#yes it's not canon for mairon to ever have been in valinor but i liked the idea so i'm winging it for this fic

[eri-pl]

Silm Advent calendar 4: Beard*

Warnings: sort of a small panic attack in PoV. Implications of… well, we are seeing Celebrimbor post-reembodiment. So you can estimate. But only implications.

"I wish I could see them again," said Celebrimbor. "The Dwarves, I mean." It was still somewhat strange to speak with words.

Mahtan smiled. "I wish I could see one of them too."

Right. Great-grandfather hadn't ever met any of the Khazad, obviously. Because he had enough common sense to not leave. Obviously. Celebrimbor looked at him. "I'm sorry."

Mahtan laughed and continued leading him down the stony corridors of Lord Aulë's mansion.

Assuming that he could continue the conversation, Celebrimbor said "I've always wondered, and Narvi too—how it is with beards? Are they something Lord Aulë invented, or...?" He trailed off. It seemed a stupid question.

And yet, his great-grandfather was not offended. He stroked his own—meticulously braided— beard, and spoke. "I've always assumed it was his thing, as I had not grown mine before I became his apprentice. But now of course they say the Men have those too— they do, right? It's not another thing Pengolodh made up?"

"Oh yes, they do have beards. Some quite impressive."

They went down another set of stairs, the corridor was windowless and illuminated with lamps. It felt like home, but safer.

"Mhm. See, Tyelpe, we're somewhat secluded here. Nor Tuor, nor of course Earendil had one, so... Anyway, I'm sure you'll grow it eventually."

"I don't— I mean, the fact that I could work with— Despite everything— It's just so much more than I could ever deserve."

Mahtan laughed again—a deep, rolling laughter that felt in place in those stone halls. "You will need to get accustomed to working with people who aren't— nasty."

The forge noises became louder, discouraging further dialogue. Not long after, they reached an arched gate, leading to a huge workshop, where Maiar and Elves worked, and of course, in the center, the Smith himself.

All the hammers stopped and the room went silent. Celebrimbor bowed deeply, barely daring to look at the Vala.

Lord Aulë smiled. "Come, you two. Mahtan, my friend, we've moved your things already. Tyelperinquar, I'm so glad to see you. I— I still don't understand your kind well, but Mahtan said you won't be offended— it is the best workplace after all." As the two Elves came closer, he spoke more quietly. "As an apology."

In the centre of the forge, next to Lord Aulë's huge, carved stone workbench with mithril top, stood two others, smaller, but even more ornate. One, to which Mahtan walked and began checking the tools, was made of bright white stone carved in intricate geometric patterns, parts of which seemed moveable. The other one — apparently meant for Celebrimbor — was a gold square design of perfect four-fold symmetry, with the tools sorted by size and type. While not dusted—nothing in Aman was—it was long unused, judging from types of the tools. There was a peculiar beauty to it, like—

His head went light and he grasped the edge of the golden table— than let it go immediately— if that was to be his apology, he'd have to bear it— he was better now, after years in Mandos—and yet, the very memory—

Mahtan held him like he used to do when Tyelpe was a small boy visiting his forge with the same fascination as his father and grandfather before.

"Shhh. It's all right. It is all right—" he repeated louder. "He will get over it, just give us a moment." He turned his face back to Celebrimbor, whispering: "It's all right. You don't have to, if you don't want to."

"But…. My apology—"

Great-grandfather held him tighter. "Not your apology, Tyelpe. Lord Aulë meant it as his apology to you. He felt like he owed it, especially as there's nobody else to apologize to you now, I think. But let's not get there. It is— we both thought that it would be a kind of justice to give it to you. I'm sorry. You don't have to."

The tightnes in Celebrimbor's chest slowly dissipated. "No, I— I appreciate it, and it would make him so angry and that's good, just— could I maybe reorder it a little. Not much, just…."

He spoke softly, unsure if it was worse to ask Lord Aulë if he could change the designs of his Maia (well, back then), or to talk in private when he was nearby. but apparently it was not soft enough, as the Vala replied him.

"Of course. You can change anything you like. It's yours."

A few days of work later, when Aulë again returned to his forge, he looked at Celebrimbor's workbench—now not as perfectly symmetrical, and carved in rows of Dwarven runes.

He smiled. "It looks alive. I missed it."

[conundrumoftime]

My Haladriel fics

I haven't grouped all these together before, so here's a collection of all the complete Haladriel fics I've written so far since October '22. Cannot believe it's been almost two years!

(Some of these fics also feature Celeborn/Galadriel, Celeborn/Sauron or all of them together, because I like a) Celeborn b) multishipping and c) mess. I'll make it clear here which stories those are, so if Celeborn is not your guy or if multishipping confuses or distresses you then that's! fine! just please don't read those ones and then be weird to me about it in the comments.)

Multi-chapter fics

Shadow-Bride (E, 265k words): This is my long long longfic, started in December of '22 and now complete after 43 chapters. Canon-divergence from the middle of s1.

Banquets have burned for you (M, 24k words): Written for eastwynds for the spring '23 Haladriel fic exchange, where the prompt was "one thing happens differently on Númenor, and everything changes." Went heavy on the Greek tragedy influence for this one because it felt fitting for Númenor.

A man is a god in ruins (E, 21k words): At the time this was the longest story I'd ever written and the first multi-chapter story I'd finished since the LiveJournal days. How things change! Canon-divergence from the very end of s1; what if Halbrand decided to leave Eregion before Galadriel got suspicious?

All the kinds of alive you can be (E, 13k words, also Celeborn/Galadriel, also Celeborn/Sauron/Galadriel): so loads of us have written "what if Sauron shapechanged into Celeborn to seduce Galadriel"; this is "what if Sauron shapechanged into Galadriel to seduce Celeborn, because he's furious with her and obsessed with her and sort of wants to be her all at the same time"?

So Wide a Sea (E, 6k words, also Galadriel/Celeborn): After Sauron's final defeat in the War of the Ring Galadriel remembers a long-ago day on Númenor.

One-shot fics

Five times Halbrand's secret got revealed (T, 6000 words): the first Haladriel fic I ever wrote, of five scenarios of Galadriel learning his name. 'Shadow-Bride' is a continuation of one of these five; 'A man is a god in ruins' is the '...and one time it didn't.'

