#also everyone loves Morwen

[eri-pl]

@edennill and others, asking for your help, because I just realized I don't really have any human fave (actual human, not a half-elf) I mean I do like Amandil, but I'm not that interested in him, and I do have a ton of elf faves and that's kinda biased.

I don't think it's healthy to have faves only in the most powerful groups, I need some balance.

Recommend me some Men, with an explanation why they're cool? (Preferably from Slim, may be LotR, but Aragorn is too mainstream 🤣 and Faramir idk, I know they're both awesome but they're not my jam)

Thank you.

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

It’s Tolkien Meta Week, and today is LOTR Day. I’d never really describe any of my own random musings as formal “meta” (and certainly not like the brilliant stuff other people think up!). Nevertheless, I do muse away, and so I’ll just blather it all out here informally. Read below, if you are so inclined, for more of my obsession with incredibly obscure characters and Tolkien’s obsession with forcing Gondorian supremacy on everyone!

We know Tolkien loved to set up really distinct narrative parallels between pairs of Gondorians and Rohirrim (think Denethor/Théoden, Boromir/Théodred, Háma/Beregond) so that the ways that they are both similar and different can teach us specific things about the characters as individuals and about their kingdoms and cultures as a whole. And I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the life experiences of a much older pair — Valacar of Gondor and Thengel of Rohan — and what Tolkien was trying to communicate with the undeniable connections he drew between these two very different characters who were separated by ~ 1,500 years of history.

First, since these are lesser known characters who exist largely in the appendices, let’s start with the basics:

Valacar was the heir to the throne of Gondor when he was sent to live as an ambassador of sorts among the Northmen of Rhovanion (the people who would go on to become the éothéod and then the Rohirrim). He was meant to learn their language, manners and customs, but he did more than that — he fell in love with the culture, married a local woman (a princess of the Northmen named Vidumavi) and had a son, Vinitharya. Eventually, his time in Rhovanion came to an end and he went back to Gondor, where he met almost nothing but grief. A substantial part of the Gondorian ruling class rejected his wife as being of lesser blood than the Númenórean lines of Gondor, and they certainly rejected his half-Northman son, who they did not want as king when his time came. Despite the fact that Valacar and his family showed only loyalty to Gondor and, in fact, tried repeatedly to bend in the direction of the Gondorian hardliners (for example, they changed Vinitharya’s name to Eldacar to make him sound less “foreign” to the Gondorians), those same hardliners staged a coup against Eldacar, killed his own son, and started a civil war that only ended after much death and destruction.

Thengel was the heir to the throne of Rohan when he left to live in Gondor, by implication because he wanted out from under the rule of his father, Fengel, who was described as greedy, difficult, and often at odds with everyone around him. Thengel threw himself into Gondorian life, learning their languages, joining the military, and serving their steward. He also married a local woman, Morwen, with whom he had 5 children, 3 of which were born in Gondor, including his son. When Fengel finally died, Thengel returned to Rohan and took the throne, where he had a successful reign despite the fact that he had been very resistant to the idea of returning and spent the rest of his life still clinging to elements of Gondorian culture (like holding onto Sindarin as the language of his rule rather than using Rohirric as one would expect). Still, he ruled well and passed the throne on seamlessly to his son, Théoden. 

So. BIG SAME on major elements of their stories — a prince of Gondor who went to live in proto-Rohan and a prince of Rohan who went to live in Gondor. They each embraced those foreign lands, married locally and had sons of mixed heritage before returning to their kingdoms to rule and pass on the throne to those sons. But the paths couldn’t be more different once they got home again. Valacar, who left Gondor as part of a duty to his land and returned willingly, had his wife and son met only with discrimination, resistance and eventually full-on insurrection despite repeated attempts to ingratiate themselves with the Gondorians. Thengel, who left Rohan of his own accord and only came back against his will, had his wife and son welcomed and honored by the Rohirrim despite the fact that Thengel himself continued to show some, shall we say, divided loyalty when he was there.

In terms of outcomes, the text of the appendices seems to come down hard on the people who opposed Valacar, Vidumavi and Vinitharya/Eldacar, because their effort backfired spectacularly. The civil war so thoroughly depleted the ranks of the Gondorian nobility that Eldacar, once he’d won the throne back, had to encourage significant immigration from Rhovanion to replenish Gondorian society. Plus, that depletion and the lingering fear of *another* civil war prevented the Gondorians from resolving a thorny succession crisis years later — lacking any heir whose claim to the kingship would be accepted by everyone, the line of kings in Gondor just came to an abrupt end instead. It’s hard to imagine a bigger karmic smackdown than to have your coup, which was meant to protect the alleged sanctity of the Gondorian monarchy from “lesser” influences, instead result in an influx of those “lesser” influences into your society and eventually the total loss of the monarchy itself! 

On the opposite side of the ledger, the Rohirrim were narratively rewarded for their more open minded approach. Thengel proved to be a decent king and gave them the line that produced Théoden (another good king, one small period of manipulation aside) as well as Théodred, Éomer, and Éowyn, all of whom had critical roles to play in the fight against Sauron, the preservation of freedom in Middle Earth and the survival of Rohan as an independent kingdom. All good things!

So this seems like a clear situation where Gondor did wrong and was punished, and Rohan did right and was rewarded. And so the moral of the story would be to Be Like Rohan, at least in this respect. AND YET,  I’m not entirely sure that’s what Tolkien is really saying because the Gondorians don’t actually seem to have learned their lesson. And that’s fine — what are humans if not bad at learning the lessons of history? — except that the meta narrative of LOTR itself seems to agree with them. 

For starters, the carping of the Gondorian hardliners about the tainting of pure Gondorian blood turns out to be true. Introducing “lesser” bloodlines into Gondor *does* eventually shorten their unusually long lifespans, which had always been the sign of the divine favor that was bestowed on them as a people. So the book buys into the notion that there are real and significant differences of quality between the high Men of Gondor and those from other parts of Middle Earth that have nothing to do with their actions and intentions but come only from genetics. That’s a big ick, but the book definitely validates the hardliners’ position.

For that reason, it’s unsurprising, I guess, that the Gondorians are still invested in these ideas of blood purity — they can see the proof of its effects in their own bodies. Yes, they are more accepting of outsiders marrying into the upper echelons of their society by the late Third Age, but I don’t think their embrace of either Éowyn (who has some Gondorian heritage and, anyway, was not marrying the king!) or Arwen (who is from a race that is fetishized as higher and nobler than the others and that has been present in the Gondorian royal line as far back as the very first king of Númenor) can be offered as proof that they would have similarly accepted a queen from a “lesser” community of Men. Indeed, they still explicitly endorse the same beliefs about the inherent inferiority of other humans, with no less than Faramir himself repeating the idea that there is a hierarchy of Men in high, middle and low tiers (with the Rohirrim only qualifying as “middle”) based on their perceived difference from the gold standard of a descendant of Númenor.

I think it’s significant that it’s Faramir who says this, because he is Tolkien’s self-described Author Insert, and he’s also someone who is established as the very pinnacle of wisdom and judgment. If Faramir believes something to be true, we, as readers, are generally meant to believe that it IS true, as pretty much every other thing he says in any other context is proven out by the narrative. So, again, the book is telling us that not all Men are equal in Middle Earth.

So what are we to make of this? If Tolkien truly meant the Valacar/Thengel parallel to be a cautionary tale that would warn against a mindset of looking down on other Men as inherently inferior — and I really don’t know how else you can read it given how sympathetic the text is to Valacar and his family, how catastrophic the kinstrife in Gondor proves to be, and how Thengel shows us what it looks like to handle a similar situation very differently — why does the story still seem to want us to embrace the very same ideas that nearly brought down Valacar’s family and caused untold suffering in Gondor and elsewhere? Why does the introduction of Northmen heritage into the royal line cause its degradation? Why does The Author’s Favored Character still espouse the Gondorian insurrectionists’ rhetoric about lesser Men? Why is it that the whole world can only be saved by the return to Gondor of a king who has that pure “blood of Westernesse” that the Gondorian nobles of Valacar’s day cared so much about? They were wrong to hold Eldacar’s mixed heritage against him and yet it’s also true that the world can only be set right when someone of “pure” heritage like Aragorn is put back in charge? It seems like a mixed message for sure.

