#hc; mablung

[thegreatstrongbow]

᯽ how has your muse changed since their relationship? in what ways do they rub off on one another?❉ what was the first quirk of the other's which became endearing but annoying?❁ what moment made them realize they're in love? (LOL)

᯽ how has your muse changed since their relationship? In what ways do they rub off on one another?

Beleg is a good influence on Mablung - he brings him out of his shell, makes him laugh, pushes him to be bolder and braver. Mablung is a calming influence on Beleg’s racing mind, and they work well together. They’ve picked all sorts of little habits from each other.

❉ what was the first quirk of the other's which became endearing but annoying?

Mablung likes fashion and takes great care over his appearance. Beleg finds this amusing and endearing - but frustrating when they are trying to go to an event and he has to wait around for Mablung to finish doing his hair or picking a shirt. (Beleg, of course, would not know fashion if it slapped him in the face).

It might seem like Mablung finds Beleg’s incessant cheerfulness and silliness annoying, but he actually only pretends to (most of the time) because he knows it amuses Beleg. What he actually finds endearing yet annoying is Beleg making him read all his letters. He does not mind when it is related to their work, but there have been times he has had to read very personal letters out to him, and he still isn’t sure that it wasn’t an elaborate prank. He’ll still do it, though, because that’s his bestie.

❁ what moment made them realize they're in love? 

Beleg was around on and off when Mablung was very young, and they did not start becoming real friends until Mablung was nearly grown, as he wanted to explore further away from Atyamar. Beleg would take him out and show him his favourite hiking paths.

Once, they were caught unawares and pursued by a pack of wolves - likely under the control of the Enemy, though they did not know it then. It was the first time they fought together and it was effortlessly synergetic. They have been inseparable ever since. 

[sindarlin]

D I W (Mablung)

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He likes to draw sketches of his lover, intimate sketches - from memory of the two of them mid-act, but also while watching them. He keeps these well hidden from everyone but the subject of his art and he’d be very embarrassed if it should be revealed.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

He’s very romantic. Soft words, whispered confessions of love and desire, adoring and gentle touches. He likes intimate romantic settings, he’ll go the whole way with candles and petals etc.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Ahem. It’s as big as you’re thinking. More than proportional.

[eri-pl]

Silm Advent calendar 24: Reprise

No warnings, just attempts at translating Latin terms into Sindarin purely because I can. (Not the kind of Latin terms you would most expect in the context).

Laughter and lanterns filled the hall, one echoing, others split by gems and glad into rainbows and reflections. Despite the night outside, Finrod felt almost as if he was back in the happier times. Or at least in a memory of them.

The feast seemed successful: every major group had sent some representatives, even Thingol (though it had required some diplomacy), and only the two most level-headed sons of Feanor came. So far, everything went smoothly.

So far.

It would take long before the idea of a feast would not fill him with apprehension. And yet, his uncle — his High King— had organized one and it worked. So far.

Finrod passed through the crowd, snippets of conversations floated around him: not exactly noise, but still a form of chaos.

“Like athradil, is it not?” Daeron came closer, and Maglor with him. Those two looked as if they were having an argument, but they were only upset, not angry. Good.

Maglor made an expression that for a Sinda may have been nothing, but for a Noldo he could as well have rolled his eyes.

Finrod tried diplomacy. “I see that you have been discussing musical concepts of both our cultures?”

“Musical?” Maglor asked. “They don't even use proper chords.”

“They just think about them differently, but—”

Daeron spoke at the same time. “Maybe you can explain to him—”

They both paused and apologized to each other for the interruption, and then Finrod spoke again. “The athradil is a Sindarin form of polyphony. There is a base melody, the lindog — taglinn, if you prefer to use the usual word order, I'm sorry, I've learned much of the words from Lúthien — it has to be a complete melody in itself, begin and end on the origin, plus some more detailed rules, irrelevant for now. One person sings — or plays — the taglinn, and another joins and sings… you would say: harmonizes to it.

"But again, it must work well as its own melody. This, and the further lines, if you add more, is called the athradil. It does result in chords, but the Sindar like to emphasize the particular melodies being beautiful on their own.”

