#same for elros and all of his descendants

[soothingmoonlight]

@dreamingthroughthenoise

Elves have an alphabet song to teach their kids Tengwar. It’s Maglor who composed it when he saw one of his little brothers struggle with learning and it spread first amongst the Finwëans and then to all of the Noldor bc that song is the worst earworm in existence.

[sunnyshinesunshine]

Instead of Elrond looking like some vague Finwëan-Sindar combo

Elrond looks a little different to everyone that sees him

His face doesn’t change. He is still very much Elrond Peredhel, but his features will always remind whoever sees him of some form of a regret.

He supposes it is a combination of being a healer and the descendent of Maia but he tries not to dwell too hard on it.

(It is very uncomfortable to be the image of the deepest wounds of another’s heart)

Nonetheless, it is difficult to heal one’s own soul without facing the reasons for its damage.

Elros Tar-Minyatur was the only one to ever look at Elrond and see only Elrond.

If this was because his blood matched Elrond’s, or because Elrond was Elros’ deepest regret, Elrond doesn’t particularly want to know

Maedhros, utterly predictably, saw Fingon, and in doing so, found both comfort and misery.

Occasionally he would see in Elrond the ghosts of all his brothers, and he would again face the knowledge that he was not able to save them from their doom and the dark void.

Maglor sees Maedhros, and feels regret, not for the violence or the death, but for days in far off Valinor, under the light of the Trees. Days of running off with friends, to sing, to compose, to preform for adoring fans, to do anything but stay at home and help Maitimo take care of their small army of younger siblings.

(Maybe then the title of eldest brother would weigh less heavy on Mae’s shoulders. Maybe then the responsibility of care for them all would not have driven him so far, and to such a bitter end.)

If Glorfindel is to be asked, he’d tell you Elrond appears to him as the spitting image of Turgon

If you are Erestor, you know Glorfindel mostly sees Maeglin, Maeglin young and quiet, Maeglin older and scared, but sometimes also Aredhel, defiant and ready to disappear into the woods without a sound

Elwing once looked upon her son and saw naught but the visage of her little brothers

Galadriel sees Finrod, as does Celebrimbor, for very different reasons, but mostly because they share the same kind of kindness, and there is little that marks a person better than that

In quieter moments Galadriel will glimpse what her husband sees, Lúthien, as she was after Beren died, solemn, trapped, and entombed in misery.

During Bilbo’s final years, he can’t quite remember what he first thought upon looking on Elrond’s face (he’s sure it’s written down somewhere) but in those last days, he sometimes sees Frodo, wary and so very afraid. But mostly Elrond resembles Thorin and that is something Bilbo shall never set to paper

(Someday, in a time far beyond the counting of years, Fëanor will find himself staring at the face of his grandchild and seeing the eyes of Míriel Þerindë above the features Indis and will have a very small, very quiet meltdown.

[thesummerestsolstice]

Whenever Numenor experienced a plague or outbreak, Elrond came, without fail, to treat the sick and offer the people of the island comfort. He did it for many reasons– to honor the legacy of Elros and his descendants, because he sometimes considered the Numenorians more his people than either elves or men, because he was a healer who believed deeply that all life had value.

Of course, treating mortal plagues is a hazardous business– especially for a part-human medic who is just as susceptible to the disease as his patients.

Elrond, never one to be dissuaded from trying to save lives, tries to find a way to protect himself from the infection while being able to treat his patients. No one in Middle-Earth knows exactly how mortal diseases spread, but it's clear that it spreads from the healthy to the ill– through bad air, coughing, infected blood, or some other means. So, Elrond has to find a way to not make contact with or breathe the same air as his patients. While treating them.

Eventually, he settles on a set of robes that leaves no inch of his skin uncovered, along with heavy, opaque veils and a mask of his own design for his face. The mask– full of athelas flowers to purify the air– is fashioned in the shape of a bird as an homage to Melian, who was said to have healing powers. He made the main piece mask with his own hands, carved it from dragon bone– sturdy, and thought to have protective powers against against diseases and curses. The eyes are made of dark tinted glass that glows faintly– a gift from Celebrimbor.

In all fairness, Elrond did not realize how creepy the bone white mask and fully-black outfit was, especially given his general aura of strangeness ad birdlike mannerisms. He had bigger concerns at the time. That said, his outfit, which kept him from getting sick even during the worst of the outbreak, was soon adopted by many of the Numenorian healers. Over time, the story of the plague doctor shifted became part of Numenor's legend– that healers dressed in such strange outfits to frighten disease away. In that way, the odd, birdlike appearance of the plague doctors soon became a comfort to the Numenorians, rather than a fright.

As gifts for helping with various outbreaks over the years, Elrond also got several plague doctor masks that were decorated, more for style than for purpose. He wears them at fancy elvish events sometimes, just to mess with everyone. And whenever he heads off to Numenor, he always makes sure to bring his full plague-doctor regalia, just so the people there will know he's always there to protect them from any lurking plagues.

[overthinkinglotr]

I was watching LOTR with friends the other day and someone pointed out that a major reason film!Elrond is upset about Arwen being in love with Aragorn is because of Elrond's own broken relationship with Isildur.

In the films Isildur and Elrond are kind of set up as....a broken failed parallel to Aragorn and Arwen?

Arwen reassures Aragorn that "he is Isildur's heir, not Isildur himself," and "is not bound to his fate"-- but Elrond disagrees, confident that Aragorn will be just like Isildur.

Film!Elrond is so certain that trusting in mankind is a mistake that will only lead Arwen to misery because he once trusted in mankind, and the man he trusted ended up failing him. His ally from the line of Elendil ended up falling to the power of the Ring and dying; he believes Aragorn may do the same thing. He doesn't just want to save Arwen's life and keep his daughter by his side; he wants to prevent Arwen from experiencing the same betrayal/heartbreak he experienced. Film!Elrond is very stoic and unsentimental, but there are all these hints at Elrond and Isildur's past relationship throughout the series. Everyone likes to make the joke "why didn't Elrond just toss Isildur into the fire?" but to me the answer is, partially, because he cared about Isildur. They were allies who fought side-by-side. After describing what happened in Mount Doom all those years ago, Elrond tells Gandalf that "It should've ended that day, but evil was allowed to endure." And I think it's interesting that he goes into passive voice for a moment, instead of saying that Isildur specifically allowed to evil to endure--because he's also blaming himself for allowing evil to endure, blaming his own failure to be harsh with Isildur and take the Ring from him by force. He's regretting that he was merciful and didn't "just toss Isildur into the fire."