Personally, I think Tolkien got trapped by the allure of a particular religious/moral idea, namely that you can earn divine favor through service to god. That might have been a very appealing concept to someone looking at the world through his particular religious lens, but when he allowed that divine favor to pass down through generations such that people were benefitting from it purely through inheritance and not from independent effort, it becomes a real problem. The Gondorians have to be better than everyone else because they come from the Númenóreans, and the Númenóreans have to be better because they come from the houses of the edain that fought alongside the Valar in the war of wrath and received that divine blessing in the form of longer life *for them and their ancestors.* And now you’ve got to square the implications of that with the otherwise obvious truth that no Man is inherently better or more ennobled than another simply because of where/when they’re born. And you really can’t. It forces you to have Men — in the form of the Rohirrim, most notably — who are acting only in good and noble ways but still have to be subordinated to the glory of Gondor for reasons that have fuck all to do with the behavior or intentions of either group. I think Tolkien recognized this problem, which is why the story feints at the idea that Gondor is wrong, but ultimately he couldn’t let it go and the story ends up bearing out their beliefs. And so here I am, all these years later, finding it infuriating!

[baldurs-writers-3]

This week, we have fics focusing on Tav! Check under the cut for eight fics that explore custom Tavs as they navigate the challenges of BG3. And as always, comment and kudos if you like them!

staeve multiverse by Deerna (30082,Not Rated) Warnings: Check individual fics for rating and content notes Pairings: Astarion/Halsin/Tav

This is a relatively large collection of fics surrounding Staeve, the drow rogue made by Velnna

Reccer says: Staeve is a super fun tav, and there are so many fun fics exploring his dynamic with his partners.

Be Worth Something by Masterangst12 (4445,Not Rated) Warnings: None Pairings: Astarion/Tav

Tav (named Axel) gives Astarion a present, a thoughtful gesture and Astarion sucks it up and returns the kindness by learning to comfort someone else for once.

Reccer says: I love how everyone picked up on the signs of Axel's self-worth issues, and I love Astarion's response to them even more

Under the Sussur Tree by spacesunderstairs (73724,Mature) Warnings: None Pairings: Astarion/Tav

Halinae (a reclusive drow bard) wakes up on a mindflayer ship and must find her way out.

Reccer says: I really like Halinae as a character, and enjoy seeing her interact with the various companions.

tomorrow (and tomorrow, and tomorrow) by maximumentropy (51352,Mature) Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Rape/Non-Con (though the non-con is not super explicit, if that helps), Self harm Pairings: Astarion/Halsin/Tav

Astarion is newly freed from Cazador, and Morrow is newly freed from their own abusive master. And Halsin? Halsin is the only one who knows the three of them are soulmates.

Reccer says: I really like Morrow as a character, and the way these three play off each other and grow together. Just very lovely all around

Fidelity by narla_hotep (102674,Mature) Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death, Body Horror Pairings: The Emperor/Tav

Fidelius was a thrall; a mind flayer's loyal servant who obeyed his master's every whim. But everything changed when the nautiloid descended. Now with his master missing and presumed dead, Del is free for the first time in decades... And he has absolutely no idea what to do with it.

Reccer says: The premise is executed so well, and the descriptions are wonderfully visceral.

Weight of The Crown by Nikolai_237 (2613,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Karlach/Tav

A young Archfey warlock attempts to become familiar with a mysterious power bestowed to him.

Reccer says: I really enjoy the feywild imagery, and Rivera is just a joy to read

And two fics each for:

Oathbreaker by Mellybaggins (186136,Explicit) Warnings: Dead dove content, major character death, rape, torture, religious trauma, gaslighting/emotional manipulation Pairings: Tav/Astarion, Tav/Halsin, Tav/OC

The fic follows Morwen, an oathbreaker paladin Tav through the events of the game, but also during her rich backstory as told through recovered suppressed memories.

Reccer #1 says: It seems to start as just another Tav fic but really takes off after Raphael messes with her and the suppressed traumatic memories start to resurface. Reccer #2 says: Morwen is such an interesting Tav, and I love fics that really dig into the divide between good vs evil, especially in such a dark way.

Until I Met You by onlymine139 (50846,Explicit) Warnings: None Pairings: Halsin/Tav

A slow burn that focuses on developing the relationship between Tav and Halsin during the events of BG3.

Reccer #1 says: It helps to fill in some of the gaps in the in game romance with Halsin as well as develop some cute friendships with the other companions. Heavy on Tav's (Tav'ahria) backstory as well, who was also present for the unleashing of the shadow curse. Reccer #2 says: I really enjoy the sweet back and forth between Tav and Halsin, and their companions' sometimes disastrous matchmaking attempts.

The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ!

Next week, we’ll be back with Humorous Fics!

[the-elusive-soleil]

Some things that might have happened if the Valar had gone to war with Morgoth immediately after the Silmaril theft, and evacuated the Sindar, Avari, and very first Men to Aman to escape the continental destruction:

Nobody swears any Oaths. Feanor doesn't get the chance to, because the Valar go after Morgoth before he can.

He would have liked to go help with the war, but the Valar have made it clear that the Eruhini need to keep out from underfoot, and Ulmo is actually enforcing this one.

Feanor does contribute weapon designs in exchange for the promise of the Silmarils being returned to him ASAP.

(We have the sun and moon, I feel like I should say. The Valar made them when they needed light sources for the war and it was clear they weren't getting the Silmarils back all that soon.)

There's a lot of excitement when the new arrivals show up. Olwe is ecstatic to see his brother again - with a Maiarin wife and a daughter, too!

Thingol is upset about losing his realm and also grieving his friend FInwe, but cautiously intrigued to meet Finwe's family.

Feanor has become High King of the Noldor at least in name, but in practice what's developed is that Fingolfin and Maedhros and Caranthir and Turgon handle a lot of the day-to-day and Feanor is so busy crafting that he never noticed the shift. No one is super interested in telling him.

Thingol very nearly breaks it all open by accident, but they avoid a crisis just in time.

The Avari disappear into the outlands and forests and assimilate as little as possible.

Thingol and Melian start up a new city, but it's...not quite the same.

Luthien is restless. Her parents' new city might not have a girdle, but she feels fenced in anyway - partially with her parents not wanting her to stray too far in this strange new place, and partially because she's the one and only half-Maia and stunningly beautiful and everyone wants a piece of her, so to speak.

Funnily enough, certain of the Feanorians know exactly how those itchy feet feel, and her father doesn't hate them in this timeline.

She's not into hunting to kill things, really, but Celegorm teaches her this neat trick that sometimes you can just say you're 'going hunting' and head off to the woods to do whatever you want, like running just for the sake of it or dancing without anyone watching you, and no one will ask any questions.

She ends up spending a lot of time with him and the twins and Aredhel.

(Celegorm and Luthien eventually get married, because why not.)

(Melian gives her blessing on the condition that their firstborn son marries Nimloth, who goes along with it because she trusts Melian's foresight. Or, alternatively, they might have a daughter who marries Beren when he comes along; that'd be a fun twist.)

(The point is that Elrond and Elros eventually exist. They aren't in need of adoption, but they develop a surprising bond with their uncle Maglor.)

Almost forgot, the dwarves got brought over, too.

Caranthir does a lot of the negotiation with them, since his bluntness meshes best with their ways.

They and the Men keep having new generations be born and die, and it's...an adjustment for the elves.

Finrod, nonetheless, becomes great friends with a Man called Balan and his folk.

Caranthir encounters a Haladin woman named Haleth when she comes to court to arrange for greater independence for her people. He's in love at first sight. It takes her a little longer.

None of Caranthir's family understands why he'd choose to go through the eventual heartbreak of losing a spouse, but he ignores them all, and gets married anyway.

They have an astounding number of children. This is partially because they have better proximity and aren't in survival mode, partially because it takes them a sec to figure out how human conception works, and partially because Caranthir wants there to be as much Haleth in the world as possible before she's inevitably gone.

Hurin Thalion and Morwen have three lovely children. Nienor probably has a different name. Lalaith lives to an astoundingly old age, healthy as a horse.

Tuor and Idril, of course, get together. Turgon is a bit less enthusiastic about it this time, what with Tuor just being A Guy and not Ulmo's champion, but when would that ever stop Idril. Tuor does die eventually, but they have a good life till then.

