#this has been living rent free in my head for days now

[thebitchkingofangmar]

One reading of Fëanor that I haven't encountered yet but has recently become integral to my interpretation of the character and of the Fëanorian Oath (tho I'm sure I'm bound to find it somewhere if I do better research of academic databases and the Tumblr search system wasn't bullshit) is that Fëanor shouldn't have made the Silmarils in the first place.

One of the reasons I love this idea so much is that we know Fëanor does not care about should do, he cares about what he can do. "Enough" is a limitation, how far he goes, how excellent his craft is is not determined by notions like this. He would've made them anyway, even if Eru himself had told him not to.

I became of this idea when I was reading a series of theology essays about prophets in Jewish religiosity and history, as well as the Man-God relationship by Abraham Joshua Heschel. One of the essays is an address he made during the Civil Rights movement, in defence of it as an accomplice of racial liberation, and in it, while talking about racism and using religion to justify racism in an affront to God, he defines an Idol as "any god who is mine but not yours, any god concerned with me but not you, is an idol."

Aside from its context, it made me think of how the Fëanorian Oath changes the narrative around the Silmarils. We know they're sacred objects; so sacred Varda herself protected them. In this line, most of the reads/takes/interpretations about Fëanor and the Oath I have encountered revolve around either (a) him being justified in his pursue of what had been stolen from him because they're sacred objects; (b) interpretations about Fëanor's downfall rooted in his pride and direct Catholic/Christian interpretations of Genesis.

Starting with the latter, I've never liked those interpretations not because Tolkien's religiosity did not affect his world building, but because imo they are less concerned with the story in itself and the narrative relationships between themes, characters, actions and environment, and more with making Tolkien stories into fables, as if he was writing the moral reimagining of Paradise Lost. Man's a lot of things but he is a novelist through and through. He's not writing a fable.

Another reason I don't like them is because they forgo simpler, much more tangible interpretations between Tolkien characters and what is Holy, Sacred or Godly in the Legendarium, but also with religion in general: that not bringing harm onto others, because you recognise life in others as a manifestation of what is Holy, isn't about the great moral deeds of misdeeds of the Reprehensible and the Punishable but in the neutral. In the small things. In the not holding yourself as the only measure of the world and being curious enough to be open to others. You don't need to be Great to do this. This isn't about the Great Kings and Great Elves and the Names Which Go Down In History, but the everyday people, concerned with every day things, which is a huge theme in Tolkien.

This is when the Silmarils become idols, this is why he shouldn't have created them even if I know and love that he would've done it anyway. Because even as Varda put her hands on them to protect them, Fëanor is not the owner of the light of the trees. Who is Fëanor to command who gets access to the light of the trees and who doesn't? Who is Fëanor to decide who is worthy of their light and who is not? That is not his prerogative, and never will be. The Oath confirms the opposite, whoever: that the light is his and of whom he decides are worthy, and before the Oath, his resentment against other elves and the Valar about them being taken too.

Which takes me to the the other interpretation. He's justified to go after them because they're religious, sacred objects. And I agree! They are. And they're also still idols. The Fëanorian Oath still turns the light of the trees into something of only some are worthy, concerned with Fëanor and his descendents and no one else. Because if it were for the sake of the holy value of the Trees themselves, why act against other elves? Why make your children swear to take them from, by any means, from even the Valar and Eru himself? He was like this even before Melkor got in the picture.

If Fëanor had kept the secret, like Aulë when he created the dwarves, and Eru had confronted him about it, do you think he would've given them away? I don't think he would've. And even if they weren't sacred, Fëanor still had no special right over the light of the trees, or do great corporations, political tyrants or the like own the sun? Should they own water, the housing markets, food, healthcare, education, and all of the things people need to live?

This is why he shouldn't have created them in the first place. Because even if the elves did not revolve so heavily around God (which is a thing for another time) light isn't his to own. Light does not need to sacred or hold religious significance for it not to be his to own. I assure you that if, in real life, someone began trying to charge us for being under the sun (and honestly some corporations and political decisions already kind of try) we'd be rightfully pissed.

If I was an elf and Fëanor told me I couldn't partake in the light of the Trees because he was better than me, and because he was the only one who could even do a feat like preserving it, I would tell him to fuck off and to realise that if he hasn't noticed, the fruits of the Trees give light for free, what is he gonna do? Build an enclosure around them? lol, lmao even.

[magicandmundane]

Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Echo, and Crosshair, to each other: I would trade you all for a chicken mcnugget and a power nap, no questions asked.

Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Echo, and Crosshair, to Omega: You’re everything to me. Quite literally the most precious person in my life. I would not hesitate to die and kill for you if someone so much as looks at you wrong. *spits on Hemlock’s nonexistent grave*

[mediumsizedapplecore]

[storekn1fe]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOCTOR WHO!!!

[sleepyy-27]

SKY + CUCCO ONESIE!!!! >:D

[blackpensils]

Anyone wanna hear about my DP isekai AU? Where Sam gets transported into her favourite dark fantasy series but years before the main story and meets the main villain before he became the main villain and it's Danny? And she can't understand how this kind, geeky average medieval middle-class son of two scientists is supposed to be the brutal monster from her book?

No? Ok...

