#because it's Absolutely Not Healthy!!!

[rawliverandgoronspice]

one thing you must understand about me extremely fast is that the only pairings that make any sense to me are those where it's the worst idea you've ever heard and both participants are getting out of there in tatters

#thoughts #ganondorf and saeruk are actually the healthiest pairing I've ever written #and it's fucking saying something!!!!!!! #because it's Absolutely Not Healthy!!! #but it's still my best attempt u___u I know and I'm sorry #(that does include all my halfway home pairings btw for those in the know) #weirdly enough maddsen and gwynevir are not the worst either they do make it work for the time it lasts them #but yeah I have #“I can see people have healthy relationships in real life and that romantic love is objectively real. seems fake but ok" syndrome #so it's pretty hard to project myself re: healthy attraction and desire and couples as something that isn't a trap #this does impact my writing! in ways that are not super ideal honestly! #but oh well!!

[tangledinink]

new gemini update was so good as always but I can't stop thinking:

big mama: there's nothing wrong with my sons

splinter: you fucked up two perfectly good kids is what you did. look at blue. he's got an eating disorder

wwhhhattttt? nooo, don't be silly. leo doesn't have an eating disorder.

leo and donnie have eating disorders--

#this is a Joke but also No It's Not #it's just different flavors lmao #but both of them have absolutely fucked relationships with food #my poor babies... :(... who did this to you...? #(it was me i did) #leo spends a lot of time worrying about whAT hes eating and how mUCH hes eating and if hes eating the rIGHT thing #largely due to his mom and also just being a celebrity/child celebrity in general #but also in part due to: #donnie has a lot of food sensitivities which have really never been accommodated for at all and as a result he just #has a very negative association with food and eating. he doesnt LIKE eating and he avoids it a majority of the time. #its stressful and unpleasant and he doesnt like it #which ofc only gave leo another reason to hyperfixate on food and calories and nutritional value etc etc etc #which leads to #ironically #leo (who def has an undiagnosed ed and restricts/denies himself food regularly): worrying abt making sure donnie eats enough #donnie will do the same thing back sometimes but not with the same obsessiveness that leo does #esp because the ideals surrounding eating and dieting set up around them really kind of just #lead them both to believe (at least to an extent) that leo is fine and eats a totally healthy and ok amount of food (esp in comparison to d #(no he doesnt)(and even when he does thats not the point) #tw eating disorders #cw eating disorders #eating disorders #tw disorders eating #cw disordered eating #disordered eating #gemini au asks #asks #anon

[spacedace]

Fuck whatever DC is doing with the al Ghul's characterizations and story lines, I've decided that from now on the al Ghul's are gonna be DC's version of the Addams Family instead.

Now I don't mean just give the various al Ghul's the exact personalities of the various Addams and call it a day. That's boring, that erases all the interesting parts of the al Ghuls, that's just using "find & replace" and not actually adding anything. I mean give them the vibes of the Addams Family.

Keep the al Ghul's as the al Ghul's with all their scheming and machinations and world domination attempts but give them all the unhinged energy, the casually insane view of the world, the deranged levels of love and devotion for family. Make them that group where objectively they are batshit insane but also you cannot argue with the fact that they are indisputably the most stable and functional family in the entire universe.

They're creepy, they're kooky, they're mysterious and spooky. Ra's many opulent homes and impenetrable fortresses are a museum and the al Ghul's really are a screa-um whenever people come to see-um (or when they lay waste upon their enemies in a surprise attack that has been planned for months and is just the first domino in a series that will ultimately lead to achieving a far greater goal).

They all love each other and want each other to be happy, they express this primarily with stabbing and murder attempts (its fine, death is a thing that happens to other people).

And forget the League of Assassins being a cult. Just make the whole vast globe spanning organization a collection of cousins/aunts/uncles/dear old friends ect. No one (not even the al Ghuls, if they cared to keep track of such things) is sure who is actually related to them and who just got absorbed into the ever expanding family tree based on their vibes being right.