Feanor ends up liking the Men and dwarves a lot more than anyone thought he would. He learns All The Languages, and loves to swap techniques with the dwarves and bounce off Men's ingenuity.

Also, the Sindar introduce a radical notion called marriage counseling, which is apparently something you invent if you're coping with Arda Marred instead of trying to maintain an assumption of perfection. They've also invented family therapy. Feanor and Nerdanel, and really the whole House of Finwe, benefit hugely from this.

Oh, and elf/dwarf relationships become hugely popular among the Noldor, because when your dwarf spouse dies you can literally go see them at Aule's house still as long as you're discreet about it, so no one bats an eye when Celebrimbor announces his engagement to the craftswoman Narvi some time down the line.

[celeluwhenfics]

Fanfic writer interview

Thank you @sotwk for the tag! I'm somewhat of a beginning author, so let's see if I have anything to say...

How many works do you have on AO3? 6

What's your total AO3 word count? 17,293

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

pHORSEuasion (Éomer / OC)

Perfect (Théodred / Boromir)

The Creek Game (gen)

Spoons (Éomer & Théoden)

Morwen Steelsheen and her daughters (gen)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes!!! There might be a delay if I'm busy, but I make a point of responding to every single comment, even if it's just to say thank you! I love comments!!!

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? That would be Caeeli aux mains bleues, an Arthurian fic I wrote at 16. It's kind of cringe... and yes very angsty. I keep it around because there's no use being ashamed of where you started (although.....) and anyway most of my followers don't read French so they can't witness that weird teenage trainwreck for themselves 🙃 I also have plans (and lots of drafts) to re-write it entirely into something much, much more interesting, but it will have to wait after pHORSE is done.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? Perfect! Although it's merely a double drabble. But pHORSEuasion will have a sweet, happy ending and will sicken everyone around with sugary fluff!

Do you write crossovers? Does pHORSEuasion count as a crossover? I know that technically it's an AU (Jane Austen's Persuasion set in LotR universe), but it kind of has the spirit of crossover? Unless I misunderstand the concept.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Never.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? No... But never say never! 👀

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of.

Have you ever had a fic translated? No, but I could translate them into French myself. Or turn the Arthurian fic into English. We'll see.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? No! Alone in my head, so far.

What's your all-time favorite ship? Hmmm I really like Borodred, but at the moment I'm entirely taken by my Éomer/Rowena(OC) ship!

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? I WILL FINISH pHORSE I WILL FINISH pHORSE I WILL FINISH pHORSE I WILL FINISH pHORSE even if it takes me a decade.

What are your writing strengths? Erm, I think that one of my strengths is that I can draw from a wide variety of real-life experiences to make different settings and topics feel real and describe them with realism and depth?

What are your writing weaknesses? I'm sloooooooow. Wow I'm slow. Perfectionism, busy life, second language, complex plots, put all that together, and you get the pace of an arthritic snail on sleeping pills.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? Old English is just too pretty! But I try to stay readable. (As if I had to restrain myself from fluently writing in Old English hahaha)

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to? I'm happy with LotR, Austen and Arthurian legend! Maybe one day I will extend to Silmarillion!

What's your favorite fic you've written? Finished: Spoons. Quite proud of how I treated a difficult, rarely addressed subject there! But overall: pHORSE is my baby!

Tagging @konartiste @dreambigdreamz @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras @emmanuellececchi @torchwood-99 and who else wants to play?

[thelien-art]

Húrin or Fingon for the character ask

This will be the last one btw, sry :)

Húrin:

First impression: I loved him just as I laid eyes upon his name.

Impression now: Cool man, would totally go for a drink with him, like he went to Gondolin flying on eagles, than thought the devil´s armies, then said fuck you to the devil´s face, and then when he was sat free he- yeah... I like him and his story a lot, it´s very clear he is a loyal and loving man, and he is easy to love for the reader too.

Favorite moment: Throwing the Nauglamír at Thingol´s face :)

Idea for a story: What if he... what if he saved Urwen...? And what if he somehow saved Túrin and Nienor too?? he might just be the only character I don´t wish further angst on...

Unpopular opinion: I don´t think he was strong enough to defy Morgoth, I just don´t think he really knew where Gondolin wear, like he was flown there by eagles, how would he know precisely where it was?

Favorite relationship: It might just be Huor, but I am also a very big fan of his relationship with Morwen, especially after he is set free.

Favorite headcanon: I HC that he had CIPA (Congenital insensitivity to pain and anhydrosis - the nerves who pick up pain aren´t connected right to the brain) which courses him a lot of trouble, but might just have saved him a little bit as a captive... just a little... mental torture (getting forced to sit in a chair and watch the world burn as your family slowly dies) is very much torture still.

Fingon:

First impression: I think he have a good fashion sense, and nothing is ever going to go wrong for this sweet boi :)

Impression now: He still have a good fashion sense, but I think the first time I encountered him I read him more as a child, it was only AFTER he saved Maedhros that I actually began thinking of him as someone who might have anger and hate in him, even while I read the rescue I found it hard to think of him as someone who could hate anyone, even if he had seen his brother die, but after that it was pretty easy, which also made me read him a bit different when I reread the Silmarillion the first time. I very much enjoy him as a hopeful character who cheers others on but who in the end doesn´t have much hope back for anyone, least of all for himself. I think very highly of him, and his hope and bravery. he gives me hope and I´m sure he gave most everyone in the book hope too

Favorite moment: Battling with baby Glaurung, like was Glaurung small at that time?? Yes. Would he still be absolutely horrifying encountering without warning?? Also yes. - while I do like his rescue of Maedhros and what might have been behind it, I think I think about him battling baby Glaurung a bit more.

Idea for a story: Just a story about the days up to the Nirnaeth Arnoediad that exploits his relationship with both Húrin, Huor, Maedhros, and Maedhros´ brothers, as well as his own brother and nephew also would be great if Gwindor could be there I like Gwindor a lot which is surprising since I don´t think I´ve ever drawn him

Unpopular opinion: I don´t think he was a good ruler. There I said it. Don´t get me wrong I think he was a fine enough lord and I think he was the best option for high king, but I don´t think he came anywhere near Fingolfin or what Maedhros would have been, and as I said, I read him as a very hopeful character, and while I don´t think he was naive I think he would rather see the best in people rather than their worst, which means he did come close, a bit to many times, to get manipulated, although I don´t think it ever happened, but I do think he was easily swayed if a story was well enough woven. I´m not even sure if what I´m saying makes sense or if it´s only in my head

Favorite relationship: Maedhros... and as I said here (in my answer on Maedhros) I really don´t care if it would be romantic or platonic. Uh also Argon :)

Favorite headcanon: He´s a devote of Manwë and second to only Celegorm to being the most religious in the family - as I think he is the one who has the most reason to keep his fate but also the one who in the end has the most reason to lose it. (see the rescue of Maedhros,, see the death of Fingolfin to Morgoth, Manwë´s brother)

[kellyvela]

I would love Sophie to work with some GoT actors, she had great chemistry with everyone but I think having someone from GoT playing the mother-in-law on 'The Dreadful' would be a little too meta. I'd love Sophie to work again with Michelle Fairley, Lena Headey and Kate Dickie as they're amazing actors and pick interesting projects. I'd also like to see her work with Natalie Dormer, Alfie Allen, Jacob Anderson and Jack Gleeson. Now Sophie is based in the UK I think it's more likely she might work on a project with UK/Ireland based actors. I know Sophie has a couple of projects still to film but I'm excited to see what she does next.

It was fun to speculate with some GOT actresses, but I have no idea who will play Morwen.

I'm so glad Jack is acting again, yay!

And yes, I'm sure we will see her in more Bristish productions in the future, acting alongside British & Ireland actors.

[swanmaids]

End of Year Fic Recs

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies).

