#the valar are mysterious and weird

[eri-pl]

Another of the "I apologize to a fictional character for calling them or their actions 'stupid'" posts.

So, what I said the Valar (esp Manwë) were very wrong about not telling the Elves that Men will be a thing… I still think ot would be way better if the Elves knew earlier and not from Melkor (this seems obvious), but I don't think the Valar really made a choice here.

It's hard to explain, because obviously I can't imagine how the Valar think and I have more of a direction than a detailed concept here… but you know how it is when a child asks you things like "Why is it a 'big, red dog' and not a 'red big dog'?" and you're like "?!?…it just is?".

Often we know things without knowing that we know them.

I think this might have been the case with Men—it never occured to the Valar that it's something that needs mentioning, and the Elves never asked enough questions, because idk, it happens. Until they started talking with Melkor and he realized thay don't know and weaponized this.

Melkor is more verbal, more analytical, more "breaking things down to understand them" (or just to break them down tbh but that's a tangent). He would, paradoxically, be better at explaining them to Elves. Or maybe not paradoxically. This may have been a part of his intended job, if he didn't, you know, decide to be evil :f

I imagine that much of how the Valar understand the world and all is like a 6yo understands the grammar of their native language. It's not verbal, not fully conscious in a way. They do not have this innate understanding for things like "how Eruhini work", because this is a new thing. But for the fact that there are Men and Elves and the way they're different… I think that (for the part they do understand) it's this kind of knowledge.

So my apologies to Manwë and everyone involved (no, not you Melkor).

I failed to tell my child that you generally only say "good morning/good evening" once to a person on a given day (ok it's more complicated but, like, you don't say it everytime you see them? At least in Poland?) until said child was, like 10. (Plus a lot of similar stuff) I think not telling the Elves about Men is not something I should criticize.

*sigh* I am better with explaining the Silm than with explaining manners, and I am quite bad at explaining the Silm.

[thesummerestsolstice]

Celebrimbor: Oh, so the Valar sent Glorfindel back??

Elrond, who accidentally necromancied him back to life: Uhhhhh,,

Glorfindel, now slightly eldritch, very excited to be alive again: They sure did!

Celebrimbor: Weird, why wouldn't they send him back with the Istar?

Gandalf, who thinks this is incredibly funny: The will of the Valar works in mysterious ways, Lord Celebrimbor. I'm sure the reasoning behind their choices will become clear in time.

[cilil]

Nerdanel's origin

Finally getting around to talk about one of my favorite recent headcanons (I have @thecoolblackwaves to thank for motivating me), yet another one that started out as crack and then I fell in love with it.

Tldr: Nerdanel's mysterious absent mother is none other than Aulë.

Here's the idea. We know that Aulë was not only very excited about the arrival of Ilúvatar's Children (a detail about him that was already present in Lost Tales and is very cute), but also wanted children of his own, so much so that he went behind Eru's and Yavanna's backs to create his Dwarves. In the end he got to keep them too, but he had to "put them away" to awaken later and they also live in Middle-earth and not with him (at least not in life).

So when Mahtan and Aulë grew close and started to hang out a lot, they probably got drunk one night and Mahtan confided in Aulë, saying that he'd love to have a child, to which Aulë is like "me too, bestie" and they decide to just have one together. Between Aulë's Ainurin shapeshifting and his apparent ability to just construct fully biologically functional bodies in his backyard, they did just fine and baby Nerdanel was born (I have the cutest mental image of a little girl sitting on the broad shoulders of her big strong forge dads).

Now Aulë and Mahtan decided to keep this a secret, probably because some sort of Valar rules may or may not have been bent a little in the process. What Yavanna would think of this depends on how everyone's own headcanons regarding Ainurin marriages, but it may be a bit embarrassing for her that her husband keeps procreating with either himself or other people who are not her. Also they don't want little Nerdanel to grow up being regarded as a weird cryptid.

So Mahtan proceeded to raise Nerdanel, acting like he totally had a thing with some woman somewhere, and Aulë supported them to the best of his ability, which mostly means teaching them cool stuff.

Nerdanel grew up looking like a normal Elf (huge relief for poor Mahtan), the main indicator of her Valarin heritage being that she's quite strong (she definitely picked up Fëanor and threw him over her shoulder constantly), carrying her statues around on her own without breaking a sweat. Aulë and Mahtan taught her the basics of smith-craft, but since sculpting is her passion, she switched to that and Aulë showed her some cool tricks with that instead.

Inevitably, Nerdanel started asking questions and one day found out the truth about her "mother". She then made Aulë and Mahtan promise that they'd all keep it secret because she wanted to be known and liked for being Nerdanel, not for being some experiment of Aulë's. They agreed and have kept their word. She also never told Fëanor, at first because she didn't want him to become interested in her only for her connection to Aulë and in the years after because she didn't want to damage their relationship. Fëanor remains unaware to this day, though is still impressed by his wife's strength, particularly when it came to doing what she does on top of carrying his sons.

So yeah, that's the idea. Nerdanel also shares some of her core traits with Aulë, such as being free of mind, thirsty for knowledge and strong-willed, but also patient. You could even see parallels between her relationship with Fëanor and Aulë's relationship with Yavanna, as Fëanor and Yavanna both have quite a temper and need a spouse who can take that.

