#greenwood headcanon

[growingingreenwood]

I think that if Elrond and Mereneth ever met, they'd become fast buddies. Not on the level that Thranduil amd Celebrian are, for sure, but they'd DEF bond over medicinal herbs and the best way to cure somebody after they touched/ate some poisonous plant or smth like that.

If Legolas got that much of his personality from his mother, I can assure you that Elrond would be dreading wayy less the visits of the Greenwood Royals lol.

(and I also think that he'd need a moment or two to breath the whole new person that Thranduil becomes in her presence. He'd never seen Thranduil so light and happy and quick to smile. I imagine Elrond looking out the window one night and seeing them dancing together under the stars and the branches of the trees. And he'd def notice the changes and how much her death affected him, having seen the person he was before..)

Btw you can def message me to stop if my asks are getting annoying or smth. I just love your 'verse and your oc's (specially ferdan and your version of galion) so much I think about them All The Time lmao.

An Anonymous Ask that had a Very Similar Question to yours: Did Mereneth and Elrond ever met? Either in Imladris or in Valinor? Because since the two of them are healers, they could probably bond over that (and maybe if still in Arda, Elrond would come to dread less the visits from greenwood cause he knew Mereneth liked him, therefore Thranduil wouldn't be as intimidating lmao)

Elrond and Mereneth get along SO WELL. So well. Unfortunately (for Elrond) they don't get a chance to meet until after they are all in Valinor. Tbh almost nobody outside of Greenwood got to meet Mereneth, or even get to know that Thranduil was romantically interested in somebody but especially not that he had gotten MARRIED before Greenwood had already lost its queen. 

Admittedly by the time they get to Valinor Elrond had already much improved in dealing with Thranduil compared to = when they first had to interact with each other politically and then more personally once Elrond and Celebrian had gotten married, they visits were still dreaded significantly less once Mereneth had been reunited with her husband. 

Perhaps even eagerly anticipated. 

I think that the shock Elrond felt about seeing the change in Thranduil would be a bit similar to the shock he felt the first time he saw Thranduil and Little Legolas interacting with one another. But, more. Seeing Thranduil be kind and tender with an elfling was one thing, but seeing Thranduil be so thoroughly in love and completely devoted to another full grown elf was another thing entirely. 

A Bonus For Elrond: After Mereneth was back, I also think that Ferdan and Galion would also be slightly less… Like That™™ all of the time. Partly because Thranduil was less snarky so the other two had less practice and opportunity to add their own snarkiness. Partly because, like Legolas, her unrelenting positive attitude and sunny disposition is contagious to even the grumpiest and most jaded of elves. 

(Don't worry they aren't getting annoying literally at all and I don't want you to stop, sometimes it just take a bit to answer things so you'll have to be patient af with me but i love it so much pls don't stop)

[sotwk]

Social Customs and Faux Pas in Eryn Galen 

Dearest Gentle Reader:

You may have heard rumors about the “dangerous” and "less wise" Silvan people of the Woodland Realm, which conjure images of these native dwellers of Greenwood the Great as uncouth, untamed, or practically bestial creatures. As the oldest and largest tribe of Eldar to continue thriving in Middle-earth even into the Third Age, they certainly started out primitive and crude compared to their High-elven kin, as was their deliberately chosen path. However, many allegations by certain scholars regarding the wildness of the Greenwood Silvans have been exaggerated, and fail to acknowledge the cultural amalgamation that occurred within the first millennium of the Second Age.

Although the Sindar who arrived and settled in Greenwood were enthroned as the ruling lords, in the reunion and mixing of the two cultures, Silvan customs and language were the ones to prevail. Many of the rigid social constructs that governed the Sindar during their old life in Doriath were set aside, departing from what is typically still deemed acceptable and refined by the western cities of High Elves and High Men. 

Differences in social norms that carried through to the Third Age can perhaps be best illustrated by comparing the etiquette observed by the Numenorean descendants in the surviving Kingdom of Gondor, to that of the free-spirited Silvan Elves under Elvenking Thranduil’s rule. 

Below are some examples, written as answers to specific questions asked by one dear friend and a particularly curious Gentle Reader:

Would Silvans laugh at the idea of needing a chaperone to look after an unmarried couple? 

Silvans would most certainly laugh and shake their heads at the notion of a chaperone in any instance. What a most bothersome and inconvenient custom! What sort of calamity is a chaperone expected to prevent by their presence? In Eryn Galen, people of all genders, races, classes, and ages could openly or privately socialize with each other without fear of gossip or scandal. 

Are Silvans just going around holding gloveless hands with each other without a care in the world?

Only soldiers and hunters are known to wear gloves, and as Silvans are fond of physical touch as a show of affection, platonic or otherwise, then it would seem the amount of prolonged hand-holding and skin touching that occurs daily in Eryn Galen would make Gondorians swoon, indeed. At this point, I will refrain from describing the other popular forms of perfectly acceptable public displays of affection, should it prove too salacious for your nerves. 

Is there a socially acceptable way for them to make their intentions known (or to rebuff someone's intentions) during a dance? Or are their dances and parties so informal that they don't really compare to the regency idea of a ball at all?

Silvans absolutely love to dance, and they do so at every single community gathering and celebration. For most of the Second Age, dancing in Eryn Galen was done in groups (lines or circles) rather than with partners. Social dances and balls were not popularized until the Third Age; the marriage of Elvenking Thranduil and Queen Maereth romanticized paired dancing and introduced the concept of balls as a courtship ritual.  

While dancing with someone at a ball is not automatically viewed as romantic, balls are considered more formal events, most often hosted by the Royal Family themselves. They are seen as prime opportunities for unmarried people to socialize with the likely (but not obligatory) intent of romantic courtship and marriage. 