(Is Sensei Ra's father you ask? Well he's certainly someone's father - probably.

Anyway have you heard about Cousin Cheshire? Despicable poisoner of a young woman, capable of the most horrific things imaginable - yes she is the sweetest dear. Like I was saying though, she just had a baby!

Everyone in the family is just so excited to throw a baby shower to celebrate! Ubu has really gone all out with the spike traps, he does so love getting to welcome a new addition to the family.

Talia of course has cultivated a brand new strain of the most toxic plants imaginable to make a brand new kind of necrotizing poison. You know, as a nice little romantic gift for Cousin Cheshire and that young man of hers. It really is so important to make sure you take time for you and your partner to go on dates and have a few pitched battles to the death on dark rooftops in the pounding rain when you have children.

Now there is some to-do about it all of course, you know how family get together can be. Everyone is arguing over who should get to give little Lian her first weapon and what it should be. Nyssa is pushing for grenades but Ra's is insisting on a sword - he's traditional like that you know - but Dusan has the vote so far on throwing knives. You know the kind that have the little divots along the edges of the blades them to make it easier to get the poison you dip them in to stick.)

I'm just saying that the al Ghuls should be a delightful cross between the Bond Villains they were originally conceived as and the lovingly unhinged Addams Family. It just feels correct in my heart.

(Again keep the interesting aspects of the characters and the nuances of who each of them are like their drive to save the world through destroying humanity and their strong environmentalist leanings and their constantly playing 5D chess and everything, but like, take away the racism and the cartoonishly evil for no reason bullshit and give them some fun feral energy to go along with it).

#batman #ra's al ghul #al ghul family #talia al ghul #nyssa raatko #cheshire dc #sensei dc #no more racism and fucked up dark family dynamics #the al ghuls aggressively adore each other #violence and schemes is their love language #in the full au version of all of this i'd like to imagine how canon plot points change with the al ghuls having these vibes #Just imagine Damian still trying to kill Tim when he first ends up in Bruce's care #but instead of it being a ploy to get rid of a threat its because he's just so excited to meet one of his big brothers #and attempted murder is just how you tell someone in your family that you love them #Tim just SO CONFUSED because Damian is talking so animatedly about how happy he is to get to have some brotherly bonding with Tim #while ACTIVELY trying to run him through with a sword #idk how things change with Cass exactly but i feel like they would in this #like either David Cain isn't an absolute monster or the al ghuls catch wind of what he's doing & are like #This is NOT how al ghuls treat family! what is this shameful behavior! She can't even insult you while you fight! #fighting and violence is a perfectly healthy way to express your love but only if there's actually LOVE involved! #The Heretic & other Damian clones still get made but only because Talia just misses her son so much that she makes more of him #Nyssa has just been bopping around the world for a few centuries & pops up every now and then to have a death match with her baby sister #i just have a lot of strong feelings about the al ghuls deserving better and combined that with the vibes of my favorite unhinged family #Dick still hates Talia but Talia takes all his insults as her darling step son telling her how much he loves her #which only drives Dick even crazier #Tim rocks up to the League of Assassins during his whole trying to prove Bruce is alive thing already seen as an al ghul #Oh yeah that's Cousin Timothy he's one of Talia's kids - never met a truer al ghul in your life #You see how he blew up all those bases? Ra's cried he was so proud #Ra's spoils his grandkids absolutely rotten which is giving Bruce SO MANY gray hairs

[asynca]

#absolutely the realization that changed my life #doing the things that scared me #like moving overseas alone and arriving in my new home with just a single suitcase #throwing away a high paid career to work for charities and do something for people that means something to them #falling in love then moving in with then marrying someone from across the world #and finally having children despite my worries about my capacity to be a mentally healthy parent #all these things have made me so happy #I am so happy #because I did everything I was terrified of

[cookinguptales]