Maglor looked at him with forced patience. “And how would thinking in chords make it any worse, except the fact that the Sindar would have to learn mathematics?”

Finrod forced himself not to sigh. “It would lessen the focus on individual melodies, but yes, the result is similar. When you hear it, it's often impossible to tell in which way it was composed. The Sindar even use the same rules for allowed and disallowed intervals that you stated in your book.”

“Of course they do, those are simply the rules of music! They're universal.”

“I'm certain that in a proper context, with wide enough voicing, some of those rules could be, how to phrase it... That even a tone apart could work.”

Now both Maglor and Daeron looked at him with indignation. Finrod smiled in his mind, because improving the relationship between the Feanorians and the Sindar mattered more than the details of music theory. He always sang from his heart anyway — like the Teleri — and the results, while not great, were good enough.

“Well, maybe one day you shall manage to do that and invent a whole new kind of music. Then I'll change my mind.” Maglor looked at Finrod with a challenge. Daeron nodded.

“I didn't say that I'll do it, only that it maybe could be done. Maybe. I'm trying to stay open to possibilities.” Finrod smiled widely, feeling mischievous. “Now, of you excuse me, I'll leave you two to your craft.”

He kept circling among the guests. It was late in the night, close to the morning, and he hadn't rested in a few days. There were people to talk, diplomacy to do, and Finrod was effectively the lord of his father's people here… But he was also tired.

The voices around him mixed with memories. Like athradil, indeed.

“...it's getting late, if we want to have a good look at the Sickle, we better hurry. Soon it'll be dawn.”

“...one day, I wish to build a kingdom like her, my own home, reminding of the beauty…”

Maybe Maglor had been right, maybe he should be more serious? More like a proper Noldo, and less like his mother. Maybe. But Finrod had had enough seriousness on the ice. Every moment he could spare for a whimsy felt like a treasure.

“...the Khazad are mining it, they work it into intricate…”

“Beautiful, isn't it?” Turgon approached him from behind, carrying a glass of wine, almost orange in the lamplight. It felt wonderful to see him smiling again.

All the people, all the voices, mixing, mingling, all the lights… Finrod needed a rest. “Beautiful, indeed.”

And yet, he kept glancing through the window, at the graying sky. The guards were all at their places. Good.

Why couldn't he trust in happiness? Should he?

Even after twenty years, each morning he felt relief when the sky brightened. Nobody stole the sun yet. Good.

Fingolfin discussed something with Mablung and a few others over a map. Logistics… Finrod would have to go and have an opinion about it. Later.

He was so tired. He slumped in a chair and remembered home, so far West, but his mind went to the cloaked figure and his words. Would they really never return home? They did want to leave, but not forever…

…the green lands of Aman, never fading, never withering…

…but the figure — Finrod didn't want to admit that it had been Lord Námo himself — had said that the Valar would not listen to the prayers of the Noldor, and yet— He looked again at the hall, seeking the patch of copper, and there he was, talking with Fingon, eating an insanely sweet Vanyarin dessert made of caramelized milk, so very alive.

So, if this prophecy had proved untrue in part, maybe— maybe.

Maybe one day they will come back home, triumphant. Maybe one day the spider-infested wasteland will become green again. Maybe. May it be…

…He should have gone back with his father. But who would lead the people then? They surely wouldn't all come back too. And yet, it felt like father had been right. Father didn't have to deal with the Feanorians. Father didn't have to go through the ice. Father didn't have to lie to Thingol — well, not really lie, but the omissions felt bad enough.

Well, there was no point in thinking about that now. Maybe only to think more the next time he would decide to follow an insane plan, and not do it. Or at least make sure what he really wanted to do.

He remembered the crowd with torches in the darkness, the passion… Feanáro… A spirit of fire he'd been indeed. And now he was dead, consumed by flames.

Did Nerdanel even know that she was a widow? How much did anyone back in the West know nowadays? She'd always been so kind to all the family… it must have been very hard on her when they left…

…and yet, Finrod could not regret it. Maybe it was just the Telerin unwillingness to regret what could not be changed, maybe it was more. They had left, for better or for worse, and what would come of it? He doubted he would live to see most of it.

