#Melian's attention was probably split | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ceescedasticity · 16 days

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Ultimately I think there is no 'canonical'/authorial intent answer to the question of whether refugees from Himlad were allowed through Doriath or forced to skirt its borders. (Either is possible mechanically: There is that 'great need' qualifier, and it's possible for Melian to allow in normally non-allowed categories of people at will; at the same time, Beren was not supposed to be able to get in. 'Great need' isn't an automatic free pass.) I think if there were, it would have been mentioned, because it is extremely relevant to the debacle with Celegorm, Curufin, and Lúthien.

If refugees were made temporarily welcome, then that's another reason for Lúthien to trust them and makes their treatment of her even more outrageous. (I'm sure it still would have happened, since they went ahead and disregarded Finrod's hospitality while still enjoying it.) It makes Celegorm and Curufin look a lot worse and it should have been mentioned.

If refugees were forced to skirt the borders, then that is going to heavily influence Celegorm and Curufin's feelings and it's weird that they wouldn't bring it up. If they have such a legitimate grievance with Thingol/Doriath, why would they not raise it in their arguments against the quest or in their letter to Thingol? (Ditto if they never tried to enter, whether or not they could have.)

If refugees were allowed far enough inside the Girdle for safety but closely watched to keep from coming any farther in, then that means multiple people would have been very aware that happened and it would be very strange for Lúthien not to know of them in that context — she should be able to identify them (Celegorm and Huan are quite distinctive even in the unlikely event Curufin isn't head-to-toe in Fëanorian symbols) and know they are not necessarily trustworthy. Even if she decides to trust them anyway, it should have been mentioned. (Ditto if they were invited in and didn't come.)

If refugees were able to pass the Girdle and make their way towards Nargothrond without being met with either some amount of hospitality or some amount of hostility, then what were Doriath's marchwardens doing? Staying out of sight and pretending not to have noticed them? Did Thingol give permission? I have trouble imagining Thingol being okay with even giving the impression someone got the better of his defenses. —With this one it's a bit more plausible no one would bring it up during Lay of Leithian events, but only a bit.

Any of these should have been mentioned. There is no option that actually makes sense.

So it comes down to headcanon.

#a tolkien tag #unsolicited fandom opinions #ardanalysis #personally I think C&C having a legitimate grievance is most likely to be left out of the in-universe historical documents #though I wouldn't necessarily condemn Thingol and Melian even if that happened #a lot of stuff was going on #Melian's attention was probably split #with Dorthonion overrun and Aglon fallen there's very possibly some enemy testing of borders going on #maybe armies maybe magic #and their responsibility is to their own people first #it's not inexcusable #but it makes sense for C&C to find it unforgivable

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arinele · 2 years

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Silmarillion Modern Business/CEO AU

Inspired by @doodle-pops own CEO AU

Finwe is CEO of TIRION, a very successful tech company. Finwe founded and owned TIRION for many years, but was mysteriously murdered in his home by an unknown assailant. His company then dissolved into chaos as his son and step son fought over control. Both sides had large followings, and as a result, the company was split in two. A legal battle ensued, and Judge Namo declared that Feanor, as Finwe’s only blood relation, would be allowed to keep the name TIRION, but would be forced to give up half of the profits to his step brother Fingolfin and his new company Hithlum Enterprises.

Fingolfin is the CEO of Hithlum Enterprises. Fingon is his #2, and eventually takes over after Fingolfin dies.

Melkor is the CEO of Angband, and is the main rival of the Finwians.

Feanor is the CEO of TIRION. When things started to heat up at work between him and Fingolfin (while Finwe was still alive) he eventually decided leave TIRION and founded his own company, Formenos. Though he later went back to TIRION after Finwe’s death and gave ownership of Formenos to Curufin. Curufin passes Formenos to Celebrimbor, who renames it RING.

Maedhros is CEO of TIRION after Feanor dies.

Nerdanel is famous sculpter obviously.

Finarfin is a doctor or something and Earwen is a marine biologist. They don’t involve themselves in their family’s bs.

Anairë owns a law firm. Turgon takes over after Finwe dies and she retires. Idril takes over after him.

Finrod is a social media influencer who owns a fashion line.

Galadriel moves to an entirely different state and was the assistant to Melian, a governor. Or maybe a senator? Eventually becomes the president or something lol.

Maglor is a musician of some kind. He’s a starving artist until his family’s drama gets him attention. Eventually adopts two kids.

Celegorm works for the National Parks or something. Maybe a vet?

Caranthir got tired of his family’s bs and made his own company way before Finwe died. He’s incredibly successful. The King of Business. Everyone in his family calls him if they have a problem with their businesses. Has made billions off of his investments alone. Probably found a loophole to get out of paying his taxes. Will help you find it too because fuck the government. Is somehow the richest person in his entire extended family.

Aegnor tried out for the swim team because a girl he was interested in said she thought Michael Phelps was hot. Ends up being insanely good at it and competes at an Olympic level. Fucks Michael Phelps.

Aredhel is a world champion Olympic archer. She likes to volunteer at Celegorm’s work every once in a while. Was in an abusive relationship as a teenager and had Maeglin when she was pretty young.

Argon is a famous basketball player. (He’s TALL)

Amrod was killed in a house fire by one of Melkor’s men in retaliation for something that Feanor did. Amras was left horribly burnt, but survived. He worked odd jobs throughout his life, but never stayed at one for too long. He never truly recovered from his brother’s loss.