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

I've cheated a little and done 4 multichaps and 6 oneshots, soweee, I hope you can all forgive me. Also yes all my self recs are E-rated, not soweee

5 Series/Multichapter Fics

Shall these bones live by @undercat-overdog; m, cntw, 100k+, in progress, celebrimbor/sauron {got me onto the silvergifting train. gorgeous worldbuilding and dialogue.}

Swanmaiden by @wonderwafles ; g, nawa, 3k+, in progress, elwing/earendil {not just recommending for the title! perfect baby peredhil feelings.}

What the water gave me by @imakemywings; m, cntw, 27k, finduilas/nienor {canon. to meeeee. tender and healing.}

Ungoliant’s Bane by @polutrope ;g, nawa, 3k, earendil & eltwins, maglor & eltwins {great integration of early canon, great peredhil family}

5 One-Shots

Compass by @slightnettles; m, rape/noncon, 4k, morwen/aerin {incredible tribute to this underrated character.}

Ice Glossary by @sallysavestheday; g, nawa, 2k, fingon/maedhros, turgon/elenwe, fingon & turgon {excellent original concept and carried off perfectly.}

Less Wise by @meadowlarkx; e, nawa, 6k, f!maglor/f!thranduil {hot and angsty and gorgeous}

prick a finger, cut your hand by @welcomingdisaster, e, nawa, 3k, indis/miriel {impeccable sexy dyke drama}

submersible by @jouissants; t, nawa, >1k, maglor/uinen {unhinged, sexy, atmospheric horror in under 1000 words.}

A Thing That Sustains by @searchingforserendipity25; g, nawa, 2k, idril & anaire, idril & turgon & elenwe {perfect idril portrayal, every line hits.}

5 Oldies but Goodies

all they had to lend by gogollescent; g, cntw, 2k, elwing/earendil {beautiful bittersweet war of wrath fic}

Si la mar fuera de leche by chestnut_pod, t, nawa, 23k, elwing & elros, elros/wife {numenor worldbuilding and peredhil feels}

A Life's Work by @elwing; g, nawa, 2k, dirhavel {great understated portrayal of an underrated tragic character}

Sins of the Father by @zealouswerewolfcollector; t, nawa, 4k, turgon & nolofinweans {wonderful painful nolofinwean angst}

Finrod/Sauron One Thousand and One Nights AU by meadowlarkx; e, cntw, 27k+, in progress, finrod/sauron {lovely prose, hot, amazing characterisation}

5 Self Recs

one of your girls; e, nawa, 5k, celegorm/orome {celegorm, orome, and a dress. lowkey think it's my best fic}

the salt in the wound; e, cntw, 4k, luthien/curufin's wife {evil girl scissoring, also known as that fic with the knife handle}

we may rehearse most obscenely; e, nawa, 3k, celegorm/orome/vana {what if puck got spitroasted by oberon and titania... also known as celegorm, orome, and vana spend some time together.}

devoted to the sea; e, nawa, 3k, earendil/elwing, earendil/mermaids {attempting to apply bolt canon to silm canon for sexy purposes}

ebb and flow; e, nawa, 4k, earendil/elwing {my first e-rate, earendil is a very attentive husband to his pregnant wife :)}

I'll tag everyone who's been mentioned in this!

[outofangband]

Unbeknowst to me until I got online this morning, it is apparently father’s day in the US (at least? I don’t know if it’s elsewhere today) a few days ago

I thought this is as good of an excuse as any to write some headcanons about Húrin as a father!

mostly lighthearted but naturally did end up including some Angband related stuff as well as canonical death mentions. 

also I got to include some Hadorian world building which I always enjoy

He’s always been good with kids and he’s always liked them! He was a natural leader among the kids he played with growing up and a lot of the little ones looked up to him. 

He was definitely a worrier when Túrin and Lalaith were being born*. Morwen nearly made him leave the room levels of worried. I think that both him and Morwen are generally very good in stressful situations but that when Húrin is showing signs of stress or agitation, it can kind of clash with Morwen a bit. 

He brags about his kids all the time. Everyone is going to hear every stage of development, every accomplishment, every little anecdote. 

The Hadorians having naming ceremonies! These are usually smaller, more private events, in contrast to most Hadorian ceremonies which tend to be very public. At the naming ceremonies, the household with occasionally some important guests will gather for the name to be formally announced. Typically an older relative, usually but not always a grandmother, will present a blanket with the name sewn on the top right corner. These blankets are of a thin material and are usually hung on the wall or at the bottom of a bed, not slept under. (On a dark note, these are always buried with children who die young which is in part what the tradition is for. Most Hadorian celebrations, ceremonies and traditions are not so solemn or morbid but this one is). These typically take place within a month of the birth. 

While absolutely not a formal tradition and more a common game in Hithlum, family members of a new baby or toddler will typically try to compete to see what the first solid or non milk foods the child will enjoy is. Some families take this more seriously than others. Bets might be placed with goods at stake for example and relatives will volunteer to watch the child for the purpose of the game. Aerin won for Túrin who was a very picky eater and Huor for Lalaith though she liked almost everything so his victory wasn’t as celebrated.  (Morwen found this incredibly irritating and all but refused when Lalaith was old enough). 

Húrin keeps little things with him when he’s at Barad Eithel to remind him of his family. The first time he has to leave home on Fingon’s orders after Túrin is born he has a temporary crisis of conscience. He rides back to the house twice asking if it’s too soon, if he should stay and send Huor in his stead, asking for everything to be noted down, worrying about missing things and so on, before Morwen (with help from Aerin) chase him out again. 

Húrin loves taking his kids for outings and exploring with them! He finds a lot of joy in showing them new things and introducing them to people (Lalaith loved it, Túrin not always). 

The first time a child sits on a horse, rides with a parent, and rides by themselves are all very important in Hadorian society. Húrin was there for all of these for Túrin. Little Túrin generally did like horses, but he liked petting them. He did not like sitting on one at all and cried a lot.  (Lalaith died before she could ride on her own). 

Húrin did really try with little Túrin. He learns to be a bit calmer, a bit more straightforward and they bond over Túrin’s love of questions and learning. Húrin will patiently answer question after question about the elves, about various objects and tools, about history, his ancestors. 

*and I mean, if he saw Niënor’s birth from afar, depending on when he was actually chained to Thangorodrim to Watch, he was definitely very worried then too but I’ve written before about how bleak the circumstances of her birth were so that’s obviously different. We don’t know exactly when he was chained, when he’s taken to the Haudh, Morgoth only mentions Morwen and one child but we don’t know how long they’re there, how long it took to actually get back and chain him, etc. 

Someday I will post my piece on Niënor’s birth and how bleak and frightening it was for Morwen, knowing that there was no one she could send for help if something went badly, that it her newborn screamed at the wrong moment it could be catastrophic for them…

[deusexlachina]

Wannabe Warden Part 18: Learn why the Wardens have not recruited me

In which I meet King Alistair, and he assigns me a super-special Grey Warden task.

And I have to not be a Grey Warden to do it.

After my rewards for saving Warden Morwen's friends were disappointing (partly because they weren't Being A Grey Warden and partly because they completely fucking suck) I don't expect any more good luck. But I get some! No less than King Alistair wants to see me! King Alistair? That guy's the king! More importantly, he's Alistair! The Hero of Ferelden's husband! If anyone can get me into the Wardens, he can! I compose myself. Everything depends on making a good impression.

So, I bring two of his favourite people: Anders, who he recruited into the Wardens, and Isabela, his favourite sex worker. Other Aveline also has special dialogue for meeting King Alistair, so I bring Varric instead. Anders does that thing with his eyebrows everyone does and asks if Alistair was a Grey Warden once. Which is a strange thing to apparently be uncertainly about, since Alistair is not just the monarch, but also the husband of his old friend, Warden Morwen. And the sort of slayer of the Archdemon. I know he cares mainly about mages, but you know Kinloch Hold? Where Anders was prisoner? Alistair helped save them, too.

Having exchanged Warden Looks with Anders, the King says hi to Isabela, who's apparently just as ill-informed as her G.P., but is a little more polite about it.

Varric knows he was brought along as a good character reference and really goes all-in, saying I should rule this pathetic city.

As much as I appreciate my bro helping out, this isn't quite what I had in mind. As Warden Stroud told me, Grey Wardens are supposed to stay out of politics, assuming you have a very narrow conception of politics that excludes war, conscription, treaties, cross-border travel and the occasional coup. In any case, they're not supposed to be rulers. Except for King Alistair here. And his lovely transgender queen. But someone had to take over for Loghain, and it was them or his daughter Anora "Elf Massacre" Mac Tir, so probably a lot of rules got relaxed a bit.