Would he even live to see the Men? They have allegedly awakened — but the information came from the least trustworthy of sources — and Finrod was curious. The Valar said they would not win this war, but maybe with new, unpredictable allies… who knew?

He drifted deeper into dreams and memories.

…his mother, on the ship, barely aware of all the political turmoil among the Noldor…

…Taniquetil, bright in the Treelight…

…Amarië in the garden, laughing, waiting…

On the outside, Maglor and Daeron came near him, still discussing chords and melodies, and which of those was the proper way of looking at music… stupid question. Music was not to be looked at, but to be listened to. And sung. And was older than books anyway.

The sun rose and the sudden warmth felt like fire.

And yet, in his dream he was in a starless forest full of snow and wolves. The ice howled at him, and its laughter sounded like swords and chains.

“It's going to be a long night,” Finrod said into the darkness. “But eventually, the day will come.”

A single star appeared in the sky.

[ladysternchen]

You know, I'm quite glad that we're getting the fanon vs canon concerning Elu Thingol and the Sindar in general into focus a bit. When I first came to Tumblr, it felt to me as though I were just about the only one who cared about him (which of course was never the case, but I at least had no-one to talk to about my elf).

But there's a stale note to it- that it seems there must be more fighting, and hardened fronts, more never-ending discussions that always burn down to one thing- do we accept canon or not.

And really, I don't want to go down that road anymore. I really don't want to spend so much time quoting and explaining and re-reading to make sure I get my argumentation right only to have the other side say stuff like 'yeah, true, but I still get a different vibe so I'm gonna ignore canon and keep hating'

And while I really want to emphasise that there is nothing (!) whatsoever wrong with feeling a story, feeling characters and liking or disliking them (yes, happens to me, too. Canonically, Aredhel has done absolutely nothing wrong, and yet I really dislike her), basing actual character-bashing on these 'vibes' is a problem. Excluding people who defend their favourite characters with CANON from discussions. Making up yet more hateful fanon. Accusing people of certain political beliefs because they like the Sindar (and yeah, I did delete a lot of what I've written here. It just... this makes me so so is angry, but starting to insult people is not what I want for this post, so I deleted, and sat on my fingers until I was able to pick up civil tones again).

But I can't change it. I can't change what other people think, and who knows, maybe I'm no more right than they are. Maybe there is no right. Maybe we could accept that this fandom is vast enough for ALL OF US?

So dear fellow Sindar-stans, let's stop arguing and fill Tumblr instead with the content you want to see. Share your headcanons, write your fanfictions, draw and share your fan art.

Let's discuss it all, dive deep. Comment on the works you like, ask for things to be written. Yeah, I have an obsession with character death, I find grief and mourning an incredibly beautiful thing to write and read about, and as I kill off my favourite characters in general, Elu Thingol's death is my prime motive. (who would have guessed, ey? 🤣) And I'd love to read it from time to time, rather than always write it myself. But that is my very specific hyper fixation and understandably not everyone's cup of tea. But give me all those tender moments of love and friendship and loyalty. Give me the conversations between Elwë, Olwë and Elmo on the journey, give me Daeron's backstory, give me Mablung and Beleg standing unwavering behind their king. Give me drunk Elu and Melian and HER found family. Give me an insight into Nimloth's head. Give me loving reaper-like comics with Elurín and Eluréd and Námo Mandos. And hell, yes, all you talented artists out there, give me some spicy Elu and Melian, please? Give me an insight into all those tender moments. Give me the moment of their reunion, and please please please will anyone draw the moment that Elwë stumbled into Olwë's arms on legs that would not yet carry him (lol, ok, that's too specific. But I have that weird hc that Elves that are released from Mandos need some time to get accustomed to their body again, like a butterfly needs to dry after it emerges from its cocoon).

Ok, now I waffled enough, but will we try that, please? Spread some love instead of discord? That belongs to Bauglir after all.