His complicated emotions about Isildur also appear again in the Two Towers. After insisting that Arwen needs to give up Aragorn as a lost cause and travel into the West, Elrond has a conversation with Galadriel where she guilt-trips him for abandoning Middle Earth/mankind. When she asks him "do we let them stand alone?" Elrond walks into the study, and spends a long moment looking at his mural of Isildur.

He then, in the film's canon, agrees to send military support to one of Isildur's descendants."I don't care about Isildur anymore, men are weak," Elrond says, standing in front of his elaborate mural of Isildur and his shrine dedicated to Isildur's sword.

And yes this is all, again, a drastic departure from his characterization in the book-- most of the Aragorn-Arwen-Elrond stuff in the films is a drastic departure from the book. The films radically alter their dynamics, including eliminating stuff like Elrond being Aragorn's adopted father and all the "their bloodlines are related" stuff and etc etc etc etc etc. But honestly, now that I see it, this interpretation makes the film!Elrond-Arwen dynamic engaging in a way I hadn't recognized before? In some ways it puts Isildur into the role that Elrond's mortal brother Elros played for him in the books, because Elros is cut from the films entirely. Isildur is the reason film!Elrond knows what it's like to have some kind of close relationship with a mortal and then watch them die. When Elrond angrily speaks about the folly of trusting men, or insists to Arwen that Aragorn "is not coming back" so she should just get over him, he's speaking from experience--he's projecting his own weird failed broken betrayal-ridden Thing with Isildur onto Arwen and Aragorn. And in this context, his hopeless monologue about how Arwen will regret staying by Aragorn's side also feels like it's partially from his own experience. "If Sauron is defeated, and Aragorn is made king, and all that you hope for comes true, you will still have to taste the bitterness of mortality." When he fought three thousand years ago Sauron was defeated, and Isildur did become King, and yet... TL;DR : Film!Elrond had a nasty kind-of breakup with a mortal man 3000 years ago and instead of dealing with it he decided "Men Are trash Weak" and began projecting all of his drama onto Arwen

[melorambles]

losing my mind that Elrond hasn't gotten to interact with his brother's descendants. Losing my mind even more that an elf went to Numenor and it wasn't him. You're telling me the island nation of people who are extremely long-lived (for Men) don't have lore, and statues, and paintings of their first king, Elros Tar-Minyatur? Famously the half-elven twin who chose mortality??? And they don't have feelings about his brother, Elrond? And none of that gets mentioned.

(I get this is partially a rights thing, but if they wanted to have Elrond and Numenor in the same setting they should have made arrangements to do it properly.)

You can't tell me the elf who goes on to be the greatest healer on middle earth didn't stick around for the birth of his brother's children. That he didn't visit for years or decades at a time, especially in the older days when they lived for multiple centuries. (Especially if he was trying to avoid getting placed in an important position in Gil-Galad's court. Sorry, can't be the heir I'm too busy. it's my great-nephew's half birthday, see you in a decade!)

We could have had Elrond, ageless young Elrond, walking past statues of himself and his brother. Looking like one of those statues just got up and took a stroll. The Numenorians reacting! How do you even address him? Is he your uncle? He looks younger than your own son, but he was here when they build the kingdom. Is he the Herald of a foreign king? And sure, they don't particularly want elvish influence but he's basically your uncle, are you planning on saying he can't visit?? Is he the brother of your first king? What the hell kind of political descriptor does Numenor have for Elrond. Elros had to have prepared for that! He knew Numenor would outlive him. He would have prepared his line for his brother's company (and probably for the eventual family of his brother). For all that Elros made the choice that was right for him, he didn't wish Elrond any grief.

We could have had parallels!!! Elrond calls Durin brother and happily plays uncle/playmate to Durin's children! And we don't even get a flashback that this might not have been his first time doing so???? We don't even get significant eye-contact or a reaction from Isildur/Elendil to a namedrop of their famous many-greats-uncle.

(Though, if they used this backstory, Elrond would be the last elf in existence to forget how fleeting a mortal life can be. Dude is pretty famously sad about the whole thing, many times over. And they got over it in the show fast enough that they could have used something else.)

[anghraine]

I was talking to my students and then some family members about how the death of Elizabeth I and succession of James was necessarily an occasion of upheaval, even when it wasn't necessarily violent or flirting with treason or whatever. For one, the death of a monarch that will lead to a new dynasty (even a related one!) is not quite the same as a familiar figure inheriting the country's rule from their parent or grandparent. It's usually a bigger change, with dynamics of loyalties and affiliations shifting around—that's part of the reason Elizabeth delayed acknowledging James as her heir.

Typically, you'd see courtiers etc deserting a dying monarch in order to signal their loyalty to the new monarch, even if the old one wasn't actually dead yet. Elizabeth's reluctance to share royal power was fundamental to her reign and her public image, so it's not at all surprising that she would be loath to encourage that kind of desertion in any particular direction.

Of course, another thing that complicates the Elizabeth -> James succession is that she had reigned for a long time (44 years iirc). By the time she was dying, a good number of English people had few personal memories of life under any other monarch, and those who did would remember the abrupt and unstable reigns of her predecessors, Edward and Mary. So James's accession came with uncertainty about what exactly it would entail, and a lot of late Elizabethan/early Jacobean drama in English is very concerned with questions of what obligations the governed owe to their monarchs (obedience? loyalty? are those always the same thing?), but also what obligations monarchs themselves have to their people.

