#i have not started on the wedding at all

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Get that man (pregnant)!

[outoftoucherlocksholmes]

place your bets NOW on who will WIN THE BIGGEST DIVORCE OF THE 21st CENTURY!!!!

[try-set-me-on-fire]

birds all sing as if they knew

[mushroom-kin]

Morning on the path to Liyue Harbor - A study with original additions

[rookanis-de-riva]

NOT thinking about a bad ending where Rook dies in the final battle

NOT imagining Lucanis left all alone in his enormous estate, nothing but ghosts and Caterina, in a house that feels more like a graveyard

NOT writing an epilogue where Lucanis becomes known as The Mad Crow, the first talon no one dares to challenge but they all know he's insane, whenever he's not working he wanders the gardens speaking to the ghost of the spouse he never got to marry

NOT sure if it's better or worse if Rook really is haunting him. now Spite is the only one who can truly see and touch them, and Lucanis is left on the outside. sometimes he believes Rook really did come back as a spirit to stay with him and some days he knows Spite is only showing him what he needs to see to make it through one more day

just one more day ...

one more day ...

one more--

[ssluggishh]

lrb i agree the iliad is one of the funniest books ive ever read but also their point abt background npcs having their entire backstory explained to us and then dying two pages later is like. the point is that those npcs are people who had lives and families and homes to get back to but because theyre dying in a war (that isnt even their own) they dont get to have those anymore. so no, i dont really think its fair to call those descriptions unnecessary. they add depth and tragedy to smaller characters that you wouldnt glance at twice otherwise

[guardian-angle22]

911: Lone Star | Tarlos Wedding Pt. 2 -> TK's vows

[quinn-pop]

the return of my dedede wedding headcanon

he likes to keep it lighthearted and sweet; most of why people like having him officiate is because of his charisma. he’s great at handling whatever situation and usually good at ad libbing. and he genuinely loves doing it because well. it’s a party and it’s about people caring for each other, what’s not to love?

(tbh he probably tries to hide how much he cries at weddings but he just really likes love lol)

also! dreamland culture is kinda complicated, being made up of so many species from all over and who knows where, so there are a lot of different wedding traditions and no one way to do it

anyway, silly art

i just really felt like drawing something soft

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

A procession of confessions.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[flowerflamestars]

No Grave Can Hold My Body Down snippet

“Were you trying all along?” Eris asked. “Tell me, when was the first? Last night was not in truth our first meeting, was it, Lady Archeron? I should have known. Did you hesitate, to see what I might give?” What he would sacrifice, how long he would look? Eris had use, no interest in such matters. Of course it was a lie- what was Elain but magic, magic, magic- Eris was weak, hungry, but not one who enchanted easily. Silence swelled. “What,” Elain snapped, voice a void. Eris had never wished to get his hands on another being his whole long life, but he wished to see her eyes in blind rage to a degree that could only have been madness, “I don’t know how to do it myself! Do you think anyone is interested in teaching me magic? You think I don’t hear what they call me? Poor Elain, broken Elain. If you’re just like every other faery in this stupid, wretched kingdom, I will do it myself. I will kill Cassian, and Rhysand, and Morrigan and”- Eris had to look. Gone was the controlled, vengeful glory- here was grief, shattering. He felt sick all over again, bile rising. It was effort, to swallow it down. “I thought you’d decided against slaughtering the entire gentry.” Elain blinked. Red-cheeked, pale lipped, a strange look like a smile flickered across her face. A laugh, made a ghost by circumstance.

"You think I could?” “Daisy will ensure no body is found, no magic unleashed,” Eris could not quite meet her gaze, “Start with the shadow singer. He’ll let you close enough to get the knife. That blade is not right. Will give you an edge against the others.” Caught, a moment of neither here nor there, Elain frozen. The future, doubtless. Eris took the time to rake back his disgusting hair. Fever sweat. He reeked of salt, arms a grey, hanging muddle, too much effort to move more until he’d regained his strength.

