#elúrin

[thevalleyisjolly]

As an intrinsic part of their Mortal heritage, I like to think that all the Half-Elven in Middle-earth have at one point in their lives (but most especially their youths) had a fairly unflattering haircut that they genuinely believed was the hottest shit ever:

Dior had a long feathered mullet that was a pure flex to show off how naturally full and voluminous his hair was. He only cut it once the twins were born and it became too much work to maintain while looking after two babies.

Elúred and Elúrin got their hands on an unattended bottle of hair dye when they were five and gave themselves skunk hair bangs that took months to wash out.

Elwing once experimented with teasing her curls into a big 80's hairdo because people told her how her father used to have big hair.

Eärendil had to cut his hair after a lice scare onboard one of Círdan's ships and went for a bowl cut that he thought would be quick and easy to do. Unfortunately, the bowl he used was a little too small and the high fringe made it look like he was wearing a small hat made out of hair. Idril had conniptions. Tuor managed to hold in his laughter until he could reach the privacy of an inner room. Elwing demonstrated the incredible power of love by both saying yes to his proposal and offering to neaten his fringe so that it at least looked a little less choppy.

Elrond stubbornly sported a man bun undercut for two whole years after he lost a bet with one of Maedhros' Mortal retainers and Maglor made a sighing comment about how he shouldn't worry because his hair would soon grow back out "nice again."

Elros gave himself curtained hair in solidarity with Elrond so that Maglor would get off his back, and kept it until the first time he commanded a war party and got good-naturedly ribbed to hell about looking like a 14 year old kid.

Like father like son, Elladan wore a rat tail for a few years after one of the Dunédain wagered he couldn't pull it off. He really couldn't, although he thought it looked great and was forever trying to do fancy styles with it until Elrohir staged a sibling intervention.

Elrohir maintained a buzzcut for nearly fifty years after his parents a little too amusedly said that he could do whatever he liked with his appearance now that he was of age.

Arwen went through a phase in her 200s where she dyed her hair with whatever colours she could get her hands on. The silver was very nice (Celeborn was extremely proud) and the blue highlights were interesting but still managed to work. She even made a decent ginger. However, the attempt at Arafinwëan gold just ended up a washed-out bleach blonde that is to date the only thing that has ever stunned Galadriel into utter speechlessness.

+Although not born Mortal, Lúthien spent a full Valinorean year with feathers instead of hair while trying to shape-shift into a nightingale. It actually made for quite an aesthetic when she took the time to preen them properly, but as she was far too busy running around having adventures with Daeron, the effect was more often ruffled bird's nest than sleek wings.

[camille-lachenille]

Random Erestor son of theories (Peredhel edition)

Erestor Caranthirion, son of Caranthir and Haleth

Erestor Diorion, is actually Elúred or Elúrin who survived

Erestor son of no one, son of a random Edain and Elf

Erestor Peredhel, son of a Númenorean and a Falathrim Elf

Erestor Peredhel 2, son of a Númenorean and an ex-Fëanorian

Erestor Maglorion, son of Maglor and his Edain wife

Erestor Celebrimborion, son of Celebrimbor and a Númenorean visiting Ost-in-Edhil

Erestor Peredhel 3, youngest son of Elwing and Eärendil who was rescued and raised by Círdan after the 3rd kinslaying

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Favourite Female Tolkien Character Poll - Round 1, Match 21

Nellas

An elf-maiden of Doriath who befriended Túrin during his fostering, and taught him about the nature and animals of Doriath.

But there was a maiden named Nellas, who lived in the woods; and at Melian’s bidding she would follow Túrin if he strayed in the forest, and often she met him there, as it were by chance. From Túrin Nellas learned much concerning the ways and wild things of Doriath, and she taught him to speak the Sindarin tongue after the manner of the ancient realm, older, and more courteous, and rich in beautiful words. Thus for a little while his mood was lightened, until he fell again under shadow, and that friendship passed like a morning of spring. For Nellas did not go to Menegroth, and was unwilling ever to walk under roofs of stone; so that as Túrin’s boyhood passed and he turned his thoughts to the deeds of men, he saw her less and less often, and at last called for her no more. But she watched over him still, though now she remained hidden.