Gil-Galad is Maedhros and Fingon’s son. He ends up inheriting both of his father’s companies and as a result, the companies merge back together after many long years apart.

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herenortherenearnorfar · 5 years

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Speculations on Religion in the East (Pre-Sauron)

I just have a lot of thoughts on the forms that local religion may have taken in non-Edain territories, especially before Sauron slunk in and started messing around. There are a lot of different variables and a lot of potential for fun proto-religious near eastern vibes. I’ve loosely split this up based on influencing god/natural force.

The Animals

Learning the language of birds and beasts is a known skill in the Tolkien verse and it’s entirely plausible that early Easterlings would have picked it up too. Birds and animals being able to talk back would support a strong totemistic culture with animals actively participating in communities. Obviously this would be more favored by smaller groups rather than big city settlements of humans- it’s easier to be down with nature when you’re alone in the wilderness.

The Invisible Spirits

Similarly the fact that invisible wandering Maiar are said to be around and about suggests the potential for very powerful shamanism. Make a deal with the local lesser river god, or spirit of the forests, or random breath of wind, and make peace with the supernatural around you. Places rich in big forest or desert energy, the sort of beautiful landscapes that ancient demigods would gravitate to, would have especially strong variants of this belief system. Lots of power in the deserts in what would become Mordor.

The Elves

Sliding into a more household spirit role, the Avari probably played a big part in early human conceptions of the supernatural. Avar allies and friends, tenuous and night dwelling, might not like to deal with humans wholesale but could make small, personal deals with families and individuals. A bit of knowledge, earned in the years they had before humans, in return for a little offering. Milk left out in return for protection in the night. As the Avari retreated away from humans these ideas became less functional and more superstitious- holdovers from a time when the shadows in the forest actually came out to help. (Hilariously, a later bit of human philosophy held that these household spirits were actually the ghosts of ancient human precursors, doomed to walk the earth forever... which wasn’t technically theologically inaccurate.)

The Sun

This one is obvious. The sun was there when the humans woke up, it would have been one of the biggest symbols their elder siblings,the Avari and dwarves, would have associated with them (the moon, while arising at a similar time, doesn’t have the same oomph). Possibly to spite their neighbors, early humans declared the elven interpretation of the sun to be non-canon and developed their own concept of what that big bright thing in the sky was. Even more hilariously, the standard among most of the Eastern coast of Middle Earth was “It’s a big benevolent disk of fire in the sky which burns to hot to ever be approached, around which the ball of the earth is always spinning” (they were going through a sphere period). This was not astronomically accurate at the time but as the years became closer and closer to the Truth. Belief will do that.

Local sun cults varied a lot but shared a big emphasis on roundness, the need for rituals to keep the sun burning (with some light voluntary sacrifice and oddly enough, echoes of the death and mourning of the Two Trees), the inevitability of entropy, and the importance of the light of the heavens. They also tended to be more agricultural, for obvious reasons, and gravitated around rivers.

Ulmo

The only god who pays attention to humans. Ulmo was sometimes feared and sometimes loved, but generally paid attention to, especially on the coasts. Oddly enough the growing influence of Númenor only grew his following, for deeply paradoxical reasons. Númenorians were very into Uinen and locals in the coastal towns they visited heard this and went, “Oh, you have a semi-benevolent ocean goddess who blesses voyages and has pretty hair? We’ll keep our cryptic prophetic flood squid, thanks.” Very poplar along the coast near Umbar, along with local interpretations of his Maia and personifications of the local waterways.

Aulë

This one they picked up from the dwarves. Stories of the dwarven creator were far more compelling than any vague assurance from early Faithful Númenor that Eru loves you very much. Since dwarves are kind of tightlipped about the details of their religion, humans did a lot of freestyling. Along the way they accidentally incorporated ancient folklore about Melkor so... that became a thing. The end result was a two faced creator god who made both good and bad works- the dwarves and humans, the orcs and goblins. A god who came in jewels and flame, who slid among campfires unseen, who was unscathed by heat and cold, who loved and neglected his creations in equal turn and sometimes sought to tempt them to evil ends or destroy them on a whim. Very dramatic. Very popular.

Loose Wandering Supernatural Beings

This is more a personal thing but just random Easterling cryptids? Like Melian but with less marrying. It’s just great. Give everywhere a Tom Bombadil. I have a headcanon about one of Nessa’s dancers who got lost during the shift to Valinor and years later adopted by a wandering tribe of humans. Sometime during the late First Age she disappeared but those humans and the city state they later founded never forgot their divine patroness/roommate. The East is absolutely littered with stories of lost Maia, happy herds of Ents, incredibly misplaced Eagles, living creeks, and creatures that can’t be placed in any magical context. They stay for a while, shape human beliefs a little, and then either fade or wander off out of grief.

Freestyle Philosophical Concepts

Humans have been doing philosophy as long as they’ve had any free time. The Easterlings got up to some intellectual tomfoolery. Fun and exciting concepts posed included

This Is All A Game Between Two Forces of Unknowable Power That We Must Strive To Understand

We’re All Doomed

This Is Actually Just All Numbers, We’re Just All Numbers (related to the sphere phase)

There Is A God And We Must Strive To Understand It But Will Always Fall Short

and perhaps most technically accurate, We’re Just Here For A Little While, I Guess

Most of which could and were spun off into their own religious philosophies.

In short, it was a very fun period before Sauron came along and started mucking things up with his whole “I’m Actually A Minor God” game and I wish we got any of it. Give me the Easterling 50-sided Athrabeth

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