[tiredandoptimistic]

The thing that bothers me so much about Hell's Bells is that it makes perfect sense for Xander to call off the wedding, but it ruins the narrative to genuinely end his and Anya's relationship. His fears of becoming his father and trapping Anya in a terrible marriage are very consistent with his character. Xander has always been afraid that he's a worthless person whose life is a waste, so of course he'd think that marrying him would just waste Anya's life too. He loves her enough to want a life with her, and hates himself enough to want better for her. Like he says after the monster guy gets killed; it doesn't matter that the visions he was shown weren't real, it matters that they could be real. On some level he always expected his life to turn out like that, and at least if he leaves Anya she won't be in the radius of worthlessness that surrounds him. Cool. Good writing, I love it when a character's flaws and fears lead them to ruin their own happiness.

We also have Anya, who was betrayed by a lover and spent one thousand years as a demon seeing nothing but the brutal aftermath of romance. To Anya, love was a curse that left people bitter and broken, because that's what makes people call out for vengeance. Also cool. The things Xander fears about himself are exactly what Anya fears about men in general. The two of them both had every reason to scorn the idea of romance, and yet still found love together. Xander gave up his constant crushing on random hot girls to become enchanted by Anya's autistic swag, and Anya gave up vengeance by falling in love with the man she'd been brought to Sunnydale to curse. They both fell in love with someone who represents everything they supposedly don't want in a partner. It's a deeply compelling setup if I do say so myself, but it's ruined by having the wedding fall through. Suddenly, instead of subverting their bitterness and proving that stable love is possible in a crazy world, everything they feared came true. Xander couldn't love and Anya couldn't be loved.

I just want the alternate reality where Xander talked to Anya about his doubts around marriage so they held off on the wedding for a couple years, showing that the two of them can overcome their commitment issues if they face them together. But noooooo, we get the timeline where they just have that shit reinforced.

[glorfindel-of-imladris]

The Case of Erestor Half-elven

It’s been a hot minute since my last fandom meta, but this one I accidentally stumbled upon gathering notes for—would you believe it—a Glorfindel meta I intended to write. Man, I’m not even going to question the process, so let’s just get right on to it!

I like to joke around that there are only six instances when Erestor was mentioned in the entire legendarium, and by this I mean in The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion (in which he does not even appear in the latter two). 

But let’s talk about the early draft of him that is often referenced in fandom. If one extends the search, in The Return of Shadow, which details the writing process of what ultimately would be The Fellowship of the Ring, Erestor does get a mention, and is described as follows:

“There were three counsellors of Elrond’s own household: Erestor his kinsman (a man of the same half-elvish folk known as the children of Lúthien), and beside him two elflords of Rivendell.” -- In the House of Elrond, The Return of Shadow 

By the final version of The Lord of the Rings, however, there is no more reference to Erestor as Half-elven. The final published version goes:

"Beside Glorfindel there were several other counsellors of Elrond's household, of whom Erestor was the chief..." -- The Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

By this final version of the story, the Half-elven trait no longer made sense for Erestor, and was replaced instead by him being Elrond's chief counsellor. 

The nature of Half-elves

Tolkien acknowledges three unions of Elves and Men:

“There were three unions of the Eldar and the Edain: Lúthien and Beren; Idril and Tuor; Arwen and Aragorn. By the last the long-sundered branches of the Half-elven were reunited and their line was restored.” –Appendix A, Return of the King

One of the later themes Tolkien came up with surrounding the Half-elven line (which likely did not yet exist at the early stages of the story when he was first forming the fellowship) was how they united and reunited all the houses of the Eldar and the Edain. Beren was a descendant of the three houses of the Edain—the Houses of Bëor, Haleth, and Hador—while Lúthien was the daughter of a Sinda (Teleri) and a Maia. Idril was the daughter of a Ñoldo and a Vanya. Lúthien and Beren had Dior, who then had a daughter, Elwing, who wed Eärendil, the son of Idril and Tuor. Elwing and Eärendil then had Elros and Elrond, and the line was separated for many generations when Elros chose to be counted among Men, and Elrond among Elves. The two lines were reunited with the marriage of Aragorn and Arwen.

