#and i know tolkien has a bit of cousin weird stuff going on in his books but YALL

[yeesandhaws]

so guess who just found out about the existence of "FiKi"

FiKi meaning Fili/Kili.

they are literally brothers.

there is a whole ass community on tumblr for this.

that's enough internet for today methinks.

[growingingreenwood]

I think Tumblr ate my last ask, but which characters in the Tolkien legendarium do you either like/love or dislike/hate and why? And is there anything that you either like or dislike about any of the characters. I think it’s something that you haven’t touched on, and would be really interesting to discuss.

It might have, but honestly girl my asks are so messed up right now that it could be literally anywhere. They seem to randomly switch order sometimes?? Like they all play musical chairs everytime I use my spotify app. 

You’re right, I don’t think I’ve ever really discussed any of that beyond my love for the Silvan elves and the dislike for other elves unless it's framed from their perspective and not really my own opinions. I’ve thought about posting some stuff before, but then usually decide to ‘stay in my own lane’ or forest, as the case me be. But here we go!  

Characters I love that I don’t really ever mention (there are honestly a lot so i will try to stick to my top 3 or 4): 

Maedhors. 

I just have such a deep sympathy for him because (other than the kinslayings) he consistently tries to fix things, make things better, make things work. Like he wasn’t back from his 50 odd years of imprisonment and tortue before he rolled up to Thingols door to discuss how they were going to break up the Beleriend to accommodate all of the Noldor??? He gave his fathers crown away to his cousin to better unite the people?? I understand the repercussions and implications that come with Kinslaying, but even those actions I see as actions to try and help. Help his brothers, because if they don’t get the jewels back then they all get sent to the void. None of them come back from the halls. He is the oldest out of the seven brothers and just must feel such a crushing weight on him to do better and be better….. And it just …. Never really works out for him. In fact, most times it backfires horrible. 

Maglor: 

Pretty similar reasons to his brother tbh but also additionally I have such a soft spot for him with little Erond and Elros. The decisions the sons of Feanor made when the took the oath was rash and admittedly a bit… extreme.. But some of them really do seem to make attempts of righting their wrongs outside of their business with the oath. And honestly, I have huge respect for anybody who can know that people's opinions of them will never change but still try their best anyways.  

Eomer: 

I LOVE THIS MAN SO MUCH OKAY omg. He’s just. He’s just SO extra, but also so soft and caring and the relationship between him and Eowyn melts my heart. That scene when he finds her in the Return of the King will always put me into cardiac arrest for at least one entire minute. He is SO loyal to his uncle and his country, and he is a really brave and honest man. Plus, that moment in the books when both he and Araogrn casually lean on their swords LITERALLY in the middle of a battle (I wanna say helms deep??) and have a pleasant little chit chat amongst each other. Like how can you NOT love this man??? Impossible.  

While on the topic of underappreciated siblings, can we talk about FARAMIR 

Faramir: 

Ugh my beautiful little idiot. Homeboy speaks Sindarin but yet could not translate Cirith Ungol (which is Sindarian) to warn Sam and Frodo what might be in the tunnels Gollum wants to take them through. When Cirith Ungol literally means “Path of the Spider.” LIKE??? Eowyn confesses her love for him, and THIS MANS just fucking nods along, sitll holding her hand and goes: “Yeah, honestlly, who wouldnt be in love with Aragorn?” A masterpiece. Anyways, he’s also just like an all around good person who just has some pretty aggressive daddy issues. But his rangers LOVE him, and its obvious his people do too. I just wish he could have had more sympathy over the loss of his brother (aka best frined) 

50/50 person

Denethor: 

Alright, I will be the first to admit that the movie Denethor deserves what he got, I hate that bitch. But I will also admit that this man was done wrong in the films, and was aggressively villainized him far past what he actually was. Was he the best person in the world? No. The best father? No. But did he do his best with what he could when suddenly an enemy long thought dead as FUUUCCKKK suddenly appears right behind you? Yes. He absolutely did. I don really think that he gets enough credit for keeping Gondor running and functioning as it slipped further and fathern into darkness. They ended up living in a similar situation as Thranduil did, maybe for not as long but still. So like, if it weren’t for the movie I don’t really think I would have a strong opinion about him in any manner, so there you go. 

