#hes a tolkien elf to me

[selfawarecobalt]

fairy tail episode “most autistic child main character babysat by most autistic side character” i love you

[corsairspade]

there are many reasons I like the "Erestor son of Caranthir" headcanon but secretly the main one is that I'm imagining all of the remaining noldo auditors sighing of relief when Caranthir dies and they don't have to try play 4d chess with multiverse time travel trying to catch this guy doing tax evasion. life is good for exilic auditors now.

and then suddenly Elrond and Elros turn up again! even better! oh who's this, Elrond? your good friend Erestor? he's helping you with your taxes? oh how swe- what is this Elrond. What is this. your paperwork for your taxes you say. not a declaration of war? because it looks like a declaration of war on the exilic auditors, Elrond.

and then all the auditors are so busy doing "extreme tax auditing™" for the first time since the second Kinslaying that they don't tell anyone they're pretty sure there's another scion of the house of Fëanor running around.

[thesummerestsolstice]

There's this implication in Tolkien's writing that half-elves are kind-of immortal by default, and that they stop aging unless they choose mortality (though arguably they don't even really age then). See Arwen in the Lord of the Rings, who is several thousand years old and has clearly been living life as an elf, despite never having made the Peredhel choice.

I always wondered why Arwen was given that choice, actually. It seems like the Peredhel choice is mostly given to people who have a mortal parent and an immortal parent (Earendil, since Tuor was definitely mortal when he was born, and arguably Elwing depending on how you see Dior), or at least parents who are undecided (Elrond and Elros are born before Elwing and Earendil make their choices). Arwen is a fair bit more than half-elven, and has two immortal parents. And there's not really any evidence Elros's children got the choice. Why does she get to choose whether she wants to be mortal or immortal?

Now, this could just be some minor world building weirdness, but it raises another very interesting possibility. That Elrond, by the time his children were born, had not committed to being immortal, and was instead undecided. I feel like there's so much to explore in that idea. Maybe Elrond truly wasn't sure about his choice to stay immortal forever until much, much later in his life. Maybe he held off choosing specifically so his children would be able to. Maybe he didn't choose because he didn't want to have to pick between being an elf or a man, and just wanted to be a half-elf in peace.

There's also something very compelling to me about the idea of an Elrond who could have, at any point during the Second or Third Ages, decided to be mortal. Who could have left the grief and struggle of Middle-Earth behind forever, and who, nonetheless, always chose to stay; picking immortality, not once, but a thousand times over the course of his long life, no matter what difficulties he was faced with.

It would also be interesting to explore the idea that most of the people in Elrond's life assume he decided to be fully elven long ago, only to realize that that isn't actually true. I imagine it could be disconcerting, maybe even really anxiety-provoking to realize that someone you were certain would be around forever might not be. I also think it would be really hard for a lot of elves to understand why Elrond might not want to make that choice.

[markantonys]

i hate to say it but call me an orc because adar is daddy [a hook yanks me offstage as the crowd boos]

[shrikeseams]

I would very much like to know why you think Finwe is a shitty husband.

Pretty sure I have exhausted this topic elsewhere on this blog, so in essence (and with the understanding that there are other interpretations etc etc):

Finwe asked his first wife (who was functionally elf!suicidal) to permanently forfeit her fundamental right to life for his convenience. Explicitly because he had found a replacement for her.

Then he also abandons his second wife because he was angry at the valar for usurping his political prerogatives and she was no longer convenient/his favoritest son didn't like her.

I know there are other opinions and interpretations on both of these events, but on numbers alone Finwe has outstripped every other shitty elf husband. After all, Eol was only complicit in the death of one spouse, and he wasn't even aiming at her! Eol never tried to ditch Aredhel for a hot new thing!

(There is an argument that Finwe did, ultimately, let Miriel go free. But my stance on that is that it was fait accompli, and I see no reason to think it would have occurred to him if he hadn't already died. It's not like he was offering to die on weekends so Miriel could meet her grandchildren or anything. [Tbh my counter-canon take on it is that Namo was fibbing, and the valar had decided that finwe was too politically inconvenientfor reimbodiment, so they pressured Miriel to reimbody first. Thus why she technically only hangs out with Vaire.] )

[deer-with-a-stick]

The more time I spend explaining Tolkien lore to my brother the more I realize that Tolkien was just batshit insane

[mmonarchmoon]

Glorestor has my entire heart ♡♡♡

So have Glorfindel visiting Erestor at work.

Please ignore the ominous shelving unit full of boxes labeled in tengwar script.

I did not want to draw books 👍

[ola-the-clown]

doodles of Mairien based on some plot points I had thought of + her backstory (under read more, as it's somewhat long) in the Silmarillion AU 🧵💎🌹

𝕸𝖆𝖎𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖓

Born in Y.T. 1377 in Aman, she knew of the Middle-Earth only from tales and songs, the perilous journey to the Blessed Continent but an abstract concept, a past long-gone. The life of an upper nobility was a comfortable one, days spent on improving upon her embroidery — a craft chosen out of the love for all that's beautiful, shimmering and shining, but also selfish motives of vanity — and bettering her aim. 

Though the act of hunting — the chase and pursuit — brought her enjoyment, the surrounding festivities a gratifying way to spend time, neither were the priority. No, to her, there was no greater joy than that of an arrow hitting its intended target; the more challenging the shot, the better. A tangible proof of her skill, deft fingers, and keen eyes. 

