#middle-earth stuff

[hurricanek8art]

I have been brought out of lurk mode by the Rings of Power finale on behalf of my brother, resident Tolkien fanatic, because he thinks he's figured out who Adar might be.

Maeglin.

And before you say "but Kate, he died at Gondolin", keep in mind that RoP is playing around with some of the timeline and hear us out. Spoilers for the Rings of Power S2 finale, I guess? The Silmarillion, and a big ol' wall of text under the cut. I don't call my personal tags "K8 Rambles about [X]" for nothing.

Per the Tolkien Gateway wiki, because I like citations with my fandom conspiracy theories; bolded parts are most relevent:

"Maeglin defied Turgon's order to stay within the mountains, and was captured by Orcs and brought to Angbad. Morgoth promised both Gondolin and Idril in return for the location of the hidden city, thus luring Maeglin into the greatest treachery done in the Elder Days.

Maeglin returned to Gondolin saying nothing about his encounter, but many people noticed a change. Most thought it was for the better, though Idril suspected something and began work on Idril's secret way. When the Fall of Gondolin took place, Maeglin laid hands on Idril and on her son Eärendil. But Tuor caught up with him and they fought upon the walls of the city. Maeglin lost and he was thrown down to his death, striking the mountain three times before falling into the flames."

His father Eöl left Thingol's kingdom after Melian raised enchanted fences around the forest of Doriath, so Maeglin would've grown up at least knowing of Melian. He would have learned Fëanorian Quenya in Gondolin as the king's nephew, as well as studied the teachings of Rúmil. Further, Eöl was an expert smith who was one of the only people who knew how to work with galvorn, a jet-black metal—the only other person who knew how to work with it was Maeglin. We've never seen Adar wear anything but pitch-black armor with a rather unique-looking texture.

So, we have a dark-haired Elf with obsessive tendencies that turned on his people on behalf of Morgoth, covered in what looks like burn scars along with the Uruk-ing, wearing fancy, unique black armor. That big ol' gauntlet he's always wearing could easily be explained as protecting a hand that got messed up in the fall, that namedrops Melian and Rúmil. Turgon and Finrod knew each other before they split and Turgon founded Gondolin, so Turgon could potentially have learned Galadriel's Quenya name and mentioned it in passing to Maeglin, and it would be another explanation for how he recognized Elrond right off the bat, since he was related to Elrond's father, grandparents and great-grandfather. It's not impossible to believe that in this version of the tale, Maeglin somehow survives the fall, returns to Morgoth and Sauron, and gets Uruk-ified. And, I mean, Nenya was shown healing fatal wounds and cleansing Adar's Uruk corruption, it's even less of a stretch to think that Nenya somehow healed him of being... well, an obsessive, vindictive and incestuous jerk. Or at least made himself really look inwards and see the evil within.

Again, I'm more of a cinematic Tolkien nerd than literary (I've tried a bunch of times and succeeded in reading The Hobbit, but my brain just... fritzes out at Tolkien prose for some reason. I need cliff notes Tolkien 😭😭😭😭😭), so if you have any questions or points to discuss I'm probably just gonna end up relaying what my brother says. He refuses to join Tumblr and only likes social media for the fanart and the silly pet videos. I feel like a court scribe. 🤣

[fidgetspringer-art]

✦ Erebor ✦

[mrkida-art]

Just a little guy from Ravenhill

[bioluminesced]

frodos i did for various frodo fridays based off my vision of him while reading the books

[cirrdan]

Saruman>

Saruman of the many colours💅

>

SHARKEY✨

>

He is so hilarious in the books, I can't-

[willowcrowned]

saw someone say they thought balrog and glorfindel were glup shittoesque words I'd made up on one of my posts and for a moment I was so shocked and offended that I forgot that the average person does not, in fact, carry encyclopedic knowledge of tolkien elf genealogy in their head

[anghraine]

My Rings of Power re-watch is continuing slowly now that I have more time (though not always more attention span for anything except games, thanks dissertation -> my mother nearly dying -> getting COVID). But one of the things I'm really enjoying about Galadriel in ROP is that it doesn't always frame her as the wisest and most insightful person in every interaction she has, and in fact it is clear that she's fucking up in very significant ways because of how hard and relentless she's become through her eons of suffering and her determination to exact a price for it. She is not well!

However, she is nevertheless right about some very important matters that most people don't want to see, and she's being condescended to by men of her people who are much younger, less experienced, and less correct than she is, and it's continually emphasized that she is the most individually powerful and competent Elf around regardless of any of this and that her fuck-ups, while disastrous, are cool and sexy of her also.