This seemed especially pertinent to Lear, in which multiple characters defy capricious orders from a monarch or other authority out of loyalty: Kent challenges Lear and is banished, so skulks around in disguise to continue serving him, Edgar also skulks around in disguise after Gloucester renounces him and ends up offering what comfort he can to his father, and Cordelia returns to Britain with the French army in her ultimately futile attempt to help Lear. Meanwhile, Lear loses everything, is driven to take shelter in a peasant hovel, and starts to contemplate how his own failures as a king resulted in, well, peasant hovels.

Anyway, now I'm thinking about what a wild figure Elros must have been as, specifically, a monarch to the Númenóreans. He lived for five hundred years. Even his own children (also half-Elves! sort of!) and other descendants who benefited from his lifespan didn't live as long, and most Númenóreans during his earlier reign wouldn't have come near to it. Undoubtedly there were Elves who had known Elros in the First Age who were baffled at him choosing mortality and DEATH, and meanwhile on Númenor, there are all these people living out their extended lifespans under the reign of a half-Elf king who was ruling their people at their birth and would still be ruling after they died of old age. We know Elros retained his half-Elvish characteristics as well, so they've got this visibly Elvish, barely-aging, eternal king who looks like Lúthien as part of the fabric of life for centuries.

Yes, he's literally the first king—but for a lot of earlier Númenóreans, he's also the only king they will ever know. It takes him an incredibly long time to weary of the world as other mortals do. By the time Elros finally gets weary of Arda, and willingly lays down his life and passes to the unknown fate of mortals, Tar-Amandil is stepping into some very big shoes.

[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.

[riding-with-the-wild-hunt]

"But to Elros, who chose to be a king of Men, still a great span of years was allotted, many times that of the Men of Middle-earth; and all his line, the kings and lords of the royal house, had long life even according to the measure of the Númenóreans. But Elros lived five hundred years, and ruled the Númenóreans four hundred years and ten." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, "Akallabêth"

@halfelvenweek day 3 ⇢ heritage + númenoreans || THE LINE OF ELROS

[ID: four graphics in shades of brown and desaturated dark blue.

1: A large image of Cherokee Jack framed by a brown rectangle covers the left side of the graphic. He is an aniyunwiya model with light brown skin and long, straight, dark brown hair. He is shown in profile, facing left and looking slightly down. The right side of the graphic shows a diamond-shaped image of ocean surf and rocks, divided into four sections and framed in brown. Below that, white serif text reads "Elros, later called Tar-Minyatur, was the first and founding king of Númenor. Born of Elwing of the line of Lúthien and Eärendil the Blessed, he chose to be numbered among the Edain and led his people to the hallowed island of Elenna. Elros was long-lived, as were all of his House, and he ruled for many years in great splendour and wisdom. He was exceedingly devoted to his spouse Saelhenien and their children, as well as to his brother Elrond."

2: Same format as Image 1, but the sides are switched. The large image shows indian model Shonali Singh. She has brown skin and black hair tied back in a bun, and is looking to the side. The small image shows birds flying over the ocean, and the text below it reads "Saelhenien, a descendant of Bëor, was gentle and wise, though firm of will. As queen of Númenor, she took the name Tar-Maiwendë, but though Saelhenien occupied her role with grace, she knew herself to be at heart a man. Elros her husband encouraged Saelhenien to live as his true self, but Saelhenien feared civil unrest, and remained Tar-Maiwendë for the sake of practicality. To honor this sacrifice, Elros gave his spouse a new name in secret: Meldaro, he who is beloved."

3: The whole graphic is framed in brown, and contains two smaller rectangular images each with their own frame. The image on the right side shows Reef Titcomb, a young man with brown skin and dark curly hair, facing to the side with his eyes closed and head lifted. White text below the image reads "Vardamir Nólimon was the eldest child of Elros and Saelhenien, and first heir to the throne of Númenor. He preferred scholarship to politics, however, and largely deferred to his sister Tindómiel in matters of state." The second image shows Logan Alcosiba, a native hawaiian/filipino/mixed european model with freckled brown skin and straight dark hair. She is looking at the viewer intently, turned slightly to one side. Text below the image reads "While still young Tindómiel declared her affinity as a woman, to the great joy of her parents, especially Saelhenien. She proved an adept and clever diplomat, and helped to construct the earliest Númenorean courts of law." Between the two pictures is a small drawing of a white crown.

4: Same format as Image 3, but this time the first image shows Josh Armstrong, a young man with brown skin and dark brown curly hair tied back in a bun. He is wearing a white shirt and looking at the viewer with a thoughtful expression. Text below the image reads "Manwendil inherited Elros’s curiosity and Saelhenien’s gentle spirit. He was greatly pious and while still a youth dedicated himself to the service of Manwë; it was said that he learned to speak with birds, even as the Lord of Air." The second picture shows Mase Somanlall, a guyanese/canadian model with brown skin and wavy dark hair. He is leaning back with his arms folded behind his head, looking up at the viewer. Text reads "Atanalcar was the youngest child of Elros and Saelhenien, greatly beloved by his family and his people alike He was charming and had exceeding skill in the sporting arts, though he was most known as a runner and javelin-thrower." //End ID]

[cycas]

Numenor and Quenya

Elros was, presumably, captain of the Edain during the War of Wrath.

That's when the Edain took revenge for all their fallen leaders, and their efforts during the War of Wrath were the reason for the Valar giving them their own special island and extended lives.

By the end of the War of Wrath, Elros (and Elrond) were 53: considerably older than their parents were when they were ruling the Havens. Definitely not children. It's difficult to see how Elros could have become leader of the Edain if he had sat the war out, and since we know Elrond was there to see Thangorodrim broken (he mentions it in LOTR) there's no reason to suppose Elrond and Elros were not there leading Men in the War of Wrath as soon as they were old enough. So regardless of how Elros felt about Maedhros and Maglor (I like him to be fond of them myself), Elros probably decided on Quenya as his Royal Language because he'd spent the last 20-30 years fighting side by side with Finarfin and his Noldor host, who came to fight the War of Wrath, then spent years after that settled beside them after the war while everyone was building ships to go West: whether that was to a new home, or an old one.

Early Numenor, Elros-era Numenor, was regularly visited by Elves bringing gifts from Valinor.

