#athal cesta

[an-eldritch-peredhel]

Christmas Present? The non Tolkien bit caught my interest.

For the WIP ask game. This is a very fun, off the wall one for me lol

A little backstory. Last November, I starred as the Ghost of Christmas Present in a musical production of the Christmas Carol. It was a fun time (even though the script sucked and the casting wasn't great and we were supposed to be doing a better show hyped up all summer but couldn't at the last minute- but it went well and the people made up for it so it's ok), and in preparation I watched the Muppets Christmas Carol twice within the span of a few weeks, along with a few other adaptations. So I had it pretty solidly In The Brain.

I was joking with fellow castmates after we finished the show and one brought up the idea of the Christmas ghosts being actual dead people. So I went "Yeah I died on Christmas Eve like seven hours ago but this Scrooge guy sucks so I'm gonna help him turn his life around". And then I couldn't get the idea out of my head that Scrooge isn't special and other people have been visited by Christmas ghosts, and that Christmas Present in particular is just a random cheery festive person who dies on Christmas Eve and gets recruited to turn the annual old grouch into someone decent. And then I gave in and wrote bits of fanfic about it. Please bear in mind that I have never read the original book, and that this is purely for fun.

"I have told you what I am already, sir, and I assure you that my title would suffice. But if you insist upon a Christian name, I was called Mary in life. An apter name now than I knew then- merry indeed!" "In life?" "Just because the word spirit can be metaphorical, doesn't mean it is!”

"Have you nothing keeping you chained to the world besides your own wicked deeds? Is there nothing to give your life meaning beyond squeezing every drop of profit you can manage out of it?" "Oh, and I suppose you are here out of simple love for Christmas?" he snapped, but despite his tone the spirit's face lit up with a brilliant smile. "Not quite, I'm afraid. Mary Hark loved a girl named Winter. It was she that gave me these-" the spirit lifted the garlands of bright paper chains around her neck "-not that she knew what they would become. But I don't mind. I just want to see her as happy as she can be, one last time, at my favorite time of year. Which is why, Mr. Roberts, we really ought to head out."

[an-eldritch-peredhel]

may i ask for your thoughts on dior my beloved??? 👀

DIOR MY BELOVED. HIMST. BLORBO. Ok now that I have my initial reaction down:

Given the post I assume sparked this re: Dior as a rebellious kid, I'm gonna start there

I don't think it was quite rebellion in the traditional sense? Definitely not as much as like. Feanor (bc Dior doesn't have mommy/daddy issues). It's more of a "I am different from my parents and need to go my own way and that way happens to be the Exact Opposite of what they did"

I have a Whole Heckin Bunch of headcanons on he and Nimloth (and their kids) here, also a reblog with Valinor relationship headcanons, if you feel like reading 6+ pages on our underappreciated king, if not, I shall Sum Up relevant stuff

Basically: he joins the marchwardens at 18-ish where he meets Nimloth and they have a rivals to lovers speedrun. She's the one who calls him Eluchil (an insult at first but turns sincere) and he tells her his plan to get respect and political capital by increasing his influence, but the Plan falls apart just when he's starting to get Properly Acknowledged bc Thingol gets killed and Melian leaves and Menegroth gets sacked and whoopsie time for Political Influence Speedrun because he's KING NOW

(DIOR (also Elros and probably Arwen) is the politically ambitious peredhel thank you very much, NOT Elrond)

Gonna put a cut here because this got pretty long lol, I am just getting started with all my many random headcanons

Anyway, Beren and Luthien don't really know about his political aspirations at first, they just think he's joining the Marchwardens to connect to his elvish heritage and make friends his own age and fulfil the Elvish YAWN (Young Adult Wandering iNstinct), and while they don't really Get It they understand and are reasonably supportive

(Luthien grumbles privately for a while but once Dior starts writing them abt Nimloth she's like "Ooh? Another person to dote on? Daughter!?" (Beren: in LAW. Luthien: D A U G H T E R) and all is forgiven)

They find out about it at a Very Inconvenient Time. Don't know when except that probably he doesn't mean for them to find out. Maybe Nimloth lets something slip at a dinner?