She saw Saeros ambush and try to kill Túrin, and testified of that to Thingol during the judgement over Túrin’s killing of Saeros.

Nimloth

The wife of Dior Elúchil, and mother of Eluréd, Elúrin, and Elwing; killed in the Second Kinslaying along with her husband and sons. She was Celeborn’s niece.

[echo-bleu]

October starts tomorrow and I've been wanting to do some kind of art challenge. I haven't found a prompt list that inspired me (for drawing at least, I might try a couple of Tolkientober or Whumptober prompts in writing) so I think I'll just draw whatever I feel like, just with the goal of one finished drawing/painting a day. It might be just a sketch, but it has to be something I don't consider a WIP by the end of the day. I'm unlikely to actually make all 31 days but that's fine.

I'm mostly doing characters atm so I'm going to make a list of Tolkien characters I can pick from under the cut.

In no particular order, and I'm probably going to do something else entirely on some days, but I want to have something on hand for when inspiration doesn't strike.

Faramir

Boromir

Fingon (proper epic portrait, but that's a long one)

Maglor (idem)

Russingon

Modern Russingon (or anyone from my modern AU)

Finduilas of Dol Amroth (the last of the disability prompts I got, yes I know it's not July anymore)

Kid!Tyelko with Huan

Celegorm

Caranthir

Curufin

Ambarussa twin portrait

Elúred & Elúrin twin portrait

Elrond & Elros twin portrait

Finarfin

Eärwen

Celebrían

Elrond

Elros

Aragorn & Arwen

Finwë

Míriel

Gil-galad

Maeglin

Aredhel

Annatar

Silvergifting

Legolas (&Gimli?)

Nienna

Turgon

Elwing

Eärendil

If you have someone that you're particularly enthusiastic about seeing in my style, please tell me! It might encourage me.

[tamilhobbit]

Paging @glorfindel-of-imladris .

To my knowledge, technically it's not that there are no other half-elves. There are potentially plenty! The issue is that they're all mortal - it is only the descendants of Eärendil and Elwing who are given the Choice, the ability to choose between mortal and Elven lives. This is because of the great deed of Eärendil, the peril that he ventured for love of the Two Kindreds.

And it is because of this that to Eärendil and to Elwing, and to their sons, shall be given leave each to choose freely to which kindred their fates shall be joined, and under which kindred they shall be judged.

Eärendil presumably had a mortal lifespan before that, but it's unclear since Tuor was granted the fate of the Elves. Elwing's Half-Elven father Dior married very young by Elvish standards, likely because as a mortal he had already grown to adulthood, but he and his twin sons were cut down too soon for us to know what their full lifespan could have been. (Dior was killed at age 30, having already married and fathered three children. Elves only complete puberty by age 50 and are considered adults at age 100 - there is no way Dior aged like an Elf, or he'd have had a child marriage!)

So there could indeed be lots of half-elves, lowercase, as in offspring of Elves and mortals. But they are all mortal except for Elrond and his Half-Elven line, since Elros already chose mortality for his line. The only named Half-Elves are Dior, Eärendil, Elwing, Elúred, Elúrin, Elros, Elrond, and Elrond's children.

Canonically we do have the royal line of Dol Amroth, which is descended from the Elf-maid Mithrellas and her Númenórean husband Imrazôr. Their children Galador and Gilmith were mortal. But their line is only described as having Elvish blood, not as Half-Elves. For the same reason that Aragorn, despite being a descendant of Elros, is not a Half-Elf; Elros' mortal children did not bear that title, unlike Elrond's Elven children. Tolkien presumably felt that after that many mortal generations, Elvish heritage was still present enough to have an effect, but not enough to merit being a Half-Elf, which is apparently its own Elven racial category.

So. There is nothing stopping you from inventing Elf-Man OC couples who have half-Elven OC children. You can even have them live in Imladris, since The Hobbit does specifically name them as living there. But according to the lore, those children are most likely going to be mortal. They will be beautiful and fey, and potentially very long-lived and wise, but they will age and pass away.