But King Alistair has something else in mind. He tells me he was hoping my influence in Kirkwall might be of use, referring of course to my hopeless fangirling for the Grey Wardens. They could use that kind of PR. Their latest recruit from the area was six years ago, and she was dragging her feet even though the alternative was swift death, and even then she won't stop being emo about it.

To that end, he gives me a Grey Warden Mission: Stop Kirkwall from exploding

Wait, isn't this...political? This is! This is a political thing! There's Meredith, there's Orsino, there's public speeches and secret meetings...this is politics! The Power Couple of Ferelden knows my ambitions, but they have avoided Wardening me for one reason: they need me to do politics for them so they can claim to be staying out of politics!

Of course, I am loyal to the Grey Wardens, so I dutifully take this mission. If I can keep the peace long enough to get a new Viscount, I can wash my hands of any further politics, wheruepon I'm sure they will be happy to have me and my terrifying anti-darkspawn skills. My mission to keep my city safe is now entwined with my mission to join the Grey Wardens.

But I've already faced down the might of both the darkspawn hordes and the Qunari elite. Plus some surprisingly deadly poisonous spiders.

How hard could it be?

[eri-pl]

Silm reread 19: Game of Thrones the Children of Hurin

Also maybe this time I will remember to put it in the queue instead of posting immadiately.

TW: you all know which ones apply here. (No details, even less than in the book.)

So, Rían. What's with her??? Postpartum depression?

Anyway, we leave her at her enigmatic death and go to Túrin. He is born in the same year when B&L meet. I guess the bad/good luck is budgeted per year…

Morwen is cool, and it comes to her head to send Túrin to Dorriath in secret. So, we know where we're headed.

Thingol is now a fan of Men (good for him, but in this case— no, wait. It does not bite him personally in the rear. Húrin does later, but maybe he would anyway.

Morwen doesn't want to leave her house where she lived with Húrin, which is more understandable than the version in (poetic text? I don't remember) where she just says that she doesn't want to be given alms by elves. She sounds proud in that one, and in a bad sense.

Saeros. He is a Nando… which ones were those, Green Elves? Riven Elves? anyway he's a jerk. He is jealous because the king likes Túrin. also, his insult (Mannish women running naked in forests) seems kind of prophetic or at least foreshadowy. (Nienor) Also, I only now realized that Túrin's revenge is simply "now you do the thing you've just said my people do". Which is… not nice but stylish in a way.

He dies on bad luck, Turin feels guilty and is afraid that Thingol will put him into prison. So he runs away. Which isn't fair to Thingol, I would say. Or the right thing to do.

He joins a band, they attack everyone from either side of the war.

Thingol forgives Túrin without talking to him, which is very kind of him. also he sends Beleg to go find Túrin because he misses the guy. Which is very lovely.

In the meantime Túrin calls himself "the Wronged". By whom? saeros maybe, but he's already dead. Thingol??? Maybe go and check your assumptions with reality, my guy? Go talk with your elven foster-dad?

Beleg gets beaten, Túrin is sorry and promises to only attack Morgoth's minions from now on. This will be important later.

Morgoth (or something in his hierarchy? Easterlings?) is poetically referred to as "the Black Hand" which is quite unique.

Beleg tells Túrin that Thingol forgave him… and Túrin is too proud to accept it. Seriously, my guy, come on. why. why are you so stubborn to be upset?

Thingol is sad (very relateable, very sweet, in this story he is the good guy in general, very lovely of him).

Beleg gets Anglachel, ignoring Melian's advice. Also, Anguirel is mentioned.

Túrin and his men attack some Dwarves. So…. remember when he promised to only attach Morgoth's minions? Yea. He doesn't keep to it. As we will see, Túrin is one of the worst at keeping his word. And the characters that are on par with him about this are clear bad guys, namely Morgoth and Ulfang.

So of course it goes wrong. But this is not a summary, this is a "things I did not remember and my thoughts" post, so I won't recap all the Mîm story.

Also, we see Mîm complaining on "Elves gave new names to everything" which sounds like a Tolkien's in-joke. Because he loves giving names to stuff.

Túrin is sorry for the death of Mîm's son. As we will see, his "learning from having killed someone and becoming better" skill is on par with Maglor "apology videos songs" Feanorian.

Also, he promises Mîm that if he ever becomes rich, he will pay a weregild in gold. Another promise that later goes nowhere. Also, funnily, the place where Túrin will become rich is Nargothrond. And who years later gets the treasures of Nargothrond? Mîm. So, fate makes this promise fulfilled (more or less), even though Túrin does not.

Túrin gets vibes from Brethil, I'm not sure why.

Mîm forgives him, more or less, convinced by his sadness and/or promise of recompense. they talk a lot and Túrin learns things. also, we get the story of the "Petty" Dwarves and how the Sindar hunted them out of ignorance and how that hate the Noldor for living in Nargothrond which was initially their. (I am certain Finrod did not know this and is not at fault here, this doesn't seem to me like his kind of bad decision. Not talking about things: yes. But chasing other race out of their homes? No.)

Also, weather note. Morgoth becoming more powerful = winters are worse. (Cut to CSL chuckling in the background ;D …but no this is an older trope I think.)

Beleg again, Túrin doesn't want to return to Doriath again. we arent told whether Beleg asked "how is the 'not attacking non-evil peoples' thing going?" but part of me wishes he did)

Anthropology… well, Eldarology: the Noldor have more skill and lore, but the Sindar are wiser. Or are they just wiser than Men? Translation unclear.

Anyway, Mîm hates Beleg, because racial prejudice, and because the bandits respect him.

Morgoth gets a paragraph he totally does not deserve the poetics of, even if technically it is true. Also, we are told that he knows a lot and knows more about his opponent's plans than anyone suspects, even Melian. whom BTW he thinks a lot about.

Also, this paragraph is in present tense which means that either a) the text was written pre-War-of-Wrath b) the translation is messed up again.

Anyway Morgoth hears about the Dragon Helm, realizes it's Húrin's son and sends spies to the area. And orcs.

So, betrayal and capture. Beleg is powerful! Also, Gwindor.

Orcs are afraid of the storm! They think it's the work of the Valar. do they react to every lightning like this? But…. Morgoth can shoot lightnings too (see: B&L)? Maybe they are afraid only of lightning strikes accompanied by rain. (Rainless storms are a thing and they are creepy, make the air feel exhausting, give people headaches and look quite Morgoth-coded)

Beleg dies and from now on Túrin is in mourning, and it never fully goes away. even though he is healed by Ulmo's magic spring.

Also, Anglachel is a heavy sword! Two-handed? At least one and a half probably. I will need to pay more attention to details of the fights. I would love to know what type of sword is it.

Finduilas and the love triangle. Poor girl tbh. Poor Gwindor too,. And Túrin isn't at fault in this particular situation either.

Túrin changes his name again. Plus we get a description: pale, grey-eyed, dark-haired, more beautiful than most Men then (unclear how this compares to modern people). Also, he's got Elven manners and …seems like a Noldo? Does it mean he can speak Quenya? Maybe not.

Anglachel gets a makeover.

Also, túrin gets a dwarven armor, and finds a golden dwarven mask and … I think he is pretty wealthy at this point. And, despite the fact that Mîm had betrayed him (which I'm not sure he knows? Maaaybe from Beleg via Gwindor?) he could at least try to fulfill his promise. Because, you know, promises.

Seriously, if Túrin and the Feanorians averaged with one another on their attitudes to "keeping your word" everyone would be much happier.

But no, he fights in a precious Dwarf-made armor and doesn't care about the poor Dwarf whom he promised to pay for the death of his son.

Finduilas falls in love, it is "stronger than her will". OK, feelings happen. And can't be controlled. I love how they all behave about it, all three are civil and respectful and don't make much drama about the romantic stuff.

Gwindor is like "I love you, but if you don't love me, don't try to force it, follow your heart. But maybe don't marry this guy because he's got a bad vibe." Plus some talk about how such relationships Should Not Be Unless Fate. (I'm not a fan of this. But then, Gwindor had spent a lot of time in angband so I can dismiss some of his opinions as "warped by Morgoth's influence".)

Also, he tells her who Túrin is, which I'm not sure what I think about. I believe that he doesn't try to get her back, just to make sure he's safe. But also, this is betraying of a frnd's secret. But also, this secret was stupid and Gwindor did not, I think, promise to keep it, just was asked to. Anyway I don't think it changes much.