There are no hard rules or timelines to dictate how courtship is done among Silvans. However, it is greatly frowned upon for Elves (or anyone) to toy or trifle with the feelings of another, so romantic desires and intentions must be declared as soon as they are fully recognized in oneself. A ball could be a wonderful romantic setting to do this, but what is considered important is that one must look at the other person in the eye and speak their heart openly and plainly.  If the affections being offered are unwelcome or unreciprocated, then it is the duty of the recipient to gently but clearly rebuff those affections. Silvans are generally unbashful about this, and any shyness they may feel is overshadowed by their sense of honor. 

It must be noted that Elves never rush headlong into marriage, and thus a courtship often outlasts the lifespan of a mortal Man--even the long-lived Dunedain. Therefore, one can only conclude it is illogical to judge the customs of these two races against each other. 

What would be considered scandalous behavior (by Silvans)?

Outside of marriage, Silvans would not frown or judge one another on the quantity or quality of relationships they engage in throughout their long lives. The loose or lacking restrictions against displays of affection or proper public behavior would also indicate that flirtations, dalliances, and other practices that might be deemed promiscuous in Gondor would not raise eyebrows in Eryn Galen. It should also be noted, however, that compared to the race of Men, Silvans are more likely to be bored of or disinterested in sexual liaisons and far less moved by carnal impulses. This alone drastically decreases the occurrences of "scandalous behavior" as commonly defined by puritan society.

Silvans value honor, loyalty, and service to the community above all. Strong marriages and large, happy families are considered the pride and strength of their society, and so they take the commitments to these institutions very seriously.

Once a Silvan elf chooses to marry, they are bound to much stricter codes of conduct. In Silvan culture, the vow of marriage is considered an unbreakable oath, hallowed by the Valar and binding both the fëa and hröa of two Elves together. The commitment to monogamy goes hand-in-hand with an eternal oath to love and care for all children born to or adopted by the married couple.

The highest scandal in Eryn Galen, therefore, is the betrayal of these familial oaths, either through infidelity to one's spouse or the abandonment or estrangement from one's children. Divorce and family feuds remain virtually non-existent in Eryn Galen.

How long would someone's reputation be ruined?

“Ruin” or shunning people is not really something that happens in Eryn Galen. 

An immortal life is too long a time to carry a grudge, or so the wise say. But more than that, the Silvans tend to be a more forgiving and compassionate people, led by a gracious King and Queen who have deep personal experiences with the value of “second chances”. Any wrongdoing, from a minor faux pas to a blatant crime, can be pardoned as long as forgiveness is sought and the proper restitution (as dictated by law of the realm), is delivered. Once a transgression has been pardoned, it is expected for all to “forgive and forget”. Harboring ill feelings or prolonging disputes is considered vulgar and detrimental to the community. 

Banishment, on the other hand, is a rare and extreme punishment issued only by the King himself. It is done to prevent an unrepentant criminal from causing further harm to the rest of the community. 

Thank you to my Gentle friend @scyllas-revenge who sent in this Ask! <3 This was fun!

For more SotWK AU headcanons: SotWK HC Masterlist

Elves HC Tag List: Tags be added in comments temporarily while Tumblr tags are malfunctioning.

[mahtariel-of-himring]

Ok, but what if Thranduil hates dwarves so much, not because of the whole betrayal but because the group of elves that primarily got along with and befriended the dwarves were the Fëanorian‘s?

Maedhros and Azaghâl?

Caranthir and Telchar?

Celebrimbor and Narvi?

And Thranduil of course despises the Fëanorian’s because of the second kinslaying and since they’re so known for befriending dwarves he decided that they couldn’t be good.

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

The thing about Thranduil and Legolas and their family is that, if it weren’t for their royal obligations, they would be in the wind 80% of the time, they’d wonder so far and wide it’d make Gandalf’s title of the gray pilgrim look like child’s play.

The only reason any of them stay in one place for more than a millennia at all is if they have people to take care off.

Many people and elves are under the impression that silvans are isolate and stationary, but the truth is that they are a largely free spirited group of elves that will come and go as they please, it’s just that Greenwood (later known as Mirkwood) happens to be their home base, and they later needed to put most of their effort into defending it.

[y-rhywbeth2]

Elves: Language/s

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index[tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. There's a lot of lore; I don't know everything. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest. Frankly these posts may get updated now and then. etc]

Physiology and quirks | Names & Clans and Houses || Pan-Cultural things: Social life | Time and 'Growing Up an Elf' | Homes | Language | Art | Entertainment | Technology || Elven 'Subraces' still a wip || Philosophy and Religion & Pantheons || Half-elves | [WIP]

I have a weak spot for fictional languages and a compulsive need to poke them with a stick and babble about it. It was this or get sucked into trying to build actual headcanoned conlangs out of this nonsense. So.

If your character has elven on their character sheet: no they don't, the elves are just humouring you. No PCs actually learned this istg.

'Are you still putting off that elven subrace post?' YES.

The 'Elvish' you put on your character sheet as a language proficiency - or Lalur ('the Singing') in Elvish - is actually a pidgin tongue akin to Common, a 'simple' trade tongue that allows elves from various backgrounds to communicate. Elven languages tend to be varied, sometimes to an extreme extent. Drowic altered rapidly due to adapting to Underdark survival and meddling from the church of Lolth, and each drow city has a different dialect; and the Lythari dialect is utterly unlike any other.

As per the advice in Drow of the Underdark (1e), it's a perfectly valid choice to simply cherry pick words from canon glossaries and invent your own elven languages and dialects.

'Standard' Elven seems to look like this: 'Ai armiel telere maenen hir.' 'Qu’kiir vian ivae, qu’kiir nethmet. Ivae marat vand Cormanthor. Mythal selen mhaor kenet. Qu’kiir vand tir t’nor' Very big on diphthongs and ' .