Now, as for Erestor. I don't know exactly when that change was made or why he chose to no longer have Erestor as a Half-Elf. But fan theories are that, since we do know Erestor is a high-ranking counsellor who's able to attend the Council and advise Elrond and argue against Glorfindel, perhaps Tolkien felt it was unrealistic for someone with a mere mortal lifespan to be able to do that.

Erestor, Glorfindel and Elrond all give the impression, through their speech and suggestions in the Council, that they're tired of having to deal with the dark arts of the Enemy over and over. Glorfindel wants to chuck the Ring in the Sea. Erestor wants to give it to Tom Bombadil. These are immortal beings who've waged many wars and are about to nope out and leave Middle-Earth. It doesn't make sense for Erestor to be speaking with the perspective of an Elf if he's mortal.

Or perhaps Tolkien also decided that including a Half-Elf introduces a new plot thread. If Eärendil can be granted the Choice for his deed, surely a Half-Elf who helps defeat Sauron should also be offered such a choice? But only the Valar can do that, and he explicitly keeps them out of LotR as much as possible. In order to stick to that thematic point, he may have decided against having any prominent Half-Elves. But that's just my personal theory.

This isn't terribly important, but just out of curiosity, does anyone happen to know when Tolkien decided to limit surviving half-elves to just Elwing and Eärendil and their descendants (Elrond, Elros, Elrond's children)?

Like, the Hobbit still speaks in general about there being people who had both elves and men among their ancestors, and mentions Elrond as their leader. At least one if not multiple early drafts of the Council of Elrond chapter of LOTR name Erestor not only as half-elven but specifically a descendant of Lúthien. I don't have the relevant volume of HoME at hand to check, but iirc that draft also kinda implies that Erestor isn't the only one of those around, just the only one besides Elrond that's relevant to name just then, but i might be off about that part.

But by the time LOTR is polished to the shape it's published, Tolkien has apparently changed his mind about that, seeing as the published LOTR and appendices only discusses Elrond and Elros as half-elves, and any mention of Erestor's being half-elf (or in any other way related to Lúthien or to Elrond) is gone so that presumably he's been changed into an elf

So my knowledge of when Tolkien decides on the number of half-elves is basically "somewhere between whenever Tolkien wrote that draft for the Rivendell part of the story, and when LOTR was finished", but I'm really curious if anyone knows anything to narrow that down further?

[last-capy-hupping]

Part 2 of my Oath of Fëanor meta series: The Oath is about reclaiming the Silmarils, not about avenging Finwë or killing Silmaril thieves

So, no, the Oath does not directly say that Fëanor or his sons have to reclaim the Silmarils. It just says that they have to kill anyone who keeps it from them, though as I argued in last 1, they clearly believe that they can bargain for its return, something that they attempt with Morgoth, Thingol, Dior, and Elwing.

However…killing the Silmaril thief accomplishes the task of getting the Silmaril back. After the fall of Doriath and the death of Dior, the Silm says that “The sons of Fëanor gained not what they sought, for a remnant of the people fled before them, and with them was Elwing, Dior’s daughter, and they escaped and bearing with them the Silmaril Ruhr came in time to the mouth of the River Sirion by the sea” (284). Now, you could take this to mean that the Fëanorians failed because Elwing and other Iathrim survived, but that seems less likely to me than the other interpretation: that their Oath was unfulfilled because they didn’t get the Silmaril back. That’s because the paragraph immediately preceding that one tells of Maehdros’ repentance for the exposure of Eluréd and Elúrin. In light of that, the Fëanorian objective seems to have been the reclamation of the Silmaril, not the destruction of Lúthien’s line.

But more importantly…what was foremost on the Fëanorians’ mind when they swore their oath: the death of Morgoth or the Silmarils? The answer seems to be the Silmarils.

Fëanor’s grief over Finwë’s death and his rage over the Valar’s failure to protect him is clear, but the Silmarils seem just as important, if not more. I already quoted the passage about Fëanor’s fear of Silmaril thieves and how he only wanted himself, his father, and his sons to have access to them, but I think that Fëanor’s response to Yavanna’s request for the Silmarils after the death of the Two Trees but before Fëanor knows that Finwë is dead is pretty key.