OK, I take it back. It does change something. Just not in the love triangle. Orodreth starts to favor Túrin. which has good effects (the people of Nargathrond stop being trechearous cowards) and bad effects (the bridge, nor enough caution).

Gwindor is against Túrin's ideas, but is ignored, because he's not a good warrior. (there will be a similar situation near the end).

Another good consequence of it is Morwen and Niennor getting to Doriath.

Ulmo sends a warning to Orodreth, but Túrin is too proud to listen and loves his big bridge. and Orodreth seems to be bad at having his own opinions tbh.

We are told that Túrin is proud and wants everything to go according to his will, which reminds me of similar line about Maeglin. Those two parallel each other very much in this moment. The main difference is their romantic situations. Maeglin is in unrequited love, Túrin is loved and … when did he even learn about Finduilas' love for him? Oh, wait, she told him her conversation with Gwindor, so I guess then. It must have been somewhat awkward. anyway he doesn't seem to care much about her.

Nargothrond falls, Gwindor curses the day when he saved Túrin (they all love cursing things) and tells him that only Finduilas is between Túrin and his doom. which seems like one of those I-am-dying-so-have-a-prophecy things (which Brandon Sanderson totally did not borrow from the Silm, along with an assortment of various visuals, but not so much to look unoriginal)

The bridge. And the dragon, who is, like werewolves, inhabited by an evil spirit. It enchants Túrin and gives him a warped self-image and toxic sense of guilt. Also, an obsession about finding his mother and sister.

So, Gwindor's advice was too late. Ulmo's advice was not too late, but has been ignored. and here we are.

Some madness and stuff.

Turin comes to his senses, but decides to go looking for his mother and sister, because he would bring doom upon them. This doesn't sound like a good idea to me, also, he changes his mind all the time. If he kept doing one thing and went to Doriath, maybe he would not land in the incest situation? But I don't know the timeline this well. anyway, it rings wrong, like a bad decision.

He finds Finduilas' grave. And names himself Turambar, which … is Quenya? So he is fluent in Quenya too. huh. I guess Orodreth taught him. Or Finduilas.

Poor Anglachel is put away, but I guess it is a good sign.

Morwen and Niennor leave Doriath…. So yes, this checks out, he probably should have gone to Doriath back then. Also, their motivarions are "despair" and "an unlucky hour of hope" so… this can't go well.

Glaurung has to use 100% of his power to be able to do anything to Nienor, which is extremely cool of her. She's more strong willed than many elves, i think.

But she gets enchanted and runs and runs naked through the forest, which was foreshadowed by Saeros.

Brandir is another instance of "I love you, I won't try to get you but please don't matty Túrin". And he is, just like Gwindor, not great at fighting, because disability.

Anyway, Túrin and Niniel get married. Yay.

Also, we learn that Glaurung sent orcs to Brethil. So, he commands orcs. Dragons are in the chain of command. this is an interesting tidbit for fics.

people ignore Brandir's reasonable opinions (just like Gwindor's), he is upset and stops loving his people.

Túrin ills the dragon and it might have ended better, but he wants to a) get Anglachel back, and b) the satisfaction of seeing his enemy dead. Bad reasons, bad results.And since it's Túrin, the results are unproportionally bad.

Glaurong dies and his magic disappears instantly. It is how this works in the Legendarium, I suppose.

Turin and his sister/wife get a Romeo&Juliet scene.

Brandir kills Dorlas. WHY??? For his cowardice?

Túrin realizes that fate is upon him, curses Brandir and kills him (a rare combo), then goes to sit on the grave and be sad about what he did. Maglor vibes intensify, but he seems to be reaching a little bit of progress here? He asks Finduilas for advice (for her own good, I hope she's in Mandos and not listening to him) because he's got no idea what to do and what would be good for others. Hey, he is willing to take advice! This is a new thing.

But instead, Mablung comes. BTW Mablung is a kind of guy that is in the background of many important events, but surprisingly survives (until he does not).

So, now Túrin sends him to bring his curse to Doriath. (And curses Mablung's mission too)

Yes, definitely Maglor's approach to "learning from your regrets" :Þ

Seriously.

My guy.

Mallory would— You know what? Túrin just landed above the Feanorians on my list of "take them from Tolkien and give the custody of them to sir Thomas Mallory".

Yes, I know the gerne and stuff. but still. I am upset. I keep being upset on reading those even though I know what happens.

…but we're gonna sing it anyway.

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

Heyyyy I just wanted to tell you how much I love your blog! I actually never realised how much there is to know about Rohan until I stumbled across your blog and it's super interesting! (I'll most likely always be an elf-girl, but you never know and it never hurts to know more about other parts of Tolkien's stories)

So I wanted to ask you something: since I'm still very new to this part of the fandom but I'm very interested in it, I was wondering if you could give me a general overview of the most important people from Rohan and their function/jobs, maybe also your headcanons about them, because I'm honestly still a bit lost and overwhelmed by all the new names that I've never really noticed before. (Fun fact btw,😅 Éowyn was actually always one of my absolute favourite characters, so its funny to me how I never dived into the Rohan side of the fandom before)

And if you don't want to do that, that's okay too, just let me compliment your blog, because it's wonderful!

Aw, thanks!!! ♥️ Like you, I also enjoy learning more about characters from outside of my primary interest area, so I hope you find this helpful! I love your ask, but it could be a VERY long response and I fear that you’ll still find it to be kind of an overwhelming list of names. So I’m gonna limit it by focusing on the canonical characters that are in that sweet spot between “most people know who this is already” (e.g., Éowyn, Éomer, Théoden and Gríma) and “this is a person who is more or less just a name” (e.g., Herubrand or Horn). So I’ll give you a little canonical Who’s Who of the rest of them, with links for the ones where I’ve got HCs if there are any you’re particularly interested in.

Also, you inspired me to finally write out my HC for Grimbold, the Rohirrim who was allergic to horses, which I’ll post separately in a day or two, so thank you for that! 🐎

So, ready? *cracks knuckles* Here we go with the Who’s Who below the cut:

Royal Family:

Théoden’s father was Thengel, who had mixed feelings about Rohan and lived a long time in Gondor, where he met his wife Morwen.

Théoden had 4 sisters, but we only know about the youngest, Théodwyn, who was Éomer/Éowyn’s mom and died of sickness soon after her husband Éomund was killed in a poorly planned orc hunt.

Théoden’s wife was Elfhild, who died giving birth to their son, Théodred. He never remarried.

Théodred was killed by Saruman’s forces and had no wife or child, so his beloved cousin Éomer became heir in his stead.

Non-Royal Notables of Edoras, the Capital City:

Háma was the captain of the king’s guard and died at Helm’s Deep after aiding in the healing of Théoden by breaking some rules on Gandalf’s behalf. (I would die for Háma.)

Elfhelm was acting as the Marshal (the top military office) of Edoras at the time of LOTR and was involved in ALL KINDS of stuff but is most notable for not ratting out Éowyn when he found that she was riding in his éored (unit) to the war in Gondor.

There’s a whole gaggle of members of the king’s éored, most of whom die in Gondor with no backstory or detail. No one else would likely put them on this list, but they’re dear to me (and frequently discussed on my blog) so we’re including Guthláf, Théoden’s banner bearer, and Wídfara, who rode with the king’s company and scouted conditions at Minas Tirith.

Notables of the West-mark:

Erkenbrand was in charge of Helm’s Deep at the time of the war and helped save the day there before being left to rule Rohan while everyone else went to war in Gondor.

Gamling served under Erkenbrand and was an elderly man who was still a dope warrior and fought alongside his own grandson at Helm's Deep!

Grimbold was a military captain who, with Elfhelm, saw Théodred’s death and fought to keep orcs from taking his body before going to war in Gondor. Unlike Elfhelm, Grimbold died.

Dúnhere was Erkenbrand's nephew and served under Grimbold. He organized the muster of the Rohirrim to go to Gondor, where he also died.

Notables of the East-mark:

Éothain is really the only one here. He was a soldier under Éomer, and he was very suspicious of both outsiders and rule breakers.

