be indignant about cruelty.

Bjorn wants to be a healer. Sven does worry about how gentle he is but also even the forces of Sauron do need/employ healers if only because there are human soldiers etc who are valuable enough.

(I think possibly the reason they are slated for sacrificing is because both kids have Potential and the priest of their clan has picked up on it. Especially Bjorn but Freyja is also…she’s the kind of warrior that can Lead).

Gunhild their mother is, as I said a fervent true believer. She loves her husband and children more than anything but she believes that she must give up her children that not doing so would essentially damn them and it’s…it’s awful.

Sven has never been a true believer he’s just never known another reality. Ever. Until now.

Sauron btw thinks Sven and the children were killed and actually genuinely honours Sven and his kids as Okay There Are Three Mortals I Respect.

Galadriel and Celeborn having a very very hard time because bright little girl who loves to learn, loves SWORDS and is so very curious and good and of course they think of their own daughter.

Little shy Bjorn who also adores Celebrimbor. Actually Celebrimbor and Freyja! (A little girl with golden hair I just realised AAAAGH).

Bjorn adores Adar. ADORES. He’s just like CUDDLES???? @plotdesigner

Bjorn just idolising Elrond @self-destructinganimal

Sauron allows them to spend time with all of them because to Sauron Sven etc is basically extensions of him so.

OH IF FINROD IS THERE.

[samthepotterhead]

now I finally know why he was called estel in a fanfic. I thought there was another reveal behind it, but aragorn was actually the revealed name. btw this is actually name no. 5 (!) that I know of. I was not kidding with the 15 names.

I think it's very responsible of tolkien to introduce arwen to aragorn only when he is 20 and has lived with her father for 18 years, which prevents it from being a grooming situation (even though she is still much older than him) and (socially) incestuous. and even elrond is like "no you are way too young". very nice. I have a feeling though, if this was gender flipped, he would've fewer qualms about this, especially considering aragorn's mother seems to have been super young (probably in her early teens) and his father 58 when they married… but I love that arwen and aragorn's relationship is now explained, even though I personally don't understand why this isn’t woven into the lotr story.

maybe I'm overinterpreting, aragorn and arwen sounds a lot like tolkien and his wife too, no? I know he mostly based beren and luthien on their relationship, but him being orphaned as a child, younger (and maybe a little naive), from different backgrounds (catholic vs protestant), them not being able to be together bc of their guardians, then getting engaged but parted by a war, and then finally ending up married sounds very parallel. but Idk maybe this all applies to beren and luthien as well.

I love that this series actually tells the whole story of most of the characters and through that forms a bridge between fantasy and the reality of life and death, but it's so sad to read somehow :( I'm assuming tolkien did this on purpose to end his life's work (and prepare for his own end). but it's also sad (if aragorn and arwen are indeed based on his own marriage) to think he thought he would die before his wife. but then he had to live without her for a couple of years and I'm sure felt not unlike arwen is described here, withering.

so yeah, as you can tell I have familiarized myself with tolkien’s biography as well in the last few weeks...

[wowstrawberrycow]

Oh, goodness! It looks like someone strung up some mistletoe! What three couples (or throuples!) got stuck together underneath and how’d they react?

Ok so this prompt inspired me to do something so much fun!!

Setting it up with some notes!⬇️

(This is the partyverse!!! Totally planning on making a partyverse timeline master list too btw! Thank you for the inspiration y’all! Lol this is totally connected to my 7 minutes in heaven prompt 🤣! In my prompt timeline, this happens before the 7 minutes in heaven one. I’m gonna say that the 7 minutes in heaven one is on New Years lol Lindir is too invested in his fun to join his lovies at the New Year's party. After Adar had Brimby in the closet they went outside to talk to gil-gadaddy about them being poly with one another! I absolutely will alter what I need to in order for these prompts to connect!🤣 I'm on a mission now!!!)

December 21st 

Once upon a lovely winter holiday, there was a glorious party at Elrond’s homely house in Rivendell. He invited many of his friends across Middle Earth to celebrate the solstice with him. He was happy to accommodate all who attended with a beautiful fireplace to settle down with many stories to tell and a plentiful banquet table. Even the passers-by who happened upon his gracious home were welcome to partake as usual.