Some of them might be Teleri, or members of the Vanyar host that also fought in the war visiting old friends and their families. But the Teleri have nothing against Quenya. They provided the fleet to take Finarfin's Noldor and Ingwion's Vanyar to the war. But Elros is not only the heir to Doriath, he's also Idril's grandson. Turgon's particular friend was Finrod Felagund, and even if you don't think Finrod was re-born in time to visit the heir of Beren, you can see that Finrod's parents would have a great interest in Turgon's descendants. So many children of their family have been lost! Turgon was their eldest son's best friend, born in the same year!

The Noldor of Aman were never banned from speaking Quenya, never switched to Sindarin. Quenya is a living language, in Valinor. So I think the use of Quenya in Numenor is a remnant of that early time when Numenor felt culturally more part of Valinor than it did Middle-earth.

[sillylotrpolls]

(Notes on names and translations below poll. Click the read-more link to see, for example, why "star", "noble", and "silver" were used in options.)

I can't be the only person who thinks "Elf-man" is a terrible name, right? Like, I get it Elrond, your family tree is a giant mess and you're like half elf, three-eighths man, and one-eighth demigod, and everyone you know love naming their kids with the same first letters as their own name (thanks for that, Tolkien, I just love trying to keep all those Fi- names in the Silm straight), but maybe you could have broken with tradition and given your boys slightly nicer names? It's not like it's Latin, either, where most people have forgotten what the words actually mean; this is your everyday language here.

At least Elrond and Celebrían wised up by the time Arwen came along, though "Noble Maiden" still isn't very creative. I think Elves just might have something to learn from Mormons in this case.

Pictured: definitely not Jolkien Rolkien Rolkien Tolkien.

Anyway, translations for Elrond's family's names and where I got the names for the poll choices after the cut:

Elladan and Elrohir (Elrond's twin sons)

The name Elladan is Sindarin for "Elf-Man" or "Elf-Dúnadan," referring to his dual descent from both Elves and Edain (a name given to those descending from the three houses of Men from Beleriand).[15] It comes from the words el ("elf or star") and adan, singular of Edain.[16] On the other hand, Elrohir means "Elf-knight", but rochir also means "horse-lord".

Elrond (Elrond)

Elrond is a Sindarin name that means "Star-dome" or "Elf of the cave", from el ("Elf" or "star", interchangeably) and rond ("cave, vault").[17][18][19]

Celebrían (Elrond's wife)

The name Celebrían means "Silver queen"[6], from the Sindarin words celeb ("silver") and rían ("queen").[7]

Arwen (Elrond's daughter)

The name Arwen means "Noble maiden", from Sindarin ar(a) ("royal, noble") and wen ("maiden"). Her epessë Undómiel means "Evenstar", from the Quenya Undómë ("evening twilight") and el ("star").

Elros (Elrond's twin brother who chose to be mortal and founded Middle-earth Atlantis and was, for the record, much better at naming children than his brother)

Elros was a Sindarin word that meant "Elf of the spray", from el ("elf" or "star", interchangeably) and ross ("foam, spray").[8][9] The name came from the Quenya word Elerossë.[10]

And while we're all here, epessë:

The epessë or the "after-name" is the third type. The after-name is given later in life, but not necessarily by their kin, as a title of admiration. In some circumstances, the epessë is chosen by the Elf himself or herself. An Elf could be referred to by any of the three, but the epessë typically took preference.

Galadriel is the Sindarin translation of Alatáriel, the latter being the Telerin epessë originally given to her by Celeborn. Galadriel means "Maiden Crowned by a Radiant Garland". The name itself is an epessë: her father-name is Artanis (noble woman) and her mother-name is Nerwen (man-maiden).

The poll choices were created using this Lord of the Rings Elf name generator. I tried to make sure I picked the Sindarin options, in keeping with Elrond's family's clear preference. I primarily used the "meaning" option, but you could also specify "starts with 'el'", "male", and "Sindarin elvish names" to turn up a list of names like Elunaer ("Light blue bridegroom") or Elanorchanar ("Star sun flower brother").

Although the generator has obvious limitations due to the nature of Tolkien's conlangs, it's a lot of fun to play with. Just be careful or you'll next find yourself on the Parf Edhellen (Elvish dictionary) and from there it's just a hop skip and a jump until you're in a discord chat trying to figure out how to properly conjugate "knitting" or something.

Finally, just because I have always loved this paragraph, a quote from Bigger Things by Blossomwitch on Ao3:

Most people had trouble telling the twin sons of Lord Elrond apart. Gimli did not share this problem. True, they were very similar physically, but to Gimli the difference was plain. The one hanging all over Legolas like the Mirkwood Prince somehow belonged to him was Elladan; the one with enough sense to keep his paws off other people's elves was Elrohir. Simple enough.

[tethysresort]

Romantic, quirks/hobbies, and childhood for Elrond?

Yay for Elrond! 

♡ - romantic headcanon - Elrond is a romantic at heart.  He could care less about lineage and heirs.  He wants love and passion (and the sort of relationship that he watches develop between Erestor and Glorfindel).  I headcanon that Elrond watches Elros fall in love fast and hard, and waits for it to happen to him.  It does not.  He has a few minor flings with Men and elves of both genders, but slowly stops as he gets older.  Especially when the various Houses of Lindon and surrounding kingdoms are happily throwing random potential mates at him.  They are just irritating, and he isn’t in the slightest attracted to any of them and has less and less in common with any of them. 

That ends, of course, when Celebrían and Galadriel ride into Fort Imladris during the Siege, carrying bales of healing herbs and crop seeds and the latest intelligence.  He is already interested by that.  And then they start talking and discover that they have a LOT of stuff to talk about in common.  Galadriel and Celeborn think its hysterical and adorable.  It just takes them a LONG time to get together after that. 