One important detail here is that before the “Choice of the Half-elves” that was later gifted to Eärendil, Elwing, and their children, the children born out of an Elf-Man union led lives akin to Men. Dior was able to rule Doriath at age 33, and Eärendil and Elwing married at 22. These, as we know, would have been too young for Elves, given:

“Children of Men might reach their full height while Eldar of the same age were still in the body like to mortals of no more than seven years. Not until their fiftieth year did the Eldar attain the stature and shape in which their lives would afterwards endure, and for some a hundred years would pass before they were full-grown.” -- Laws and Customs of the Eldar, Morgoth’s Ring

and

“The Eldar wedded for the most part in their youth and soon after their fiftieth year […] Those who would afterwards become wedded might choose one another early in youth, even as children (and indeed this happened often in days of peace); but unless they desired soon to be married and were of fitting age, the betrothal awaited the judgment of the parents of either party.” -- Laws and Customs of the Eldar, Morgoth’s Ring

After the events of the War of the Wrath, Eärendil, Elwing, and their sons Elrond and Elros, for their deeds in the war, were gifted with the choice to be counted either among the Eldar or the Edain. Eärendil, Elwing, and Elrond chose to be counted among Elves, and the choice continued on to Elrond’s children: Arwen, Elladan, and Elrohir. Elros chose to be counted among Men, but in his case, the choice no longer extended to his descendants; every descendant of Elros was mortal. 

The only thing I can conclude for why Elros’ line did not get to choose is because the Gift of Ilúvatar—that is, a death that transcends the world of Arda—trumps all other gifts. It is a blessing that followed the line of Elros—never mind that the latter Númenóreans did not all agree that this was a blessing at all.

A similar sentiment can be found in earlier versions of the Quenta Silmarillion, where Manwë said to Eärendil:

"Now all those who have the blood of mortal Men, in whatever part, great or small, are mortal, unless other doom be granted to them; but in this matter the power of doom is given to me." -- Quenta Silmarillion, The Lost Road and Other Writings

Although this was no longer included in the published Silmarillion, Christopher Tolkien still considered this in judging that Dior, son of Beren and Lúthien, would have been mortal, regardless of whether Lúthien was Elf or mortal when she begetted him.

Bonus extra: The fourth case of Elf-Man union

Despite the excerpt from Appendix A, there is another case of Elf-Man union that we know: Mithrellas and Imrazôr. This was alluded to in Return of the King when describing Prince Imrahil: 

“...and with him went the Prince of Dol Amroth in his shining mail. For he and his knights still held themselves like lords in whom the race of Númenor ran true. Men that saw them whispered saying: ‘Belike the old tales speak well; there is Elvish blood in the veins of that folk, for the people of Nimrodel dwelt in that land once long ago.’” The Siege of Gondor, Return of the King

Although it seems as though this was only a rumor among Men, in the wider History of Middle-earth, Mithrellas is indeed mentioned to have been the spouse of Imrazôr who bore him children, of whom Galador was the ancestor of the princes of Dol Amroth. Of their line, it was said:

“But though Mithrellas was of the lesser silvan race (and not of the High Elves or the Grey) it was ever held that the house and kin of the Lords of Dol Amroth were noble by blood, as they were fair of face and mind.” The Heirs of Elendil, The Peoples of Middle-earth

The princes of Dol Amroth, of course, are mortal, and this does not contradict anything that has already been established. It is easy to imagine how, in a world where Elves and Men co-exist, there could be many other undocumented cases throughout the years. But what we do know is that no other Half-elf outside of Eärendil’s line would have led a long life by choosing the path of Elves. Therefore, if there were any other Half-elves in the Council of Elrond, aside from Elrond himself, they would have been not much older than Aragorn or Boromir. 

Erestor’s age and role in Rivendell

We now return to Erestor. One of the clearest things in “The Council of Elrond” is the Elves’ reluctance to take the One Ring. Erestor is one of the most vocal about this, and this is one of my favorite themes to explore about his character in the Third Age.

Given the character's history in Tolkien's drafts, Erestor's narrative role seems to have always been to drive the Council of Elrond to its conclusion. Where people strayed from the topic (which then allowed Tolkien to expound more for world-building), Erestor's purpose even in early drafts was to bring everyone back to the task at hand. In addition to this though, thematically, I think Erestor eventually also represented the fading of the Elves. He is most known for his quick suggestion to give the Ring to Tom Bombadil. This tells us:

The Elves do not want anything to do with the Ring anymore, a sentiment that would be especially potent for one who was there during the Last Alliance, in the Second Age when Sauron was at the peak of his power; and 

The time of the Elves is ending, and there is little more they can give to Middle-earth.

Granted, Legolas remained a member of the Fellowship and thus represented the Elves, but by Elven standards, Legolas was young, and did not have the weariness that someone older would have. Erestor reads to me as someone older, even older in spirit in comparison to Glorfindel. 