I know Luthien and Daeron are like "You WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN DORIATH POLITICS??? After our childhoods and the Quest??? We raised you better than this???" (Beren in the background: "Daeron this is your fault for being his Favorite Adult and cushioning how much being prince sucked.")

Obviously they're mostly worried for him and after an argument and more grumbling they're supportive but. Two Forest Hippies and a Wandering Musician, all former royalty (or close to, wrt Beren) who all ran from Society like hell was behind them Do Not Get It lol

After 6 fairly miserable years of Kinging and getting killed and reembodied he is. Significantly less gung ho about being in charge, but he still expects his political opinions/advice to be listened to, within reason (just because he doesn't want the kingship back Does Not mean that they can deny that he was king)

(Compared to the Noldor, who went through kings like paper towels and had twelve times as much nobility, this is an entirely reasonable request)

anyway some other general headcanons, in no particular order:

This is a general Eldritch Peredhil thing but None of them are allo. Or cis. They all got two things from Melian: being Spooky, and being aspec genderqueers of some flavor.

Dior is a fairly picky eater, mostly because of Texture. He, like his parents, is generally vegetarian with some supernatural (*vampire and werewolf*) exceptions. He really likes Luthien's vegetable dumplings, and Beren's curries and stews. He Cannot Stand cooked greens unless they're thoroughly disguised though.

Really, really loves fruit candied in honey. Big sweet tooth in general, and no shame about it. He passes this to his kids.

He learns to play lots of instruments and to compose from Daeron, but the flute is his first and favorite bc ~nostalgia. He learns singing from Luthien but doesn't like it quite as much- loves dancing though. Beren teaches him whittling, which he uses to occupy his hands. He makes lots of hair combs and pins for Nimloth.

He takes after Beren a little bit more in personality, but it's not really noticeable because it's colored a lot by lack of trauma and eldritch peredhel stuff and habits that he picked up from Daeron who shares them with Luthien. He takes after her too though, the biggest thing being unrelenting stubbornness and determination to get what he wants, by the Valar, even if he dies trying.

He also looks a Lot like Beren, but similarly it's hard to tell at first glance because inevitably what stands out is all the Spooky Shiny Stuff, rather than his actual features. His eyes are bright orangey-gold, which is important because it's the exact same shade as Beren's brown but hyper-saturated and lighter.

He wears his hair in Proper Styles for appearances, but he doesn't like how it feels 90% of the time because it's too tight or too loose or too stiff or-. His hair also inherited a lot of Luthien's Weirdness (her hair is only very debatably called hair and may or may not have a little sentience) which makes it extremely hard to do. The plus side to it though is that once he gets the braids right there is very little that can budge them, so he can keep them in for a long time. Still prefers his hair down, or in a simple braid to keep it out of the way if he must.

Also goes barefoot whenever possible- this is more socially acceptable because Thingol often did too, and you couldn't get shoes on Melian and her kids for love or money, so it's become something of a trend/statement that the royal family takes too far sometimes (affectionate) rather than a sign of wildness (judgemental)

He's fluent in Sindarin (multiple dialects, this guy can code switch like crazy) and Taliska, but he also knows a non-zero amount of Quenya because Beren has some from Finrod. He doesn't exactly use it, but it's enough that he can hypothetically parse simple conversations with a lot of guesswork and tone-reading and common root words.

When he's 8-ish he gets a kitten. He names the kitten Rhoss (whisper/rustling sound). The kitten is Very Very loud. Luthien is the "dad that didn't want the pet" in this situation (cats + songbirds=BAD, Dior promised to keep him inside/in the barn). Beren is the one who championed the cat and regrets it immensely, because he is a very light sleeper and Rhoss gets Zoomies. It's all very ironic.