Tar-Mairon of the Shire (G, 3000 words): entire fix-it fluff, probably more '&' than '/', Hobbits make everything better including Dark Lords.

Tempered (M, 3600 words): written for @thecoziestbean for the spring '24 Haladriel fic exchange.

And white winter, on its knees (M, 1800 words): written for the Haladriel Winter Solstice '23, a what-if Galadriel said yes to Sauron's offer story.

Weakened like Achilles, with you always at my heels (M, 4000 words): written for Haladriel Week '24. A little moment after the Tirharad battle and before the volcano.

I have loved flowers that fade (M, 1700 words): they deserved to have at least one nice time in Eregion before she found out who he was!

Weighed Against Our Future (T, 1800 words): A delirious (or is he?) Halbrand on the road to Eregion.

Shine (T, 3300 words) and its sequel Lady of the Seas (E, 3700 words): Halbrand makes Galadriel's armour on Númenor.

Silver Queen (M, 3600 words): my first 'what if Celebrían was Sauron's daughter?' story, sort of a Haladriel fic and sort of a fix-it for Celebrían.

Civil Twilight (M, 10k words, also Celeborn/Galadriel): for Haladriel Week '23. A 'what if Celebrían was Sauron's daughter?' and 'what if Galadriel finds her missing husband?' story combined.

The turn of the tide (T, 1700 words): For Haladriel Week '23. In the Fourth Age after travelling back to Valinor, Galadriel still feels called to the sea.

Though I sang in my chains like the sea (T, 3000 words): For Haladriel Week '23. They were on that ep2 raft for a while; so this is a gapfiller of them getting to know each other better. Or not.

Blood Sugar (M, 7000 words): the only time I've ever done a modern AU, and even then it doesn't really count because he's still literal Sauron in it. Anyway: Glasgow, professional disillusionment, and difficult relationships with your history.

Ficlets under 1000 words

You built a nest inside my soul, you rest your head on leaves of gold (M, 800 words); Numenor alleyway smut.

How shall summer's honey breath hold out (M, 600 words): and why shouldn't Galadriel get to command an army and have a nice time with the enemy general while heavily pregnant.

Gilded (G, 550 words): another 'what if she said yes on the raft' fic

Not for all my little words (T, 775 words) s1 ep8, Elrond-POV on Galadriel and her weird new friend in Eregion.

Miscellaneous fics:

Half-Maia Celebrían short fics: Suo Gân (G, 1000 words), Arda Sahta (G, 1100 words), As Little Might Be Thought (T, 2600 words). All these are Galadriel/Celeborn (and the last one is also Celebrían/Elrond) and Sauron isn't really in them, but they're all about the impact of that being his child.

To hold all the promise of blue-velvet dark (T, 1700 words) - another 'what if Sauron impersonates Galadriel?' fic, this time featuring baby half-Maia Amroth.

Silmarillion rather than TROP: As certain dark things are loved (M, 8000 words, also Galadriel/Celeborn, also Galadriel/Celeborn/Sauron), for @softlighter for the Sufficiently Advanced '24 exchange. Annatar in 2nd Age Ost-in-Edhil.

[demonscantgothere]

Helholden's Masterlist of Haladriel Fics:

I have written dozens of fics for The Rings of Power, featuring Haladriel, under the pen name Helholden, so here is a nice, neat masterlist of all of them in one place.

Epic Multi-chapters:

❀ Litost. Canon-divergence fic set decades after the events of S1 & S2. Sauron thrives in Númenor as the High Priest when Galadriel is taken prisoner, and they are reunited on the eve of disaster. Together, they re-establish themselves in Pelargir, creating Gondor with the help of Elendil and his Men, but deceit and lies run deep and the truth will out. 276k. Ongoing.

❀ Beasts of the Hill and Serpents of the Den. Alternate Universe set in the First Age. The War of Wrath changes course. Instead of sending his wolves out to kill Finrod after capturing Felagund in his dungeons, Sauron demands an exchange for his life. Galadriel offers herself. 214k. Ongoing.

❀ Though the Gods and the Years Relent, Shall Be. After the final Breaking of the World when existence is remade by its creator Eru Ilúvatar, second chances are possible. Artanis meets Mairon and keeps coming by to visit him throughout the years. They develop a fast friendship, but it is hard to remain just friends. 25k. Complete.

❀ The Greatest Slavery. Dead Dove. Celeborn is Sauron's prisoner. If Galadriel wants her husband returned to her alive, there are terms. Many years later, Sauron comes back for his daughter, Celebrían. 48k. Complete.

❀ Symbiosis. Modern AU. Galadriel goes out drinking after a bad breakup, and Halbrand shows up to put all the pieces back together. 77k. Complete.

Completed One-shots and Short Stories:

❀ In the Golden Vein of All Your Broken Promises. It's a threesome fic with Galadriel, Annatar, and Celeborn. Pure smut. 15k.

❀ Jewel Spoilt. A tale inspired by The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty with Galadriel as Beauty and Sauron as the one to break the curse Morgoth has lain upon her. 15k.

❀ Crown, and Caress Thee, and Chain. Galadriel says yes, becoming his Dark Queen. Sauron transmutes her into a god in the fires of Mount Doom instead of creating the One Ring. 11k.

❀ Maybe You Were the Ocean, When I Was Just a Stone. A series of one-shots written for RoP Week 2023 featuring various relationships. 11k.

❀ À Côté de la Plaque. Another threesome fic, only this time it's Galadriel, Halbrand, and Bronwyn with a surprise entrance from Arondir. 10k.

❀ Light Weight. A story of Mairon and Artanis told in seven parts, spanning over thousands of years from their very first meeting in Valinor to the Sundering Seas — a tale of touch, obsession, and addiction. 9k.

❀ Heart of Gold. They bang on Celebrimbor's large anvil table, Your Honor. 6k.

❀ An Inexorable Fate. My very first Haladriel fic ever written that started all of this. Halbrand struggles to tell Galadriel how he feels after the eruption of Mount Doom. 5k.

❀ Abundance. Written for an anonymous tumblr prompt that wanted a take on Halbrand’s reaction to seeing Galadriel in the green dress in Eregion for the first time. 5k.

❀ Bite Hard, Lest Remembrance Come After. Galadriel and Halbrand take what moments of reprieve they can behind Celeborn’s back. Always wanting, but never quite together in whole. 4k.