Menzoberranzan Drowic looks like this: 'Khaless nau uss mzild taga dosstan.' 'Kyorl jal bauth, kyone, lueth lil Quarvalsharess xal belbau dos lil belbol del elandar dro.' They like their hard double consonants along with their dipthongs.

And the Lythari dialect looks like this: 'Na kwast wahir athu kyene wekht unarihe.' Seem to be a lot of 'clipped' sounds.

Put a moon elf a drow and an elven lycanthrope in the same room and tell them they have to use their mother tongue and they're not going to get anything done. A fluent speaker of the standard surface elven can make out about 14% of drowic by linguistic overlap, but nothing more, and such applies to other elves: a group of green elves and a migration of aquatic elves that encountered each other once had to spend time breaking down language barriers to talk to each other.

Usually the structure of elven languages flows like English, because the writers aren't actually making a genuine conlang. And then sometimes it really doesn't which makes trying to mine vocabulary and grammar annoying.

As well as spoken languages for daily communication, there are complicated mystical formal languages like Seldruin and 'High Drow' which is used by powerful spellcasters (High Mages and High Priestesses of Lolth respectively).

Elves also utilise alternate forms of communication like sign language and a sort of braille on a regular basis, even if abled. Drow are most known for their use of sign language (its lack of verbal component in particular is useful in the open Underdark, where making a noise is extremely likely to guarantee your death) but surface elves also use it, and use of 'braille' was promoted by moon elves for the sake of the visually impaired and blind, though many sighted elves also use it for secret messaging. Drow in particular make use of it for that, but they're hardly alone.

The alphabet elves use to write in Elven and Common is espruar, created by moon elves and adopted by other elven people (likely due to the amount of wandering and mixing the early moon elves got up to, pre-Crown Wars).

Comes in two variants, the latter of which is the most usually seen:

There's also an older variant of pictograms used by early elves that were 'predecessors' of the Thorass alphabet... which also might actually double as music instructions.

Seldruin is written in a distinct and basically extinct alphabet called Hamarfae.

Elven includes at least six grammatical tenses not found in the languages of shorter lived races to accommodate the elven understanding of time. While it hasn't come up in canon, with the Seldarine being ambiguous about gender elves should probably also have more complicated grammatical gender as well.

Just about every word in Common has about ten or more potential translations in an elvish language, each with a slightly different nuance which may be context sensitive as every word in elven appears to have several meanings within itself. Sort of like there's a word for every facet of a concept or thing, depending on what about the topic you specifically want to discuss.

Want to talk about the winter this year? Two words that will get translated into 'winter' in Common are Loress and Orth. Loress means winter as in the aspect of the season as a period of dormancy, slowing down and hibernation and winter's effect on plant life, you'd probably use it to discuss gardening and crops. Orth means winter in its aspect as a period of danger and consequences (closed roads and frostbite and death by exposure). But in common they just say 'winter.'

What you stress and how you use it will give you an entirely different sentence.

For general elven: Ar means great, Cor also means great, Selu means great.

Cor has connotations of 'grandness' and 'monarch,' carrying connotations of highest authority, and possibly a sort of peak: the highest point its possible to reach, and maybe culmination and fulfilment.

Ar also means 'sun,' probably the colour gold (since teu means silver and moon), as well as connotations of a high rank and the responsibility of guardianship and/or guidance judging by the title 'Arakhor' (ar + akh (duty-need) + or (woods) - the tree guardian, grandfather tree, the one who protects the woods)

(Thus gold elves, the Ar'Tel'Quessir have a name that communicates that they are the people of the sun (by golden appearance and affiliation with Labelas Enoreth), the 'highest' of the People, and they are those with a duty to look after the elven people and their ways.)

Not sure about selu, it places an emphasis on a translation into 'high' and it mostly crops up in connotations of High Magic. Usually gets contracted to sel, like 'Seldarine.'

And then, by changing the stressed syllable, a word has a different meaning.

For example 'Cormanthor,' 'Cormanthor,' and 'Cormanthor' are three different words!

Combining Cor = 'Grand/great ' + Manth = 'Promise/vow,' apparently with connotations of hoping/having faith in the promised outcome + Or = 'Wood,' 'place,' probably also 'copper'

Cormanthor means 'the King's Vow Forest.' Referring to the forest of Cormanthor.

Cormanthor means 'Place of Great Promise.' Referring to the capital city of Myth Drannor, Cormanthor.

Cormanthor means 'Ruler of the Forest True,' and 'King of the Oathlands,' was the green elven title for the coronal (king) of Cormanthor. Apparently when stress is taken of manth and or they combine meanings to get 'faithful-wood/land' or 'oathland'

And then there's 'Cormanthyr' which is a different word altogether whose nuance can be translated as 'the Fulfilment of Promise' and 'Culmination of Hope and Faith' simultaneously.

Also sometimes seems like nouns double as adjectives.

Theur means 'shield' and 'unbreakable,' 'unyielding.'

Aegan means 'physical strength' and 'strong.'

Plurals are just come in so many variants.

Vel -> Vael Sig -> Sige Or -> Ora Athil -> Athila Quess -> Quessir

[youmisguidedmartyr]

Headcanon that Oropher's wife/Thranduil's mother is still kicking around Greenwood/Mirkwood

Like the imladris gang just pull up for some reason or another and are greated by this random ass Lady dressed in the fashion of Doriath

[tathrin]

I'm working on some Background Timeline Nonsense for my Celebrimbor In The Fellowship AU fic and trying to put together stuff in a way that both makes sense and is fun (and reconciles some of the Unfinished Tales mess). I've already blathered at poor @babybat98 about this, but I figure I might as well subject the rest of you all to it share it here too, in case anyone has Thoughts or Suggestions:

A Timeline of the Lords of the Woodland Elves.