“But Fëanor spoke to them and cried bitterly: ‘For the less even as for the greater there is some deed that I may accomplish but only once; and in that deed, his heart shall rest. It may be that I can unlock my jewels, but never again shall I make their like, and if I must break them, I shall break my heart, and I shall be slain, first of all the Eldar in Aman” (82-83).

So, even before Fëanor gets to doubting the Valar, he explains why the Silmarils are so important to them and why he wants to keep them in the possession of his own line. He believes, not only that they’re his greatest work, but also that his life is somehow tied to them. He believes that if he destroys them, he will die just as his mother Míriel died.

Now, Finwë’s death does matter to Fëanor. Page 84 describes Finwë as being dearer to Fëanor than the light of Valinor—but not necessarily the Silmarils.

Fëanor emphasizes the importance of avenging his father’s death in his speech, but he references “the thief of my treasure” in the same sentence (87).

But when he states his goals, the Silmarils are mentioned while Finwë is not. He says, “[W]e will never turn back from pursuit. After Morgoth to the ends of the earth! War he shall have and hatred undying. But when we have conquered and have regained the Silmarils, then we and we alone shall be lords of the unsullied Light, and masters of the bliss and beauty of Arda. No other race shall oust us!”

So, for Fëanor, the Silmarils also symbolize the unsullied light and the means by which the Ñoldor can dominate the whole world. That’s why reclaiming the Silmarils are so important and why it’s so important for him and his direct descendants (the only members of the House of Finwë whom he recognizes as legitimate). The Oath emphasizes that he and his sons, and no other Ñoldor, are to be the Silmaril holders, owners, and possessors.

Finally, while defeating Morgoth is clearly the major goal, Fëanor’s sons still treat with their enemy when they think that it will help them get a single Silmaril back. That’s because the Oath prioritizes that over defeating Morgoth. After all, they have to become masters of the unsullied Light, and they can always go back to war after getting that single Silmaril back because Morgoth is still their enemy and still has two Silmarils.

[doodle-pops]

Okay okay, hear me out: I've been thinking about this for a while now. Not sure if it makes sense, also I'm sorry if you don't want to get stuff like this.

Imagine you are Maedhros's wife/husband in Beleriand. You had to stand by and wait while he was captured and held in Angband, and you saw him return, how broken he was, and you helped him recover. Inevitably, he changes as the oath aswell as all the suffering, which he partially caused himself. You don't always agree with his ways, but stay by his side nonetheless, out of love. Until Doriath, that is. Dior didn't want to give away the Silmaril, so the Feanorians and their followers prepared for battle - or more, yet another kinslaying. Shortly before they invade Doriath, you have a massive fallout with Maedhros. Telling him how another kinslaying can't be the solution and that you can't just let him do this, kill any more innocent people because of this Stones. He goes berserk and screams at you, you wouldn't understand hos situation, he can't just stop after sacrificing so much for the oath, and if you can't tolerate it, just leave and never come back to him. He doesn't want to see you ever again. So you do just that, leaving for the forests of Doriath, that is.

By coincidence, you see how Celegorms soliders leave Elúred and Elúrin in the forests to die. The both of them look so lost and scared that it hurts your heart and you get sad yourself. You show yourself and calm them, and hide in the brush with them whem you hear Maedhros calling out their names.

The twins are scared, obviously, and you are the person that saved them, this got them...attached to you and they don't want you to leave. So you do just what every normal person would do, and take them in. You watch them grow into strong adults and become Lords of the Eldar, mighty swordsmen and silver-tongued diplomats. They die in the battle of tha last alliance, at Gil-Galads side, and your grief is as if you were their mother yourself.

Eventually, you depart to Valinor, and at the shore, you meet your family. Maedhros has been reembodied and awaits you, tears streaking down his cheeks, and as soon as he holds you in his arms, he doesn't stop apologizing , or crying for that matter, but of course you forgive him. (Who wouldn't forgive Maebae?)

And then you hear two voices yelling your name and Elúred and Elúrin come running at you and tackle you in a hug, telling you how much they missed you. A few paces behind are Dior and Nimloth, who both look quite fond of you three, and thank you for caring for their boys, because they couldn't.

Your gaze turned to Maedhros another time, just as another tear rolls over his cheek. His blue eyes look glassy and he makes a sniffling little noise before saying: "You took care of them..."