[edennill]

RoP S2E3 reactions:

It's technically not their fault but Berek means "tag (the game)" in Polish which is a bit funny...

DON'T GO IN THERE! Why are you going in there? I thought horses were supposed to be easily-scared

Ah, it's Isildur. Glad they didn't drag out this pointless mystery any longer.

I'm not even scared of (normal-sized) spiders, but Eeesh

It irks me that it's not my slightly creepy interpretation of Númenórean burial customs, but I'm semi-interested in the funeral proceedings. They cut them too short though.

Unfortunately the stupid blindness plot development is now back. If they wanted diversity points they should have made her disabled since childhood, and it would actually be interesting rather than melodramatic.

I keep wanting to remind these people Pharazon is the same age as Muriel (I mean I guess it might be weird Númenórean aging, but I feel it's misrepresenting things and I don't like it because their messed-up relationship fascinates me)

Huh, I wonder whether he'll trick her with the colours.

Númenóreans cannot choose a king at will!

They brought up stone giants; I hope they won't again. I know they're mentioned in the Hobbit (Bilbo's elaboration imo) but uhh, the movies made a poor use of them and I doubt this would make a better one.

Celebrimor's Celpatine's actor is a really kindly-looking aging man! He just doesn't fit the character at all. Wish they'd found a better place for him.

He actually reminds me of Bilbo...

Why did they have to destroy elven politics to such an extent? The real Gil-Galad doesn't rule Eregion.

Huh, I wonder if that's gonna be Isildur's love interest...

Estrid really doesn't feel like a name for a Southlander

riding horseback together, alone in the forest... 😘😘😘

So Bronwyn's dead. In between seasons. What was that plot thread even for.

Maybe they realised the issues with a mortal-immortal romance, but this does not solve them. And I bet Arondir will mention her at most once or twice more and everyone will forget about her.

Beleriand was a continent, not a realm 🤦‍♀️

Why is Theo so vehement towards Arondir all of a sudden. I mean, I guess it's not unrealistic for a teenager who just suffered great loss, but it comes from nowhere thematically.

Huh. Estrid's mark is a new development, but I still think they'll end up together. (No, I don't ship them. I have my own OC for Isildur's wife. But I know enough about tropes to suspect things.)

✨Pretty dress✨ Almost Byzantine-inspired, I think.

Miriel's speech might feel more moving if the whole battle it's about wasn't so dumb. Although I kind of doubt it.

✨Eärien's dress✨

What is it with the Palantir business🤦‍♀️

Númenoreans are hardly less "magical" than elves for that matter. They wouldn't be afraid of palantri!

Eagles aren't dumb beasts of omen you can co-opt to your purposes.

Lil Bro: And the people who chose Pharazon did not care for symbols of the Valar. Preach.

Tl;dr: A MESS

[tanoraqui]

Oooh that is so beautifully put yes yes I love it.

To be honest I think Valar should be pretty happy that Feanor is not devout; imagine his intensity channeled in honest and burning religious fundamentalism. It'd take him a week to start heretical mystery religion and Aule and Nienna would be informed there are whispers they are trying to usurp throne of Arda.

But also, one thing I have been fiddling with wip fics for while is, idea that Feanor is metaphysically, a divorce child of Melkor and Nienna. His fate is place where Melkor's shouts and her keening meet, the melding spot of his cacophony and her elegy, violence and grief within and upon and outside and enacted by. He is vessel through which their influence is unleashed upon Aman, his very birth proof that nowhere can be safe from Marring and grief.

(Within context of Ea-s-Most-Disastrous-And-Covered-Up-Divorce, this means both of them identify with Nerdanel. Nienna is obvious but really, Melkor gets it, when your partner is a stubborn psychological mess swallowed up by their own grief and so obsessed with their ideals and past that can't be fixed that they refuse to be happy and hear you out and just complicates your own and theirs life, poor woman you are so put upon, I have been there with two of them now!)

Ooh, whereas the idea I've been toying with is that Fëanor is solidly a natural...maybe not follower per se but student, agent in the world, of Melkor. He’s TRYING to be an agent not of Melkor-as-we-know-him but rather Melkor-as-he-could-have-been, but…

That Melkor's divine domain is change in a way that cuts through, recombines and builds on all the other Valar's spheres of power; that only because he is, personally, an asshole that this is become discord instead. That it is because Melkor is an asshole bent on evil that change is, in basic human psychology, scary; that difference is intimidating and easily hated; that the grief of what is lost so often supersedes the joy of what is gained, and we are forever looking back and bemoaning that we cannot make this country great again... That the end of Lord of the Rings, in which the Time of Elves is over and this is sad, a grave loss, but never a source of despair because it feels right in a way, as right as the stars fading as the sun rises, and now it is the Time of Men and this too is a good and natural thing, such that overall we feel joy...that this is a total triumph over Melkor-who-is, because it is how every now-terrible change should have been if only he hadn't been a total asshole.

And where does Fëanor fit into this? Fëanor inventor of alphabets, shaper of Light into stone in a way even the Valar didn't imagine, instigator by Oath and allegiance of the Flight of the Noldor and the Three Kinslayings and so many of the great deeds and tales of the First Age and beyond...who didn't live to see most of them? Fëanor is a catalyst in this ongoing tale, in this Great Music. He is flame himself, but mostly in that he is the spark that lights conflagrations.