People I hate, and why: 

Eol: He’s just …. Creepy as fuck. He’s weird and possessive and controlling and BLAH. Who decided to kill their own son just because they themselves are insisting to do something that is forbidden? Eol. What did he do instead? Kill his wife. Good fucking job. 

Maeglin: Eol’s son. Also cringy and creepy. His uncle took him in even after his father murdered his mother right in front of them both, treated him like a son and did everything he could for him. But that wasn’t enough for Maeglin, and he couldn't take “uhm, not thank you. You are my cousin and being around you makes me uncomfortable” as an answer, and so betrays his city and gets everybody killed instead. Cool. Sick move. 

Okay, so I don’t hate the character but the story overall annoys me. Beren & Luthien: 

Like, I get it. Its dramatic and romantic and heroic and all of that. I’m not arguing. I also think that Luthien is basically the coolest woman to ever exist in any world at any point. But how their love story is presented overall? Eh. There are cool scenes and stuff that happens BECAUSE OF the love story, like Finrod biting a werewolf to death, Luthien talking to Carcharoth like he’s a grumpy little puppy, her defeating Morgoth and also somehow convincing Mandos to let Beren out??? All scenes are sick as fuck. But I just, still don't really understand where such deep and dramatic emotions of love for one another come from to DO all of those things. Ya know??? Idk. It’s still cute and sweet don’t get me wrong, its just really really annoys me that its framed as this “end all be all” idea of what perfect love looks like. I think what I am trying to say is that the story of Beren and Luthien seems to be blown out of proportion to me, and the bigger it grows the more it irks me. 

[fictionadventurer]

10 Books I Want to Read in 2019

Tagged by @isfjmel-phleg. Thank you!

My main reading goal for the year (or for any year) is to make a dent in my unread books on my shelf and my Kindle, with a few library books thrown in. So, here are some unread (or partially read) books that I’d like to finish this year.

1. Piccadilly Jim by P.G. Wodehouse. I’ve heard good things about it, got it for free on Kindle, and liked the couple of chapters that I read a while ago. It’ll be easy enough to finish in the next few weeks. (I’d also like to read Pigs Have Wings. I need to read more Blandings Castle!)

2. Theater Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. I need to find out what happened after Ballet Shoes, because “I moved to Czechoslovakia to become a ballet dancer” is not a happy ending when the book takes place in 1936.

3. Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott. I have a lovely old copy that’s (I think) from 1917 and it seems a shame to leave it unread on my shelf. I’ve heard good things about it and want to read more Alcott.

4. How Far Is It To Bethlehem: The Plays and Poetry of Frances Chesterton. I love getting to know G.K. Chesterton’s wife! Her Christmas plays are a bit cutesy, but I adored the one essay she wrote (she is the perfect match for her husband!) and I can’t wait to get to her poetry.

5. The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White. I’ve read a couple of her books, and while I have some theological and plotting quibbles, her stuff is among the better-quality Christian historical fiction I’ve run across. And this is on Kindle Unlimited.

6. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. I’d like to read a classic romance that isn’t Austen.

7. The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall. A weird sci-fi Wodehousian version of Sherlock Holmes? How could I resist?

8. Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal. Pakistani Pride and Prejudice is an irresistible concept. Not sure how it will live up to expectations, but I hold onto hope.

9. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. A friend loved this book, and it influenced Wodehouse, so I’m excited to try it.

10. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. This has been on my Kindle forever and I suspect this’ll make a good summer read.

Bonus list of non-fiction!

1. Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body by John Paul II. My main reading goal for the year. The writing style is dense, so it’s slow-going, but it’s so good.

2. Gun, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. I’ve heard good things about this as a resource for world-building.

3. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. I feel like a bad Lewis fan for never having read his most famous theological work.

4. A World Undone: A Story of the Great War by G.J. Meyer. This is very long, and I highly doubt I’ll get anywhere close to finishing it this year, but I’m in the mood to read a chunk of it fairly soon. For all my interest in the period, I’ve read surprisingly little non-fiction about it.

5. A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-18 by Joseph Locante. One look at this list may give you some idea of why this book is on it.

6. Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration by Pope Benedict XVI. After getting through one of John Paul II’s major work, I’d like to read from another pope as well.