506 F.A. Doriath is sacked (about 30 years before the Third Kinslaying at Sirion).

By 511 F.A., refugees from Gondolin and a few Drúadain joined them there, and by 525 Earendil and Elwing were wed and ruling the Havens of Sirion.

539 F.A., the last of the Fëanorians show-up in Sirion and do their usual silmaril-slaughter, and Elwing jumps off the cliff. The Havens are left in ruins, and Morgoth has control of all Beleriand, blah blah blah.

545 F.A. the Host of the Valar land in Beleriad. The War of Wrath begins.

590 F.A. Morgoth defeated, War of Wrath ends, First Age ends. *Galadriel probably doesn't actually marry Celeborn until now, possibly because of the whole "don't marry during war" thing the Calaquendi tend to do? unclear, because everything involving them is unclear lmao

1 S.A. the Grey Havens are built in Lindon, the only place in Beleriand that really survived the War of Wrath.

By 20 S.A. Galadriel and Celeborn leave Lindon, where Gil-galad is now king (probably crowned because of Galadriel's influence somehow? Unclear, again!). Galadriel and Celeborn go to Eriador and dwell near Lake Nenuial, where they are accounted "the Lord and Lady of the Eldar in Eriador" according to one version of the Unfinished Tales. They have a lot of Noldor, Grey-elves, and Green-elves with them at this time. Now for the fun backstory stuff...what if we say that Celeborn, Oropher, and Amdír were all basically BFFs from their youth in Doriath, and will remain thus for many years before the eventual splintering around 750 S.A.?

So, as of S.A. 10-20 when Galadriel and Celeborn leave Lindon, what if we say that Amdír and Oropher are with them also at this point, and with them their sons? They can be part of the company of mingled Noldor and Iathrim who are mentioned there at Lake Nenuial, with Celeborn (relative of Thingol) and Galadriel (sister of Finrod) as the "highest ranking" of their little quartet, and also the ones (especially Galadriel) who care the most about rank/leadership, and thus fall naturally into that role both in behavior and in the eyes of everyone around them, while Amdír and Oropher are more advisors/etc (maybe they end up in charge of guarding everybody, as the Warriors of the group). Amroth could be as young as 110 right now if he was just a wee little lad when Doriath was destroyed, barely an adult, or at any rate easily less than 200 yet. Perhaps Amdir never made it to Sirion at all, and only rejoined his son after the War of Wrath? (Perhaps Amdir's mom died in the Kinslaying, like Nellglind?) Regardless, Galadriel and/or Celeborn could have been doing most of the looking-after of him during the War either way, and thus we get Amroth as sort of "their kid" like he was in that draft, while not actually being their son which wouldn't make sense. Maybe Celeborn looked after both Amroth and Thranduil while the other adults were involved more in the fighting, given that picturing either Amdir or Oropher NOT fighting if they were still in Beleriand at this point is difficult (albeit not impossible: they could always have gone "fuck this shit, this is a Calaquendi Problem, you deal with it") and Galadriel is The Mighty One while Celeborn is more chill (and because I like not having The Woman be the one doing the child-minding lol). Alternatively, they could have all fought to varying degrees, with young Thranduil the one charged with looking after younger Amroth? idk most of the War of Wrath is pretty hand-wavy even in Tolkien's stuff so this can stay vague lol

At any rate, we pick-up the thread with our next Known(ish) event:

300 S.A. is when Celebrían is probably born. At this point, her parents are presumably still in Eriador. So, we could have them all living together as a little found family unit of survivors at Lake Nenuial, with Amroth and Thranduil acting as sort of older brothers/cousins to Celebrian. Perhaps she has more of a brotherly relationship with Amroth, who is younger, and a little more distance between her and Thranduil, because he's so much older (and lived through the trauma of everything more directly)? He sees himself as the Sensible And Mature One who has to look out for the younger/more naive kids, perhaps? At some point, of course, there must be some kind of a falling-out of some sort between Oropher and Galadriel/Celeborn, because we need to have some reason as the driving factor (combined with the increasing numbers of Dwarves in Moria, which we know Oropher wasn't pleased by; hello Doriath Trauma Round One!) for him to do the whole "moved his people north three times" from the original location of Amon Lanc in order to avoid being near Galadriel and Celeborn in Lórien. Perhaps the falling-out can be traced back to Ost-in-Edhil somehow?

750 S.A. is approximately when Eregion is founded, and construction is begun on Ost-in-Edhil. 750 S.A. is also around when we're told that Oropher and Amdir took up lordship of their respective Silvan lands (although I'm already deviating from those details a bit because fuck colonialism lol; but that's easy enough to do and still claim canon-compliance due to the vagueness of all of this in "canon" anyway, so we'll still use that as the rough date of when the Sindar refugees came to Laurelindórenan/Greenwood, and just say the whole "king" thing in Greenwood happened later and the Noldorian historians never caught the nuances, shhh) So if we extrapolate from all that... What if the falling-out happens because of Eregion? What if Amdir and Oropher are not about to accept an open and friendly relationship with the local Dwarves, after what happened to Thingol and Doriath; and Galadriel, with her foresight and her stubbornness and her Noldorin love of craft (and the fact that her first main trauma was Alqualondë long before the Sindar were scarred by the Battle of a Thousand Caves), refuses to let her Goals™️ be held hostage to their grudges and trauma, and insists that the only way forward for this land is hand-in-hand with the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm. Celeborn reluctantly sides with his wife (even though he loathes dwarves as much as any of them) over his friends, and Amdir and Oropher go off in a huff with those others of the Elves of Eriador who aren't interested in More Noldorin Bullshit, crossing the mountains and joining with the Silvan Elves in the east. So:

750 S.A. Amdir and Oropher leave with a group of followers, while Galadriel and Celeborn found Ost-in-Edhil with Celebrimbor, the two of them being taken as Lord and Lady of Eregion while he's (presumably) just in charge of the smiths for now.