[maironsbigboobs]

Turin and Nienor for the character ask game

Give me a character and I will give you my thoughts on

one aspect about them i love: Túrin, what I love most about him is his heart - he has a very clear and strong sense of what he thinks is right and wrong and despite everything that happens to him he tries to do what he thinks is right. For Nienor, I love her courage, her strength of will - she snuck out of Doriath, she faced off a dragon, she forgot everything about herself and had to build her identity anew, and still had so much courage.

one aspect i wish more people understood about them: I think people sometimes mischaracterise Túrin as an idiot, but I don't think that's fair. He's actually clever and from some of his lines quite witty. Nienor I actually can't recall any common bad takes on her - I would like to see more takes on her in general though we need a Nienor renaissance.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character: I think Niënor learnt to bake properly in Brethil. She always wanted to but in Dor-Lomin supplies were limited and in Doriath she was focused on finding out where was. I think Túrin wanted to name his first daughter after Lalaith.

as well as

one character i love seeing them interact with: Túrin & Thingol make my heart melt. I love Niënor &/ Mablung too.

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more: Túrin and Mim I think they have such a fascinating dynamic. I would love to see more about Niënor and Morwen's relationship.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character: I hc Niënor was watched over in Doriath by Nellas just as Túrin was. Also I think Túrin should have been tutored by Celeborn at some point.

[from-lothlorien-to-helms-deep]

🍁🐅🦄

🍁 - Physical locations, flora & fauna.

Uhhhhhh horses in Doriath. They gotta have their own horses, breed their own horses, so that the horses are used to living&moving in a forest. But the elves still got them patches of land with no trees (where they keep other livestocks too). Horses are used so people can move quickly, not used very often in fighting (because stealth often works better, and although they are elven horses imo are noisier than elves), and maybe used as a labor source. (is this hc even unusual at all)

🐅 - Characterization: character habits, personality, etc.

Uhhhhh does Beleg not being among those who first awoke count (I don't think so) (anyway to be brief I hc him as born somewhere during the migration to Beleriand)

Uhhhh does Turleg count as popular fanon (if so I would like to say I personally do not see them as a romantic pair at all.)

I have some headcanons regarding Mablung and Beleg and Doriath marchwardens (I think this one isn't talked about often?) (to make this not completely about world building I'm including my two blorbos XD) Mablung is part of the earliest form of it and he was not in a leadership position until some time later. Overall it's been quite a large part of Mablung's life. Same with Beleg, except maybe he has a more balanced personal and work (being a marchwarden&chief of marchwarden) life XD

🦄 - Characters' physical appearance.

Thingol is the tallest person (elves and men) in Arda.

Ok this uhhhh I headcanon Beleg as having something like beige or light brown colored hair, not silver (nor black sorry Tolkien if you wanted him to have black hair)

Reminder: Turin is very handsome and has always been throughout CoH (and the Silm Turin chapter), doesn't matter what crap he is going through or has gone through :))

[lycheesodas]

incoming sudden headcanon/thought :)

Beleg and Mablung have seen each other at their best, and at their worst. During the lowest moments in their lives, when tears mixed with mud, blood, and hoarse screams; emotions drove them to the edge of madness; where they showed their deepest vulnerabilities, the ugliest parts. The sun might not always shine at the end, but they embrace and forgive each other's flaws. At the end they are there for each other.

OHHHH YES THIS ABSOLUTELY.. just imagining them clinging to each other like a lifeline.... oh this hurts in the best way thank you for sending this in ; ~ ;

[sakasakiii]

just stopping by to say that I really like your art! your style is cute and I love how you draw the Finwean family and the Valar. do you have designs for any other Silmarillion characters, like the Doriathrim, men, or dwarves?

hihi!! thank you SO much for your kind message ahh! 😭 im tickled pink to hear that you like my art and renditions of the cast of Keeping Up with the Karfinweans 😂🥰 i love that disaster family too much so admittedly i overlook 99% of the other characters in middle earth LMAOOO so thank you for asking about other designs!!

this gonna be a massive sketch dump of some of my initial ideas so... brace yourself !! here's my takes on the Doriathrim and my favourite men characters 🤗 (may be subject to change in the future)

if you notice, it ended up being mostly elves again... i have a problem and that problem is a total inability to draw facial hair?! (as evidenced in my excuse reason to have a clean shaven turin lolol)

last min edit: WAIT I DIDNT DRAW ANDRETH ueueue i knew i was missing someone *insert arthur clenched fist jpeg here*

but i didnt wanna leave without honouring the request so here is my shoddy attempt at drawing a beard thru azaghal my mans (plus elrond's family cuz i wanted to draw them for the longest time >:D)

soz this ended up being a bit longer than usual, but thank you again for the lovely ask! 🥰 i had so much fun doing it!!