*stares at the camera in ehlers-danlos syndrome*

#cw: #ehlers danlos syndrome #every month man #thank god for ketamine and pot because no other painkiller I've ever tried would touch it #and I am including opiates in that statement #I used to take a muscle relaxer every month #but that would make me sleep for literally like 14-15 hours and make me groggy for days #and it wouldn't start working UNTIL I was asleep so I'd usually end up drinking like half a bottle of wine to get there #it was really really unhealthy but when I say that level of pain makes you absolutely nonfunctional #I am really SO grateful for marijuana it is a GODSEND when I'm like this #it loosens up the muscles enough that I can push the bone back in with a foam roller #I've had some people give me shit for ~illicit drug use~ and it's like BELIEVE ME when I say this is the healthy option #just let patients with chronic pain take drugs okay

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

okay wait laughingstock concept Incoming: so im imagining some of the neighbors (maybe Julie & Frank) noticing that Barnaby & Howdy are a lil fruity, yk yk. and Julie's like damn, i guess we have to play matchmaker here.

so naturally they wind up getting the whole neighborhood involved. everybody's a wingman here. Poppy's dropping hints when Howdy drops off groceries, Wally is constantly asking Barnaby to go get him things from the bodega, etc etc. Howdy and Barnaby are facing this sudden change in town-wide behavior with slight concern and bemusement

eventually - lets say Julie, Sally, and Wally - get Barnaby into the bodega and then abruptly leave like "don't have too much fun without us you two *wink wink nudge nudge*". once they're gone (read: very obviously hiding outside & watching through the window) Barnaby & Howdy turn to each other like:

Barnaby: you think we should tell them we're already married?

Howdy: let them have their fun - they'll figure it out eventually

#dont have the mental fortitude to Draw This but i still wanted to share the thought #'but how would no one notice that theyre literally married' #easy: theyre very relaxed and secure in their relationship. also howdy has a strict 'no pda at work' rule #also because its funny. we can stretch rationality for the Bit cmon now #through the power of the bit Anything is possible #and we all know the neighbors are Peak Sillies so. yk #it strikes me that once they get Bored of the constant 'matchmaking' #barnaby and howdy stage this whole thing where they 'confess' to each other So dramatically and So publicly #they make it an Event #sally is swooning from the drama and spectacle of it all. wally is trying to paint the moment as fast as possible #julie is so excited she's close to passing out. eddie is crying. so is poppy. frank is taking the credit. home is just happy to be there #as soon as barnaby and howdy retreat out of sight they burst out laughing for a solid ten minutes #GAH THE BRAINROT THE BRAINROT #laughingstock #wailing and sobbing they are so so good together and FOR WHAT FUCKING REASON #i cant even put it into words they just Fit! like puzzle pieces! #theres something so natural about em. i look at them and its like. they Would be perfect for each other huh #i already know theyd have such a healthy wholesome relationship They Just Work. Theyre The Dream Couple #howdy says the most confusing sentence ever said. barnaby nods along with genuine love in his eyes. etc. you get it #now watch! canon is gonna absolutely set this on fire! #which would be Fun. painful. but Fun. seriously tho im curious as to how/if barnaby and howdy will interact/develop.... #i mean personally i love it when shit gets messy so i hope it Hurts So Bad or at least Goes Downhill #i hope its a rollercoaster on all accounts

[greens-spilled-tea]

Anyways something I've noticed is how different spaces have such different reactions towards fusion and splitting. Certain spaces seem to celebrate the formation of a new alter/headmate and are even envious of systems with high alter/headmate counts. I've even come across the question of "how do yall cope with fusions?" with the implication that fusion means the alters/headmates go away or are no longer needed. On the other side of the equation, I've been in spaces where splitting is seen as unequivocally a negative experience while fusion is celebrated. And honestly this difference in opinion and experience is something I want to explore more and understand better. Why is there such a difference? Is this a difference between non-CDD systems and CDD system experiences, or endogenic and traumagenic systems, or something else entirely?