So many male action heroes are troubled men haunted by whatever their particular tragic pasts are, but these men are also super impressive and badass (often to a degree far beyond all probability) in a harsh, capable way founded on never giving up ever, so while they are permitted to make major errors, it's in a cool and sexy way that just makes them more appealing.

This isn't a condemnation of that; there's a place for that kind of action hero and I tend to enjoy them when it's not copaganda or something. But I like women, and I like women to benefit from a full package of tropes that are often watered down when female characters get any part of them at all, so I enjoy a female character in something that historically has been such a dudefest getting full unhinged brooding hypercompetent action hero treatment.

I even fully support the show prioritizing Galadriel getting the good wig. Her hair flowing dramatically in the wind is actually more important than someone like Celebrimbor getting dramatic impractical action hair (with love, he's an arts and crafts nerd hung up on his academia celebrity grandfather, nothing about this demands good hair).

But I also like it not only in general and not only for a female character, but also for Galadriel specifically. I was just re-reading the description of her in the Shibboleth of Fëanor, and (Teleporno aside) it tracks pretty well. The whole thing about young Galadriel's burning determination to pursue Fëanor to the ends of the earth and thwart him in whatever ways she could seems exactly the sort of thing ROP Galadriel would do, and while ROP is set much later, the Shibboleth suggests that Galadriel was still recognizably that person for long afterwards:

"Pride still moved her when, at the end of the Elder Days after the final overthrow of Morgoth, she refused the pardon of the Valar ... It was not until two long ages more had passed, when at last all that she had desired in her youth came to her hand, the Ring of Power and the dominion of Middle-earth of which she had dreamed, that her wisdom was full grown."

There's a lot of Galadriel material that Tolkien wrote and he continually overhauled, revised, discarded, and amended the Galadriel backstory to such an extent that her history is one of the most chaotic, tangled, and irreconcilable zones of Tolkien lore. I don't think anyone is obligated to prioritize Shibboleth Galadriel if they have a different preferred version. But I really love that version of Galadriel and it does make her seem like probably the best canon female character option of this era for Action Hero Disaster Area (In A Cool and Sexy Way).

[likesdoodling]

>:)

[cmhcny]

don’t wanna hear anyone complain about trop ever again that was one of the best battles shown on tv-i was watching with my mouth open the whole time

[misswhalie]

What did Ecthelion look like when he was a teenager? I’m so curious

Baby face Ecthelion.

[doberbutts]

Also it's still very funny to me when I say "I like Rings of Power" and someone sees it and says I'm not a true fan of Tolkien's works and must not know anything about his writing and then I post a picture of my bookshelf. Never gets old.

[hurricanek8art]

I am plagued by thoughts of Celebrimbor telling Galadriel that it's not strength that overcomes darkness but light, because all darkness flees before it, after she spent all of season one haunted by Finrod telling her that sometimes to find the light you have to touch the darkness, and all of season two haunted by how Sauron twisted that phrase to manipulate her.

It feels like a complete inversion. And you can tell Galadriel is changed by it, is strengthened by it, just from the scenes after it alone. She eventually becomes the Lady of Light, after centuries of being the orc-killer, the great Commander of the Northern Armies. And she's more powerful after she hangs up the sword. She becomes one of Sauron's greatest enemies through sheer force of will. There's different ways of fighting, and it's an interpretation I think Tolkien would probably really like, given how Faramir and Éowyn's arcs play out.

There's a good philosophical debate in there, I think, but it's probably above my mental pay grade. I'm just good at noticing patterns. 🤣 Can't wait to see if this affects her arc in Season Three.

[ecle-c-tic]

Middle Earth Asks

🥔 po-tay-toes: one of the hobbits invited you for a meal; who are dining with? Which of the seven meals are you enjoying?

🍞 lembas bread: what's the best road trip snack?

🌾farmer maggot's field: what is your favourite plant? Do you enjoying gardening?

🌼 simbelmynë: You've got the opportunity to bring one character back to life, who is it?

🍃 leaves of lórien: what gift would you most like to receive?

📽 action!: rank all six of the films (or three if you're a hater)

🚲 bicycle basket: what is your favourite middle earth meme?

🌟starlight: you're allowed to live in one of the Elf Kingdoms of Middle Earth, which one are you picking?

💀 Hey, did you know-: What is your favourite piece of behind the scenes trivia?

🌙 moon runes: which of Tolkien's languages would you most like to speak?