[cuthalion]

Ngl your icon could and should be MABLUNG 😍

oooooo i like 👌🏻👌🏻

[polutrope]

Beleg, for the character asks, please?

Thank you!!

one aspect about them i love

He's so GOOD. He follows his heart but with wisdom. He says "love would lead me and not wisdom" or whatever it is, but I think he actually balances both well.

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

Hm he's not a blorbo of mine, but I'm not sure how much his military prowess and strength gets emphasised? Maybe it does, but it's something *I* don't often think about.

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

So one thing I don't subscribe to is Beleg "who wist no sire" as in The Lay of the Children of Húrin, i.e. him being a first gen Cuivienen elf. I don't really hc any canon characters as unbegotten (besides the six who explicitly are). I like if even the Elves of the "Elder Days" have a mythical, even more remote past that stretches way further back than anyone but a handful of Avari and even fewer Eldar can remember. I do think Beleg is pretty old though, and born at Cuivienen.

one character i love seeing them interact with

Besides Túrin, I love some Sindar warrior bonding with Mablung (platonic or not).

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

There's that business where he and his marchwardens (Sindar with axes!) fight with the Haladin in the aftermath of the Bragollach; it'd be cool to see some of his interactions with humans before Túrin.

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

I think him and Thingol go way back, like pre-Elwe-being-appointed/elected-emissary-to-Valinor. Beleg respects his authority and will ask him for permission to do things (well... most things, sometimes it probably just isn't convenient), but they both know he's going to do what he wants/needs to do regardless.

[sweetearthandnorthernsky]

speaking of gondor adjacent hcs, one of my favorites is that faroth is faramir’s dog (or one of them) which leads to the pc inadvertantly stealing him (aided + abetted by mablung)

[thegreatstrongbow]

One thing that deeply amuses me about Mablung is the fact I think he has the spirit of a hater. He keeps it silent but I know in my heart he's standing there in council rooms thinking about why counsellor #21 is his arch nemesis

[sindarlin]

B, F, K, N for Mablung

❧@a-flower-in-the-grey-north

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He likes partners with long hair (typical elf!).

On himself, I think he is very proud of his muscles, his abs. He works hard; looking good is a small bonus. 

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Cowgirl. He likes the view, and he finds it relaxing without having to give up too much control.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

He likes to watch his partner get themselves off for him, sometimes giving instructions, sometimes not even touching himself.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Perhaps surprisingly given his name, but he isn’t into impact play or any kind rough sex, really. A little light spanking in the moment is about his limit. He’s too soft and romantic at heart to enjoy it. 

[from-lothlorien-to-helms-deep]

Thanks for answering! I really appreciate it and it makes me very happy! (this is my tolkien sideblog)

Imagine Túrin being so unlucky that it's normal to not survive him 🤣 One of my headcanons for Mablung involves him having a wife too! It somehow makes sense, in a way, despite not having any textual hints. (ofc I also have headcanons of him being a bachelor forever, like a lot of marchwardens did (also my hc))

I completely agree that Beleg and Túrin's relationship is quite intense. I've read fics that ship them and I've read those that don't ship them (kinda saw both sides of the argument lol). Personally leaning towards them being platonic :))

I've never considered a friendship between Mablung and Beren! It has potential for more thoughts, ideas, and/or headcanons :D Mablung being "Heavyhand" (whether it's before or after the Silmaril) makes me think of him as kind of a tough guy, and Beren had been through some serious crap in life, so I think they might have some common language x,D

Children of Húrin has some Mablung dialogues but we need more Mablung content.

In response to your give me a character reblog: Beleg and/or Mablung please!

Thanks for the ask!

Sadly, I don't have much opinion about either of those. They're fine, but just… idk. Quite normal for an Elf? So I'll do both, maybe this will be a normal amount of an answer.