#by green #sysconversation #sysconvo #conversysion #syscourse #I'm personally in the camp that for my system sometimes splits can be positive and even necessary at my current stage of healing #and sometimes fusion may not be healthy #but overall while I'm kinda blase about new splits and stuff I do absolutely celebrate fusions when I can #by gray #because yeah he's here too making his opinion known #by purple #because she ALSO wants to be part of this conversation gksjfnajgsk

[lanaevyssmoved]

i think the message that we should block willingly and freely keeps getting construed into blocking friends the second you disagree with them and i don't like it ldkfgdfg

#fray.txt #i absolutely agree with blocking shit just cuz you wanna #but i don't think it should extend to ur actual friends like #i don't know why i keep seeing this . #friends asking me what happened to X just for me to have to reveal they were blocked and they're confused cuz #they talked in dms regularly #and had known each other for a year #and just. Gone. cuz u didn't agree on something? #it's insane ! it's insane ! #talk to ur friends !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #don't just cut them out because the internet told you blocking is healthy gdf;gkd ur MISUNDERSTANDING !!!

[greenerteacups]

Half of the kingdom for Angelina, Fred and George dynamic! I shan't pretend I understand it but I sure as hell enjoy it!

You and Fred both!

Fred and Angie are the type of FWB couple whose reasons for not dating, inter alia, center on both of them just... not really caring that much. Romance isn't a priority for either of them; I think that when they started liking each other, it was a gradually developing case of mutual attraction under circumstances where neither one had time for a relationship. Angelina is busy trying to hold a quidditch team together, and it's hard enough without this doofus beater eating up more of her time than he already does. As for Fred, he's diligently preoccupied trying to put Minerva McGonagall in an early grave, and I think deep down he probably has a 17-year-old boy's healthy terror of commitment, too. But he does respect Angelina a hell of a lot, and he makes her laugh — something that she, as a generally serious person, could do with a bit more of. When he's not making a fool of himself, and she's not busy with the soul-eating job of being the following act for Oliver Wood, I imagine them having a comfortable, lowkey, no-strings FWB arrangement. Like, they were teammates before they were ever involved, and when you've seen someone's ass platonically, it takes the edge off seeing it in other contexts.

George is also here. The twins are such a social unit that anyone dating one of them sort of gets a two-for-one special, but the fact that Angie doesn't take it seriously helps to make things un-awkward. In fact, I think she's actually quite fond of George — he's more chill than Fred is, and a little bit sweeter, easier to get along with — and having known them both since first year, Angie probably understands that if you're involved with Fred, George is going to Be Around. It's like a love triangle where only one leg is romantic, and also everyone is eminently cool and happy to hang out with each other.

#unrelated but in canon angelina marries george and it's an insane dynamic but I actually like it for its realism #because on the one hand. ABSOLUTELY do not expect that marriage to be healthy at least to begin with. #i do not trust those people to start seeing each other without Trauma motivations. but also #pretty realistic! actually! I buy that would happen. #but also Angelina and George in canon are different people than they are in Lionheart #I'm not even saying that because of a deliberate difference it's just natural if you have different authors writing them #they'll draw out different threads #anyway. F and A are addressed a little bit in a future chapter but I wanted to add the stuff that I couldn't fit in the book itself #which isgenerally what these lil posts are. I don't write anything I think will be communicated by the text #that way the paratext remains its own thing #anyhow! thank you pal! <3

[total-drama-brainrot]

Alenoah, where Noah cares about Alejandro, more than Alejandro's family did:

Noah: I will now torture you.

Alejandro: Kinky!~

Noah: I think you are brilliant and beautiful.

Alejandro: Wait!

Noah: You deserve to be cared for and loved, despite your mistakes.

Alejandro: No!

Noah: Your feelings and needs are valid, and deserve to be heard.

Alejandro: I need a safeword! 😳

Real.