🧂 best salt in all the shire: which small joys do you most look forward to? (particular tea, using a perfume, rereading a book, etc.)

✂ cutting room floor: of all of the things that didn't quite make it into the movies, what would you have most liked to see?

☕ may I tempt you with a cup of chamomile?: What is your favourite hot beverage?

🐎 bill the pony: who is the best mount in all of middle earth?

🌳 fangorn forest: Which of Tolkien's creechurs is your favourite?

🔮 palantír: you've found a palantir! Who are you hitting up in middle earth? What are you telling them?

⏳ time and age: which poorly aged scene from LOTR is your favourite?

✨ evenstar: Who is your favourite middle earth couple?

🎆 fireworks: you're invited to Bilbo's 111th, what present do you think you'd receive?

🕷 creepy crawlies: which of tolkien's creatures do you think is the most frightening?

💍 my precious: what role do you think you'd play in the fate of the ring?

📜the company of Throin II Oakenshield: who is your favourite dwarf from the company?

🕶 i care not: what common complaint about the movies or novels doesn't bother you?

📢 motivational speech: which film speech do you find most invigorating?

🔥 barbecue: who is the worst antagonist?

🍿 popcorn: list your top 5 supporting characters

🎇 firefly: which (known) deleted scene would you most like to see?

⛏ expedition to Moria: which side character's adventures would you watch a spin-off movie about?

🎞 extra film: is there an extended scene that should have absolutely made it into the theatrical cut? which one and why?

🎵 can you sing, master hobbit?: Which song (from books or movies) is your favourite?

🖋 quill and ink: which of tolkien's themes resonates most strongly with you?

🗝 lost heirloom: which heirloom/object in the films or novels would you like to learn more about?

💿 leitmotifs and orchestras: which of the films songs (Howard Shore or singer) is your favourite?

🍲eowyn's home cooking: which other way could the ring be destroyed? (funny answers only)

🧙‍♂️precisely when he means to: what is your favourite gandalf moment?

⚔ you have my sword: what is your favourite aragorn moment?

🏹 and my bow: what is your favourite legolas moment?

🪓and my axe: what is your favourite gimli moment?

🍄 MUSHROOMS!: what is your favourite moment from the hobbits?

💎 the arkenstone: favourite Thorin and/or company moment?

🧵 spool: list your top five favourite costumes from any of the films.

📕 the red book of westmarch : what is your favourite quote(s)?

💛 family: what is your favourite family moment throughout the novels/films?

👀 the eye of sauron: who are you looking at disrespectfully?

🗺 arda: if you could travel anywhere in middle earth, where would you go?

👑the silver crown: the war is won, the world is saved, the king has been crowned. Who are you partying with at the coronation?

✏ rewrites: here's a pencil, which ONE thing in the novels/films are you changing?

🐺 GROND GROND GROND: which of the battles is your favourite to watch? is there a combat scene in particular that you enjoy?

⚠ fucking buckleberry ferry: from the clip of Dom and Billy discussing the one swear word they could theoretically get by censors, which line would you change?

📚 boxset: how were you first introduced to Middle Earth?

🏔 the misty mountains: the pass is treacherous, which two characters are you taking with you to make it over the mountains?

🌄 the rolling hills of the shire: what is your favourite outdoor activity?

🌋 mount doom: what middle earth take are you throwing into the fire?

⚙ technology: everything is exactly the same but you can give one character a modern invention. Who is it and what are you giving them?

⛵valinor: we're approaching the end of this game, is there a take/opinion you absolutely want to share?

🦅 the eagles: What thing or thought saves the day when it's not going so well?

🦗 weta: you're allowed to take one prop (or the canon useful version) home with you from the set, what are you taking?

☀ when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer: either share a piece of good news or something you're looking forward to.

📖 final chapter: what unanswered questions do you have middle earth?

[fangirl-erdariel]

One of the things about Tolkien's books that is so important to me is how much compassion the narrative has for the characters. Even characters that are frustrating, or annoying, or that do or attempt to do horrible things, there's still compassion for them. Sometimes even when characters in the story (even characters that are very deeply good, sometimes!) aren't that compassionate toward a given other character, because they're also still human and might run out of patience or have their own biases etc and can't always find it in themselves to have compassion for everyone, the narrative might still show compassion. It's just so good.

[apricusapollo]

the fact that frodo never actually fully healed from the entire journey will haunt me for the rest of my life

[erdarieldraws]

Moth and Flame The last meeting of Andreth and Aegnor in the Halls of Mandos