Lindir X Elrond X Thranduil

Lindir had waited all year for this moment. He chest tightened as he spied the mistletoe he had hung in the doorway not long before the party had started. Tonight was the night. He was going to say it for real this time. ‘I’m going to ask him… I can do it.’ he took a steadying breath before he could finish his thoughts. The feeling of mature loving lips fluttered in his mind just as the butterflies did upon his stomach. He closed his eyes, savoring the imaginary bliss. However, upon opening them he felt his heart sink. The sight of the tall blonde bending down to cling to his secret love had him gasping. He turned away before he could witness them lock lips Out of sight in a far-off corner of the room. No one in the room noticed them but Lindir.

Silently he had exited the party hall with sharp pains in his stomach and chest. He had no tears to cry; for those were much too hard to evoke. Instead, a heavy feeling of regret befell him. Why hadn’t he spoken sooner? Would it have even mattered? He thought there was something odd about Elrond’s situation with Thranduil. The man was visiting multiple times a year. Elrond had also visited Thranduil in a similar accord. It all made sense now… How could he compete with the elven king? He was only a lowly council member… He hung his head in embarrassment. How could he be so foolish? 

His thoughts were soon broken to a gentle touch of his shoulder. Lindir jerked his head up in surprise. Shock soon filled his face when he spied Thranduil on one side and Elrond on the other. “What? What is it, my lord and king?” Lindir bowed his head in respect.

“Oh, I think you know.” Thranduil leaned on the man with alcohol already on his breath. He laid his head playfully over Lindir’s shoulder. The blonde already was tipsy with boldness.

Elrond rolled his eyes. With a shake of his head, then he gently patted Lindir’s hair. “I’m Very much aware of your pining my dear. I just wasn’t sure how far it went until tonight. The pretty bit of greenery you had hung was a sweet gesture. I suppose I assumed correctly then? Was that meant for you and I?”  

“I- I… My Lord, I can explain..” Lindir stuttered, baffled with nervousness dripping from every part of him.

“You know Daddy, He is very cute. I don’t mind at all so long as I am allowed time with him as well.” Thranduil hummed lower, ignoring the man's sputtering. Alcohol surely was the culprit of such behavior. 

“D-Daddy?” Lindir gasped, covering his mouth with wide eyes.

To this Thranduil smirked, leaning into Lindir’s side. The shorter man stood there with a gaping mouth, looking between Elrond and Thranduil. He was quite unsure what to do with himself.

“Doll, play nice with him.” Elrond took a scolding tone when eyeing the blonde with a dominant warning in his eyes.

“ Oh fine.” Thranduil huffed quite pouty towards his dom’s command. Though ultimately he obeyed.

Lindir was still quite speechless. After a moment he desperately needed confirmation, “I-I... Are you both insinuating what I suspect?” 

“ Yes. I believe so my dear. That is if you’re interested in us both. My doll is very special to my heart. But, if you can allow yourself to feel loved by us both then I will gladly have you at my side in that way.” Elrond spoke softly, caressing Lindir’s cheek.

  “Y-Yes.. I think I could try.” He eyed Thranduil shyly then peeked at Elrond with a dark blush rushing to his cheeks. 

With that, the two men hauled Lindir inside where the party was merry. No one paid the trio any mind as the two each kissed one of Lindir’s cheeks. It seemed harmless enough for the time of year. The joyful season called for snuggling close and expressions of innocent affection. Even as the three sat by the fire closely as they shared their stories, their new relationship fell on oblivious eyes. Or so they thought. 

Legolas X Gimli

Legolas was a rather observant elf. They people watched often so seeing their father in the arms of Elrond was quite expected. They had witnessed the two of them subtly longing for each other and exchanging sweet brief kisses on the lips every chance they had. No secrets could be kept from Legolas for very long. Speaking of kisses it was about time for their fair share. 

“And what do you think you’re doing?” Legolas snickered seeing their husband downing beer. They had to laugh at the dwarf’s rosy drunken face. This also was very expected.

“What do ye want, ye leafy twig? Can’t ye see I’m in the middle-” Gimli was cut off by the elf scooping him up in their arms.