[mekha-draws]

this bugger has been sitting in my lair/den for 5+ years and just recently i had an epiphany and now he is gonna be so pretty /eventually/

but in the meantime I had to draw him <3

he is very suck, so much loser and a lil bit drunk idk

[inbox-to-the-void]

Fresh's Theme: YOO I'LL TELL U WUT I WANT SO TELL ME WH Swap: FML

art source comes from here, fic made by @gaylordscooter

[IMAGE ID: A digital drawing of Swap Sans, visibly tense and hiding behind a broken wall. The wall is an almost-grey blue, the background is a slightly bluer and darker grey, Blue's background color is blue, and Swap's outlines are a paler version of his background. Behind the wall are rainbow all-capitilized words that switch color each line break. The words read "YOO I'LL TELL U WUT I WANT SO TELL ME WH", the words a reference to the beginning lyrics in Wannabe by Spice Girls. The rainbow words are cut off by the bottom of the broken wall. Swap's thought bubble background is his outline colour, while his speech bubble font color is colored in his background color. His thought bubble just reads "FML" in all caps. END ID]

[sojourner-between-worlds]

A random assortment of autistic!Yusei headcanons on this fine Friday in December.

Yusei got a weighted blanket after the whole Arc Cradle ordeal. Best sleep he's ever had. Crow tried to borrow it once; it did not end well for him, lol.

Eye contact? What's that? Yusei doesn't know her.

He's more prone to shutdowns than meltdowns but they both do happen. (He's definitely accidently hurt himself on more than one occasion but he's gotten better at redirecting those behaviors even on his own as he's gotten older and his reactions less severe.)

He's semi-verbal to begin with so periods of losing speech entirely are a fairly normal occurrence. He's usually fine, and if he still needs to say something, the boys all know sign language anyway. (It's not "real" SL but rather a dialect of Satellite the citizens created to be able to communicate without Sector Security understanding them. Yes, I stole this from @/shitpostingkats, what of it? It lives rent free in my head.) The first time it happens after moving to the City, Yusei doesn't even consider that Aki and the twins don't know their SL and so he signs. Crow laughs at everyone's dumbfounded looks before he both translates for Yusei and then explains. All three are more than eager to learn it. (Rua thinks its "the coolest thing ever" in typical Rua fashion.)

Never quite breaks out of the "subtle stims only" mindset that was forced by necessity of the environment he grew up in. He wasn't about to give Sector Security any reason to single him out, after all, and old habits die really hard. Aki noticed he tended to rub his fingers together a lot, to the point of sometimes accidently scratching himself on the sharper edges of his nails when he's not wearing his gloves and started looking for other options. She bought him a spinner ring for his birthday and while it didn't 100% fix the problem, it did help quite a bit. (Between that and a tangle, he's practically good to go. He never had anything like that growing up, and they bring him great joy to have now.)

For the same reason, he was technically never diagnosed as a kid because Martha didn't want to paint a target on his back with SS. When he moved to the City, he didn't see any point. He was self-employed so any accommodations he could possibly need he could just, ya know, give himself. The first time he ever truly considered it was after he started working for MIDS and was working on his degree. (Even then it took quite a bit of convincing because he wasn't sold on it actually being helpful.)

Feel free to add on!

[kendem0nium]

WAY WAY 空けて あたしの道を

[wow-an-unfunny-joke]

Silly Game Time: In honor of today, February 28th, being the last day of Black History Month, who are some of your favorite Black characters? And what do you like about them?

They can be from any media (movies, shows, books, comics, games, etc.) (OCs count, too). They can be explicitly of African descent, or they can be from a story where Earth and its continents and its history don't exist (like in many sci-fi and fantasy).

Myself, being a Star Wars fan, I quite like the two Jedi Cere Junda (a haunted survivor dedicated to rebuilding a source of light) and Mace Windu (a stern paladin of his order, fighting for civilization and democracy).

This is a tricky question- cause most people depict Jonathan Sims, head archivist of the Magnus institute, London as black but it’s never stated in canon.

Same with all the characters in high noon over Camelot. Tho I think at some point they were said to be poc??? But idk for suresies.

I’ve been really into podcasts and other non-visual media lately. So any of these characters could be black, it’s never stated.

Oh actually no- ANABELLE CANE! I might’ve spelled her name wrong.

Annabelle Cane, played by Chioma Nwalioba, is explicitly stated to be black in multiple statements (she is described as being a young black woman with bleach blonde hair and looking like, quote “a vintage clothing store exploded on her”) AND SHE IS FUCKING AMAZING-

I love the web so much. I love her voice so much. I love every episode she is in- she is one of my favorite avatars (right under Micheal and Jane Prentiss) I REALLY hope she shows up in Protocol cause she actually everything to me EVER

[calicos-clones]

2024 is the year of long haired Cody and I refuse to say otherwise

[fissions-chips]

…spider jon… fairy tim…

[arcxnumvitae]

“My final breath will be their name.”

[nobody0805]

Character A telling Character B about wanting to own a flower shop one day.

Character A telling Character B about shop names they like.

Character B having to leave for a few years, losing contact with Character A.

Character B coming across a flower shop with a name that sounds familiar.

Character B entering the shop to look around, stopping to look at some flowers they find pretty and/or interesting.

Someone standing next to Character B, telling them the name of the flower and a few characteristics and meanings of it.

The name of the flower being Character Bs name.

Character B looking at the person beside them.

It is Character A.

Cute flower shop reunion.

[redeemed-wren]

Pslam 19

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language where their voice is nor heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course

It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.