7. The Joy of the Gospel by Pope Francis. Let’s keep working our way through the literary output of the modern popes!

8. Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. I’ve tried to read this a couple of times, and I really liked what I read, but I hope I’ll get into the mood to finish it soon.

9. The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ by Brant Pitre. I read half of this last year, and it’s fascinating to read about the historical reality behind the Gospel stories.

10. The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton. Have to love Chesterton’s non-fiction. (I’d also like to read his biography of St. Francis of Assisi. What I’ve read so far proves it’s far different from a typical biography, but fully and completely Chestertonian).

[garden-ghoul]

fellowship of the bloggening, part.......

“five maybe?”

THE RING GOES SOUTH

When Frodo, Sam, and Bilbo come back from the council Merry and Pippin are indignant that Sam and Frodo get to go and they don’t. Everyone argues cutely for a bit, it’s very heartwarming. Frodo tries to be anxious, but he can’t for long; Rivendell has an air of carefree-ness, because elves are experts at ignoring stuff they don’t like. But it’s looking like our heroes will have to set out during the winter, which everyone is disgruntled about.

Elrond has decided that nine walkers will go to counter the nine riders. Very poetic, I guess. He wants representatives from every “nice” race, it’s very, I dunno, Star Trek or something. Also this:

'Strider!' said Frodo.

'Yes,' he said with a smile. `I ask leave once again to be your companion, Frodo.'

'I would have begged you to come,' said Frodo, 'only I thought you were going to Minas Tirith with Boromir.'

I made the mistake of going into the ao3 tag of frodo/aragorn last night and let me tell you, I am never going to ship anything ever again until I die. The entire concept of romance was a mistake, and I don’t trust anyone on the internet with it. Still, they are cute friends and they love each other. Merry and Pippin argue with Elrond until he sighs and lets them go (they’ll sneak out anyway!) So with that the company is decided; Aragorn’s sword is reforged (Anduril < Narsil). One wonders why he didn’t have that done a long time ago; I can only supposed Elrond kept saying it wasn’t the right time, in his prophetic way. I am digging how elvish leaders seem to end up with the gift of precognition kind of only after they have ruled for a while. I like to think it’s something that happens, you find yourself becoming more and clairvoyant the longer you rule. Speaking of swords, Bilbo gives Frodo his sword Sting and a coat of mithril mail as a parting present. Boromir has a longsword “of less lineage” than Anduril, hahaha. Boromir blows his horn as a setting-out tradition, and everyone in the entire valley jumps. Elrond tsks at him. And Gandalf has Glamdring, “the mate of Orcrist” which Thorin used to use. It seems weird that a dwarf and a human-shaped wizard would wield swords that were the same...

'That animal can nearly talk,' said Sam, ‘and would talk, if he stayed here much longer. He gave me a look as plain as Mr. Pippin could speak it: if you don't let me go with you, Sam, I'll follow on my own.’ So Bill was going as the beast of burden, yet he was the only member of the Company that did not seem depressed.

But as they’re about to set out:

'Bill, my lad,' he said, `you oughtn't to have took up with us. You could have stayed here and et the best hay till the new grass comes.' Bill swished his tail and said nothing.

Sam!!! And Bilbo tells Frodo “don’t be too long.” Yeah, Frodo, don’t take like 2 months destroying the most powerful magical artifact in the world while being hunted. That’d just be rude.

Anyway, after setting out, everyone is absolutely miserable. Even with Elrond’s nice furs they are always cold, and can’t risk fires, and it sounds like they have to walk by night. They pause by the ancient border of Eregion to listen to Gimli listing all the mountains he recognizes (cute!). Also Legolas says that the elves who lived here were “of a race strange to us silvan folk.” Dude... you’re not a Silvan elf. Isn’t Legolas Sindarin? Anyway, Gandalf declares a rest day because once a land has elves in it, it is slightly safer forever. What. 

HOWEVER Sam and Aragorn spot a bunch of sneaky spy crows, so the party has to go off in the night. They make for the Redhorn Pass on Caradhras, but he (Gimli personifies the mountain as Caradhras the Cruel, I love it) flings snow and boulders at them until they eventually give in and decide to go back down the way they came. Boromir and Aragorn go to clear a path, and Legolas runs around on top of the snow cheerleading them (he is such a jokester, extremely annoying how he’s not depressed; if he were in my party I’d want to punch him by now). They find out that the snow was honestly JUST falling on their party; Caradhras really did have it out for them.