Legolas chuckled, running off to the mistletoe. After seeing their father enjoying it they wanted their fill of it too. Such fun kissing games were. 

Gimli chuckled drunkenly while giving his spouse’s hair a playful tug, “Now wait just a minute you cheeky canary, I am not a teddy bear you can just run off-” His rant was then cut off by Legolas once again. 

Before the dwarf knew it he was under the mistletoe sharing a deeply passionate kiss with his spouse. He soon grew content to settle in his lover's arms. All that truly mattered on this night was that they shared it together. This thought made his heart sing. He hummed, laying his head against Legolas’ shoulder. “ Why don’t we take this to the balcony? A serenade is bubbling in me, my beautiful gem. I need to share it with ye before it fades.” 

Legolas felt their heart pitter-patter with glee. Their husband’s poetry always made them feel weak in the very greatest of ways. “How could I resist my dearest wish’s proposal? However, I request you write it down this time. Or I shall have to scribe it for you. I do not want to lose any of my darling's beautiful words on this night. I’ll immortalize it for my eyes only.” Legolas gushed as they sped out of the room with their husband and pack in their arms.  

Gil-galad X Celebrimbor (Brimby)- In my perfect shipper world these 2 are happy and very much in love. If you read the 7 minute in heaven prompt you also will know that eventually Adar joins them! Just wait Adar my beloved you too shall be loved soon!

Celebrimbor was beginning to feel left out. After seeing several others partake in the little game brought on by Lindir’s hanging mistletoe, He could feel his eyes wander over to his King. A faint blush busted his cheeks. With a bit of courage, he tapped Gil-galad’s shoulder. “Darling, do you mind stepping over with me? If it’s not too much trouble.” he looked between his dom and the greenery that hung in the doorway. “I know you like to catch up with everyone and-” Brimby stammered nervously, trailing off into silence.

Gil-galad’s heart swelled with a light akin to liquid as he watched his sweet little mouse chatter on. Such a darling little thing he was. Gil-galad couldn’t hold back his grin while placing a finger against his lover’s lips to cease his mumbling. “You know I always have time for you. Come my dear.” He offered Celebrimbor an arm as they made their way across the room.

Brimby leaned in, snuggling close to his King. There truly was no other place he’d rather be than in his handsome lover’s arms, “Thank you my King.” he could already feel his mind growing fuzzier with anticipation as a softer headspace slowly befell his mind. That of a princess he’d soon be. Once under the mistletoe, the mouse peeked up at it, then shyly spied his king. 

“Well, go on my dear. Show your King those beautiful lips.” he coaxed the timid little mouse from his arm. Then with the most gentle hand, he guided his submissive to stand in front of him. 

Celebrimbor obeyed his King’s pillowy order, by tilting his head up with his lips puckered timidly and ready.

“That’s my sweet princess. Such a good boy.” Gil-galad leaned down whispering praise into his mousey princess’s ear.

This evoked a soft shiver that ran down Celebrimbor’s spine. A small whimper escaped his lips when he felt his King’s grace of his own with a feathery peck. It was a teasing touch, this only meant one thing. Brimby gulped, before speaking up “ May I please have another that is deeper and passionate my King?” he asked in the sweetest voice he could.

“Of course darling. I’m so proud of you for using your words to speak what you desire.” Gil-galad stroked his princess’ cheek before locking lips with him fully. He slipped his tongue in expertly exploring his mouse’s mouth. 

By the time Gil-galad had parted from the kiss Celebrimbor felt dazed. His breath hitched with a mild weakness. He couldn’t help but fall into his King’s arms. 

Gil-galad smirked at his princess’s speechless reaction, “Come, sweetness, let us grow warmer by the fire.” The regal man drew Brimby closer to his chest and led his sub to a comfy place where they could snuggle near the heat. His sweet one would need the closeness more than ever since he had fallen into a vulnerable nonverbal state. “You just stay close. I have you, my dear.”

With a small hum, Brimby obeyed his King snuggling deeper into the security his dom provided. Meanwhile, his hand stroked his King’s hair to prevent his floating mind from sailing away completely.

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I had a blast writing this!!!!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!!!

☃️🎁🎄