❀ Mortal Laws. Galadriel says yes during Episode 8, "Alloyed." 3k.

❀ Just Deserts. After Sauron's successful assault on Eregion, Celeborn and Galadriel are both his prisoners along with the rest of the city. It's another threesome fic. Enjoy. 3k.

❀ Daughter of Death. ASOIAF crossover. Dany seeks out a sorcerer to help her preserve the life of her baby. The only sorcerer here, the red priestesses whisper, who could cheat death. 3k.

❀ With Music That Scares the Profane. Halbrand wakes up in Eregion for the first time. 3k.

❀ Twain Halves of a Perfect Heart, Made Fast. A child Artanis meets a child Mairon, only he is not an Elf like her. He is a Maia, and he hasn't been on this plane of existence for very long, nor had a body for very long. Artanis teaches him a few things—like friendship. 2k.

❀ Queen of Love and Beauty. A child Artanis reunites with a child Mairon at a festival for Vána the Ever-young and Queen of Flowers in Valmar. 2k.

❀ And I'll Ask for the Sea. The infamous bath!fic. 2k.

❀ It’s the Last Thing I Wanted (It’s the First Thing I Do). Mairon and Artanis during the Years of the Trees. 1k.

❀ Green-Eyed Fallacy. On the eve of the Sack of Eregion, Halbrand tries to reason with Galadriel once more before the war. Only now, it’s too late. 1k.

Completed Dead Dove:

❀ Eyes Closed. Morgoth Bauglir returns from beyond The Void, and draws his wayward servant, Sauron, back under his thumb with the one temptation he can't deny—his Lady of Light, Galadriel. 10k.

❀ Into the Light of the Dark Black Night. Modern AU. He winds their fingers together, holds her hand like a lover that has never caused her harm. Their rings are cold side by side. Metal against metal. A binding link holding them together against her will. 8k.

❀ Dark, Dark My Light, and Darker My Desire. In which Artanis thinks Mairon is her rescuer, but it couldn't be further from the truth. 18k.

❀ Vestige. He wants her for her power. He never wanted her for her love. 3k.

[cilil]

Since everyone are asking about ships, do you have: popular ship that you are not into, but can see the idea; popular ship you are not into and can't understand why; and a ship popularity of which surprises you (in either positive or negative sense).

Genuinely curious, not trying to start any drama, but naturally feel free to delete if you don't feel like answering. Nice day to you!

Hey anon! Lovely day to you too and thanks for the ask!

(I'm going to preface this by saying these type of asks can be a bit tough to answer for me, since I'm just pretty chill with ships and sometimes can't even tell how popular a thing is while drifting around in my comfortable little bubble, and my answers might not be super juicy, but I wanted to try giving some anyway ^^)

Popular ship that you are not into, but can see the idea

I brainstormed a bit which popular ships came to mind and also went on AO3 to filter for the most written Silm ships. I actually love all the ones that came up (especially Angbang haha), so I suppose I have nothing in that regard.

If I wanted to give a funny answer, I'd say Beren/Lúthien (the author's canonical self-insert would count as fairly popular, yeah?) because yes, I get the idea and there's a lot of romantic stuff going on, but I will never understand giving up fucking hot angels in Valinor for the sake of a human man who came crawling out of the bushes one day (listen, you guys do you, and creeping on people in forests seems to be some sort of Ainurin/Valinorean dating tradition, but I would be calling the police, ok? Don't creep on me in my forest please unless your name is Eönwë). Lúthien, girl, I love you, but this choice is personally offensive to me and my efforts to get my hands on hot angels. Maybe I'm also just too arospec for this, happy pride month.

(I should perhaps add that such opinions are always subject to change, all it takes is one person giving me one idea that gets me thinking and the entire thing could look different tomorrow. These are snapshots of a moment in time, if you will.)

((Also in case it needs to be said, please nobody take my funny answers too seriously.))

Popular ship you are not into and can't understand why

Hmmm, to properly answer that I would probably have to get into my NOTPs and that's a topic I don't want to discuss on this blog.

Please don't feel bad for asking, I appreciate it, but that's just one thing I decided for myself because, while I think nobody should put too much emphasis on my - a random person on the internet that I believe nobody here has met! - opinion, some people do and/or get upset that not everyone likes their ship. And I get it, I don't like people talking crap about my favorite characters and ships to my face either. So yeah, I just don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable :)

Ship popularity of which surprises you (in either positive or negative sense)

Heh. This will be a fun one, but bear with me for a second, alright?😅

I'm going to say Russingon. Now, now, put down the pitchforks. When I read the Silmarillion, I was very new to fandom and shipping in general and was also reading mostly just for an overview of everything and to learn more about Melkor and Mairon, so I didn't think too much of the Russingon interactions. Hopping onto AO3 immediately after, I quickly learned about them being shipped, went "oh yeah, I totally see this" and have been a supporter ever since.

The reason why its popularity surprises me is quite simply that I come from a fandom where people were incredibly weird and hostile regarding any sort of incest, including all variations of pseudo-incest ("sibling-coded", found family, etc.). I essentially went from a fandom that bullied me out of shipping two characters who were neither biologically related nor had grown up together nor even knew each other prior to their meeting as adults simply because they apparently had sibling vibes to a fandom whose top ship are half-cousins.

In case I haven't made it sufficiently clear: It was a very positive surprise. I frankly think very little of fandoms who clutch their pearls over pixels on a screen kissing and police what people can and can't ship, and I feel just so much more comfortable in a fandom where people are more chill and used to it. Thank you, Russingon!

[elennalore]

fic writer review

Thank you for the tag @skyeventide <3

how many works do you have on AO3?

26 at the moment.

what’s your total AO3 word count? 119990

how many fandoms have you written for and what are they? Nowadays I write mainly fics for the Silmarillion fandom, but during the years, I have written fics for Final Fantasy VII, Harry Potter, Star Wars and some other fandoms.

what are your top 5 fics by kudos? 1. Walk Through the Darkest Valley, post-canon Celebrimbor & Mairon 2. Lightbearer, sequel to N.o 1, Silvergifting 3. The Unrest of the Noldor, Fourth Age, re-embodied Maedhros and Finrod have a bar night 4. His body, broken and beautiful, Mairon & Nerdanel post-canon, belongs to the same fic series as 1 and 2 5. Warming Up, Mairon & Aulë, post canon, an independent sequel to 1. Interesting to see that the TOP 5 are all Fourth Age Valinor fics!

do you respond to comments, why or why not? I try to always respond to comments! I love getting them, and I love the fandom interaction.