That's notable not just because it's pivotal to the story of Arda, but because that's weird for an elf. Elves are constantly shown to value stability and timelessness. They wrap their lands in girdles of timeless peace. They pick a good king and keep him for millennia. They never start battles, only react when attacked - except the House of Fëanor and those closest to them.

...mostly in Kinslayings. Because this is Melkor's domain, and he is determined to make change a thing of discord, domination and destruction. But oh, how magnificently the Music might have gone if Fëanor's every word and deed, every moment of being, invited good rather than evil!

As it is, Nienna is always here ease the hurt as best she can. If only proud Fëanor would let her help...

[marietheran]

LotR reread - book 2, chapter 2 - The Council of Elrond

Tolkien once envisaged Galdor of the Havens as the same person as Galdor, Lord of Gondolin. He seems to have gone back on it, but I like that version a bit.

Mysterious Allusions Counter at 4.5

"And yet not so many, nor so fair, as when Thangorodrim was broken, and the Elves deemed that evil was ended for ever, and it was not so."

"The Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aeglos and Narsil, none could withstand" -- proof that what's important is a really really good sword, able to survive contact with evil beings?

"The blood of the Númenóreans became mingled with that of lesser men. Then the watch upon the walls of Mordor slept..." - hmmm... otoh, weird with the "lesser men", otoh, given the next sentence, it might mean less a racial change and more the Gondorians forgetting their heritage.

Boromir's (Faramir's really) dream: voice speaks out of the West. This seems important.

Another poem I learned by heart completely accidentally at 13.

Bilbo telling his story - "He did not ommit a single riddle" xdd

Mysterious Allusions Counter at 5.5

"In all the long wars with the Dark Tower treason has ever been our greatest foe"??? In the wars of the First Age, yes, but I can't really find any instances of treason later on, unless it's the Númenóreans' collective descent into evil idiocy. But the "Dark Tower" means Sauron. A slip? Or were there betrayals we haven't been told of?

"It is perilous to study too deeply the arts of the Enemy, for good or for ill"

Whatever one thinks the Valar would say about someone bringing the Ring into Valinor (LotR declines to elaborate on "they would not receive it"), the explanation that the road to the sea will be guarded against them seems very reasonable anyhow. "Too often the Elves have fled that way" and Sauron would not have forgotten how his predecessor ended.

"But if you take it freely, I will say that your choice is right: and though all the mighty Elf-friends of old, Hador, and Húrin, and Túrin, and Beren himself were assembled together, your seat should be among them" (!!!)

I used to not understand why Túrin and Húrin are held in honour so high. Now I get Húrin, because the Silm seriously undersells his bravery (he was long, umm, persuaded to give up the location of Gondolin, and you can guess what kind of methods of persuasion were used - and said nothing), but despite Túrin being a problematic fave of mine, I still feel like remembering the killing of Glaurung and forgetting everything else, which everyone in ME seems to do, is a bit weird. I have seen the interpretation that it is done specifically to spite Morgoth, and I guess it makes as much sense as anything.

But anyway, rest in peace, Túrin, and that praise Frodo was given was something.

[thescrapwitch]

For the wip game, can you tell me about either of these three please? 💜🦦

• Two Bards and a Baby (longfic)

• Psalms for the Strange (bonus eldritch fic!)

• Midnight Society (bonus eldritch fic!)

Thank you!

Psalms for the Strange: Lindir POV returns! How to deal with the overwhelming (and very weird) perfection of Valinor and look after your eldritch bff via a musical competition and new friends! (very fluffy fic, a sort of epilogue for our favourite dandelion-fluff bard)

Midnight Society: Elladan and Elrohir start a ghost hunting club in Fourth Age Valinor and - to no one’s surprise - it turns out that the Valar are hiding a few spooky secrets. It's up to the twins and their new friends to solve the mystery!

Two Bards and a Baby: Sometime in the late Fourth Age, Maglor and Daeron hook up. They planned to sail over, go their separate ways to reunite with their lost families, and never speak to the other ever again.

This plan would have been a lot more successful if Maglor had not discovered that he was pregnant.

Starring two star crossed lovers who don’t believe they deserve a second chance at anything and their long suffering, potentially over protective family members who might have some unaddressed trauma still lingering from the First Age.

[ciceronian]

I'm sorry, but this is not correct on several counts:

- The ainur are not deities, they're powerful angelic beings. Tolkien was Catholic and so was his worldbuilding.

- There are only two tiers of ainur in Middle-earth: the Valar include god-like entities like Morgoth (Sauron's boss), Aulë (Sauron's former boss, created the dwarves), and Varda (Elbereth from A Elbereth Gilthoniel, queen of the Valar, set the stars in the sky). The Maiar are lesser ainur and they include Sauron, Gandalf, the balrogs, and Saruman, etc.

- Gandalf and Sauron are of the same order of being but Gandalf 's power is lessened by several magnitudes while he is incarnate as flesh and blood in Middle-earth, because he and the other wizards were charged with finding ways to help the people of Middle-earth defeat Sauron themselves rather than just swooping in and toppling him.

