#my silm faves

[atane-is-here]

@ainurweek

Melkor and Mairon / The Void, The Flame Imperishable

Not many in middle earth noticed the strangeness of the glow in Annatars eyes that could be so easily mistaken for the light of the trees. But those who were wise enough noticed the absence of Valinors light and knew it as the flame of creation itself, that within him it had twisted into a burning inferno.

In the beginning Melkor had searched the void far and wide for the flame imperishable. As he realized that a part of that flame resided within him he desperately tried to reach it. Tearing himself apart in the process.

[inthehouseoffinwe]

Finrod and Maedhros in the halls or post embodiment talking about Sauron.

Not about the torture or the agony they went through, more like gossiping on how much of a peacock he was, strutting around and bragging about how beautiful he is.

If you came across them in the street you’d think they’re talking about one of those overdressed Tirion nobles, but then you hear “I preferred his torture to his speeches because dear Eru those were a whole new level of pain-“

“Heard all of two before being mauled. Definitely preferred the werewolf.”

Celebrimbor sometimes joins these sessions but he’s got the additional years of having known Annatar and it’s therapeutic to talk about how self absorbed he was to people who really understand. Safe to say Maedhros and Finrod sombrely commiserate the kid on dealing with that for centuries.

“How did you two become friends??”

“I think his vanity numbed my brain.”

“That’s fair.”

[isilwhore]

Caranthir may have reached his hug limit for the next century, but he’ll always make an exception for Maglor

[eri-pl]

I'm not again saying that Bilbo's poem for Aragorn is kinda ominous and could be read in a really dark way but there are some funny coincidences

(warning for my friend: when I say "funny", this time I mean the not-wholesome kind of funny.)

All that is gold does not glitter,

You know whose favorite metal is gold, but also he's shrouded in darkness?

Not all those who wander are lost;

... The void...

The old that is strong does not wither,

Ok that's the generic line can work for basically anything...

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

Again, not much to say about it

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

Who's the OG evil master of fire? No, not Sauron! Melkor was both ice and fire from very early on.

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Ok, I'm biased by the Polish translation that puts "lightning" here... But it can be read as shadow and lightnings.

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

Anglachel my fav magic item! But:

The crownless again shall be king.

(in case you forgot: who got his crown reforged into a collar? Huh?)

Yes, if you want to upset a fellow fan of Tolkien, tell them that this poem is a prediction of Dagor Dagoradh but with the good guys losing. It's surprisingly convincing. 🤣

[buttered-toasty]

Maglor my silly they could never make me hate drawing you

.

.

I’ll be real. I don’t think I’ll ever draw him without the makeup. That’s just how he looks to me now

[cilil]

Fave female characters tag game!💝

Thanks for the tag, @annab99awritersdream! I love polls haha ^^

Rules: Make a poll of your top four favorite characters of all time and see who is the favorite amongst your followers!

Tagging: @featheredmoonwings @elanna-elrondiel @i-did-not-mean-to @fishing4stars @urwendii

@niennawept @demonscantgothere @a-world-of-whimsy-5 @sotwk and everyone else who'd like to join! Let me vote for your ladies💕

[maironsbigboobs]

re: elf servants

I think generally there are servants in royal/noble households simply for practical reasons and they generally fall into 2 categories: specialised servants (think, stewards and messengers and scribes, masters of horses or kennels, that kind of thing) and servants who help with the upkeep of the household (cleaning, repairs, cooking and also the apprentices and assistants of specialised servants)

specialised servants are probably quite prestigious roles and fields of industry in their own right, and they are considered full members of a household, and probably are closely linked to the person they serve - it's as much a political and social statement to be Finwe's chief scribe as it is an economic one

but the second category are more associated with the house than the family living in it - for example, Finwe's palace in Tirion would function both as a home and a diplomatic and administrative centre, it would be impossible for him to rule and keep up with chores himself. But Fingolfin's personal home would probably not have any full-time servants - when there more people than usual to feed or house then professionals might be hired, but for the most part I imagine the day to day is done by the family (made possible by the fact elves sleep and eat less than humans)

IRL domestic service (at least in the 18th century) often functioned as a kind of prep stage for adult life (for women in particular, but gender is probably not as big a factor for elves) and I could definitely see this in Valinor - domestic servants being 80% elves between 50-100 who haven't chosen an apprenticeship or similar in another field who are earning extra money to set up their own households, getting experience outside of the family, meeting others in their own ae cohort, learning independence etc. It's a job that comes with the offer of room and board + the wages a king/prince/lord can provide. Not glamorous, but not terrible.

The other 20% is made up of professional servants - experienced elves who are genuinely like the work and are contracted workers as much as a builder or gardener might be. Some of them might be independent and others part of businesses set up by other elves who are really into cooking/cleaning etc.

In Beleriand the situation (for the exiles at least) is probably very different, though I think there would be attempts to adapt the system - but there aren't as many households that need servants and there aren't as many young elves.

[ads-for-nothing]

Y'all are wrong the perfect Silm adaptation exists already and it's the German Playmobil Silmarillion on Youtube

[rana-temporaria]

Thinking about how alone Elwing and Earendil must both feel, they're both peredhel and there's no one like them in the world except each other and it's amazing that they found each other and fell in love but they both must feel so alone growing up

Elwing especially, her home burned, her family is gone, so much is violently taken away from her at such a young age it just must be so lonely

[lokittystuckinatree]

I searched what Silm characters share my MBTI and enneagram (for shits and giggles) and the results are…exactly who I expected

Special shout out to Lúthien Tinúviel (oh yeah!), Nienna (oh my!) and Nienor (oh no…) for having the same enneagram as me in addition to being infps

[nailsinmywall]

I LOVE your art sososososo much <33 you’re my favorite silmarillion fanartist <3

Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️ love you!