But all was not idyllic, the relationship with her parents slowly straining over the years. Her father, a master gemologist, jeweler, and metalworker, was set on teaching her his craft. And while she had followed his wishes at first, her heart simply wasn't in it, no matter how skilled her hands were — much to the man's immense but much ignored chagrin and disappointment. She did what she was told to do, neither more nor less, and with an expression often pinched into a sour pout. Yes, she had interest in gems and jewels, and metals of various sorts, but rather than slaving away and making them, she preferred to use the finished products; incorporating them into her embroidery projects. 

At the same time, had it not been for the nearly forceful insistence of her father, she wouldn't have discovered the world of alchemy. A fascinating subject, one she took like a duck to water — though, again, her interest in it, while not lacking in passion, was somewhat vain. Dyes, polishes, solutions, all to aid her endless pursuit of beauty. But also poisons and toxins, if only out of morbid curiosity.

Her family's somewhat close ties to the House of Fëanor as relatives of Curufin's wife, meant she was less trusty of Melkor than most other Noldor — the prince's suspicion and uncharitable view of the Valar bleeding into her mind through the grapevine. Yet, the woman was not immune to the rumors of injustice and stolen birthrights, fanning at the flames of her ambition and further fueling her interest in lands never seen. It was, amongst many other reasons, why she chose to follow Fëanor on the quest for revenge and glory — stirred by his beguiling words, blood boiling at Morgoth's treachery. Her parents, however, disapproved, choosing to stay in Aman rather than follow after their new King. She cursed at their cowardice, the lack of loyalty and indifference to Morgoth's crimes, before storming off — never to return. Later on, the prideful elf would come to regret her hasty departure; mourning the loss of her younger brother, who had no choice but to remain, and the missed opportunity to bid him goodbye. Forever bitter about her parents' decision.

Actions were rarely greater than words, and it was no different this time. The kinslaying, the curse, the burning of the ships. The grass was not any greener on the other side of Belegaer; trampled and dead, under the feet of soldiers and orcs. The war efforts turned her hobbies into duties. Sewing wounds shut instead of embroidering, crafting dyeing solutions for armor rather than gowns as well as various medicinal cures and remedies — a domain she'd ultimately choose to focus on — and occasionally visiting the forge, the irony was not lost on the elf. Her fascination with poisons, venoms, and toxins proved useful as well, vital even, as their enemy was fond of such tactics. 

Later on — after Fëanor's death, capture and subsequent rescue of prince Maedhros, and the relinquishment of his claims —, having no close family of her own, she'd leave with Curufin and Celegorm's host, eventually settling in Himlad.

[eloquentsisyphianturmoil]

What if Tom Bombadil was Mahtan. What if Mahtan was Tom Bombadil. Do you see my vision.

[lightthewaybackhome]

Thus ended Beleg Strongbow, truest of friends, greatest in skill of all that harboured in the woods of Beleriand in the Elder Days, at the hand of him whom he most loved; and that grief was graven on the face of Túrin and never faded.

-The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien

[leucisticpuffin]

In the centre was an enormous table fashioned from a slab of oak, with long benches on either side, and this was where we were directed to sit (...) The room was lined with wooden cabinets and a huge chest of drawers like the kind you might find in a haberdashery shop. On every shelf and every surface were bottles and jars and bowls and pots, and on the walls were olive-green tiles and rows of hooks from which spatulas and measuring spoons hung. Even the windowsill was put to use: here herbs grew in small pots.

Some more art for the AU -- the manor house kitchen! Feat. Maglor helping the twins with their homework while Maedhros checks his recipe book.

(There is also supposed to be a pan rack hanging from the ceiling, but I couldn't work out how to draw that in an isometric cut-away view. Imagine it's there.)

Time taken: approximately 33h, plus far too much time researching antique kitchen utensils.

[metatomatoes]

Watched the Metalocalypse movie and while I know Nate is supposed to be based on someone else, to me he always reminded me of the late Peter Steele (at least physically).

So have a Peter Steele appreciation post, he was a 6'8" phenomenon and if you like dark romance in your 90's metal he is your guy.

[anghraine]

First of all congrats on nearing the end of your PhD program!!! Woohoo!!!

Second of all, I’m muy late to the party here (been off tumblr for a bit) but WRT these tags ( https://www.tumblr.com/anghraine/749212904253947904/khazzman-tolkien-elendil-was-called-the ) what do you mean the pregnancies were strange lol how strange can they be…?

As for the first point: Thank you! I'm really looking forwards to being done, lol.

As for the second point: anon, I delight in your innocence. In fact, I delight to such an extent that I wrote a long and rambling explanation over on my Dreamwidth account. It's here.

An excerpt:

[aureentuluva70]

So you're telling me that Tolkien was going to write a story about Erinti aka Ilmarë-who we know practically zilch about despite being among the greatest of the maiar-and her likely romance with the Man in the Moon and then he just...didn't write it???

[legendariium]

I’m very curious if anyone has takes on what Melkor or Sauron would’ve thought about Dior

[shrikeseams]

One of those idea that I chew on sometimes, but probably won’t ever commit to, is the idea that Maedhros... dislikes children.

Specifically children. Babies are great! They’re sweet and cuddly, and what they want and need is pretty simple. But once they get to the age where they can walk and climb things easily, and talk back, and he can’t just pick them up and plop them back down again where he wants them to be? ANATHEMA. Unbearable!

He thinks they’re awful until they’re at the human development equivalent of maybe late teens, when they’re pretty rational and they want long-term things, and he can mentor and/or manipulate them comfortably.