- We don't really know what Ungoliant is. Tolkien never makes it clear, she's one of several weird little mysteries in his stories, in a similar way as Tom Bombadil. It's believed she came into the world from somewhere outside, which should mean she's an ainur like Morgoth, Sauron, Varda, or Gandalf, but she is not classified as a vala or a maia and we don't really know what she is. She's just sort of an eldritch horror from beyond space and time.

That said, the spirit here—that Sam did something incredible to the spawn of an ancient, unimaginable horror because it had to be done—is correct.

Thinking of the larger context of LOTR and like, the fellowship swapping old war stories and shit and Sam just says “Yeah I killed a huge spider…Shelob, I think?”

And Gandalf just blinks and is like, “You what now?”

“Yeah, killed it. Had to save Frodo”

Gandalf elects not to tell Sam that he killed the spawn of a primordial demon.

[thranduil-ypfanfics]

Ishtar - Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2

When the Elvenking Thranduil was called to the infirmary due to an elleth being pulled from the Enchanted River. He was not confident in the mess he was going to find; every young elleth and ellon born to the Mirkwood Realm is taught not to venture near the river.

If you ever fall into the river, the symptoms they showed were insanity issues and memory loss. Most pulled from the river have to start a new life, because they don’t even remember their name. Most elves are registered to their realms so that if someone is missing, they can be easily identifiable. However, if man is found, the elves deliver them to Lake Town to be amongst their race.

Thranduil had heard that this ellon had been Blessed by the Valar himself. Lady Galadriel had mentioned her adopted daughter was to appear soon. His son was no longer amongst these walls, so he might as well personally check on this elleth. There was just something pulling him in your direction.

“My lord, the horse has been placed in his pen with food and water.” The front gate guard reported to his king as they neared the medical ward. “He is not behaving well.”

“Keep an eye on him for now.” With a nod, the guard was dismissed.

Upon reaching the infirmary, he wasn’t at all surprised to be told that you were feverish and floating in and out of consciousness. The medical team frantically worked on cooling the mysterious elleths fever. Cold clothes wiping the damn forehead and healing spells were whispered through the night.

One time you awoke in the middle of the night to a figure above you. You were so hot and feverish you couldn’t quite make out who they were. “My h-horse, p-please help h-him.”

You were quite delirious but hoped someone could get your horse some food and water.

The next time you awoke someone was humming a musical tune and brushing your forehead with a damp cloth. “T-That’s beautiful.” You forced your eyes to open and focused on the figure above you. It was an elleth. With a jolt you remembered you were probably in Middle Earth in the Mirkwood Realm. Not a dream.

“Oh, my lady!” The medical-elf pulled back from brushing your face with the cloth. With a relieved sigh that her charge wasn’t going to pass anytime soon. “I am called Glewil (Glaw-il: Sunshine/Radiance) ,my lady.”

Having a much clearer mind, made this a lot easier to absorb. Hobbit, or Middle Earth somewhere. Weird names so certainly Elf-folk. Now exactly where did Galadriel throw you, and what happened to your horse?

“Glewil, have you heard what happened to my horse.” Wait, how come I can understand this.

“I believe I can answer that '' A figure appeared in the doorway, and you frantically pulled the covers over your form. You weren’t known for showing skin like some girls, but you weren’t going to start now. No way.

“I am King of these halls, Thranduil Oropherion” The elf to walk into the room, was someone you could never mistake for someone else. Thick brows, finely sculpted nose and purse lips. The actor of the movies certainly did him justice. “Now what are you doing in my realm?”

______

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[lizziestudieshistory]

I've been meaning to ask you have you seen that Silmarillion daily thing? What do you think about it?

So, I had to look this up because I vaguely remember seeing something about a daily Silmarillion but I had no plans in participating in it - only because I've learnt from Dracula Daily that I am horrible with serialised media. I'm impatient and I tend to read things in huge chunks so having things in small sections doesn't really work for me.

So, it's hard to comment because I don't fully know what this will look like. In principle, I think it's a great idea! The Silmarillion is a difficult book for new readers and I know so many people who have picked it up and dropped out because Tolkien inundates the reader with so many names and weird concepts. So, having it serialised to slow your reading AND grtting together a community to read it at the same time will work wonderfully for some people.

However, I'm interested to see how it's delivered. In theory, the Silmarillion sounds like a great text to do this with because it's so episodic. Once the Noldor arrive in Beleriand it jumps around a lot and each chapter forms a contained story in the broader narrative around the Silmarils. But this sounds like they're only covering the Quenta Silmarillion (QS) - which is great I ADORE the QS, and I think it's the bit that grips readers to most. Let's face it the Ainulindalë and Valaquenta are painful at times, even for Tolkien fanatics like me. But as much as I dislike the Ainulindalë and Valaquenta you do need them to understand the QS. Where else are you going to learn about who the Valar and Maiar are, or why song is a legitimate weapon in Arda? You aren't going to truly appreciate the insanity that is Finrod taking on Sauron without the Ainulindalë... I also think it's a massive shame to miss out the Akallabêth, but maybe that's just me 🤷‍♀️

I also don't truly know how they're splitting the book up. I know it's presenting summaries, similar to the YouTube series doing a similar concept from people like Tolkien Untangled and Voice of Geekdom (I would recommend both!) but how is it going to split the story? How is it going to help new keep track of family trees, kingdoms, and non-elven races when sometimes they disappear from the story for chapters? Some of this is difficult enough when you're reading through the book in a week or so, reading through it over a year could be very difficult!