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? I believe it’s either Dead End (the canonical death of Celebrimbor) or The End of All Things (the canonical death of Maedhros).

do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written? Not really, but I have written a crack crossover where I have put Fëanor and Mairon inside events of Kalevala.

have you ever received hate on a fic? No.

do you write smut? if so what kind? Yes, I do. For me, it’s most often about relationship dynamics, so there is always some plot included. Also, kink exploration.

have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of.

have you ever had a fic translated? I have translated myself one of my fics, originally written in Finnish, into English.

have you ever co-written a fic before? No, but I have had a lot of collaboration with one of my TRSB artists this summer, and that has been wonderfully inspirational.

what’s your all time favorite ship? Silvergifting (Mairon/Celebrimbor)

what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? My Finnish longfic about Sauron in Númenor: Tähden maan velho - Sairon Elennanóreo - the Wizard of the Star-shaped land. It’s dear to me, and I have written different versions of it, but I think I have outgrown it, for nowadays my view on Sauron is changed. FUN FACT: I have taken my username from the fic’s Quenya title - only elennanore was reserved so I became elennalore XD

what are your writing strengths? Character dynamics and writing multi-dimensional villains, or antiheroes. I have lots of ideas for fics.

what are your writing weaknesses? Not being a non-native writer, my writing in English is not as fluent as I wanted it to be.

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? It should be understood by the reader, so there should be a translation available somewhere.

what was the first fandom you wrote for? Final Fantasy VII, Harry Potter

what’s your favorite fic you’ve written? Probably Walk Through the Darkest Valley, for I wrote it to explore the relationship between Mairon and Celebrimbor, and during the writing process I became a Silvergifting shipper myself.

I feel too shy to tag anyone now, but feel free to do this meme, I’d like to see your answers!

[saurons-pr-department]

Head Canon Time! : Just a little musing on Mairon’s name

(I’ll be honest, some of this involved me actually thinking about the canon, the rest of it however was purely me frolicking through head canon land)

Mairon comes from Maira, which is a Quenya word meaning “admirable, excellent or precious”. Now, while it’s never stated when he joins Melkor, I would be surprised if he was still in Valinor when the Elves arrived without it ever being mentioned. I mean, if Ossë’s defection gets a short description in the Silm, surely the defection of the Lieutenant of Angband himself should too?! Which is to say, that I wouldn’t be inclined to think that he ever would have met the Elves there and either introduce himself as Mairon or been bestowed the name by particularly awed Elves.

So, where did it come from?

1) I know the Ainur could communicate telepathically, but they did have an actual spoken language too, so I don’t think it’s too far fetched to think of them having names for themselves/each other. It’s always possible that he has an unknown Valarin name that means roughly the same thing as ‘Mairon’. Failing that, I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible for the Ainur to use certain feelings or imagery to identify individuals when speaking telepathically. Either way, ‘Mairon’ could be more of a translation of some original name. I quite like this idea, because he seems to cling to the name Mairon, long after everyone is done thinking of him as ‘Admirable’. That not only shows his attitude towards his own actions and motives but, to me anyway, also has a slight feeling of “But that’s actually just my name. What else do you want me to call myself?” and he’s just translated it because that’s what everyone in Tolkien’s work seems to do he wants people understand his name. 

2) While I was thinking about this, a certain line floated across my brain: “In his beginning he was of the Maiar of Aulë, and he remained mighty in the lore of that people”. It’s from the section of the Valaquenta titled ‘Of the Enemies’, yet it doesn’t particularly sound like a negative sentence. He wasn’t ‘notorious’ or ‘infamous’, he was ‘mighty’. And there’s something about that ‘remained’ before the ‘mighty’, as if there was some old idea of him that Aulë’s people, maybe even Aulë himself, held on to. Maybe Mairon was a name given to him by the Elves, those that were smiths, studying with Aulë. Maybe they were told the occasional sad, whispered story whenever a curious Elf wanted to know about that empty workbench that no one was allowed to use or certain tools that no one was allowed to touch. Maybe Aulë’s Maiar would share memories of a precious sibling who was lost. Who could blame them for maybe, in their grief, leaving out the bit about his defection? The Ainur are old, even by Elven standards, perhaps as far as they were concerned, he wasn’t long gone. So the Elves working in Aulë’s Halls learn of a beloved Maia, who’s no-longer around, and call them Mairon, because that’s what they learn of him.

(How exactly this second one fits into the bastard man going around and calling himself Mairon, I neither know nor care. I am here for the emotions. Maybe he caught wind of it and was like “Oh yes, this will do nicely”.)

[mythopoeticreality]

for the ship ask; 💤 💘

Ship that is canon but you don’t ship

Hrmm…ah…I’m not sure actually? I suppose Caranthir/Caranthir’s wife, if that counts? I mean, we don’t actually know much about Moryo’s wife besides the fact that she…well, existed? And meanwhile my First and Last and Always Silm ship is Caranthir/Haleth, and I mean, Haleth…Haleth is just awesome – She held her people together for a week after her father and brother died before Caranthir came. She’s proud and brave and so dedicated to her people? And she’s just…amazing. To compare the two just seems really unfair, but yeah, that’s pretty much my answer

Ship that is unpopular but you still like

Okay! Let’s do this one for the Silm now! I’m going to say Eönwë/Sauron is probably my most unpopular Silm ship, though I’m not sure if it just seems that way to me because of where I hang out in the fandom? Again, Tolkien fandom is big.

But yeah, I just have so many feelings about this ship? Like imagine them in the beginning, right? Mairon and Eönwë, two of the most powerful, most respected amongst the Maiar, the both of them working to help in the creation of the world at it’s dawning? Fighting at one another’s side to protect Arda from Morgoth as he attempted to mar the creations of the other Valar and force them into his own vision? 