I love to receive stories like this. If you hadn't known, I tag these under y/n imagines and you can find all the others like this I've received. You can send them in, it's welcomed.

I do love a happy ending and reader took care of the twins and saved them. It's sad that they died but that means they met their nephews Elrond and Elros at some point🥺 Maedhros imagines really do take me out

[formenos]

Maedhros searches for Elúred and Elúrin in the Forests of Doriath after the Second Kinslaying

[arlenianchronicles]

Hi!!! I've been wondering, and I'm curious, if Maedhros calls Elúred and Elúrin silver stars, how he would call Elrond and Elros? :) <333 Just random question haha, have a nice day or night!!💓💓

Heyo anon!! Goodness, that’s a good question, and one that I haven’t thought about before! In my head, I always imagined that Maedros would refer to them as his stars (regardless of whether Eluréd or Elurín were found). But that does sound a bit boring, and now I’m really curious if he’d give Elrond and Elros an endearment/title! Thinking about Maedros’ relationship with the twins is always fun for me, so I’m glad you asked!! XDDD

This got pretty long though loll so I’ve moved it all under a read more tag! ^^;;;

Elrond and Elros’ names technically refer to stars already (star-dome and star-foam respectively), so maybe Maedros wouldn’t need to give them an extra star name. Then again, I’ve also considered the version of canon where Elrond and Elros are found in a waterfall cave and named for that. I really like that version, because then I can headcanon that Maedros and Maglor were the ones to name the twins Elerondo and Elerossë :D

I’d imagine that Maglor started it first; Maedros initially didn’t want to get involved, but then at one point he calls the twins by name without thinking, and after that, it sticks!

But as for a title similar to Elin Gelebrin ... I have a few star names that I’ve gotten translated, like Elin ‘Lorin (Golden Stars in Sindarin) which was initially used for an AU (now abandoned). I also have Hrávelen and Lindelen from my time travel AU fic (Wild Star and Gentle Star respectively in Quenya), so maybe I could reuse those??

I’m likely getting ahead of myself now, but I just love coming up with endearments or titles that a character could give to another! ^^;;; Maedros might call Elrond his farseeing-star (because Elrond has the gift of foresight) ... Or the both of them are his stars of hope/faith (because they give him hope of a better future / he hopes that they will have a better future, and that he can protect them long enough to give them a chance, vain as his hope may be at the time) ... And Elros could be his star-heir (I headcanon that Elros is the eldest, and so Maedros sees him as the heir to the Noldorin/Sindarin throne, etc.) ... Or would it be too much to make the names more ethereal, like in reference to Varda’s stars / their Maian heritage?

Of course, the names don’t always have to be related to stars loll But I think it’d be fitting given how much the Elves revere the stars ... And for Maedros to see them as such might be a nice hint to how much they mean to him (rather like his silver stars) XDD and now I want to have all of these translated into Sindarin siiigh but I need to choose which to translate first!

I hope this helped a bit, anon! Sorry it’s so long, I just got really excited about it ^^;;; But thank you again for sending me this ask!! This is just one of my favourite things to think about lololl XDDDD I hope you have a good day/night too!! <33333

[thevalleyisjolly]

Concept: Peredhel with silver hair. Dior gently teasing his father that they match now, as Beren grows old and his hair lightens. Thingol meeting Elúred and Elúrin for the first time and having that little pang of wistfulness because they remind him so much of his brothers as children. Elwing meeting her Teleri kin across the Sea and immediately recognizing each other, though they had never met, by that particular sheen of silver found among Olwë's kin. Elrond sometimes getting confused for Celeborn from behind because what other ridiculously tall, silver-haired Elves are striding around Lindon? Elros joking with the other Men about how old and wise he is and how at least he won't have to worry about any grey hairs showing. Elladan and Elrohir riding across the lands, their bearing proud and keen, and Celeborn is reminded of no one so much as Nimloth on a hunt when he beholds them. Arwen insisting that she is the image of her mother, and if people want to say that she's the most beautiful woman since Lúthien, then they should meet the Lady Celebrían because her silvery locks are all hers.