Beren and Luthien tell him the Tale Of Tinuviel (roughly) version of their adventure when he's very young (they keep "Uncle Finrod and Friends were brutally slaughtered via werewolf" out until he's at least eight) and he occasionally confuses small details. He's very irritated by this, and actually writes out different versions to keep them all straight when telling them to his kids.

(This is the big reason so many details about their quest survive even though they went off merrily to be Bog People, and why so few details about their life post quest exist- he knows that part and didn't write it down.)

Because they are dad's dear departed friends, Dior never admits that he picks favorites of the Faithful from Beren's stories. It changes throughout his life a lot depending on what he's going through, but when he meets them in Valinor he gains a surprising respect for Eluihu (or perhaps not surprising. That they turned away from Celegorm to aid his father when it was Celegorm's followers that left his children to die is... Poetic)

This man has a wicked sense of humor. This is entirely from Beren, ("even now it is in my hand") and ranges from absolutely *terrible* dad jokes, to Legitimately Concerning gallows humor. He's also very snarky- many a comment has been muttered under his breath to Nimloth that made her have to try Very Hard not to laugh

He doesn't like shapeshifting very much (species dysphoria~) but sometimes you just have to give your spouse snuggles as a giant wolf. And being a bird is just really fun.

He has a crazy green thumb- Nimloth insists that he's cheating with Maia powers, he insists he's just that good, this debate never gets resolved. He grows her lots of flowers.

They have lots of silly little arguments like that, lots of lighthearted bickering. Like over nicknames for Elured and Elurin: Dior calls them Thoroval and Thorogamp (Eagle-wing and Eagle-talon), Nimloth calls them Erionnath (Daisy-sons) and both of them jokingly protest over the other. It's very cute

He loves basking in sunlight, but also really likes storms, preferably in the day. He likes being able to see the stars at night.

All peredhil have "In this world, it's adopt and be adopted" vibes they give off, some stronger than others. Dior's aren't as strong as Elrond's but they're pretty dang strong. He gets so many honorary uncles. He becomes an honorary uncle to so many people. He meets Earendil for the first time and goes "Ah, another son". Meets Idril and Tuor and goes "Ah, new cousins". Meets Elrond and goes "Ah, beloved grandson". If you are even distantly related to him by blood or choice you are Not Safe from becoming Family.

Luthien's brand of feral is pretty consistent, she's always this close to becoming a full-fledged eldritch abomination and it's just part of her personality. When she hides it is when you really need to run, because that means she has a Plan. Beren's brand of feral is essentially "depressed forest cryptid cleans up nice"- when he isn't crippled by grief and rage and trauma he can play a very normal, respectable member of society, he'd just much rather be lurking in the woods somewhere.

Dior gets Beren's brand of feral with all of Luthien's intensity and without the trauma. He is very good at putting up a stern, graceful elvenking front. He can walk the walk and talk the talk as it were, and unless you're close to him or have seen him let loose, it's easy to think it's real. Make no mistake though, it is a front, and he is as completely and utterly feral as his parents when you take that away. He is always 100% down to go wild with the slightest excuse, and can switch from Dignified King to Nightmare Beast to Dignified King With Blood Dripping Off His Mouth in the span of a minute.

(The Feanorions got a very big receiving end of this. It's Terrifying)

[an-eldritch-peredhel]

📓

Ask game!

Very much a conceptual, blorbo rotating thing but something where Beren and Luthien meet their much younger selves (/each other?) Either because of inexplicable magic time traveling or they're imagining the concept. Like those posts that are "If I could talk to my 14 year old self..."

I just think that it would be a neat character study. How do you tell your 14 year old (or equivalent) self that your life was pretty miserable but then you married an immortal fairy princess who beat satan and death for you/ you're happier than you've ever been but you gave up immortality and everything you've ever known for the sake of a man of a species that doesn't even exist yet.

[an-eldritch-peredhel]

Eldritch Beren, please

Alright! I'm glad that this is one people are interested in bc I've been asked about it before here! But I always have more to ramble about so here we go!!!