I'm also slightly confused on how they're only presenting the parts with "concrete" dates. A LOT of the First Age is a mess chronologically. Oh, we have some births, deaths, and battles - but a lot of the details are a complete mystery when trying to create a timeline. We don't even know when Maedhros was born, or who fathered Gil-Galad (sorry had to bring this one up, he's my favourite 😅) - so how can we adequately cover a timeline when we don't know what all of the timeline is? Tbh I'm very confused by the schedule and the "welcome" email left me more confused... However, I don't think chronological is the right approach to take for this particular book.

I have now subscribed so I can see what I think once we start getting content. I'm glad they're encouraging readers so follow along in the book because so much is lost when you get summaries, even really good summaries. Personally, I doubt the daily newsletter format will work in reality for this one, the story is just too big and messy... But I'm intrigued, and I think it could be done well if it was run differently. I'd explain how I'd run it but this is getting very long, but I am happy to run through how I'd run a Silmarillion readalong elsewhere if you're interested in my ramblings on that 😂

Thanks for asking though! This has been an interesting one to think about! At the end of the day, I might have questions on the format but if it'll get people to read Tolkien's work outside The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings then I am a VERY happy bunny.

[feanorianethicsdepartment]

fun thing to do: pretend the silm (and lotr and the hobbit, if you like) is an american-gods-esque retelling of some existing mythological tradition, and make judgmental comments about the old man’s adaptive choices. for example:

like most other mysterious folkloric supernatural beings, the eldar were absolutely a pantheon of deities before the monotheists ruined everything. making them into an ordinary fantasy race and making them worship gods from a completely different mythos is an interesting choice

likewise trying to wedge the way more morally ambiguous calaquendi/moriquendi rivalry into the good/evil valar/morgoth split doesn’t 100% work but i appreciate the effort

most of the important humans, from haleth to eärendil, are full-on culture heroes whose individual stories have been worked into an overarching narrative of an age of myth. jrrt is far from the first to do this, which is why túrin and tuor are commonly considered to be related

his retelling is significantly edgier than average, though. the children of húrin is way, way, way less grimdark and a fair bit sillier in the original stories - it’s like modern arthurian adaptations, all the magic and fun sucked out and replaced with misery and incest

beren and maedhros are based on two extremely divergent forks of the same mythological figure. most people pick one or the other take, it’s a little strange to see them both in the same story

galadriel and melian are two near-identical versions of the same goddess. it’s extremely weird to have two of her running around, especially with them interacting so much

current scholarship consensus is that ‘child of finwë’ is some sort of honorific divine epithet whose precise meaning is lost to us, not a sign that everyone ever given that title is literally related

on that note, i get that descriptions of eldar can be a little vague on gender, but did you have to make it so that every elf the sources don’t overwhelmingly describe as female is a guy?

take a drink every time a new variation on the god-gifted smith archetype shows up. down the whole glass if he’s a bad guy

i get that you like ‘the fall of the city of caves,’ it’s a good legend, but did you have to do it twice? there’s all sorts of dwarf stories you could have fit in the space, smh

just. in general. what did the lost continent of beleriand do to you, man?

[ospreyeamon]

This analogy feels like a fair comparison. I get the impression that the root of the problems with the way the Valar deal with the Children is their inability or unwillingness to set aside their assumptions of what the Children should be like when they come into conflict with the reality of how the Children actually are (and one of their assumptions is that the Children will defer to them).

In the Statue of Finwë and Míriel, the Valar keep talking about how the elves’ behaviour is unnatural and a result of Melkor’s Marring; Míriel shouldn’t be experiencing what sounds a lot like post-natal depression, Finwë shouldn’t want to re-marry after the death of his spouse, Finwë shouldn’t be in love with both Miriel and Indis. Míriel and Finwë shouldn’t be like this, shouldn’t want these things, and the fact that they are behaving in ways the Valar don’t agree with and struggle to understand is a sign that there is something wrong with them.

It was reasonable to ask Finwë and Indis if they had thought through the consequences of their marriage. It was reasonable to insist that Míriel be consulted first. But Míriel, Finwë and Indis all agreed that the second marriage could go ahead, being aware that things would inevitably get a bit weird once Míriel recovered sufficiently to desire to return to her body. The Valar could have left it at that. The Valar should have left it at that.

Creating the judgment just made a bad situation worse. Still having the possibility of Miriel returning to her body open wouldn’t have assuaged Fëanor’s grief (because it didn’t before) and I’m sure he would still have been unhappy about his father’s second marriage, but making Míriel’s life the price for the birth of his half-siblings poisoned those relationships from the start.

It also didn’t actually alter the situation the Valar are unhappy about. Míriel is still dead. Finwë is still bound to two wives. All the Statute of Finwë and Míriel accomplishes is punishing the entire family.

There’s also how the Valar’s idea of rewarding the edain for their assistance in the War of Wrath involved making them more like the elves. (Why??? do they keep stretching people???). Like, you say Eru Ilúvatar is the ultimate authority over the world and everyone in it, and that these are his Children he personally created – and you muck around to make what you clearly believe are improvements on the divine design?