1000 S.A. Sauron, not wanting to start shit with the western elves or Numenorians right not because they're too strong (and presumably just not giving a shit about the little Wood-elves in their forests), beings building Barad-dûr.

1200 S.A. Sauron tries to beguile the Elves of Lindon, and Gil-galad tells him to fuck-off. He tries again in Eregion, and despite Galadriel going "big nope!" the Gwaith-i-Mírdain there welcome him.

1350 S.A. Sauron manages to get Galadriel ousted from Ost-in-Edhil, and Celebrimbor becomes lord of the place. Galadriel and Celebrían leave via Moria, and spend a while in Khazad-dûm with their dwarven friends before making their way eventually to their old friend Amdir and foster-son/brother Amroth in Lórien, where they are welcomed, and Galadriel and Amdir reconcile (possibly enthusiastically, possibly awkwardly) but Celeborn, refusing to step foot in a dwarven kingdom, stays in Eregion, where he is "disregarded" by Celebrimbor. So I like to picture him skulking about as That Grumpy Old Man muttering and scowling at everybody as they pat him on the head and go "there, there grandpa" and whisper apologies to whatever dwarf he's offended today.

1500 S.A. by this time, the Seven and the Nine are made, and Sauron leaves to go make the One Ring in secret in Mordor.

1600 S.A. Sauron makes the One Ring and proclaims himself as Sauron, and ready for war. Celebrimbor goes OH FUCKSHIT and runs through Moria to consult with Galadriel in Lórien. He gives her Nenya, and she convinces him to send the other two to Gil-galad in Lindon, and get them the fuck out of Ost-in-Edhil.

1605 S.A. Sauron's immediate attempt to start said war is potentially delayed by the first two of the Istari, the Blue Wizards, who in a much later draft of Tolkien's actually came to Middle-earth during the Second Age, long before the rest of them, rather than all coming over together. Instead, he had them come over with Glorfindel, and while Glorfindel hung around to help Gil-galad et al they made their way East, to try and save the tribes of Men who had fallen under Morgoth's worship, and to discover where Sauron was hiding, and work against him. I think I want to go with that version, simply because I like the idea of Glorfindel coming back with some of the Istari? But I ALSO like the idea of him having fought in the Last Alliance, which means I need him to come over before Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast do in the Third Age. So this splits the difference nicely! So, as of 1600: the valar have gone "oh fuck!" and thrown two maia and one reborn elf on a boat and thrown them back to Middle-earth to clean-up the leftovers of the mess left by the War of Wrath when they failed to drag Morgoth's most powerful lieutenant back to face judgement in Valinor OOPSIES, presumably because they figured out that Shit Was Hitting The Fan thanks to the whole One Ring Thing being big enough to be Noticed By The Powers lol Anyway, thanks to Morinehtar and Rómestámo being fucking badass, Sauron's plans for war are delayed several years, and Celebrimbor has time to hide the Three and presumably to warn the Dwarves about the Seven. Ooh, what if we say that he's been spending a lot of this time trying to devise some way of un-linking the Rings from the One Ring? He apparently has the Nine with him when Eregion falls, and Sauron just takes those, but the Seven and the Three aren't there; maybe he was working on the Nine, and knew the Seven were safe in Khazad-dûm where his dwarven smith-friends were doing the same there? And that's why he never tried to destroy them: he was still holding out hope they could be saved, be fixed. That he wouldn't have to destroy the greatest things he ever made, and all the hopes he put into them. He just needed a little more time...

1693 S.A. the War of the Elves and Sauron (finally) begins.

1695 S.A. Sauron slinks through the Gap of Rohan, thus avoiding the Elves in the Greenwood and Lórien, and invades Eriador. Thanks to the Númenóreans having cut down many of the Trees of Minhiriath and Enedwaith, the people in these lands welcomed Sauron's conquest and let him pass without trouble. (Well done, Númenor! Didn't anyone ever teach you deforestation is bad?) Celeborn leads the forces from Eregion (presumably having said "I told you so" to Celebrimbor a few times) and they manage to defeat the first wave of Sauron's army, but are then overwhelmed and forced back to Ost-in-Edhil. Gil-galad hears about this and sends Elrond leading a force from Lindon to help, and also sends messages to Númenor pleading for help. Nobody answers (men, pah!). Elrond's force is too small, and can't break-through to get to Eregion to help.

1697 S.A. Ost-in-Edhil falls. Celebrimbor is tortured into giving up the location of the Seven, but dies without revealing the Three. Sauron, not being an entire idiot, guesses that they're most likely with Galadriel and Gil-galad anyway, but is pissy about being resisted, and turns Celebrimbor into a banner that he carries into battle. Elrond's tiny army is about to be overrun when the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm attack Sauron from the rear, along with the force of elves that Amroth has led through Moria from Lórien, (because whatever Issues™️ his father might have with Dwarves, he's not about to let his foster-father die). This allows Elrond to gather the survivors of Ost-in-Edhil, including presumably Celeborn, and flee. The Dwarves are driven back as well, but they shut the Doors of Moria and Sauron can't get in. Haha, thwarted by Celebrimbor and his previous sweetheart, sucks to be you Sauron! The Doors of Durin are apparently not opened again until the Fellowship of the Ring comes to them (although that doesn't make sense, because Gandalf and Aragorn both passed through Moria at least once before LotR, so they must have been opened at some point; but perhaps the text only means they were not left open again after this point, and is not referring to when/if they were ever opened from inside by someone walking through and out?). The retreating elves found the stronghold of Rivendell, to which many of the survivors of Eregion flee. (Celeborn, presumably, says "I told you so" a lot at this point too, but not often enough for them to murder him.) The rest scatter, some fleeing Middle-earth altogether and some disappearing into the Wild with others fleeing through Khazad-dûm (before the Doors are shut, presumably) thanks to their dwarven friends, and make their way eventually to Lórien, where they join their fellows who left Ost-in-Edhil earlier and merge with the Silvans and Sindar there.