[hirazuki]

nonetheless, i want also to ask you something on a character that you are a fan of lmao

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon for Eol? I am wondering what would move him outside of smithing, but he must have had other quirks

I appreciate it 🤣

Oooh I actually have so many for him!

Stargazing for sure, and alongside that: learning/knowing constellations; being able to read the night sky as a map/navigating by the stars; mapping out the stars/creating star charts that are just as much intricate works of art of ink and paper as they are practical guides.

Related to that and to smithing as well in terms of drafting up designs, I see him enjoying drawing and printmaking: both also use materials of the earth like smithing (paper, tree bark for textures, ink, stones, minerals for colors, etc.). I can see him making himself a printing press, in particular enjoying lithography or etching (reusing the scraps of metal from his smithing as plates; developing acids etc. from his knowledge of poisons). His favorite subjects would be detailed forest scenes, studies of the creatures living in Nan Elmoth; portraits of Aredhel and Maeglin.

Which leads me to: poisons and enchantments. I read him as possessing a very witch of the wilds type vibe, so knowing and enjoying a lot about all the different plants, berries, bones and other animal parts, etc. and developing tinctures/salves/potions that run the entire gamut from healing to harming. I headcanon that he has a cabinet with vials and phials and small pots and jars filled with things for every occasion. And being able to read bones/entrails/etc. Also, "spell books": both ones that he has acquired from elsewhere (given to him by Melian when he still lived in Doriath; gifted to him by the dwarves on his visits to their cities; stolen from Angband on his way out) and ones that he has compiled himself to record all the things he has learned and to keep track of things he is still experimenting with. Like, think Flemeth vibes, if you're familiar with Dragon Age. (It's so rare imo to come across a male character who is so very masculine (as in, he doesn't come across as queer-coded to me in the way, say, Sauron does) in a role that possesses such a strong traditional connection with women -- Circe, Calypso, Morgan le fey, La belle dame sans merci, to name a few -- so it's an aspect of his character that I go feral about XD)

I can also see him having an interest in runes, stemming from his strong friendship with the dwarves. Runes both in the sense of as a language but also as related to spell craft (oracle stones, for scrying, etc.)

(fyi I typed this out on phone, so apologies for any mistakes or sentences that are poorly/weirdly worded lol 😆)

[saerras]

i'll keep on reading the silmarillion until i can possibly guess the end of asoiaf

[celebbun]

Op, I wish you the best of luck if you ever try to read the Silm again

sometimes we just need someone to pay enough attention.

for the longest time i had been trying to read The Lord of The Rings. everyone had sung the praises for it, over and over. i'd seen clips of the movie and it seemed like it could be fun, but actually reading it was fucking horrible.

my parents had the omnibus - all the books squished into one big tome - and in the 4th grade i started sort of an annual tradition: i would start trying to read TLR and get frustrated after about a month and put it back down. at first i figured i was just too young for it, and that it would eventually make sense.

but every time i came back to it, i would find myself having the exact same experience: it was confusing, weird, and dry as a fucking bone. i couldn't figure it out. how had everyone else on earth read this book and enjoyed it? how had they made movies out of this thing? it was, like, barely coherent. i would see it on "classics" list and on every fantasy/sci-fi list and everyone said i should read it; but i figured that it was like my opinion of great expectations - just because it's a classic doesn't mean i'm going to like experiencing it.

at 20, i began the process of forcing myself through it. if i had to treat the experience like a self-inflicted textbook, i would - but i was going to read it.

my mom came across me taking notes at our kitchen table. i was on the last few pages of the first book in the omnibus, and i was dreading moving on to the next. she smiled down at me. only you would take notes on creative writing. then she sat down and her brow wrinkled. wait. why are you taking notes on this?

i said the thing i always said - it's boring, and i forget what's happening in it because it's so weird, and dense. and strange.

she nodded a little, and started to stand up. and then sat back down and said - wait, will you show me the book?

i was happy to hand it over, annoyed with the fact i'd barely made a dent in the monster of a thing. she pulled it to herself, pushing her glasses up so she could read the tiny writing. for a moment, she was silent, and then she let out a cackle. she wouldn't stop laughing. oh my god. i cannot wait to tell your father.

i was immediately defensive. okay, maybe i'm stupid but i've been trying to read this since the 4th grade and -

she shook her head. raquel, this is the Silmarillion. you've been reading the Silmarillion, not the lord of the rings.

anyway, it turns out that the hobbit and lord of the rings series are all super good and i understand why they're recommended reading. but good lord (of the rings), i wish somebody had just asked - wait. this kind of thing is right up your alley. you love fantasy. it sounds like something might be wrong. why do you think it's so boring?

[annatars-nine-rings]

Yes. I get very fixated on fictional characters that have the deepest lore rabbit holes. So what?!

[rana-temporaria]

Sirion Sirion Siron!!

Eithel Sirion, Tol Sirion, Falls of Sirion, Mouths of Sirion, Havens of Sirion, Pass of Sirion, Fens of Sirion!

I don't know if it's because I'm thirsty rn but I'm really really obsessed with Sirion right now

Eventually I'll end up making a post just describing this beautiful river