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon - I have written Elrond with having some very specific hobbies!  During the Wrath, concerned that Elros and Elrond were becoming too narrowly focused on the war and spending too much of themselves in healing and fighting (and only that), Gil-galad ordered the two of them to find and cultivate a hobby apiece.  Elros shrugged and learned gardening and planting, even as Beleriand was falling.  Elrond looked at it as a challenge to see what he could get away with and announced that he was making scented things: lotions, soaps, perfumes.  He figured he could just make healing salves and it would count.  Instead he ended up making tailored scented soaps and hand creams for each of his friends, including Gil-galad.  (And Celebrían eventually.)  Gil-galad used his specially scented soap for all the years of the Second Age: either made by Elrond or by his House by Elrond’s recipe.  Elrond never made it again after the Last Alliance, but one of Gil-galad’s first requests of Elrond in Valinor was to make that scent of soap.

Elrond has a lot of tiny quirks.  Some are easily attributed to being raised in Beleriand (never take the same route twice in a row going someplace in the town, always sit where he can see the room).  Some his House speculates are Mannish things or maybe Maiar things.  (In the case of “taste buds can’t handle even slightly spicy” Glorfindel laughs when he hears the discussion because it is a Tuor-Earendil-Elrond thing.  Glorfindel suspects the “hair grows back magically and literally overnight to a length that suits Elrond” is a Maia thing, because he’s never seen a Man or elf do THAT.  It took a few hundred years for Elrond to develop that trait so Erestor isn’t certain if Elros could have done that eventually.  He watches Elros’ descendants but none of them seem to have that quirk either.) 

▼ - childhood headcanon - I modeled Sirion after Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the other coastal marine reserves along the southern and central California coast.  The town was in a delta with braided streams.  The bluffs with thin crescents of beach are pure Monterey.  The marshes at the edges of town are salt marshes that make up part of the delta. 

Elwing used to take Elros and Elwing up to the tallest of the bluffs within easy walk of Sirion.  Up there on the headland, they would eat a picnic lunch and Elwing would try and ignore the demands of being queen for a while.  They could see Balar on the horizon, and always watched for Earendil’s ship from up there.  In my head canon, this is where she jumps from.  And on the beach to one side of the rocks and water are a group of survivors of the massacre that watch her fall and then fly away.  (Leading to Galdor trying to explain that one to Gil-galad later.) 

Do you want to play too? Here is the original post: https://www.tumblr.com/tethysresort/753952903606239232/headcanon-meme?source=share

[echo-bleu]

How about number 54 for Gil-Galad?

Thank you! This took me a while, but here you go!

54. The moment when reality starts to make sense again

Also on AO3

“Your Highness.”

Gil-galad frowns at the unexpected voice. It shouldn’t be unexpected. It’s dark still – no, his eyes are closed, but the first light of dawn is coming through the window. His eyelids stick together for a moment, and he almost regrets the effort to open them when it gives way to the sting of dreadful dryness in his eyes.

He reaches up to them, but his arms are around something – someone. Right, Elrond. Gil-galad can feel his regular, slightly raspy breathing against his chest. He’s sleeping in the way of Men, Gil-galad thinks. He was exhausted.

He cried himself into unconsciousness.

The deep unease, the anchorless grief come back to him in increment as he remembers. The last few days are a blur in his memory. All he can see in his mind’s eyes are the waves. The great storm, grey moonless night in the middle of the day, and the waves.

He needs to get up. He needs to see his counsellors, have people inspect the damage and look for survivors. He needs to know how much of his land these waves took away. He lost an entire country once, strip by strip, until it was all gone. He can’t bear to see Lindon be destroyed the same way.

And they don’t even know why.

“Your Highness?”

There is not a shred of doubt that the event was not natural. The waves reached three times the height of the harbour buildings. The harbours are gone. Most of the coast, too, probably. His beautiful city of Mithlond, halved overnight.

Ëonwë came to them late in the evening of the second day. Númenor is gone, he said. Eru Illuvátar himself broke the world and remade it. They all felt a great change, a sundering in their heart from their Western kin. Gil-galad will reckon with that part later – he can’t begin to encompass that just yet.

Númenor is gone. Númenor, the Isle of Gift, and all of her people. He thought Elrond was going to burst into flame – he’s never seen him so angry. Full of rage and of mourning for his kin, a whole island of them, forever gone under the waves. Gil-galad, whose sole remaining kin on Middle-Earth is Elrond, Galadriel and her young daughter, whose lost family will one day be reborn in Aman, cannot fathom the grief. He remembers Elros fondly, as a young kinsman and a fellow king – this is Elros’s entire descendance, whose names Elrond faithfully keeps in his books, gone in a flash.

“Your Highness.” The voice is louder. “I’m sorry to wake you, but you asked to be informed immediately if we had news. Númenorean ships has been spotted coming from the west.”

Ships?

Gil-galad deliberately breathes out. He untangles himself from Elrond’s still sleeping form and sits up, pulling his discarded shirt over his head in the same movement.

There are survivors. All of Númenor is not gone.

The world briefly spins as he stands up, and a confused, barely conscious part of him wonders if that’s what it’s like to live on a round world.

Nothing is ever going to be simple again, he thinks.

But then, has anything ever been simple? For Gil-galad, last heir of the Noldor on Middle-Earth, king of a crumbling land, doomed never to make things right? For Elrond, half-elf and half-man, forever sundered from his twin and his kin for choosing to stay? For poor Celebrimbor, pursued by the shadows of a family he rejected and an Oath he didn’t take, fallen at last to the worst of betrayals? For Galadriel, now the very last of the Exiles, forbidden from ever going home?

The world rights itself, and Gil-galad takes the few steps to the door on a round world. He has refugees to welcome and care for. That is something he knows how to do.

With one last look at his sleeping, grieving herald, he walks out, ready to face reality for another day.

[lonesomedreamer]

The Rings of Power Liveblog: “Adar” (Episode 3)

In which the wheels finally come off this cart. (But not because Galadriel rides a horse.)

I just don’t care about Arondir being captured by Orcs.

“Halbrand” is so punchable. Ugh.

These sailors must be Númenóreans, right?

I love how secretive the captain is being…surely Galadriel recognizes the uniforms/insignia, even if the audience doesn’t. Reverse dramatic irony, if you will.

“The island kingdom of Númenor.” Surprising absolutely no one who knows their Tolkien. Still, nice cinematography and design work in this sequence.

this is probably not how I would design Númenor, but it is gorgeous. I said “wow” out loud.