Hardly had Frodo touched the ground when with a deep rumble there rolled down a fall of stones and slithering snow. When the air cleared again they saw that the path was blocked behind them.

'Enough, enough!' cried Gimli. 'We are departing as quickly as we may!' And indeed with that last stroke the malice of the mountain seemed to be expended, as if Caradhras was satisfied that the invaders had been beaten off and would not dare to return. The threat of snow lifted; the clouds began to break and the light grew broader.

So they go back down the mountain--those nasty birds are back--and prepare for

A JOURNEY IN THE DARK

We’re goin through Moria, kids. Gandalf has been there, and come out alive; Gimli is raring to go look for his lost cousins; Aragorn has been there too, and has a great deal of anxiety about it. He also warns Gandalf, specifically, that if he passes the doors of Moria he must beware. Where does he get his info?? Is he a prophet now like Faramir? Pippin, who has been trying to look tough, is scared and dispirited, wishing he had stayed in Rivendell. Unexpectedly it’s Sam who brings the optimism; he trusts in their company to keep them safe. Dear boy.

During the night we are assaulted by wolves, but Gandalf scares off most of them with a super fire spell, very cool. Not sure what the point of this bit is. We then go looking for the entrance to Moria, and find that the river that used to show where the gate was has dried to a trickle; it was dammed to create a lake. Listen, Mr Rolkien, I don’t believe you know how dams work. Unless it was dammed very recently and is still filling up, you get the same outflow as inflow. You fool. You horrible fool. Well, anyway, they make it to the door (which does indeed have NARVI <3 CELEBRIMBOR carved into it). Gandalf spends a good fifteen minutes muttering at it, trying to guess the password, while everyone else gets edgier and more impatient. Boromir, who is apparently twelve, sullenly throws a rock into the lake. This, naturally, awakes a tentacle monster and a bunch of snakes, and our heroes flee into the mines; the tentacle monster shuts the doors behind them and barricades them with trees and rocks. Goodness! Gandalf leads the way forward, although sometimes he has to stop to consult Gimli on the way to go. Everyone is a little doubtful; Aragorn reassures them by saying that “He is surer of finding the way home in a blind night than the cats of Queen Berúthiel.” EXCUSE ME? TOLKIEN YOU’VE BEEN HOLDING OUT ON ME. TELL ME ABOUT QUEEN BERUTHIEL AND HER CATS. Please, please, if anyone reading this knows more you’ve got to tell me.

Ooh, Frodo also has superpowers now from getting stabbed by an evil knife; he can see “unseen things,” and he can see in the dark. In the end, Gandalf mostly navigates by smell and wizard-sense. They make it to a huge hall with black glassy walls, which Gandalf thinks might actually be right next to the outside; Gimli loudly sings a song about Durin, which seems a little foolish to me since I know they’re about to get attacked by orcs. Also, we learn that the mithril coat Bilbo gave to Frodo is worth the entire Shire. Which is just... wow. Mithril has really appreciated in value since Sauron took all of it, huh? Ah, and we find Balin’s tomb. Rest in pieces, son of Fundin.

[garden-ghoul]

hurinions part 2

“someone told me that the reason we have ‘feanorions’ is because it’s a suffix that means ‘son/child of’ and I believed them”

what’s up I’ve been working and in class and at talks for ummm 14 hours and I’m exhausted. so let’s roll with CHAPTER 2: THE BATTLE OF UNNUMBERED TEARS

this chapter begins with maedhros appointing midsummer day as the day for the big battle with morgoth. isn’t fingon the high king now? does everyone just agree that maedhros is the go-to guy for battle strategies. whatever. deciding to have an ambush on a deeply symbolic day is a silly idea but maedhros never got the hang of “underhanded” or even “subtle.”

there’s a bunch of battle stuff I’m kind of skimming over, much of which is summarized rather insultingly by “of all that befell in the eastern battle... no more is here said.” I do want to mention one thing, and one only, about this battle: the captain of angband is named Gothmog. I picture Gothmog as a kind of filthy gray cat with eyeliner and lots of piercings, in like spiky armor. a goth mog.