Bonus Notable Ancestors of pre-LOTR Times:

Eorl was the founder and first king of Rohan who sealed the oath of friendship between his people and Gondor and tamed the first of the mearas (the ancestors of Shadowfax!).

Helm Hammerhand was king during the war/famine of the Long Winter. He’s famous for killing a dude with 1 punch and scaring the bejeezus out of enemies by stalking them in the night.

Freca was a lord of mixed Rohan/Dunland ancestry whom Helm punched to death b/c Helm was a hothead who felt threatened by Freca’s influence. Freca’s family later led an army against Rohan b/c they were pissed!

Whew! That’s not everyone, but I think it’s everyone whose name you’d be likely to come across outside of the big 4 (Théoden, Éomer, Éowyn and Gríma). It’s really striking when you write it all out and realize that you have to end so many with “but he/she died”! But the fact that they’re a little tragic and made so many sacrifices is a big part of why I love them.

I hope this was in ANY way helpful, even if it’s just a little cheat sheet that you consult when needed!

[thelordofgifs]

luthien, thorondor, literally everyone: you only ever had to ask ;)

maglor, maedhros, fingon: this sign can't stop me because i can't read

-

this chapter was so!!! you did amazing job with it <3 slayed with the dialogues too by the way i loved every bit of it. i love how luthien and hurin are vibing and morwen and bere back in hithlum have at least 10 important conversations beforehand. but i'm also glad beren is making friends turin!! i sure hope his leithian swag nullifies the turin curse (though morgoth might not yet curse hurin and his bloodline so we're yet to see.)

Luthien tries SO hard to get through to maglor.

luthien: you know you can just ask

maglor: yeah but crimes are my main source of inspiration :(((

I love their friendship though!! I loved the bit where Luthien tells him to create something greater than Noldolante, that's such a nice touch. And I hope it will be that, since you seem to be going we the canon divergence route.

hurin... fingon... turgon... aaaaauaueueueueeu no words only unholy howling that situation is so sad :( maedhros is not making the situation better but he's also trying his best... hhhhngh

MAEDHROS AND MAGLOR IN THIS CHAPTER beloved they are precious they are everything they are!!! so!!! aahh!!!! explodes

and maedhros... baby... this fic is Not giving him an easy time... :( i hope it gets better at least for a bit

Also I'm glad Fingon was the only one to ask and even then it was in a "FINE i'll DO IT but it's STUPID ANYWAYS" way. i'm sure that wob't backfire in any way shape or form. (thorondor slayed btw. king behavior)

anyways i'm very excited to see where you'll go from this!!! sorry about all the betrayals i still love you

aaahhhh thank you beloved so glad you enjoyed ❤️❤️ I’m very fond of this part but also scared that it isn’t working as it’s supposed to so this was v reassuring!

You only ever had to ask is one of THE most important lines anyone has ever said in tfs, although we haven’t been able to engage with it during the second arc because we had a detour to do Fëanorian Melodrama. But when I changed Huan’s last words – and had him say them to Celegorm instead of Beren – I knew they had to be Important and Significant. Notably, what he said was actually Son of Fëanor, you only ever had to ask. That was not a line addressed solely to Celegorm! It is also significant that both Lúthien and Thorondor expect Maglor and Fingon respectively to know what Huan said, and they’re both a little surprised that they don’t. Because the person who heard those words hasn’t really absorbed them, or related them to anyone. (Sorry long ramble on this but there was a lot of subtle behind-the-scenes stuff going on here and I was DYING for someone to ask about it.)

Anyway – don’t be too hard on Fingon or Maglor! If tfs is about the tricky path to salvation (and it is), then Fingon is not doing too badly. As Thorondor reminds him, he has asked for mercy before, and received it – and he does manage to do it again now, however grudgingly. As for Maglor, Lúthien’s advice was pretty cryptic, and he hasn’t yet had the opportunity to ask for anything. Word is out on whether he’ll be able to do it when his chance comes!

I’m so glad you liked all the little scenes anyway ❤️❤️ we will have more Beren and Morwen next part, it’s just that this one was very firmly set in Barad Eithel and I didn’t want to drift around too much. You cannot IMAGINE how excited I was to have my precious Maglor and Lúthien friendship back in play they are Important to me. And M&M my darling precious babies!!!! They didn’t have a scene in part 21 and I was like. this is unacceptable to me personally. Anyway look how traumatised and codependent they are I am obsessed with them.

thank you for the ask beloved!! I have not forgiven you for the backstabbing but this was a very nice ask so I might some day. and I still love you too 💕💕

[finnritter]

Fingon or Húrin for the ask game?

-@outofangband

Ask Game:

Thank you for the ask @outofangband! Finally getting around to do this. I’ll gladly do both, Fingon is under the cut.

Húrin

one aspect about them i love

This is cheating a bit because it’s not really a character aspect and more like… plot, but. The ending of CoH with him wrecked me on a level not many books have managed. Not going into detail here in case someone reads this who hasn’t finished the book yet, but I’m sure everyone else knows what I’m talking about. Idk why this touched me so deeply (after all the pain the rest of this book was I would expect to be inured to the tragedy) and it’s such a short scene but I was not expecting that ending and the dialogue and then the book is just over and you’re left alone with all the pain and feels for Húrin.

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

Nothing really comes to mind here, I don’t think/know enough about him to have an informed opinion on this. But I always, always love posts that define the parallels between Húrin, Huor and their children, and how interconnected they are. Had they never found Gondolin, Húrin’s whole story had not happened. But neither had Tuor’s and in turn, Eärendil’s, which would mess up the whole timeline of Middle Earth. Húrin and Huor (and in turn Túrin and Tuor) are like two sides of the same coin and I love reading takes on this by people who have deeper thoughts about this whole topic than myself.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

This is only gut-feeling, but I’d imagine him as a rather quiet type of person. Not in a brooding kind of way, and he is also not afraid to speak his mind when necessary, but he’s the “few words but silent comfort” kind of quiet. The “smiles and meaningful looks” kind of quiet. The “I’ll go on a hike alone, see you in five hours” kind of quiet. He also likes to be around louder/more easily excited people as well as equally quiet ones – which is why he clicks so well with Morwen. They can spend hours either apart or in the same room but not talking and never feel like they’re losing touch.

one character i love seeing them interact with

This kind of slips into the territory of the next question already, but to be fair, there are not really any characters we see Húrin interact with much, so: Huor and also Fingon. Honestly, Húrin is not a character I have many thoughts about, but I am super intrigued by the posts about Fingon and Húrin’s friendship I see sometimes, and the dynamic with his brother, albeit also not very popular in the fandom, interests me also!

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

Morwen! His children!! The people he did not ever get to spend enough time with. This is not necessarily a “I wish they would interact more” and more a “I wish they would get the chance to interact at all after his capture”. I’d love to see how they would work as a family, even though that obviously takes away all the meaning from the story. But on a slightly more realistic note, I would love for him to get the chance to just once talk to his children, the children that he knows so well, whose lives he sees in all of their details, why they never really get to know him. I’d be so interested in what he would say to them, if he could.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

Okay okay okay I just read parts of his wiki page to check something and was reminded that Húrin and Huor were only 16 and 13 when they came to Gondolin??? I had somehow wrongly remembered/assumed that they had been young adults, but THIS CHANGES THINGS. So yeah, give me absolutely overprotective big brother Húrin, please. I mean, they obviously have been raised in a very harsh environment, they knew how to fight before they came to Gondolin and Húrin completely trusts his brother even at that age to stand his ground and make smart choices – in the forest they grew up in. Not in a strange, gigantic city full of elves that are probably all extremely curious about them. Huor, if he is at least half as chill as his son, is probably very happy to be there, explore everything and taste all the good food. Meanwhile Húrin, who has been cast into the role of the lone adult, frantically tries to keep him from wandering off, drills him into saying please and thank you All The Time because he is terrified of accidentally offending a super important elf-lord or something, and meanwhile also tries to stumble through conversations with an actual King (!!!) without embarrassing himself, his House and his whole species. He has a stressful couple of weeks before he finally manages to relax and enjoy his time there a bit more.

Fingon

one aspect about them i love

His presence!! He seems like a person who enters a room and everyone knows he’s there. He’s pretty social, confident and also knows how to carry himself and together with the sort of roguish charm he radiates, he always leaves a strong impression on people. This, obviously, are in-universe personality headcanons, but honestly, the very same thing happens just by reading the book. He doesn’t have an extremely huge role in it but he just manages to break his way into the memory of the readers. This guy just has +100 charisma and is just unhinged enough to be insanely likeable (if a little intimidating sometimes) imo.