The Valar say that the nature of the Children of Ilúvatar is mysterious to them – that they caught very little knowledge of them in the Music – but they don’t begin to act as if they really believe that until the Third Age.

(Some of the Valar are better about this than others, but they do hold to group decisions they personally disagree with like Ulmo with the Fencing of Valinor, so it doesn’t feel unfair to talk about them as a collective.)

I feel like the way the Valar treat the Children (the Eldar especially) is kind of like... late adolescents. Yes, you're technically an adult and we'll give you some independence, but we're also absolutely going to make your decisions for you if we think it's best for you. Besides, you're living in our house, that means you obey our rules.

Oh, you think exile for 120 years being grounded for a year is an unjust punishment for drawing a sword on Fingolfin punching your half-brother? Well what are you gonna do, uh? Leave this house?

Oh, you want to got to war against Morgoth go to art school when I, who pays for your studies, decided you should study law? Well go on then, but you better hope to be successful, because I'm not going to provide aid and weapons give you a single cent. And don't come back crying if you predictably fail to make a living. And don't expect us to take pity when you're in Mandos keep your room for you while you're gone.

You got caught kinslaying doing drugs? Well I won't have any of that in my house. You can go get burned by a Silmaril spend a few months in jail, it will teach you. And you failed to kill the evil overlord sue your terrible landlord? Maybe you should have gone to law school after all, uh? How about I deal with the landlord for you, destroy Beleriand in the process take the damage and interest money for myself (I advocated for you, after all) and leave you homeless unless you crawl back home on your knees?

(I'm writing some War of Wrath pieces and trying to restrain myself from being too mean to Eönwë, this is a good release. I don't think the Valar actually mean to be quite that bad, they're just... making some decisions.)

[ladyespera]

First Lines

Request: List the first ten lines of the last ten stories you published. Look to see any patterns you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any. Then tag some friends.

Nobody tagged me in this but I saw @sakasakiii doing it and wanted to pass it on to my frens. and well uhhhhh after looking at this i can certainly say that boy i just love dropping people right into present action with ZERO context and also i love to be general and abstract!!!!!! who needs concrete background 😌😌😌 weird mix of generic essay openings vibes and surrealism my beloved?????? also I've just realized that people just stand and stare and overthink and PanicTM a lot in my fics ehehe I wonder where they get thAT-

perchance

Commodore Karyn Faro stands on the bridge of the Chimaera, hands neatly cinched behind her back, her eyes looking out past the viewport at the swirling vortex of hyperspace. The atmosphere is silent, almost calm; despite the urgency of their dispatch back to Lothal and the fiasco of the gralloc mission, for now, nothing can be done to either speed or slow their journey. Her eyes focus back on her faint, pale reflection in the viewport. “This is a dream,” she whispers to her other self.

bright star (cheated on this one by 1 line 🤫)

There is a moment, in the middle of the chaos, when Maedhros suddenly senses the faint scream of danger. He cannot place it, cannot discern why, and yet... He dodges a shower of stones as the entire mountain trembles, the roar of the sack of Angband nearly too great for mortal ears. The Silmarils. If the Valar are too occupied with Morgoth, he must get to them first—he must be getting close to the entrance. A cry close by, past a pile of bodies, and in amongst the shadow of the mountain, he glimpses a flash of white hair emerging, wavering—and then a familiar dark-headed figure, running to help, extending a hand—

than never to have loved

So many say he has the gift of foresight. But it is not always a gift. Some days, it is a curse, a smog of uncertainty that clouds his thoughts and shadows his soul with horrible possibility. When Elrond throws everything he has into working towards good, into protecting the best in people, into saving what he can of Middle-Earth, it is also because he has seen the worst. So when he dedicates his heart and soul to this one cause, this one Hope, he also knows what his payment might be.

to have loved and lost

“Do you have a father?” Elrond looks up from his parchment stiffly, startled. The child is fixing him with a piercing gaze of curiosity that reminds him briefly of a younger self; stamping down the brief spark of pain at the thought, he smiles graciously instead. Today is the anniversary of their coming to Rivendell, of what Aragorn probably associates with Arathorn’s death; of course he might have thoughts. “Yes, Estel, I have a father.” “But is he still in Middle Earth?”

the tides of the heart

“Sometimes people don’t want to be saved. Sometimes it’s time to die. ” . The summer air is warm when Grace Holloway steps out the door on her way to work, but humid too, with a hint of fog, like the grey sea air is already planning to roll in before the day is out. Grace doesn’t mind the fog—she likes it, even, the mystery of it—but she hates the humidity. It makes her hair frizzy.

greatest privilege

Commodore Karyn Faro had just had the longest 96 hours of her entire life, and she hadn’t slept for any of them. From escape pod to emergency evacuation craft to med bay to debriefings to more debriefings to waiting in hallways to finally being released into this bland Navy office. On Coruscant. Where she’d intended to be anyway - just not quite this hectically. Now she was sitting, her eyes fixed on the empty space in front of her as her mind buzzed lazily. Not even recollecting anymore. Or regretting. Just...empty. “Commodore Faro?” a voice called from behind the desk.

just a phone call away

The Doctor stands in the train station and stares at the ringing phone. He isn’t going to answer it. Of course he isn’t. His mind has already done the mental calculations a thousand times this day, the hypotheticals, the guesswork, comparing his lists of goodbyes to his lists of losses, finding that section of the Venn diagram within which fall the people who have left him and whom he never said goodbye to and-- He can’t not. His fingers tremble slightly as he pushes the little accept call button.