While the design’s a little on-the-nose, I appreciate the obvious visual links between Númenor to Gondor.

“Is that an Elf?” Elves—both canonically and in this series—do not look so different from Men (especially Númenóreans!) that some dockworker would look at Galadriel, with her messy hair and days-old plain white shift, and immediately go, “Oh, must be an ELF!”

Really liking the Mediterranean vibes of the city architecture.

“In time they broke off all contact [with Elves].” Did they? They envied the Elves’ immortality, and eventually, goaded by Sauron, they tried to sail to Valinor and were therefore destroyed…but this seems like a stretch for the sake of Drama.*

I’m sorry, the subtitle said this dude is Elendil??? (Whose name literally means “Elf-friend”, btw.)

Wow, so subtle. No foreshadowing at all.

It’s giving Constantinople.

They’re taking Galadriel to meet the queen and no one thinks to offer her a new dress or even a cloak to wear??

Actually, they might be leaning too hard on the Mediterranean/Byzantine aesthetic…Númenor is an island, sure, but these people don’t look like they inhabit the same universe as the characters we’ve met in Episodes 1 and 2 tbh.

Not Halbrand telling Galadriel, who is more or less an Elven princess and who was born in fucking Valinor, that she should kneel in front of royalty!!!

And of course it turns out that he’s wrong about that, lmfao.

Why are they so instantly antagonistic? The queen’s hostile, Galadriel’s defensive—why??? Frankly: why is everyone in this Middle-earth so overtly racist all the time?

This would be a nice time for a history lesson: tell the audience that Númenórean royals are descended from Elros, Elrond’s brother, which means they’re also descended from Elves (specifically, from Lúthien Tinúviel, his great-grandmother). However, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that they will not bring that up…

Again with an Elf (Galadriel now) being in an unreasonable hurry…three DAYS? That would be literally nothing to her!

I don’t understand the writing/adaptation choices made here. Elendil? Isildur?! They lived almost two thousand years after the titular Rings of Power were forged! @ the screenwriters: pick a LANE. You can tell the story of the forging of the Rings (S.A. 1500-1600) OR the events that led to the Last Alliance of Men and Elves (S.A. 3430), but how can you look at the source material and say “why not both????”

I love a good naval/shipboard sequence, and the shots of the sea are breathtaking. It’s just that all the stuff related to Isildur is wasted screentime.

I can’t believe they’re actually going to acknowledge that “Elendil” means “Elf-friend” as a way to show the queen as a narrow-minded bigot, lol…

She’s written/acted as a Cersei knockoff.

Helping/bringing an Elf to Númenor is treason? Please be serious.

He’s kind of hot, help?

“The sea is always right.” What a dumb catch phrase.

“And that’s how Elendil came to possess Narsil!” Give me a big fucking break. Warriors have swords, and in legends, many swords have names. Not everything needs an origin story!

[record scratch] So this—after the awful exchange between Elendil and the queen and the equally bad Orc torture session with Arondir—was the point when I realized: I need to change the way I approach this show if I want to keep indulging in all the eye-candy. It’s not and cannot be Tolkien, or even a proper adaptation, in any meaningful sense. It’s an especially pretty but still “edgy,” borderline grimdark fantasy show loosely based on Tolkien’s work and set in his universe. Fine. Let’s go.

Galadriel knows parkour!

I want to be mad, but it’s all so pretty.

The way Galadriel has more chemistry with Elendil than with Halbrand, oof.

How big is this island, exactly? I always pictured the Valar having to sink something like…Sicily-sized, not Great Britain/Japan-sized, lol.

Oh, it’s the infamous slow-mo horse ride that pissed off so many people online. What’s the big deal?? It lasted for about ten seconds! Jackson relied on a ridiculous amount of slow motion in the LOTR films, and people have called those “cinematic masterpieces” for decades…

[Redacted] is supposed to be a master manipulator—think a charismatic cult leader type. Halbrand is…well, not that.

Wow, is the guy who just single-handedly murdered and mutilated a bunch of grown men (after he stole from them and was confronted about it) going to turn out to be a villain? Who can say??

“You knew Elros.” By all rights and internal logic, Elros should be the Númenórean featured in Season 1 rather than Elendil. But hey, Elros is mentioned! Cool! I asked for that, after all. (Now tell us who he was and why he matters.)

Shocker: they do not tell us those things.

“I was always closer with his brother.” He’s my son-in-law. Galadriel and the writers: Celeborn whom? (And wasn’t Galadriel righteously pissed at Elrond just a few days ago?)

Yeah, definitely hot.

“By [Morgoth’s] successor.” When I was little, my dad simplified deeper Tolkien history/lore for me by calling Sauron Morgoth’s “son”…it took me years to unlearn that, lmao.

Look, I love the Harfoots and am not ashamed to say it. They’re fun and charming, plus I’m actually invested in Nori and her story arc. I almost fast-forwarded to find out when they would show up! But the whole “anyone who falls behind gets left behind” mentality makes no sense.

“You’re just a child!” Marigold could’ve piped up with that when the entire community was threatening to abandon Nori and her family…

The way Isildur is written to be a slightly whiny, thoroughly twenty-first century teenager is fascinating. Like a car crash.

“There’s nothing for us on our Western shores.” Foreshadowing!

I’m not interested in Elendil’s family drama. And regardless of how lovely she is to look at, I don’t care any more about Galadriel’s massive error in judgment wrt interactions with Halbrand any more than I do about Arondir and the Orcs. This entire Númenor subplot was a mistake!

I was wondering when the Stranger would do something help the Brandyfoots. The actors playing him and Nori do excellent facial work, too. My heart broke a little when he said, “Friend.” Though he’s not Gandalf, not the real Gandalf, he’s still kind of lovable.

And instead of ending on that shot, they throw in some more grimdark Orc content. Skip!

The Good:

The music and visuals are still great. I’m a sucker for seascapes and great architecture. All the little details in the streets and palaces of Númenor were incredibly impressive, and the visual connections between Númenor to Gondor (presumably for the sake of non-readers who might not know) were nice. Many of the costumes were also beautiful. The visuals are where the show’s ultra high-budget reveals itself.