Here on the one hand you have Mairon, fiercely intelligent and fiercely independent. His mind works at a thousand miles a minute and yes, sometimes humbling himself to the rule of the Valar does chafe. He is not as patient as he could be, but his greatest passion is the creation of beauty and order and he will work to serve those goals, to see Arda as he once beheld it in the Vision Eru showed to him. And then on the other hand you have  Eönwë, humble, kind,forgiving, wise. He is ever loyal, both to those he cares about personally as well as to the Valar. Of course the two of them clash, they have their disagreements and their differences, but Eönwë helps to settle Mairon with his own patience, and to help ground him (the irony of this creature of the air keeping him  – the servant of Aulë “grounded” does not escape Mairon) and Mairon, with the way his mind is constantly at work and with the beauty he can see in the world and what it could be makes Eönwë fall even more in love with Arda for it’s potential. They are best friends, as good as brothers to one another as well as lovers.

And then Morgoth comes along and turns Sauron to his side? This being that has been their enemy for so long? Can you imagine how deeply that must have cut for Eönwë? How that must have felt, that out of all people Mairon would choose that over him? 

And then, and then, you have Sauron coming back, begging for Forgiveness after the War of Wrath. It’s been centuries, millennia even, but still, seeing Sauron again, wearing that face (for of course it was the same one he wore upon Almaren, in those early days) stirs up in Eönwë so many feelings he’d rather forget. And he finds that he wants to forgive Sauron, to go back and have everything as it was before, to embrace him as he once did and to taste his kiss once more – but he knows he can’t. He knows that this could all just as easily be a ploy, Saruon trying to worm his way free from justice for his acts, knowing that he has lost. He knows how much blood is on Sauron’s hands. Even had he the power to grant Sauron pardon, would it be right for him to do so?

And when Eönwë tells him to seek pardon from the Valar? It hurts, it hurts more than Sauron expected it to. It feels like a rejection, and Sauron realizes that those feelings he thought he had crushed so long ago still exist? 

Ughh! It’s just so tragic and fantastic, and I love it?!

(Of course, I’m not opposed to Sauron Redemption AU’s either, Were Sauron *does* return to Valinor with Eönwë – purely for selfish reasons at first, but still having to atleast pretend to force down his pride and make an attempt at atonement. Just…the struggle there with finding himself in the very home of these beings he just so recently considered his enemies, and who were, before even that, his friends and family? And then there’s Eönwë both a thorn in his side and a shoulder to cry on, and this whole arc about gaining his trust back and the rekindling of their relationship?! Oh gosh, I’m sorry, I’m rambling now, but this is just…this is one of my *dream* fics, honestly! >.

[unknown-de-mordor-blog]

Five ships I’m still not over

Beleg Cúthalion/Túrin Turambar

Universe: Middle-earth, first age

Ship name: Nothing that’s widely used in the fandom, I don’t think. But I like to think of them as ‘Black Sword (referring to Turin’s cursed weapon) and Strongbow (direct translation of Cúthalion)’

To me, there's no character more tragic than Turin son of Hurin, and no pairing more tragic than him and Beleg. And no clearer love, too. I don't know if J. R. R. Tolkien intended for them to go that far, but their emotional connection is so deep and powerful that whether you ship them or not it's undisputedly one of the most beautiful relationships in Tolkien's lore. Alas! It's not powerful enough to undo the curse placed on Turin and his clan, which ends both his and Beleg's life all too soon and all too tragically. So, yes, I count Beleg as one of the elves who die for love.

Favourite quote: 'I would lead my own men, and make war in my own way,' Turin answered. 'But in this at least my heart is changed: I repent every stroke save those dealt against the Enemy of Men and Elves. And above all else I would have you beside me. Stay with me!' 'If I stayed beside you, love would lead me not wisdom,' said Beleg.

Uh, I love this so much because it shows the difference in their temperament and maturity. Beleg's an elf who has lived through and fought in so many wars. He's an (elf)man of duty, honour and intellect, and Turin is still a young man whose pride and stubbornness can seriously get in the way of a grown-up conversation. And Beleg is so not having any of that in this scene. He’d do anything for Turin, including ditching his command to find him, but he can pull some tough-love moves, too, when Turin’s unreasonable.

Uzumaki Naruto/Uchiha Sasuke

Universe: Naruto

Ship name: sns, narusasu, sasunaru

I think Naruto and Sasuke canonically love each other, I really do, but I don’t think they are together romantically at any point in the series. And that’s by design, really. Sasuke -- the last of the Uchiha, the tragic figure of the Naruto series (still not as tragic as Turin, but let’s not do this morbid comparison) -- has too many issues to work through, and Naruto isn’t in the position to really help him through them. So as soul-deep as their bond is, they couldn’t have been together and survive each other. Although, I really want that to happen. That’s what fanfictions are for, I guess.

Favourite quote: ‘If you attack Konoha, I will have to fight you... So save up your hatred and take it all on me, I'm the only one who can take it. It's the only thing I can do. I will shoulder your hatred and die with you.’

Honestly, Naruto might just as well propose to Sasuke with that because he’s essentially saying ‘give me your worst, I’m not leaving and never will’. I know friends could be like that, too, but normally not to this degree and not with this kind of commitment. I’m not surprised at all when Sasuke has to ask Naruto why the hell he is doing all this for him. It just goes beyond reason, really.

S'chn T'gai Spock /James T. Kirk

Universe: Star Trek

Ship name: K/S, Spirk

The Daddy of all ships! Pun intended! Spock and Kirk's friendship really walks that fine line of are they/aren’t they. I personally think they aren’t (another controversial statement coming from a shipper), but they’re so cute together you just can’t help think: what if they are? They have this deep trust and affection for one another anyway; why not push it a notch further? ‘This simple feeling,’ as Spock calls it, might as well be love.

Favourite quote:

Kirk: How's our ship? Spock: Out of danger. Kirk: Good... Spock: You saved the crew. Kirk: You used what he wanted against him. That's a nice move. Spock: It is what you would have done. Kirk: And this... this is what you would have done. It was only logical. I'm scared, Spock. Help me not be. How do you choose not to feel? Spock: I do not know. [tears fall] Right now, I am failing. Kirk: I want you to know why I couldn't let you die... why I went back for you... Spock: Because you are my friend. [Kirk places his hand against the glass and gives the Vulcan Salute as he dies]

It’s actually really hard for me to pick a quote for these two because I think every ‘Jim’ from Spock does the job except nobody else would understand it but me. (Second to that is, ‘Captian, not in front of the Klingons.’) While I love them teasing each other a lot, I think Kirk’s death scene from Star Trek Into Darkness has all the right punches to it. Spock has been unable to accept the feeling of friendship towards Kirk (actually just feelings in general) until the moment he watches Kirk dies behind the glass door. And all just comes out like BOOM! Not to mention how close Spock comes to killing Khan for revenge before Uhura tells him that Kirk can be saved but they need Khan alive. Honestly, that’s the only reason Khan’s head doesn’t go plop in Spock’s hands.