[camille-lachenille]

Plot bunnies poll

[fingons-rad-harp]

some of y’all do maedhros real dirty in kidnap fam fics acting like he hated the twins and wanted them gone.

Sure, he was terrified of losing them. Sure, he thought that they would hate him; they had every right to. Sure, he didn’t want to be responsible for them.

But Maedhros was the one who looked in the woods for Elúred and Elúrin for hours after learning that they had been abandoned in the woods by Celegorm’s people. He was the one that did everything before fighting, putting off the temptation of the oath for as long as he possibly could.

Maybe he wouldn’t have wanted to get too close to them, he wouldn’t have wanted to get attached, but don’t act like he wanted them dead. that’s not who maedhros is.

[aredhelthewhite]

Tolkien Characters

Eru : Alone

The Valar : Singing

The Maiar : Dancing

Manwë : Oblivious

Varda : Pretty

Melkor : Evil

Oromë : Chillin

Mandos : Living with the dead

Nienna : Crying

Ulmo : Surfing

Irmo : Dreaming

Yavanna : Growing things

Tulkas : Wrestling

Vaïre : Weaving

Mairon : Chaos

Ossë : Mental breakdowns

Uinen : Peacekeeper

Eönwë : Birds

Elves : Dying

Noldor : Fighting

Vanyar : Looking Pretty

Teleri : Swimming

Sindar : Partying

Finwë : Dead

Míriel : Dead

Fëanor : Parent problems

Indis : Still living

Fingolfin : Big dick energy

Finarfin : Pure

Fingon : Valiant

Maedhros : Fire

Maglor : Depressed

Aredhel : Stubborn

Galadriel : In love

Finrod : Doomed

Beren : One handed

Luthíen : Beautiful singing lady

Melian : Mysterious

Thingol : Mood swings

Ungoliant : Hungry

Numenoreans : Drowned

Elrond : Surviving

Elwing : A bird

Ëarendil : A star

Daeron : MIA

Caranthir : Grumpy

Celegorm : Trouble

Curufin : Daddy 2.0

Ambarussa : Thing 1 & Thing 2

Turgon : Hiding

Maeglin : Family issues

Haleth : Badass

Elúred & Elúrin : Lost

Túrin : Bad luck magnet

Húrin : Cursed

Beleg : Betrayed

Nienor : Disaster

Celebrimbor : Crafty

Tuor : Lucky

Elros : Human

Andreth : Unlucky

Berúthiel : Crazy cat lady

Ar-Pharazon : Crazy

Gil-Galad : Brave

Celeborn : Smart

Mablung : Warrior

Círdan : Not there

Voronwë : Dead inside

Gothmog : Bad

Ecthelion : Glittery musician

Glorfindel : Courageous

Idril : Clever

Rog : Strong

Ëol : Creepy

Orodreth : Confused

Finduilas : Sad

[fatalism-and-villainy]

“the Fëanorians” are not a monolith. They are individual characters, with slightly different motives and different treatment and focus given by the text. So it doesn’t really make sense to me to group them together in textual analysis. 

Saying “the text is biased against the Fëanorians” or conversely “the text is sympathetic to the Fëanorians” isn’t really a coherent argument, because the text does not treat all the Fëanorians the same. Amrod and Amras are essentially blank slates, with little to no characterization. Maedhros and Maglor do, I believe receive a fair amount of narrative sympathy, by virtue of their final moments together as well as various moments throughout the story (Maedhros standing aside at Losgar and looking for Elúred and Elúrin, Maglor raising the twins, etc.) Caranthir’s generosity to Haleth could also be interpreted in a sympathetic light. 

With Celegorm and Curufin, on the other hand, I think it’s fair to say the text /is/ biased against them. Collapsing characters’ motives and behaviors into the mold of “cardboard cutout villains” without any kind of deeper consideration or sympathy as to their motives is kind of exactly that. (This isn’t inherently a bad thing - pretty much any story is going to be slanted in favor of one perspective - but people should be allowed to point out that such favor exists.)   

[faillisse]

May I add the dearest sons of Dior, Elúred and Elúrin? Besides, Maglor combined with yet another set of twins would be interesting to say the least.

I’d like to add Thranduil to that list @legitopal