forget me not

Every morning, he wakes up and wonders whether it’s going to be a good day. Of course, that all depends on a few key metrics. First things first. He opens his eyes. Does he ache? Sometimes there is nothing at all. Sometimes sitting up immediately reminds him that ouch, he had better be careful today. Sometimes it’s just something odd, like the aftertaste of bile on his tongue or a weird lingering sensation in his blood, as if his antibodies are trying to yell at his brain like “ Hey! Red flag, idiot! Stop doing what you’re doing !”

breathing space

Liv had said that all the emotion before must have drained him dry now, left him with only a hopeful energy. After all, there’s not much lower to go emotionally than weeping on a street, too pained to even crawl. Here, there’s no ravenous monsters or maniac Timelords. No end of the world to worry about. It’s only up from here. Only up. The rain flecks his face. Only up…

uhhhhh tagging @fortes-fortuna-iogurtum @as-dreamers-do @swinging-stars-from-satellites @lilac-vode but really anyone plz feel free to have at it! :)

[jengajives]

Part two of my modern au. will Daeron ever actually meet the family? I don’t know

The Fëanorian house was big. Daeron probably should have expected it, just given the rumors he had heard before he even met Maglor, but it still surprised him with its immensity. It seemed a vast and artificial thing to him- somewhat unsettling if he was being honest- but the Noldorin leaning had always been toward excess and showmanship rather than the subtle, natural beauty his people preferred, so it was easy to calmly set his nervousness aside as simple culture shock. The lack of green anywhere beyond the perfectly manicured garden out front did make him feel somewhat squirmy inside, though; entering that glass and concrete beast was a daunting thought, even when he tried to explain it away. “We’re here!” Maglor said with a sort of nauseous cheeriness that conveyed no particular optimism. “Last chance to turn back.” Daeron craned his neck to get a look at the upper floors, currently glaring with an echo of the sunset behind them. “Wow.” “Dad designed it. It’s pretty, right?” Maglor actually looked over, read Daeron’s expression, and hastily went on. “Pretty horrible. Yeah. Really bad. Let’s go in.” As Daeron stepped onto the ceramic driveway, he was floored by another revelation: he had always thought Maglor’s car to be quite showy, maybe even to the point of tackiness, but seeing the other eight cars lined up nicely on the drive made him quickly change his mind about the rather conservative little blue Porsche. The first one he noticed was the cherry red supercar- it was hard not to look at it, to be honest, because it resembled a spaceship more than any other vehicle Daeron had ever seen. If he was ever unlucky enough to be standing behind it when someone turned the engine on, he’d pretty sure he’d get his eyebrows burned off or something. There was a Rolls-Royce parked next to it, painted a more subtle shade of midnight purple. Behind the two, a restored muscle car sat alongside an old hot rod, both opposite shades of green that made Daeron feel itchy to look at for some reason, and then came the pickup truck. It was the tallest car he had ever seen, iridescent black-to-green, and fitted with a downright obscene array of racks, lights, and speciality equipment, and with a deer skull mounted to the hood. One yellow Jeep and a small grey SUV looked very out of place at the front of the driveway even though they absolutely should not. Maglor had noticed him looking, so he pointed out who each car belonged to, but Daeron was so overwhelmed that everything went completely over his head. He did manage to pick out that the normal-looking ones belonged to Maedhros and to Maglor’s mother, though, and that was the only thing his overwhelmed brain could think of clinging onto. At least two of these people were a little bit normal-ish, at least. He could do this. While he stood staring at the cars, Maglor went on ahead, and he had to scurry to catch up. “Aren’t your parents divorced?” “Yeah.” Maglor gave him a look like that was the dumbest question he’d ever heard. For just a brief moment, Daeron worried it was, until he remembered which of them had a better handle on average family dynamics (ironically, it was the one without a family). “Then why is your mom coming to dinner?” “Why wouldn’t she?” They stopped in front of a big metal door, on what was the most intimidating porch he had ever seen. “She comes every month.” Daeron started to tell him that was weird, but Maglor was already reaching out to open the door, and he didn’t want to be overheard, so he just canned it and tried to look polite. As soon as the knob turned, Daeron was attacked by what appeared to be a red-brown blur. It burst from the cracked door and rammed into his chest with enough force to easily through him to the concrete, and Daeron couldn’t muffle a cry when he saw the glint of cruel yellow teeth and eyes belonging to a creature that knew exactly where it had to bite to end his life. Hot breath panted across his face, and a single line of drool drizzled nicely across the bridge of his nose. He was about to actually scream when he heard a sharp whistle and an even sharper voice. “Huan!” Immediately the creature bounded off Daeron’s chest and pranced out of sight. He only realized it was a dog when he saw the bristle tail swishing happily behind it. Maglor appeared above him instead, face swimming with concern. “Oh Valar. Are you okay?” “Sorry, chief!” Someone shouldered Maglor out of the way to fill Daeron’s view himself. One of the brothers already. Wonderful. “He’s still a puppy. Thinks everyone wants to play. I’m sure you know how that is!” The newcomer had the same basic facial features as Maglor, but he looked sharper all over, from the jaw to the cheekbones, even the teeth. When he grinned, Daeron got the impression he was a rabbit being played with before the meal. His hair was an unusual shade of pale blond, not quite Sindar silver, which Daeron had never seen on a Noldo before. It was almost white and caught the red of the sunset like melted wax. When Daeron realized he was being offered a hand, he took it and let Mystery Fëanorian Number One lift him to his feet. “You must be Mags’s new guy, huh?” The predatory grin flashed again. It was probably supposed to be disarming, but it put Daeron so on edge he jumped when the man clapped him on the shoulder. “Sindar, huh? Excellent. Amrod is going to owe me thirty bucks. Hey, Caranthir really isn’t going to like this, Mags.” He glanced around Daeron to where Maglor was standing stiff and awkward, face a mask of horrified embarrassment. “Dad probably won’t either.” “Celegorm...” Maglor finally groaned. His brother didn’t let him finish. “Hey, either of you want a smoke?” He tugged a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his worn-down jeans and held it towards the two of them. Because he was wearing just a white t-shirt that looked like it hadn’t been washed in a couple weeks, Daeron could see plenty of exposed skin, and the tattoos that covered Celegorm head to toe. Lots of deers, trees, wolves, and the like, though he did spot a rifle or two and a couple naked ladies as well. He had the words “WOLF PACK” printed across his knuckles. “No, thank you,” Maglor said flatly as he reached over to rest his hands on his boyfriend’s shoulders. Daeron relaxed just a little bit at the touch. “Suit yourself.” Celegorm shrugged. He patted his thigh and the massive red dog came trotting over again; Daeron swore it gave him a dirty look as it followed its master by. “Have fun in there,” called Celegorm over his shoulder. “It’s just starting to kick off.” Daeron waited until he and his dog had wandered out of earshot before he managed a few strangled words. “Is he the one who... fucked Oromë?” “Yep, that’s him.” Daeron stared, dumbfounded, and slowly shook his head. “Charming.” “Do you still want to go inside?” Maglor asked weakly, and Daeron just nodded. He had come this far. Time to dive in.