Morgoth/Sauron

Universe: Middle-earth, first age

Ship name: it just came to my attention that the fandom is calling this ship Angbang (a wordplay on the name of their home/fortress Angband). Nicely done, you naughty people. Also Melkor/Mairon if you’re going by their proper first-age names.

I think a lot of people seeing this ship would go ‘what?!’ Like, how is that even possible when Tolkien didn’t write a single scene with the two of them in it. I’d say in this case the absence is more powerful. Tolkien wrote the Silmarillion and the Unfinished Tales as lore, so they necessarily come from the perspective of the tellers; i.e., humans and elves. That doesn’t mean Tolkien didn’t drop hints about the complex characters that the dark lords of Middle-earth are. He even has Elrond says that people don’t start out evil, not even Sauron. So the question becomes, what the heck happened? And the heck that starts it all out is pretty much in the first few chapters of the Silmarillion where Morgoth is clearly a powerful and inventive figure but in many ways an outcast and shunned by everyone including the very power that made him. (*cough* daddy issue *cough*) And then we are made aware of the fact Sauron, who is also powerful and creative, isn’t on Morgoth’s side from the get go but decides to join him later. The power-hungry dark lords we are later told about aren’t that at all, so it raises the question of their true characters and motives. If anything, I think the length in which Sauron would go for Morgoth thousands of years after his master is defeated and shut away says something about their bond with each other. And if I know one thing, it can’t be fear or respect. If I have to make a guess, I think it is akin to love.

Favourite quote: There isn’t anything I can quote from the source material since there hasn’t been a dialogue or anything they say to an audience that could be trusted as genuinely representing who they are. One thing I do scream about is the scene in the Return of the King movie when the black gate opened and behind there isn’t just the tower with the eye of Sauron but Mount Doom next to it in the same frame. I was like ‘I know Morgoth’s not here but isn’t that him in spirit.’ Yes, I’m a proper trash for these two.

Also, there’s this awesome comic series (unfortunately discontinued) by Suz. It’s legitimately hotter than the fire of Aule’s forge, honestly.

Beren/Lúthien

Universe: Middle-earth, first age

Ship name: I’m not aware of any ship name for these two but ‘Beren and Luthien’ is catchy enough as it is.

How else to finish this list but to dedicate the last entry to the greatest love story of Middle-earth, and, yes, I'm saying that with a straight face because, holy hell, this couple defies expectations left, right, and centre. Luthien, our elven princess, is an active participant in her own fate. She falls in love with a human who, in an act of valour, accepts her father's stupid, impossible task to steal the most treasured jewel from Morgoth the Dark Lord himself. Luthien basically runs away from home, finds her man captured and tortured, and tears the goddamn fortress down in a showdown with the-dark-lord-to-be Sauron himself (which makes you question the competency of everyone else in Middle-earth). They then proceed to steal the jewel together. They don't quite succeed in bringing it back and Beren loses his hand in the process, but hey, they could say it's in his hand, somewhere, and now could they please marry because otherwise I have a feeling that Luthien is going to elope with her boyfriend and her mom and dad won't be seeing her again ever.

And this is really just scratching the surface of Luthien’s feisty personality quite unbefitting of most princesses until the recent overhaul of attitude by Disney. And all this came from a man who was born in the Victorian era when women's autonomy wasn't given or respected. But I think Luthien's depth of character comes from the fact that she has a real-life counterpart, and so she feels more like a real woman. And the love between Beren and Luthien feels compelling because its the love the professor himself had for his wife and life-long partner, Edith. You can check out their gravestone. I'm so not making this up.

Favourite quote: The song of Lúthien before Mandos was the song most fair that ever in words was woven, and the song most sorrowful that ever the world shall ever hear. Unchanged, imperishable, it is sung still in Valinor beyond the hearing of the world, and the listening the Valar grieved. For Lúthien wove two themes of words, of the sorrow of the Eldar and the grief of Men, of the Two Kindreds that were made by Ilúvatar to dwell in Arda, the Kingdom of Earth amid the innumerable stars. And as she knelt before him her tears fell upon his feet like rain upon stones; and Mandos was moved to pity, who never before was so moved, nor has been since.

It’s not a scene between them, but this is how far Luthien’s love and badassery goes. She loses Beren in a battle to protect her father’s kingdom, and she dies grieving him. In the afterlife, she gets to meet the god of death Mandos and sings him a song of their love and her grief. Apparently, she’s so good with words and music that Mandos is like, ‘I can’t handle the feels. You can have your husband back and have a mortal life with him.’ And Luthien takes the deal, of course.

[nixiegenesis]

500 Word WIP Request

tolkien-lady replied to your post

“Ok everyone! I need to get back into the writing groove I had going on...”

I like all of them but my favourite is the evil Valar, i'd like to read that!! :-)

For @tolkien-lady 500 words of the (currently untitled) Evil Valar AU under the cut

We are not yours…

A trio of disembodied voices lilted within Melkor’s head. The iron crown’s weight was crushing as it bore down on his skull. The pressure was like a vice.

Heavy. So heavy. Release us, Morgoth.

“You are not real,” Melkor grumbled to the voices.

It was all trickery caused by Varda’s “hallowing” of the gems—a way for the Silmarils to find their way back to the Valar. Melkor would not allow Varda’s jealousy to affect him. He sneered as he thought of how she must have screamed with fury when she heard Melkor had not returned with the Silmarils as he had agreed.

We are not yours.

But they were. Melkor took the Silmarils as payment for his part in the Darkening. Not that he wouldn’t have murdered the Noldor King for free, but dealing with Ungoliant had been especially unpleasant. None of the other Valar—not even Oromë, would have dared step foot into her lair. Manwë had probably hoped the primordial creature would have ended Melkor. But Melkor prevailed as he always had.

Melkor and Manwë had betrayed each other hundreds of times through the ages. Manwë should have known better than to think Melkor would return the Silmarils or that Melkor had acted for the good of the Valar. Melkor never acted out of anything but self-preservation.