How do I feel? OK, I do often feel and think about them two together, because they are similar to me: both Thingol's guys and both fought in Tears Unnumbered…

I like Mablung more, simply because he's one of not many characters in the Silm that does quite a lot, but without any huge drama. Beleg dies tragically relatively quickly in his story, and Mablung manages to do quite a lot (not extremely cool or maybe even not the most important things, but he does a lot of things) before dying. He survives Túrin! That's rare. Beleg sadly didn't. Which makes him a bit more typical as a character. XD

Ship? I don't ship them. TBH Mablung might as well have an unmentioned wife, Tolkien is like that. Beleg less likely. I don't care much.

OK, for non-romantic OTP with Beleg it's obviously Túrin, his bff (I don't ship them romantically but they do have a very intense relationship for sure, that's just plain canon). For Mablung… IDK, but if I were to pick a friend to write him with, it would be either Daeron (they went to the Mereth Aderthad together, so it seems they were Thingol's main political guys, so they must have done some things together) or Beren, because I feel that they after Thingol accepted Beren, Mablung liked him a lot. I'm not sure why, something about how the whole Silmaril situation goes.

Unpopular opinion:

Beleg: the Silm uses medieval body language in some parts and no, him and Túrin kissing doesn't imply they're romantically involved.

Mablung: Not sure if that's unpopular, but he seems quite resistant to the appeal of the Silmaril (good for him!). But at the end he does die because of it.

One thing I'd like to read: I'm fine with Beleg as he's written, but with Mablung I'd like to read more about the circumstances his death and/or his relationships with other characters. Generally some more dialog lines for him.

I'm sorry, it likely isn't very interesting. As with many of the Sindar: I like them but I have no strong feelings and opinions about them.

[ladysternchen]

💛 a favorite familial relationship and 🩷 a ship that you like, even though it could never work in canon

💛 Elmo and Elwë… I know I have long since overstressed that point in my fics (and will continue to do so as long as I write), but I just love them so much (and the realationship I span in my hc out of ‘Elmo remained with Elwë, by whom he was beloved’)

🩷 I really had to think long about that one, and truth be told, I’m still none the wiser.

I might put the Mablung/Elu Thingol of my current WIP in here, or the familial relationship between Eärwen and Lúthien that canonical could never be, but no, I go for Lúthien/Fëanor. 😂 why it could never work is obvious, but that’s just too explosive to even think about (so naturally, I do). That could either end in Arda imploding or actually work as well as their dads’ friendship worked.

Thanks so much for asking 😊

[adanedhel]

Beleg!

Sexuality Headcanon: I think gay. He just has such a vibe of being a man who loves men in such a distinctly male way. A very “guys being dudes” type. Blushes and looks away in the locker room type. Steams when he gets a sporty “good job” slap on the ass type.

Gender Headcanon: I definitely see him as a cis guy, and part of that is because Túrin has a story that can be so easily read as a trans experience, and I think Beleg’s not quite understanding him fully is important in that sense, too.

A ship I have with said character: There is legitimately no doubt in my mind that he and Túrin were 1000% married. My mind cannot be changed. I understand that some people don’t read them that way, and that is fine, but they are wrong. I have never read a love story so tragic and so wonderful and I refuse to accept anything else as canon. Thank you and goodnight.

A BROTP I have with said character: MABLUNG who is so underrated, and so is their relationship. They are such ride or die bitches for each other, and it’s one of those super beautiful super brotherly loves that Tolkien loves to throw at us. And I think their relationship and how close they are, and how Different Beleg treats Túrin highlights that the relationship to him is very different. But Mablung is so good and content of them together I just eat UP.

A NOTP I have with said character: hmm there’s not really one I can think that I HATE but I am not the biggest fan of him with Andróg. I can see the appeal but it just doesn’t do anything for me personally.

A random headcanon: I big hc that he’s the one who gave Mablung his battle epithet. Before they had fought on the borders of Doriath deep in the trees and mostly used bows and occasionally polearms or even swords, but after they were in the middle of it during the Nirnaeth and he saw Mablung swinging a warhammer he picked up off a dead orc he started calling him the Heavy Hand while recounting the stories, and it just sort of caught on.

General Opinion over said character: I love him to bits and I think he is the #1 “deserved better” character in all of the silm.