#almost went on a whole rant here about how alejandro wouldn't know how to process unconditional care and support-- #for himself as a person instead of the praise he receives for his persona/mask/“charming” act #and also how this ties in to him being starved for genuine affection/love which is why it's so ironic shipping him with noah of all people #since noah is not the type to show a lot of affection. at least not publicly- and even when he does it's usually veiled behind a layer of-- #sarcasm and/or prickliness. he's like a hedgehog. #but noah WOULD absolutely break out the big guns once he's realised just how fucked up alejandro's home life and subsequent psyche is #“i am going to hurt you emotionally” #“do your best” #“i love and cherish you as a person and expect nothing in return. i care about you and your feelings. you're my top priority.” #cue alejandro ugly crying into a tub of ice cream #noah's trying to comfort him (awkwardly) but it's making it worse because noah caring about him even at his worst is The Issue #alejandro gets to have a breakdown over finally having a healthy relationship. as a treat. #total drama #td alejandro #td noah #alenoah #others' ideas #ophe's ranting in the tags again #replies

[lotus-pear]

rewatched kny and am suffering from tanjiro trio brainrot

#i got the kny game on switch so i also decided to rewatch this show and was immediately struck on the sole fact #that zenitsu and tanjiros interactions were legit <33 #i remember watching kny for the first time and i was like wow they're platonic soulmates #but i actually ship them now🤡👍 #you could legit take two characters out of the trio and be like ''do you ship them'' and i would be like yes absolutely #because all their personalities go well together to make a wholesome and healthy dynamic #except inosuke who would constantly try to fight zenitsu but then again he tries to fight everyone so #speaking of inosuke i don't remember him being so violent🤡 #that mf literally tried to kill zenitsu and tanjiro both #bitches be like ''oh he's baby uwu'' no my man is literally fucking unhinged and this close to snapping #tanjiro's squad is peak positive male friendship borderlining on gay and honestly that's why this show is 100/10 #kimestu no yaiba #demon slayer #kny #tanjiro kny #kny tanjirou #tanjiro kamado #zenitsu kny #kny zenitsu #zenitsu agatsuma #kny inosuke #inosuke kny #lotus draws

[camgoloud]

you ever just. become overwhelmed by a sudden out-of-nowhere wave of tenderness and affection and longing for reconnection directed towards someone to whom you no longer speak for Very Good Reasons

#‘out of nowhere’ she says like she hasn’t been doing a lot of reading/thinking recently about various tragic messy breakups #and the later regrets of the parties involved #anyway. tell me not to text her #it’s been over two years since the last time we talked… absolutely no reason to break that streak now. lord give me strength #she was really fucking mean to me! like objectively intentionally unwarrantedly cruel! it ruined an entire year of my life #and fundamentally changed me as a person on a deep level! there’s a lot of things i used to like about myself that i don’t think i’m ever #going to get back #and yet every once in a while we have to do the whole ‘maybe i could make things right’ song and dance 😔 #the thing is most of the time i’m not even really angry with her anymore like enough time has passed since all the shit went down that #really i just sort of look at her behavior and feel sad. both because of the impact on me but also because of the ‘that’s really how you #felt you needed to act towards someone who cared about you? you couldn’t have just expressed your feelings in an honest and productive way #instead of just lashing out in the cruelest possible way and ruining the entire relationship beyond hope of repair?’ #and i feel bad and sorry that it went that way and honestly i kind of pity her and hope she’s gotten some of her shit worked out #so i’m not like. actively pissed off at her anymore. but also i can’t think about her without thinking about the worst year of my life so 🙃 #i don’t actually feel that trying to reopen that door would be very healthy for me at least #we did try a Reconciliation of sorts a couple of months after the initial falling-out and while it was kind of helpful for me in that she #like. apologized lmao. and affirmed that i wasn’t crazy and she did in fact On Purpose say the most hurtful things she possibly could have #said to me given the information she had at her disposal. and that i really had not done anything to her that could warrant that. etc. #it also left a sour enough taste in my mouth that i just don’t see a future where the two of us spending time together is enjoyable for me #and yet… the regret will always live inside me i think. maybe if i were a stronger person… #caseyposting

[ickypuppi3]

fucked up that the only positive attention billy receives is when he’s being outwardly objectified and sexualised for his looks and neil specifically calls him a slur in reference to billy caring about his looks and making an effort with his appearance