after fingon dies, hurin and huor tell turgon to get out of here because, being the last son of fingolfin, he is the last hope of the eldar. rest in pieces argon, wherever you are. “not long now can gondolin remain hidden, and being discovered it must fall,” says turgon, which i think is really interesting. what I remember about him is that he is very VERY attached to the idea of gondolin never falling, of it always being a safe haven and the idea that if he doesn’t abandon it there’s no way the worst can happen. what changed in the time after nirnaeth arnoediad?

also, the text mentions, maeglin is there. listening. they do so much weird useless foreshadowing with maeglin, which usually gives you the impression not that he has some evil secret plan he’s plotting, more that he’s generally bitter, weird, and hypervigilant. which we know. that was in his bio when he was introduced.

hurin is captured while heroically murdering just, tons and tons of people. thus ended the battle as the sun set. “Night fell in Hithlum, and there came a great storm of wind out of the West,” finishes this section. nice. tolkien ruins this effect by adding another paragraph about how morgoth is mad turgon escaped.

CHAPTER 3: THE WORDS OF HURIN AND MORGOTH

the words of hurin are mostly “fuck you” and the words of morgoth are mostly “I rule this planet!! idiot!! I’m cursing your family how do you feel about that??”

hurin says, “pshh, whatever. you always say you’re cursing people and then they don’t die horribly.” but no, actually hurin, he’s right. your family is super super cursed. hurin also calls morgoth a “thrall,” which, what does tolkien think that means?? morgoth is the opposite of a thrall. hurin is in HIS thrall. he is so in morgoth’s thrall that he is petrified in a chair and forced to watch everything that happens without being able to move or speak, which is something that happens to me often, albeit not because of Evil Magicks.

oh wait that was the whole chapter. all right on to CHAPTER 4: THE DEPARTURE OF TURIN

the first part of this is about how everyone is fucking terrified of morwen, as they should be. even orcs, who as we know are fairly indiscriminate on attacking humans, won’t touch her. morwen is a really incredible person. she’s poor because some asshole took all of the stuff that used to belong to the house of hador, and she knows she’s not safe, but she still doesn’t want to go live in doriath because “she would not yet humble her pride to be an alms-guest, not even of a king.” she also later gives thingol’s messengers her last fancy gold items so she can pretend to be rich. holy shit why morwen.

she’s so good though. turin is like “where’s dad?” and morwen says “well probably he is dead.” she sends turin on the road to doriath and says “well there’s a good chance you’ll die on that road.” mother of the year right there.

there’s a great bit with sador where he looks at the nice chair he carved for hurin, now about to chop it up for firewood, and thinks that the only justification for making it was that he was happy while he was carving it. he also explains to turin what a thrall is (!) and it’s super super horrible what these invadery guys are doing to hador’s people. “‘Now I understand things better,’ said Turin.”

beleg finds turin & co wandering enchanted, confused, and starving in the girdle of melian, and brings them back to menegroth because he thinks turin is very cute. thingol does too I guess because he immediately adopts turin. I think thingol has really softened on the idea of “humans” and “strangers” since beren turned out to be all right.

CHAPTER 5: TURIN IN DORIATH

please let the evil talking sword be in this one please

so turin grows up, v tall like his cousin tuor, and eventually wants to go fight orcs. obviously it’s very dangerous! “But his doom delivered him from death.” I LOVE how tolkien uses the word doom. a long-term death is interfering with the many short-term deaths he should be having.

turin comes home to menegroth and accidentally takes saeros’ seat. he’s just super tired and wants to chill with mablung, but saeros keeps insulting his hair and his mom and eventually turin throws his cup SO HARD that he breaks saeros’ jaw. blah blah saeros’ unfortunate and humiliating death, turin refuses thingol’s judgment and runs off into the woods.

thingol hears what happens and is sad turin ran away, because he is totally ready to forgive him. beleg, turin’s bff, asks for leave to go look for him. thingol grants him an EVIL SWORD! FINALLY. it’s evil because it has eol’s spirit, and fuck that guy. you can just assume that an eol sword is ready for its wielder to meet an unfortunate accident. it’s noted that maeglin owns its twin, so I hope something awful happens to him because of that.