Shout-out to great-great-great-great grandpa Elros!

Elendil’s kind of hot. Galadriel’s gorgeous. We’re already so far from the light of Valinor that Galadriel should ditch “Halbrand” before they even get involved and hook up with Elendil instead.

The actors playing the Harfoots—Nori and Poppy in particular—and the Stranger are killing it! This show should just be about them. They continue doing a lot with very little.

The Bad:

Everything else? Where to begin…

The decline of the writing is noticeable. The dialogue is significantly worse, the foreshadowing is clumsy and obvious, and of course as an adaptation of the source material, this episode threw out both bathwater and baby. Elendil and Isildur are included for the same reason all kinds of IPs now include legacy characters: instant name recognition = (in theory) a dopamine hit for the viewer.

To make this even worse, I think the writers bungled Isildur’s character in hopes of making him “relatable” to appeal to a younger audience, I guess? He’s the Wesley Crusher of TROP.

Elros is mentioned…but the audience learns almost nothing about him, not even that he was the first king!

The entire Númenor arc is, in fact, a waste. The queen is two-dimensional. No explanation is given for the Númenóreans’ dislike/mistrust of Elves. Isildur’s storyline is a coming-of-age/family drama arc this show did not need, never mind that neither he nor Elendil should be alive for another two millennia (!) anyway. Halbrand sucks even more than before without becoming any more interesting. Galadriel doesn’t shine here, either. And despite the impressively detailed sets, even the Númenórean costumes seem visually unrelated the rest of the show’s own universe.

In short, it almost feels like Galadriel was dropped into a different fantasy world for this episode.

I mentioned him, but Halbrand gets his own bullet point again.

Arondir and his gory, violent imprisonment storyline…thanks, I hate it! It’s anti-Tolkien! It’s grimdark! It sucks!!!

The Harfoots’ beliefs and customs are inconsistent and confusing. Nomadic people and hunter/gatherer societies don’t just abandon people who need care! But they’re still the high point of the show imo. Not a compliment to the writers.

It’s almost funny…my opinions on this episode are diametrically opposed to most of the IMDb reviews I read. I like the Harfoot subplot in spite of its problems, I adore Nori, and I don’t hate Galadriel (either the character or the actress—God forbid women do anything) despite the weak writing. I also couldn’t care less about Arondir and found the Orc scenes totally unwatchable for several reasons. Go figure! This show’s not really worth it even for its beauty, but now I’m sort of invested.

*I went back and looked through the Appendices after I finished this episode, and eventually (many years after this show supposedly takes place…) the Númenórean kings, jealous of the Elves’ immortality, did “turn away” from them and even “punished” people who spoke their languages in public—after which the Elves “came no more to Númenor,” understandably. But it’s at least 700 years in the future if this show is set before the Rings were forged! This kind of unnecessary time compression in an epic, multi-season TV series makes no sense to me.

[annoyinglandmagazine]

Elrond and Gil Galad short fic

Gil Galad was stirred from his paperwork by a dagger imbedding itself into his desk. He had already started the ridiculously familiar phrase of ‘Elrond,knives, we’ve talked about this’ when he looked up at Elrond’s face and stopped. He tried to discreetly see the piece of paperwork that had been slammed onto his desk with said knife. Ah. So this was how he died.

‘What,’ Elrond’s voice was calm and pleasant sounding yet still managed to shake with rage, ‘Is this piece of bigoted bile that lies before me, and why may I ask is your seal beside it.’ He should have been expecting this he supposes. He tries to offer an explanation but is intercepted instantly by Elrond’s voice rattling off the contents of the cursed document as if he were talking about the weather. ‘It has been passed into law that for the purpose of diplomacy, any members of Lindon’s diplomatic delegation may be denied participation on any embassy based on possible offence to the customs of the people in question’. ‘That’s only a summary of it there are numerous clauses-’, but he stopped knowing it was fruitless.

‘This is an invitation to put numerous elleths and members of same sex relationships out of the job and you know it,’ he stated as if Gil Galad hadn’t said anything, accompanied by a glare that contained somehow more threat than the fact that Elrond’s hand was still resting on the hilt of the dagger. ‘ Its plausible that you might have thought you could slide it by without raising too much public awareness, you are generally capable of discretion, but the idea that you thought I wouldn’t find out about it is laughable.’ This is perfectly true. He knows that through various back channels and connections in every faction little goes on in the world that Elrond doesn’t find out about. He’d never had this work against him before, it had helped him on numerous matters before and cut down the time needed to explain things, but then he’d never tried to conceal something from him before.

‘And why would you not want me to know? I refuse to believe I could be so poor a judge of character to support a king who held this kind of prejudice so why wouldn’t you let me help you work around it?’ he looked betrayed now and made Gil Galad feel sick to his stomach. He knew how much work had been needed to get any sort of trust from the Peredhel, with good reason considering how most of his relationships with his family had gone. The idea that he could have undone that progress was terrifying. He knew lying would make the situation so much worse and so finally decided the truth was his only hope.

‘There was significant pressure from the Numenoreans on the matter. They threatened to cut of all links and we need them Elrond. We would not have won without them and you’ve told me yourself we’ll need them again.’ Elrond went very still for a moment and when he spoke his voice was slow and dangerous ‘Do you realise, how much worse that makes it’. ‘Elros,’ and there it was the word that had been left unsaid but very much present in so many conversations ‘Has been dead for over a century’. And now this conversation was in the most dangerous territory yet, ‘I am insulted that you think I am too emotionally compromised to offer council on an entire country because my brothers descendants have adopted some messed up ideologies. What did you think I was going to do when I heard hmm? Were you worried I’d fling myself off a cliff? Sail away and never come back?’. ‘You can’t plan to convince me you’ve healed from all of it. I know you better than that.’ ‘Well I thought you did! Don’t you think if I was planning to do any of those things I’d have done them by now? I’ve had a century without Elros and numerous points over my life in much worse positions than I am now and I’m still here aren’t I? I’m not going anywhere anytime soon I’d appreciate not being treated like I’m so delicate I’ll break at any moment.’