#billy hargrove #neil hargrove #idk there’s something there #i don’t have the mental capacity to work it out rn though #he’s gotta feel shitty about it at some point yk #specifically the fact people only give him the time of day because of his looks #because neil seems to know that #billy knows it and neil knows it #and it feels so targeted #like billy can’t even have that #something that’s not good or healthy anyway #but he can’t even have /that/ #without neil saying something about it #if that makes any sense #i’m so sick of it all actually #i want to wrap billy in bubble wrap and keep him safe forever #he deserves the absolute world and the world doesn’t deserve him

[chuckyray]

aint no way i just opened up the twf tag and some freak is talking about hoping a 9yo girl and her 11yo brother are kissing each other in the dimension they're trapped in after dying in a horrific drunk driving accident. these kids have zero incestous subtext and zero prior trauma to their deaths that would indicate any abnormal sibling feelings. they're young children whose entire plot purpose is how they died in a tragic accident.

some of you people need to get your shit curbstomped and im happy to do it for you

#im not even anti incest ships like. yall know that. but this is just weird and disgusting and idc if someone would call me a hypocrite #some of yall DO use fictional pairing as an avenue to be weird fucking freaks. #imagine watching the walten files and your take away is that these 9 and 11yo kids from a healthy loving family are “kissing” as ghosts. #something is very wrong with you. all we really see of them is their horrible deaths and then how scared and alone they are as ghosts. #and maybe i just feel so strongly because thats my niece and nephew. idk. maybe its cause im a little delusional over this series. #twf is not the place for any of this. it has absolutely nothing to do with that nor any subtext. at all. those are dead children.

[eloquentsisyphianturmoil]

anyone want my 1600 unstructured rant about morality and fate in the first age? Here, it’s yours.

Absolute morality concerning doom and fate in Tolkien’s Silmarillion

The justification and persecution of the first age and its participants are heavily discussed, heavily disputed topics. In this we will explore the relevance of the first age to Eru’s plan, the extent of its events as products of fate, and the eventual moral judgement of participants in light of actions and given circumstances. Lore used follows the published Silmarillion (Ainulindalë, Valaquenta, Noldolantë) and the End of Days prophecy most recently given by Tolkien. We aim to draw accurate moral judgments and either demonstrate reasoning for or create hypotheses of characters’ fates by examining textual evidence of Eru and the Valar’s moral standings and involvement.

Of Eru Iluvatar, little is given. Here, we assume he is motivated by love for creation, and he would pass this to the three races of his children as their purpose of existence. Therefore the End of Days ushers in a peace free of evil that is devoted entirely to creative progress. However, the action of the first ages is concerned with the destruction of evil (being wilful and unprovoked immorality) due to Melkor’s rebellion. Let is infer that Eru has foreseen Melkor is incurably evil, and thus sees he must be wholly destroyed or absolutely captured; we infer also the existence of a law of conservation of power as a tenant of Eru’s plan (which men alone can withstand). Given this, the hand of men is needed to overcome Melkor’s power. Eru, who has power to create souls tied to the life of Arda, possessive of greater power— elves, and souls dissevered from it, possessive of lesser— men, contrives to mix them and breed a new race.

This new race is that of the Dúnedain. They have strength enough to face Melkor and can subvert the law of conservation of power, evidenced by the prophesied role of Ar-Pharazon’s fleet in the End of Days (wherein they will be unburied and their alliance decide the winning side). Before the siege of Utumno the quendi were taken to Valinor, and must return to meet men and breed the numenorean race. To the end Eru applies himself.

After Melkor’s first capture, he is offered mercy. This is a principled act: though Melkor had no remorse or feasible excuse, it is overhasty to punish a first-time offender. Melkor is instead given three ages of waiting and a chance to beg for release. This is similar to the fate of slain elves in Mandos. It is reasonable to assume that Eru was aware Melkor was incurable but knew also the initial forgiveness was necessary. In anticipation of his betrayal, and the darkness to come, Eru brought to life Fëanáro, greatest of elves, and put it into his mind to create the Silmarils. Fëanáro and his bloodline are designed as the vassals of the Noldor, responsible for leading them to Beleriand and protecting them from Melkor (evidenced by the march of Maedhros) while the first peredhil are born. Finwë’s second, marriage, too, was of Eru’s devising: he perceived Fëanáro and his kin were too volatile, thus the line of Fingolfin sired the numenorean race.