‘We know not for certain,’ answered Elrond sadly. ‘Some hope that the Three Rings, which Sauron has never touched, would then become free, and their rulers might heal the hurts of the world that he has wrought. But maybe when the One has gone, the Three will fail, and many fair things will fade and be forgotten. That is my belief.’ ‘Yet all the Elves are willing to endure this chance,’ said Glorfindel, ‘if by it the power of Sauron may be broken, and the fear of his dominion be taken away for ever.’ ‘Thus we return once more to the destroying of the Ring,’ said Erestor, ‘and yet we come no nearer. What strength have we for the finding of the fire in which it was made? That is the path of despair. Of folly, I would say, if the long wisdom of Elrond did not forbid me.’ -- The Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

Erestor has a weariness to him that is even notable especially beside Glorfindel's vitality, whom we know was reborn in Aman as though young again, with "the primitive innocence and grace of the Eldar" (Peoples of Middle-earth). Glorfindel, however, is a special case even among all Elves in the Third Age, while Erestor arguably would have been more representative of them, at least of the ones that remained in Middle-earth.

Another case to be made about Erestor being one of the oldest in Rivendell is by virtue of his status as chief among Elrond’s counsellors. Considering the population of Elves in Rivendell, this is no small feat. As Gandalf told Frodo:

‘Here in Rivendell there live still some of [Sauron’s] chief foes: the Elven-wise, lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas. They do not fear the Ringwraiths, for those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and the Unseen they have great power. [...] Indeed there is power in Rivendell to withstand the might of Mordor, for a while: and elsewhere other powers still dwell.’ -- Many Meetings, The Fellowship of the Ring

So what is he?

The last quote about the Elf-lords of Rivendell is one of the main reasons why I say Erestor is likely of the Ñoldorin Calaquendi. This makes the most sense given his position in Elrond’s household and given the sorts of Elves that dwell there. Fortunately, this still gives us many options: he could be an Elf from Gondolin, from Nargothrond, even among one of the many houses of the Fëanoryn. 

Could he have been any other kind of Elf? Sure! I even particularly have a soft spot for Erestor being Sindarin, but again, given his position, I would guess one of the older lines. Doriath, in particular, would make sense. Given how Elves seem to be “ranked” by wisdom defined by their exposure to the Valar and the rest of the Ainur, Doriath, with Melian’s influence, would have been a special kind of place. 

Could Erestor still be Half-elven? My easiest answer would be that it’s unlikely. But! Do not despair! With fiction, really anything is possible. Erestor could be an exceptional Half-elf and that is why he is chief counsellor. He could still be a kindred of Elrond’s by some obscure line, such as an unrecorded child in the line of Beren and Lúthien, or as a popular fanon, either Eluréd or Elurín survived. Or he could just be the son of some other Elf and Man. But whatever version it is, Erestor Half-elven would not have had the choice of the Half-elves, and so likely would not have been alive beyond the lifetime of a Númenórean.

[unopenablebox]

lmao i have a call with a wedding venue coordinator tomorrow?? lots of things about this place are appealing but it also has a massively overpriced mandatory caterer and a very late event start time (who has the ceremony start at 6:30pm?? don't people want dinner????) so i kind of just wanted, you know, a quote and contact info in case we wanted to tour later if other things don't pan out. but the person who reached out to me was so confident that we were going to call this week that i guess... i'm going to call her? and ask about chair rental prices or something? idk man. i wasn't prepared for this. i'm not even the one primarily planning this wedding and also we're not even planning yet i just had time to send idle emails this week

[sunstonespark]

happy 25th birthday to my favourite show ever (ft. the anniversary of my otp meeting) and of course, to my darling gf (@ichijokaoru)!! ❤ 👍

(bonus below)

[lvmimis]

this morning i heard a story about a girl with 25 bridesmaids but now i wanna ask yall, who does your fave invite to the bridal party when you get married and do you agree with the choices?

[lynzishell]

🌸Hello Friends!!!

I'm back and I've missed you all so fkin much!! I'm fully caffeinated and ready to catch up on what I've missed. 🤸🏻‍♀️💖 Life is still life-ing, but I think I'm in a good enough place to start working on story posts again. I'll probably start with updates 3x/week as I get back in the groove, but I'm hoping I'll be back to 5x/week soon! That being said - my story will resume on Monday! ✨YAY!✨