[clayvedevs]

The Valar as musical instruments

Because the Valar music-ed the world into existence so why not.

Manwe: Violin. The lead instruments, often given solos. (Not that I’m bitter.)

Varda: Piano. Really beautiful and elegant and Moonlight Sonata gives me Varda vibes. Sounds great on it’s own but also sounds really good with the violin *cough**cough*.  

Ulmo: Double bass. Deep and melodic, like the ocean.

Aule: Drums. Underrated and hitting drums and hitting a hammer onto an anvil can’t be that different? They’re both banging. 

Yavanna: Nyckelharpa. I once listened to a lady play a traditional Danish round on a nyckelharpa and it sounds like she was invoking nature, so now I’m convinced she’s mother nature. 

Namo: Organ. Creepy, doom-y and totally suited for Mandos. 

Vaire: Guitar. idk why, but it just is. 

Irmo: Flute. Mysterious-ish and airy, just like him. 

Este: Harp. Calm and soothing if you play it right. Sounds disjointed and weird if you have no idea what you are doing (like me that one time).

Nienna: Cello. A cellist can literally play a single note and you’d be on the floor crying. 

Orome: Bass guitar. The bass guitar is a powerful and sexy instrument, kinda like Orome. Also, the deep thrum of the bass guitar is very energetic and moving, like a hunt.

Vana: Viola. Like who is she? Always overshadowed by her older sister. 

Tulkas: Carnyx. Because it led the Celts into battle and struck fear into the hearts of the enemy. Also because Tulkas would probably rock a torc. 

Nessa: Castanets. Nessa is a flamenco dancer with castanets and you can’t convince me otherwise. 

Morgoth: Bagpipes. Some people enjoy it. Most people dislike it. Isn’t really compatible with other instruments, except for drums of war.

[addicted-to-12th-intro]

A weird idea by me: Beren and The Four Realms.

(ft. my love for the Finwions, no plot, no logic, no actual principles of Arda, just characters and aesthetics)

So we’ve got the world with Four Realms and a central place that has no name  in the film (we will call it Central City); it’s inhabited by elves; the language is an unholy fusion of Quenya and Sindarin because I said so; where are the Valar there? I don’t know.

Ingwë , Finwë, Olwë and Elwë, the High Kings, and their spouses mostly live in Central City. They rule by council. But what’s going on in the Four Realms? They are governed by their chidren.

Realm 1: Ondard, Land of Stone. Beautiful architecture, marble everything, intellectual and artistic, not unlike Tirion. Governed by Fingolfin.

Realm 2: Tincard, Land of Metal. The realm of inventors and scientists, a very steampunk aesthetic (as far as it’s appropriate for elves, but who cares at thiis point). Governed by Fëanor.

Realm 3: Falmard, Land of Waves. Located in a river delta and on the seaside, has pleasant weather and lush tropical flowers. Governed by Finarfin.

Realm 4: Aldard, Land of Trees. Almost entirely a mysterious forest, has all sorts of fantastical flora and fauna. Governed by Luthien.

Poor Beren falls into this place, learns that his destiny is to become an ambassador from the Men’s world there, falls in love with Luthien... well, I did say there’s not going to be an actual plot.