Beren gets to be eldritch too <3, tentatively subtitled in the doc as "Four times Beren and Luthien bonded over being strange (and one time they didn't have to)", and each thing is going to be a trait/feature that Werewolf!Beren and Eldritch!Luthien share or are similar in. The first one, per the "snippet" I posted with the previous ask, is fangs, with a further theme of protection. The one that I'm most looking forward to because it's going to be wonderful saccharine fluff is sublabeled "dancing". I didn't actually have anything else written for this, but I felt bad not adding a snippet so! Congrats anon! This is the first new stuff I've written for this in several months!

The fangs were strange, but not bad, except when he bit his cheek. The whole meat thing wasn’t very pleasant (an understatement, but one he would live with), but at least it was rarely necessary and hunting with Tinúviel was always an experience. This? This was an inconvenience. Beren stared in dismay at the shredded bedcovers, and went to bury his face in his hands before flinching back. His… nails didn’t seem any different from how they were a few moments ago, thicker and sharper than before, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Tinúviel was laughing. “Darling, this isn’t funny.” “Our blankets are shredded into almost as many pieces as mine were as a juvenile. Of course it’s not funny, it’s hilarious.” He pauses a little at that, frustration slightly assuaged. “You’ve done this, too?” “Of course!” she held up her hands- her talons, dark and shining and hooked as always. “I know you don’t think these are just for show?” “Why?” he asks, because surely she had been used to them enough that it wouldn’t be out of clumsiness. “Nesting,” she replies, simply, and. Oh. Yes, that would make sense. That… actually, that makes a lot of sense, and several other pieces of her behavior fall into place.

Ask me about my other WIPs!

[an-eldritch-peredhel]

Why are you so cruel to your innocent ocs????????????? BE NICE TO THE BABIES OR I WILL TAKE THEM AWAY

I WANT SO BADLY TO BE NICE TO THEM BUT JIRT SAID NO THEY HAVE TO SUFFER 😭😭😭

On the plus side things do turn out ok after they die- they get lots of Mandos therapy and see Beren twice more (both times he dies he sticks around them for a while, so Luthien also gets to meet and get to know her husband's friends and saviors), and are all reembodied out of sheer willpower at the same time as Finrod, and make a little village on the edge of Valinor that turns into their "home base" where the more nomadic ones can always be sure of having a place to go even in a strange land, and their families too, and Laegbril and Eluihu get to reunite with the family that stayed behind and Eithrel gets to meet Arafinwe and Earwen. Merildis and Eretompa also low-key adopt Nac-ñgur (he keeps the name because "It's funny!" "I've earned it!" "It makes all the Calbenath uncomfy!") as chill mom-aunts, alongside a decent chunk of angsty-teen elves of varying Kindreds. Sirdal and Arasser live right next to a river and a forest and have a very doting partnership. Cirgladha is very happy that there's a decent shore-line (even if the jewel-beaches are a bit much) and is able to start healing the rift between Noldor and Teleri by their sheer power of steamrolling over and ignoring/ beating tension (their name is new-laughter for a reason)

Edrahil realizes that he actually really, really dislikes being a part of Tirion court now, (he doesn't mind politics, he minds Tirion politics) and unceremoniously "manipulates" Finrod into spending only the bare minimum amount of time there (it's not like Finrod enjoys it much either), which is surprisingly little considering that Arafinwe spent the first century or so of kingship attempting to patch the remaining Noldor together, and the second century or so ruthlessly delegating everything that could possibly be delegated because the royal family went from 30+ to about 5, essentially overnight. Actually, I think Edrahil is the one who makes a standardized weekend a Thing to elves, as opposed to just individualized break days. There are still (many) other break days, but now there's the weekend to Do Stuff With Your Dear Friends Who Literally Died For You And Is Paperwork Really More Important Than That Finrod?

So it's not all bad days! It just. Takes death to get there 😓