“Your hands,” Manwë had said, “are already sullied, brother. What is one more death to add to your count? Finwë’s death will send Fëanáro into a spiral he will never recover from. His people already scorn him. The Silmarils will be ours and all will forget that such acts of creation are capable by anyone but the Valar alone. Your reward shall be Arda, since you desire it so.”

Melkor struggled to keep his head from bowing under his crown’s weight. The light from the Silmarils stung his eyes but he had grown accustomed to the burn, just as he became accustomed to the dull ache in his blackened hands.

“Was it worth it?” Mairon had asked as he tended to Melkor’s burns. His skin continued to flake away even though he no longer held the Silmarils. Bone became exposed and blackened like his flesh.

Melkor had registered that there was pain, but it was as though he looked upon he and Mairon as if he were outside himself. He recalled Námo’s words.

“Fëanáro’s Silmarils are another sign of our demise,” Námo had warned. “The Valar were not meant to rule endlessly. Soon, we shall be tied to this earth and decay with it.”

“Yes,” Melkor had growled in response to Mairon.

If the Silmarils were the key to keeping the Valar all powerful, then Melkor would ensure that he was in control of them. Never again would he allow himself to be thrown at his brother’s mercy. Instead, they would beg for his. 

Though his hands burned like no fire he had ever come in contact with, he desperately wanted to hold them again. He might have burned away to nothing or become blinded by their light if Mairon had not set them in the iron crown. He almost laughed as he thought how the Silmarils might have burned the others as well.

Presently, Melkor clenched and unclenched his fists. Charred skin flaked away and his bones crunched. He both marvelled and recoiled at the sound. He had never been trapped within his form before. It was a small sacrifice for true freedom, he thought, even if it meant his spirit was trapped in a mortal prison. 

Unlike his brethren, he bound himself to Arda long ago. It was the step they refused to take, for it was their fear to become bound to their physical raiment. Their fear was what drove them to plot against the elves and bring them to Valinor. And all seemed well until Finwë’s son created the Silmarils. Fëanáro did what no other Eruhin could, and it frightened the Valar. Melkor, as always, was intrigued and wondered just how did the Silmarils fit into Eru’s music, if at all.

It was then, the doors to the throne room opened. Melkor straightened in his throne and masked all signs of his discomfort as Gothmog strode before him. The Captain bowed and turned towards the doors.

“He is here, my Lord,” Gothmog said. “Unspoiled, as you commanded.”

Melkor only nodded.

The prisoner was pushed towards the throne, a bag over their head. Their breath came quick and ragged along with muffled grunts as they struggled against their bonds. The prisoner was forced to their knees by the orcs who held them.

We do not belong to you! The voices hissed in Melkor’s mind once more.

Melkor ignored them—though it was becoming more difficult.

“Remove the bag,” he commanded.

One of the orcs yanked the bag from the prisoner’s head. The prisoner choked through the gag in his mouth. His red hair fell in tangles caked with dirt and gore. The elf lord trembled as the light of his father’s creations shone upon him.

Return us or face your demise, the voices snarled and wended their way through Melkor’s thoughts.

“You do not belong to him, either,” Melkor said under his breath.

No. He now belongs to us. The Oath he swore.  

Melkor turned his attention back to the Fëanorian. “Get up off your knees, elf lord,” Melkor’s voice boomed in the hall. “Stand and face your god.”

A god of ruin. A god no more.You belong to us.

Thanks for the request! This is going to be an interesting fic and while I have the general idea down, it’ll be fun to see where it goes! Again this is CANON DIVERGENT :) I borrowed the line “Get up off your knees, boy. Stand face to face with your God” from Highly Suspect’s “My Name is Human”. This was the scene that came together in my head and birthed the idea that the Valar were fading from the world and Feanor creating the Silmarils was a sign that the Valar were becoming obsolete. So they begin to plot to keep themselves in power for the “good” of Eru’s children. 

[shineoftherainbow]

I was tagged by the wonderful @feanoriansappreciation, who is awesome.

1) Which of the three brothers (Fëanor, Fingolfin or Finarfin) would you have followed, based on political opinions and actions, and your moral code? Why? I’m too indecisive to have followed Fëanor, and possibly Fingolfin, but I think I wouldn’t have chosen to follow Finarfin, if only due to wanting the chance to see new things, so I might have gone with Fingolfin, but by trailing along after Finrod or Galadriel, instead of following him directly.

2) What’s your opinion on the doom that befell the Numenorians? Was the drowning of an entire island a just punishment? I think the destruction of the host that arrived in Valinor was more or less fair. Perhaps not very kind, but fair, especially considering the Numenoreans had been very specifically warned against sailing out of sight of their shores, so they were even given extra time to turn back. The destruction of Numenor itself, though, strikes me as very unfair overkill. It seems to me that it would have been enough if a minuscule part of the power brought to bear against the island had been used to snipe, say, the royal palace, or any particularly visible temple to Morgoth (and incidentally any Saurons standing nearby). The inhabitants of Numenor had been corrupted, yes, but I feel they were essentially innocent, because, you know, Sauron.

3) What would you do in Thingol’s place, taking into consideration the prejudices, his views and biased opinions; would you have given the silmaril back? Why or why not? From my outside perspective, I think the best thing to do would have been to get as much out of the Fëanorians as physically possible, starting with “You will protect my forest more than your miserable lives” and working my way up from there, because they would do literally anything for the silmarils, but most of them didn’t actually want to attack Doriath. On the other hand, I’m not sure I would be capable of this train of thought when actually immersed in the whole story.

4) Would you have followed the Valar to Aman, considering you don’t know what happens/will happen there? Why or why not? I think I would have wanted to follow them, but I wouldn’t have been convinced by the “no going back” part of the whole affair, so I would’ve second-guessed myself into following a single person whatever their ultimate decision was.

5) If you were an Elf, would you befriend or shut out the Dwarves? Why? I very much enjoy creating, and watching others create, and finding out about different ways of thinking, so I think I could’ve gotten along well with the Dwarves, and befriended them as much (as little) as I befriend anyone.

6) You have the chance to fix a relationship (romantic or not) between two characters from the Silmarillion. Who are they and why? I guess I could try for one of the, y’know, plot relevant ones, but I really feel like helping Aegnor and Andreth. As far as I understand it they parted kinda bitterly and I guess if he’s gonna die horribly pretty soon and she’s gonna outlive her immortal nearly-boyfriend, then at least they deserve to be happy before that happens.