Nargothrond and Gondolin, devised at Ulmo’s will by Turgon and Finrod, were both indispensable in the creation of the peredhil lines. Of Nargothrond, King Finrod Felagund’s loyalty saved Beren Erchamion; of Gondolin, Tudor and Idril there met. They are therefore necessary to Eru’s plan. Of the meeting of Elwing and Earendil, it may be said that the respective falls of Doriath and Gondolin were necessary, though the manner in which this occurred (the turning of kin against kin) may not have been.

Now we examine the independent actions of Noldoli relevant to the designs of fate above described. First and foremost is the oath, which can be named rather rash than evil (though there may be evil in Fëanáro’s forcing of its swearing upon his children, the acts committed in its name are independent). Fëanáro’s following of Melkor to Beleriand to avenge his father and reclaim his property is not suspect, but the first kinslaying is. It was later proven that the Helcaraxë was not an impossible path, therefore making the weighing of Fëanáro’s need against the Teleri’s sentimentality obsolete. It can be claimed that the Teleri ought to have joined in Fëanáro’s cause or given the boats willingly, but it cannot be claimed that battle was an appropriate solution. Of the burning of the boats, we say Fëanáro’s actions were wilful, but not unprovoked: the early death of his mother, remarriage of his father, and the latter’s recent murder suggest significant grief and trauma, such that Fëanáro’s actions, while morally wrong, were not evil.

Fëanáro is the first elf we can properly describe as victimised, as his parents’ situation was outside of his control. Eru likely arranged it such so that Fëanáro would grow hale and steely, and thus be capable of leading his people to exile, and it is a similar thing that is done to Maedhros. His captivity in Angband taught him the internal strength needed to hold the east against Melkor, and thus allow the births of the peredhil and creation of the numenorean strain. These situations (and many similar) complicate the judging of acts based on immediate morality alone, for the undeserved emotional suffering occasionally accounts (as in the case of Dior withholding the Silmaril). Of Celegorm and Curufin in Nargothrond, much of their actions can be ascribed to the power of the oath: explaining but not justifying their part in Finrod’s death. This was their treachery not wilful and not evil. Their withholding of Luthien may be pronounced evil, though softened as it did no lasting damage— except, perhaps, politically between Doriath and the sons of Fëanáro, excusing Thingol and Dior’s withholding of the Silmaril.

Of Beren and Luthien, their actions were sound though directly contributed to the provocation of the oath and subsequent kinslayings (explaining but not justifying them). Whether the retrieval of one Silmaril was necessary to Eru’s plan or not is questionable: what would have happened if Thingol had not demanded such a price? Their quest is the crux around which the first age falls, and though it inadvertently caused great tragedy, it is likely alone responsible for the meeting of Earendil and Elwing, and their sailing to and convincing of the valar (a last resort). Thus is the second kinslaying in a sense completely justified: as a necessity of fate.

Unless one holds the Silmaril itself responsible for the safe passage of Earendil to Valinor (thereby necessitating the third kinslaying) then for Sirion can no excuse be made. The action of the oath alone and the psychological torment of the remaining brothers is sufficient to turn hate into pity; though one may not go far as to say they had no choice, one is compelled to offer forgiveness. Integral to the viciousness of this act are both the relatively defenceless state of Sirion and the importance of the Silmaril to its people: in this case, the benefit it brings outweighs the natural claim Fëanáro’s sons have for it. Elwing would have been morally right to suggest surrendering the Silmaril on the condition the brothers keep it in Sirion, but her suspicion of them due to their ransacking of her home prove this is not unprovoked, though still unjustified.