by 1700 S.A. Sauron has overrun all of Eriador except for Rivendell, which is besieged, and Lindon, where Gil-galad is also barely holding him off at the River Lhûn and Mithlond. Finally the Nûmenorian fleet arrives, and kicks Sauron's ass all the way back to Tharbad, although he burns the forests of Minhiriath and Enedwaith as he goes. He gets caught in a pincer between the main force and a smaller one that Ciryatur landed at Gwathló behind him, and barely escaped "with his bodyguard" to Dagorlad. It is unclear at this point if Sauron actually HAS any or all of the Seven, or just knows where they are; sources say that Durin at least was given his Ring by Celebrimbor himself, so perhaps Sauron never actually manages to collect all the Seven at this point? but still has his original influence over them. He does have the Nine, we know, because he gathered them up when he came to Ost-in-Edhil and defeated Celebrimbor on the steps of the House of the Mírdain.

1701 S.A. the first Council is held in Imladris, when Galadriel and Celebrían come looking for Celeborn and meet-up with all the other leaders of the various forces of Elves and Men. They decide to make Rivendell the new elvish stronghold in Eriador, as Eregion is in ruins and remains thus. Gil-galad at this point gives Vilya to Elrond (it's unclear when Cirdan gets Narya, because of course is it; he might already have it, or he might not get it until Gil-galad marches to War in Mordor, although wtf was he thinking leaving Narya behind when he went to war just when he would need its power most? Gil-galad wtf mate???) and declares him his vice-regent. This is also when Elrond and Celebrían meet for the first time. (Presumably at this point her foster-brother Amroth teases her mercilessly about her very obvious crush on Gil-galad's pet peredhel, and she probably smacks the crap out of him for being a jerk.) At some point after this, Galadriel and Celeborn (and Celebrían presumably) leave Rivendell to live near the sea, probably because Galadriel was apparently "striken with sea-longing" the moment she put Nenya on. They go to Belfalas, which will be later called Dol Amroth, and apparently visit Lórien at least twice more before the end of the Second Age, but we don't know anything else about them here.

At this point, there isn't much relevant canon information until the Last Alliance happens, since most of what's going on of import now is happening in Numenor, but let's hit the highlights in case we want to expand on any of this later.

2251 S.A. the Nazgûl appear.

3262 S.A. Sauron taken to Numenor as a prisoner.

3319 S.A. Numenor sunk, Sauron flees back to Middle-earth, and the world is reshaped.

3429 S.A. Sauron seizes Minas Ithil.

3430 S.A. formation of the Last Alliance.

3431 S.A. the Last Alliance marches to Rivendell.

3434 S.A. the march to Mordor, and the Battle of Daglorlad, where Oropher and Amdir both die. Siege of Barad-dûr begins.

3441 S.A. Sauron defeated (for now), war is over. Thranduil and Amdir go home with their scant surviving forces.

[ginger-and-all-things-spice]

Head-canon that the Mirkwood elves know Thranduil is blind, so they make a clicking noise when they bow so that Thranduil knows.

[elswing]

thinking about my blorbos (the entire subculture of the telerin elves) again. does anyone happen to have any thoughts or headcanons on what they wear as swimwear? in my head different elven cultures have varying opinions on what's considered scandalous and some who are generally more "conservative" than others (i've seen a few people write about the noldor loving hair and considering touching it to be very intimate, for example, which i LOVEEEEEEE) and i like to think because most of their traditions and day-to-day life is spent near the ocean or swimming in it that they're a lot less bothered by nudity, but i'm not sure being naked would be practical all the time

i've tried to look up what people in our world used to wear before what we recognise as the swimsuit was invented, but all i could find involved veeeery heavy, uncomfortable garments meant to conceal women's bodies at all cost (and in some cases the men just went full commando) which doesn't match my thought process at all. as far as i can tell, there aren't a lot of fabrics that could mimic what we use in their time period and what they used as undergarments wouldn't be suitable in the water at all. if anyone has any thoughts PLEASE let me know i spend way too much time being bothered by this already

[thevalleyisjolly]

As an archivist, thinking about the right to be forgotten in a specifically archival context, and the idea that not everyone wants their stories or their records to be made available to anyone/for everyone; that often, what a community judges to be the best preservation for their own histories and culture is not what is beneficial to outsiders, especially outside academics.

More specifically, thinking about this in the context of Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/The Silmarillion/other Legendarium books as “historical” texts.  Thinking about maybe the “authors” not writing everything down because they understand the power of stories and how the telling of a thing grants a certain power over it, over how it is known and spread, and positions the teller as a figure of authority over what (and who) is depicted.

We already know that Bilbo is an unreliable narrator, that he changes things and leaves things out.  There were a few posts and fics years ago, when the Hobbit movies came out, about Bilbo befriending a young Estel in Rivendell and deliberately leaving that out of his stories at Gandalf/Elrond’s request.  What other things might he have left out, perhaps, out of respect for his friends in the Company and their desire to keep their culture and language private and closed? 

Pengolodh compiling the Annals of Beleriand from which came the greater part of The Silmarillion - but he was in Gondolin for much of the First Age, and would have had to rely on other sources to give an account of the rest of Beleriand.  Who did he talk to?  What might they have said and not said, and what might they have requested he include or keep out? 

Anyways, the Legendarium as an archive, something actively created and shaped by the different people in and around it, who both added things and left things out unintentionally or by design or on request. 