7) One personal headcanon you have about the Seduction of Mairon. I think it was very much about ambition. About Mairon feeling limited by only having a portion of Aule’s attention, and relishing in the fact that Melkor was offering him so much more. I think Melkor made it clear that it would be a passage from one servant/student/assistant out of many to a Lieutenant, with the chance to make some of his own choices, and to interact with his new master in a much closer way, simply due to having less “competition”.

8) What do you think of the Rings of Power? Was it a wise move, considering Celebrimbor knows first-hand what happened with the Silmarills? I think the Rings of Power were, conceptually, supposed to be different from the Silmarils, as in, they weren’t Celebrimbor’s, and only Celebrimbor’s, greatest creation, they were a new art and craftsmanship that he shared with many people. In addition, the Silmarils were a show of ability, while the Rings were, I think, at least in part an attempt at making amends, something that had an actual use and was supposed to make the world better after his family, and the Silmarils, had contributed so much to fucking it up. (I’m sorry if this doesn’t make any sense. Words are hard)

9) What’s one non-canon OTP you have? Russingon 5-ever! But really, Maedhros/happiness would be enough. Or just, anyone in the Silm/happiness.

10) If you were to adapt the Silm into a movie/TV show, what would be the most important points you would consider? The prettiness.

But really? I think I would focus a lot on the characters, on trying to make everyone at least a bit sympathetic (including the orcs, probably not including Morgoth, Sauron etc, but who knows), because the worst part of the Silm, the one where everyone dies, wouldn’t be the same if you didn’t care for these people.

That, or just make it a fucking sitcom, that’d also be great. (they all still die at the end, obviously, it’s just black humour all the way)

11) Thoughts on the Children of Hurin? *Uncovering half an eye and reading two lines* Oh. My. God. Why? Why. *Cover eye back up* What the Fuck. *Repeat until I’m done*

It’s very tragic, in the classical “destroyed by powers beyond one’s understanding and one’s own hubris” kind of way, where you wonder if it could’ve gone better if Turin had just stopped trying to fight his curse, even though you know it wouldn’t have, at all.

My questions:

1. Would you have gone to live in Gondolin with Turgon or would you have taken your chances with the outside world?

2. What would you say is your least favourite canon romance? Is this for a rational reason or do you just viscerally dislike it, or not get why it’s a romance?

3. Do you think Nerdanel was justified in not following Fëanor to Formenos? What would you have done in her place?

4. What do you think is Maglor’s ultimate fate?

5. Do you think there is any way (no betrayals, Azaghal not dying, whatever) that the Nirnaeth could have gone not terribly?

6. What do you think was Celebrimbor’s relationship with Narvi? How would you compare it to that with “Annatar”?

7. How do you think Galadriel felt about Elrond (and Elros, if you want) when they first met?

8. Finrod’s duel/rap battle with Sauron, as far as I understand, was a contest of skill and power. Do you think he thought he had the skill, if probably not the power, to win or was he just desperate enough to try anyway? If the first, do you agree?

9. What is your opinion in The Great Debate of Gil-Galad’s Dad?

10. What are your feelings about Dior outside of the whole Silmaril problem?

11. I can’t think of anything else, so, on a scale from 10 to infinite, how awesome is Glorfindel?

I guess I’ll tag @svogliata-mente, @probs-dying, @feanoriel, @cycas@goodguymairon and anyone who wants really, I’m terrible at remembering people.

[mega-ringsandthings-world]

✘ Any unpopular opinions about your muse?♧ Any part of their canon portrayal you dislike?☯ Is your muse liked or disliked by fandom? Does this affect your portrayal?♢ What's your opinion on different interpretations of your muse?✦ Has your interpretation changed at all over the years (For Melkor and/or whoever you want!)

@rosengreen Thank you!These are for Melkor and FeanorUnpopular opinions: For Melkor, I don’t believe he and Varda would be good together. I rather dislike the opinion that he and Varda would have made a good couple. She rejected him because she saw a darkness in him that he himself didn’t even see, and he resented her for looking into him and revealing that part of himself. They aren’t compatible in any way in my mind.

For Feanor, I am of the opinion that he was an amazing father and husband, and he treated his people with love and kindness. (his brothers are another story) Many people don’t think that, but what other reason could he have had for getting almost all the elves to follow him from Valinor? He was very persuasive with his words, yes, and his will was very strong, but he must’ve had stronger ties to his followers that just pretty, impassioned speeches and sheer brain power, they allowed themselves to be swayed by him because they trusted and loved him.    

Canon Portrayal: I dislike the portrayal that Melkor cannot love, because he can, it’s just twisted severely. He hates, and there is not hate without love.

I don’t really dislike anything about Feanor’s portrayal.

Liked or disliked: Melkor - The people who haven’t read the Silm tend to dislike him, and the ones who have read it, tend to like him. It’s 50/50.Feanor - It depends on the individual person.  The likes and dislikes of the fandom don’t affect me, I do what I want with whom I want. Interpretations: I don’t really like interpretations that portray Melkor as dumb or over the top evil, or purely chaotic. That’s not who I think he is. He’s a planner, and an innovator, with a dark charm (he seduced Mairon) and a capacity for absolute havoc, but only when he so desires. (such as in Hurin’s case, he unleashed hell on that family, but only by design)

I don’t like when Feanor is shown as an unhinged madman, or a person that purely hated his brothers, and cared for nothing but those shiny rocks. He’s tragic, has deep seated issues, and zero idea how to cope with anything that ever happened to him in his life. My Interpretation:I was one of the ones who saw Melkor (and Mairon by extension), as just a plain bad guys at first. They’re evil, hate people, want to take over the world. Yadda, yadda.Then I got my hands on the Book of Lost Tales, and my perspective on Melkor shifted drastically, because Lost Tales showed me his personality more than the Silm did. My perspective on Mairon changed when I learned he had been a Maia of Aule. It gave him a connection to so many things, and depth.My interpretation of Feanor has remained pretty much unchanged throughout the years, a beautiful, person with so much potential, who was slowly broken by everything that happened in his life, and who finally burned himself out (quite literally) trying to gain control of a situation he should have relinquished.But, I’ll admit, he’s as awful and as extra as hell sometimes.

(All of these are just my opinions, I’m not putting down or denouncing anyone else’s, just to be clear.)