‘Your right. I’m sorry, I should never have signed it and I certainly should have concealed it from you. I broke your trust and I understand if you hate me for it.’ he reached out and took his hand looking into his herald’s eyes unflinchingly. The anger had almost evaporated leaving a weariness and pain that had been beneath all the Peredhel’s actions of late. But there was strength as well. So much strength made even more so with the pain. He felt that the eyes were looking into his very soul and seeing all of it more clearly than he himself could. Knowing Elrond he probably was.

But Elrond must have been satisfied by what he saw because he released his hand to straighten his robes and spoke ‘Good. Well I suppose we should get to work than at reversing this thing. May sway in Numenorean politics is clearly not what it used to be but it is not nothing. If we pull on the right connections I think we can devise a strategy to reverse this thing without anyone being the wiser.’

And Gil Galad breathed a sigh of relief. Why he would ever think he could manage this without Elrond he didn’t know. They fell into their old routine and in a few weeks it was as if nothing had happened. He was seriously questioning how his guards hadn’t noticed the dagger though.

[rarepairnation]

For the wip ask game, I kinda have a feeling this is abt faramir, so middle-earth history exam and may i learn more about [indistant screaming noises] elrond and elros and earendil and faramir, pretty please?

HAHA YOU KNOW IT!! yeah i literally just listed all the silly names that i gave each of the major scenes in the faramir goes to rivendell au in the outline document. elrond elros earendil and faramir is here but ok YES so the middle-earth history exam that i assigned myself and promptly proceeded to fail. (@bossuets also asked about this one!!)

this name really doesn't apply anymore because ive figured it all out but its a relic from when i felt so so so evil about the part where faramir arrives in rivendell. because i think a lot about how faramir like has this reverence towards elves and yet kind of doesn't know that much about them - except presumably he's begged stories off of gandalf before so hes got to know Something right? just like...[historian going anywhere] "blorbo from my career was here" is the emotion that i feel like im trying to capture in his head. and while i was working on the scene i got way too in my head and got stressed out about Not Knowing Things. rereading it now to pick a paragraph though i must say its pretty good :3

it seems as he stands there, transfixed, that the valley calls to him. sings in strange, musical voices in languages so old he has only ever seen them written - and after a time he realizes that it is no seeming. he cannot yet see them, but elven voices rise in heralds’ cries, and in turn he lets himself be drawn to heed them. he finds then that his weariness has left him, and sure-footed he goes forth, descending the steep path. he knows it cannot be true, but it feels as if within these sheer cliffs lies a land which the shadow shall never touch. it is a place weighted by thousands more years of history than gondor has ever dreamt of, yet it carries it all so lightly, this bright valley where it is every season of the world at once yet at its heart is always spring, the bloom of new bud and new life. it is no natural thing to behold, and he should quail from it. it should be something too strange and great for his mind to comprehend. yet great strength he knows well; the deep limpid pool of it in mithrandir, the one time the wizard had let him see it, and in his father very much the same. more so, indeed, than either of them would like. and as for strangeness - he has known strangeness in himself all his life. if not for his father he would be the only one quite like him in all gondor, and some days he still feels like it. whatever lies at the heart of imladris is strange indeed, yet he feels as if he knows it already, as close and familiar as any brother. it shall not bring him to harm.

i just. rivendell as a place that feels like a hug is so precious 2 me. and we're coming directly off faramir having The Worst Journey Of All Time so he is just sinking into it all like its a feather mattress. and he deserves it!!!

there's also a part in there a couple scenes down where he sees the feanorian star in the iconography and is like. HEY. ?????. its so self indulgent but there was a fun numenor parallel in there that im proud of. heres two sentences for your enjoyment.

an age ago the banner of the high king and the star of the noldor marched to war together, and fell together too. perhaps the seven stars upon his breast and the eight-pointed one before him are of the same make. a memory of a legend long past, too dearly held to discard.

ALSO I KNOW u got a repeat so if u feel like sending another u know im always down to talk about the au lol

[muse-write]

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☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

There are so many fic concepts in my notes, it’s almost overwhelming. I may be able to find ways of incorporating elements of them into larger stories somehow, hopefully, but I’ll list out a few ideas here.

First: back when I was really into the Scarlet Pimpernel and Georgette Heyer, I came up with the seemingly brilliant idea of: Feanorian family drama but as a Georgian-era comedy of manners. I wrote a few scenes for fun but it wasn’t something I was seriously working on and I can’t see myself actually writing multiple chapters of it, so I’ll post some bullet points from the brainstorming:

Sons of an English Duke, Feanor and Fingolfin get into a duel at a party, enmity sparked by the machinations of Morgoth; afterward, Feanor and his sons retreat to France for years afterward.

Elrond and Elros were actually going to be refugees of the French Revolution—I couldn’t quite figure out how to include the oath or kinslayings

Morgoth haunts the narrative, inticing Maedhros into returning to England and getting involved in yet another duel, in which he’s disfigured. His estranged cousin Fingon takes him in and looks after him as he heals.

It was fun, if not very well thought through!

Another really fun AU that I kind of want to return to one day is my Gothic Romance/Rebecca-inspired Nerdanel and Feanor retelling. Set in the early 1900s, Nerdanel marries the haunted genius inventor Feanor, but upon moving to his lonely mansion, learns that his house really is haunted by the ghosts of his mother and Morgoth, whose role (a demon? A ghost? A former enemy?) was never quite decided. Nerdanel teams up with Feanor’s brothers, who work as paranormal investigators, to find a way of saving her husband as he descends further into hubris and insanity.

Nerdanel’s story would be paralleled with Indis’, who decades earlier came to live in the same house with her widowed husband, Finwe—whose late wife she could swear she hears laughing in the hallways and in empty rooms—and his glowering, brilliant child, who hates the very sight of his new stepmother.

I had only vague plans for this one; really all of my ideas were more about atmosphere and the vibes and inspos (Rebecca, Crimson Peak, etc.). It’s still something I can see potential in if I could ever figure out the themes.

Thank you for asking! This was so much fun!