[growingingreenwood]

Here are my thoughts on Elves re-growing their teeth that nobody asked for:

Since Elves can live for literally ever if they're careful enough, I think it's super unlikely that one single set of teeth would be able to make it through all of the ages without even getting knocked out, rotting, or getting eroded overtime until they are flat to the gum. Unless of course Eru made them with invincible teeth (more invisible than any other part of the elves.) 

Personally, I think that it's most likely and the most PRACTICAL that Elves do the same thing as Crocodiles do where their teeth hollow out as they age so that a new tooth can grow into the space and eventually force the old tooth to fall out. Revealing a mostly fully grown tooth underneath. 

I think the FUNNIEST would be if it was like rodents and one single set of teeth slowly grows for eternity, so that if they don’t eat enough or wear them down their teeth get significantly longer than is ‘normal.’ Imagine the weird fashion trends the elves could come up with by purposefully growing out specific teeth.  

However, I think it would be the SCARIEST if it was the same as Sharks where they grow new teeth behind the old ones, and slowly force the older one’s forward until they become loose enough to fall out of their mouths. Could you imagine if elves had 2 - 3 sets of teeth at any given time in their mouths. Fucking terrifying.

[sotwk]

apologies if you've answered this question before, but i was wondering about your take on Oropher? his role in Doriath, what his rule of Eryn Galen was like, how he was as a person, or anything you'd like to talk about!

Elvenking Oropher, Founder and Ruler of Eryn Galen 

25 SotWK AU Headcanon Facts

SotWK Fancast: Jason Isaacs as Oropher

Oropher’s grandfather was the brother of Elmo's wife, which makes Oropher and Celeborn second cousins. Oropher is therefore related to Elu Thingol, but not by blood.

Oropher was born in Y.T. 1345 in Doriath, soon after the completion of Menegroth.

Celeborn was born in the same Valian year as Oropher. Although 1 Valian year is ~10 Solar years (with Oropher being slightly older), this technically makes them “birthmates”.

Thus, Oropher and Celeborn grew up together and were very close friends from childhood to young adulthood.

Oropher had a younger sister named Ferinsil who had been in love with Celeborn her whole life. Unfortunately, Celeborn only ever saw her as a sister, despite Oropher’s attempts to encourage their match.

In FA 106, Oropher married Meluiel, the younger sister of Beleg Cúthalion and a trusted lady-in-waiting to Queen Melian.

Even in his youth, Oropher demonstrated the makings of a gifted politician. He was charming, diplomatic, eloquent, and had an easy way of making friends and gaining followers. In FA 25, just shy of 1,500 years old, Oropher was appointed the youngest member in the council of Thingol.

Oropher had a head for sums and trade, eventually leading to him being put in charge of the royal treasury.

Despite his significant rank and achievements, Oropher remained secretly envious of his friend Celeborn, who, in his status as a prince, was often shown special favor by the King and never seemed to have to work for his privileges.

Oropher did not like or trust the Noldor outsider, Galadriel, and his animosity towards her increased when it became evident that Celeborn loved her. Celeborn's love for Galadriel broke Ferinsil's heart and spirit, and Oropher never quite forgave his cousin for this.

Celeborn's decision to leave Doriath with Galadriel in FA 470, marked the end to the cousins’ friendship, as Oropher viewed this as abandonment of their people.

During the Sacking of Doriath by the Sons of Fëanor, Oropher went first to the rescue of his sister (whom he viewed as weaker and more defenseless), before his wife. Because Meluiel was killed without him at her side, this decision haunted Oropher forever and became a source of self-loathing.

Nonetheless, Oropher was one of the few surviving leaders of King Dior’s court who led the surviving refugees out of Doriath, and was remembered as a hero for it.

In the attacks, Oropher sustained a serious injury to his right leg that left him with a permanent limp even after it was healed. Eventually he started to use a staff to minimize the appearance of his limp. (The same staff Thranduil is seen with in movie promo pics.)

Oropher also witnessed and survived the Third Kinslaying at the Havens of Sirion, but had no significant involvement other than refusing to yield Elwing or the Silmaril.

Oropher’s first major falling out with Thranduil was over his son's decision to participate and fight in the War of Wrath, which he could not prevent. For years he lived in agonizing fear over losing his son, but thankfully Thranduil survived, and they were reunited and reconciled afterward.

After some centuries of living in Lindon (ruled by High King Gil-galad), Oropher and some other surviving families from Doriath, decided to seek a new home across the mountains.

Oropher immediately loved the great forests of Greenwood, as well as the native Silvan people. He was moved by their peaceful, simple lifestyle and pushed for assimilation wherein Silvan culture was upheld as dominant over Sindar.

Although there were a few Sindarin lords who put themselves forward as contenders for the role of King, Oropher was chosen by the overwhelming majority. This was due to his own popularity with the Silvans, and partly because of their admiration for his son, Thranduil.

Oropher was a much beloved and successful ruler of Eryn Galen throughout the Second Age, building the kingdom from the ground up with the help of well-chosen advisors. He was a conciliator who balanced the interests of the Sindar and Silvan sides, until the lines between the two groups grew indistinguishable.

War never touched the lands of Eryn Galen, from outside or within, during Oropher's reign. He had no intention of partaking in the War of the Last Alliance until Thranduil convinced him to do so.

Oropher actually respected Gil-galad and considered him a friend, despite carrying a general grudge and dislike for the Noldor. Although not in the inner circle, he held a position in the royal court as a representative of the Sindarin citizens in Lindon.

Oropher’s alleged refusal to take orders from Gil-galad and his generals, as recorded in historical accounts, was much more nuanced than just being a result of stubbornness and pride. (I would need a separate essay to explain this one.)