Here the nature of the oath is discussed. Foremost in discourse is its universal nature, such that even Fëanáro and his kin themselves are subject to it, and the supernatural power it has upon the foresworn. It is unclear whether the oath refers only to current perpetrators, or to those past including. If the latter is true then doomed are all foresworn, if only the former then the oath’s end shall come at the End of Days, when the Silmarils are broken (this particular act unspecified in their oath) and the oath becomes void.

Of Elu Thingol can we be most judgemental. If we hold the necessity of Beren’s quest in creating the numenorean line as unproven, then his hubris may be condemned as rash (similar to the swearing of the oath). Indeed, these two acts work against each other in the kinslayings. Thingol’s initial coldness towards the noldor is explained by their slaying of his brother’s kin, and his refusal to surrender the Silmaril by his hatred for their capture of his daughter. The latter especially is morally incorrect, though the Silmaril’s growing hold on him (which would lead to the fall of Doriath) again would turn our hate to pity. Thingol’s actions may be judged as no better nor no worse than those of Fëanáro’s sons.

Thus is no individual in the first age wholly evil, though the kinslayings and Thingol’s bride price may be held as morally wrong (as are Thingol and Dior’s withholding of the Silmaril). Of punishment, the suffering of the perpetrators would beg mercy, and, indeed, the fates of Maedhros and Maglor may be called apt. The torment of Maedhros as necessary in his role as Lord of Himring in particular may absolve this, and the peculiars of his mental state regarding the Nirnaeth Arnoediad as relative to its inspiration by Beren’s quest further complicate the matter of Thingol’s innocence, and further insinuate that Maedhros’ actions were not entirely wilful.

Inconsistencies between the silmarillion and our understanding of Eru’s plan may be understood through the intervention of men. Beren being the most prominent: his and Luthien’s love, provoking the bride price and then the quest, was doubtless unexpected. The Silmaril’s retrieval being half Luthien’s doing, it is possible that Eru foresaw her completing a similarly great deed (simply the overthrow of Sauron’s tower, perhaps) which he would hold to provoke the Nirnaeth Arnoediad: in his eyes, perhaps, a winning battle. It is, though, Ulfang’s betrayal that ultimately ruins the plan. Thought this text concerns itself only with the fates of elves, of Ulfang it can be said his deed may only be repented should the numenorean fleet side with the Valar in the Dagor Dagorath. Indeed, the End of Days alone brings full forgiveness for many actions of the first age, the fate of the Silmarils being with both entwined.

#God it’s hilarious that I can post this all #Don’t read it if it doesn’t interest you it’s pure speculation #I just have a lot of thoughts #Intend to keep thinking on the whole quest thing because this is all very important to me #For absolutely no reason other than it’s so unfair that Maedhros and Fingon get this tragic story and Beren and Luthien get it happy #Not because they’re intrinsically better - if they were put in the scenario the former were wouldn’t they react similarly? - #Just because they got it lucky #Ping me any time for Stop Glorifying Beren and Luthien rants I think a lot about how their quest was the downfall of the first age #Which I kinda got into in the last paragraph there #anyway #the silmarillion #silm #silmarillion #the silm fandom #silm fandom #the silm #tolkien #Cw essay #Maedhros #maglor #feanor #feanaro #healthy academic discussion #Thingol #eru #eru iluvatar

[vvitchy-succubus]

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#please for the love of god #i need people to stop telling me to “just be strong” #in response to me saying I'm not ok with my brother being dead #im not ok with how he died #not ok with never seeing him again #absolutely feel like i am walking around in the worlds slowest nightmare #one of my “aunts” actually tried to tell me that maybe this was a blessing #because maybe this car accident saved him from cancer or something #im sorry what? #you want me to be thankful that my 27 yr old #perfectly healthy and strong baby brother is dead #because maybe someday he could have possibly died of cancer instead? #i know people just want to help and make me feel better #but i don't need to feel better right now #i need to cry and rage and miss my brother #who was unfairly taken from us by an unfair and random universe #it was not part of some grand scheme of gods #it was just a horrible accident #i just want to be sad and grieve in fucking peace