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

I have the feeling that everyone who analyses him on an even slightly deeper level will say this but: He’s not only a happy-go-lucky guy who wants everyone to be friends. He’s honestly doesn’t seem carefree to me at all (if rather reckless at times), at least not as his main character trait, and especially not in Beleriand. Yes, what I just wrote above is (supposedly) all true, BUT, as I said, that’s mostly charisma. He seems more impulsive and at the same time very persistent to me, which seems to drive almost all of his big decisions, rather than him being a cheerful foil to Maedhros’ gloom. He’s probably easy to like (as a leader, king and acquaintance alike), but surprisingly hard to be close friends with.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

Very random, but he loves flying. Which is a shame because elves don’t actually get to fly a lot and it’s not like you can just catch one of the great eagles and make them your pet. If you could, Fingon would have been the first one to do it. After Thangorodrim, when they were flying and Fingon could take off 1% of his attention off making sure Maedhros doesn’t die for the first time, he fell in love with the feeling instantly and was honestly a little bit sad that he never got to do it again under less stressful circumstances. He dreams about it a lot, though.

one character i love seeing them interact with

I know this is the boring answer, but Maedhros. I don’t actively read much about them, but even then, they are present in a lot of fanwork and their dynamic is usually super powerful, no matter if they’re a couple or not. I love the thought that they chose each other as best friends in childhood/youth and always felt like they had such an “against all odds”-relationship because of their family and because they were so different in a lot of things. And then everything up to Angband happened and, well, all of that seemed so simple in retrospect. I love that they’re both a little fucked up but in a way that works for each other. I can absolutely see them not getting along and being furious with each other at times, I can also imagine that there was still always a bit of unspoken baggage between them that they just didn’t want to deal with. But no matter what, they always relied on each other, always trusted the other to be there when it was important. (And now I’m sad about the Nirnaeth again.)

Also, honorary mention: Maglor. Just because I love it when they don’t actually like each other a lot/never really got close again after Maedhros’ rescue, but still have an unspoken agreement to make sure that Maedhros is safe and also that, if it comes to it, at least one of them should probably make sure to stay alive because Maedhros would be lonely otherwise. It’s the peak dynamic for the two of them, honestly.

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

Angrod and Aegnor. Their friendship is pretty underrated if you ask me, and I would love to know more about what the dynamic was like back in Aman – and then all the Helcaraxe angst later. I do think that Angrod and Aegnor forgave him after a while, but also that they never quite got as close as before. Still, the Bragollach was basically a triple gut punch for Fingon, who was basically on his own afterwards, except for the Feanorians. There are so many interesting stages of their friendship and their feelings towards each other, and I always love seeing this depicted!

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

While Fingon had always been close to his father, the Helcaraxe made them almost inseparable for a while. Fingon really grew to be Fingolfin’s right hand man on there, supporting him in his leadership but also trying to take as much load as possible off his shoulders. He felt like he was one of the few ones who could really grasp what Feanor’s betrayal meant to his father (because he felt almost exactly the same way about Maedhros) and the depth of how it had hurt him.

He also purposefully tried to throw himself into as much work and exertion as possible because it was a good way for him to keep moving and not be weighed down too much by his decisions and the doom resting on all of them.

This dynamic loosened a bit after the Ice, but he remained one of the closest advisors and confidants of Fingolfin up until his death.

[zealouswerewolfcollector]

3, 6, 12

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

When I stumble upon a terrible take (which happens from time to time), I argue with that person in my head for a while and then usually forget about it. So I don't remember seeing anything as crazy as blaming Celebrimbor for his torture (seriously, what? I think that might be THE worst take I've seen), but I have come across your usual Elwing abandoned her children, Indis is a homewrecker, the Feanorians were justified in attacking Doriath and Sirion and (rarer but still terrible) the Teleri are to blame for the first kinslaying. And then of course, there is rewriting the entire book to make Morgoth and Sauron misunderstood woobies and everyone else evil and uncaring.

I've also seen a few terrible takes in fics like Elrond slapping Elwing (immediately noped out) or two characters being in a relationship that is incredibly unhealthy but is presented as normal.

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

Russingon? Haha. At the very least by virtue of it being the most popular ship. If I didn't ship it, I might have been annoyed too by how pervasive it is, but I do ship it, so sorry for being annoying ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Maybe it's because I haven't gone looking for it, but I haven't noticed big ship wars in this fandom, which is a major cause of a ship and its fans becoming annoying.

I also get annoyed by most Finrod ships, but that's just a question of a personal preference and not the fans being annoying.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

Thingol. Yes, he is an asshole. Yes, he did some questionable things. But so did almost all of the characters in the Silmarillion, yet Thingol doesn't get the same grace and understanding that others are allowed. Maybe it's because I read CoH before the Silm, but I've always liked Thingol.

He accepted Turin, raised him and loved him. I know some people have found issues even with his treatment of Turin, but I believe that he genuinely loved Turin and wanted the best for him. After Turin left, he also accepted Morwen and Nienor. He had a great redemption arc after the quest for the Silmaril and people always ignore it. I honestly don't think he seriously meant for Beren to bring him the Silmaril. It's a common fairy tale trope when the King sends his daughter's suitor after an impossible thing, believing that he won't do it. Thingol never intended to get the Silmaril. He just said something he thought was impossible to get rid of Beren. It is an assholish thing to do, but it isn't overly malicious.

He admitted his mistake and accepted Beren when he and Luthien came back. He grieved for him when he died. I think this also gets forgotten when people talk about Thingol.

He is also one of the few characters in the Silmarillion that makes a joke. It's such a humanizing moment. His joke isn't even at someone's expense. It makes Nellas feel at ease and she's able to speak to him.

Thanks for the ask <3

ask game here

[theworldisquietheretooquiet]

Aerin and Morwen and Húrin and Maedhros for the character game

-@outofangband

I adore her. Her story really stuck with me when I first read CoH for how realistic it is for women during an occupation like that of Dor-lómin.

I like that Túrin isn't really presented as her rescuer. She's probably very glad on an emotional level to see Brodda dead but she is very clear it was reckless and that Túrin helped seal her fate. Her setting alight the house is a really powerful image of rage, and revengeful destruction. The quote "and patience will break at the last" symbolises to me this as a last act of anger against those who have oppressed her for so long.

She's my Desolation coded girl - full of destroyed potential and hopeless fire.

One of my all time favourite Silm characters!! Ahh I love her. A lot of her life post Nirnaeth is slow suffering on the knife edge of death. I think so much about how traumatising it is to live for years knowing your death could come at any time but not being sure when or how. And the contrast with the Bragollach which suddenly destroyed her home and a lot of her family and friends...

She's 100% autistic and definitely struggled with having to learn the different social customs and norms of the Hadorians and then the Doriathrim.

Also when Túrin asks her "how will you find me, lost in the wild?" !!! The way it echoes what happens to her 😭

He's the best. His relationship with the Nolofinweans is so interesting. Like he's been to Gondolin! And then he's Fingon’s friend. There's so many possibilities there!

The words he speaks to Morgoth are badass.

His relationship with each of his children makes me insane. His visceral grief at Lalaith's death, how understanding he is to Túrin, the fact he and Nienor, who he has never met but is said to be so similar to him in personality and appearance, die the same way...

He does obviously do a few things wrong, and I haven't actually read the Wanderings, but I do fall on the side of he was very traumatised and Morgoth's influence, which is that of a Valar, is going to be incredibly hard to shake off.

He is everyone's blorbo for good reason. I love that one of the main generals and rulers of the first age is someone who experienced long term captivity and torture and is disabled because of it. Regardless of his eventual moral fall, it's really cool he is such a strong, strategic but traumatised character.

He is so full of parallels I'm thinking about constantly. Twice he is present for an evil event but tries to take some moral stance against it, which fails to actually change the awfulness. He refuses to burn the ships, and they still get burnt, he tries to save Elurín & Eluréd, and he fails. It's like he both can't help himself from ending up in the middle of the act, but he also can't help himself from trying to do something to stop it, always when it is too late.