A lifelong courtier, Oropher was unapologetically fancy, and had high standards for his personal appearance. This did not mean he had to have luxurious clothing, but he believed that “cleanliness is next to godliness”. He was always polished and unwrinkled, and carried himself with refined manners and bearing. His hair was meticulously braided in the traditional style of the Iathrim and the House of Elmo. Thranduil's wilder, more uncouth ways when he was a child and a young prince, was a point of contention between them. But as Thranduil matured and especially when he ascended the throne himself, he emulated his father's grace and regality.

Alcohol (esp. wine) does not have an inebriating effect on Oropher. In fact, the more he drinks, the sharper his mind gets. He could effortlessly drink his own son under the table.

Thank you for the Ask, @toasterdrake! I've fallen shamefully behind in my development of Oropher's character, and your question gave me the nudge I needed to beef up my notes! <3 I appreciate you so much!

For more Thranduil/Silvan Elf/Mirkwood headcanons: SotWK HC Masterlist

Other useful links:

Introduction to SotWK

Fanfiction Masterlist

[velvet4510]

Please share your headcanon of how they met. :)

[captainpikeswoman]

Surprising AOS Pike in a sexy Christmas outfit would include:

•poor Chris, he hadn’t had the Christmas either of you had planned. Unfortunately, he’d had to work! It was just one of the responsibilities of his job you supposed.

•and it made you sad that it meant your lover hadn’t been able to unwind and partake in a little ‘letting loose’. So you came up with an idea- Chris finally had some days off, so you’d have a belated Christmas! Time meant very little in space after all, any day could be Christmas! So you moved it.

•and you didn’t tell Chris! It was a surprise! So when he came home after a long day, and found you wearing a scanty, sexy Christmas outfit, he grinned. His mood was instantly lifted.

•your Chris, not the tired captain, appeared in an instant. He whistled deeply, walking towards you slowly, eyes running up and down your body hungrily. You couldn’t help but feel hot under his eyes, and a shiver of anticipation crossed your body, this was already going better than you’d hoped!

•Chris pulls you into his arms and kisses you; he tugs on your hair, grabs your hip tightly- the kiss is furiously intense, he wants you. You can feel it.

•your outfit doesn’t stay on for long, it spends far longer on the floor than it did on your body, but you made sure to keep it! You couldn’t wait to wear it again next Christmas!

[she-karev]

A Day in Hell (Amber Karev Angst)

Previous Part

Age Rating: 12+

Chapters: Two of Six

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy

Fancast: Bruce Greenwood as Ian Talbert

Canon Episode: Season 17 Episode 1

AN: I wanted to do a story to showcase the hardships health care workers faced when covid hit. The doctors and nurses put our health first during a worldwide crisis and we should be forever grateful for that even without a pandemic to prove what should always be known.

Summary: Amber looks at Ian’s scans and the results are not what she hoped.

Words: 538

Chapter Links Here: 1,2,3,4,5,6

April 1st, 2020

Amber and Jackson sit in the chairs in the monitor room watching Ian as he lays inside the MRI waiting for the images to come up.

“How’s your mom holding up?” Jackson asks.

“She’s good. She’s doing a lot of reading and knitting, and Aaron comes over as much as he can. Lucky she’s a hoarder who had a bunch of vitamins in the back of her medicine cabinet.”

“Do you think she could ship those to us?” Amber grins, “My mom is good too.”

Amber narrows her eyes at the mention of Catherine who she still resents for firing her brother twice. Once when he came forward as an accomplice to Meredith’s insurance fraud and the second time when she bought his hospital out of pure spite towards her husband not caring who is collateral damage in the process. Alex fortunately was able to become co chief of peds with Hayes here but his sister’s ire toward Catherine hasn’t diminished.

Jackson continues not seeing Amber’s disdain, “She’s getting lonely without Richard in the house, so she lets Harriet sleep over. It’s pretty much the only thing keeping her sane since surgeries are suspended.”

“Well as long as Catherine Fox is happy all is right with the world.” Amber responds in obvious sarcasm that causes Jackson to frown.

“I guess we’re still feeling petty towards my mother.”

“Your mother who stood by and let Bailey fire my brother.” Amber reminds her friend who looks at her with narrow eyes, “Your mother who made Tom Koracick the boss of us. Your mother who bought the hospital my brother was just starting to shape with his bare hands on his own just to spite her husband who was suffering from cobalt poisoning at the time.”

“She didn’t know about the cobalt.”

“Oh so it was okay for her to humiliate her husband in every way professionally as long as he was healthy?”

“No, I’m not saying that I just-”

Amber holds her hand up, “You know what if we keep going your probably gonna kick me out after I say something really raunchy towards the woman who gave birth to you so for the sake of our friendship, we are gonna stop talking and just wait for the scans.”

Jackson gets a text alert and checks, “Oh man. Burn trauma is coming in, I’m being paged.”

Amber widens her eyes at that, “Really? Please take me with you, I’ll do the dishes for three weeks, laundry too!”

Jackson gets up, “Nope somebody has to be here and tell Ian what his scans are showing and that is where you come in. I gotta go, page Pierce to take over.”

Amber scoffs at Jackson as he walks away, “I hate you!”

“I know you do!” Jackson closes the door behind him and runs off.

Suddenly the scans come up on the monitor and Amber turns to look at them before the sight stops her dead. The images show that there are ground glass opacities around Ian’s lungs, the spread of it indicates he is developing pneumonia. Coupled with the covid and decrease in oxygen intake Amber estimates that without rapid treatment Ian won’t be able to last the night.

Next Chapter Here

[thetempleofthemasaigoddess]

THE RINGS OF POWER/THE HOBBIT HEADCANON

Médhor was born in a small village in the Greenwood. A month after he enlisted and left for Tirharad, his lover discovered she was pregnant; he never knew he had become a father. Through his child, he is a direct ancestor of Feren, one of the guards of King Thranduil.