#vingelote

[thesummerestsolstice]

I ascribe to the belief that almost everyone (Gil-Galad, Elwing, most of the remaining Noldor and Sindar) assumed that Elrond and Elros were dead after Sirion. Why wouldn't they? After several kinslayings and what happened to Elurin and Elured, they had no reason to think that the Feanorians would show any mercy to Thingol's descendants. The Feanorians probably sent Gil-Galad a letter offering to bargain for the Silmaril, and Gil-Galad– who didn't have the Silmaril and didn't believe E&E could possibly be alive– just burned it. Elwing and Earendil didn't consider going back, because neither of them really thought their children were still alive.

So imagine what it must've been like when E&E showed up in Gil-Galad's camp decades later. There was probably some doubt at first, but the twins look so much like Luthien that it hurts and the strange, ainuric power they radiate would be nigh impossible to fake.

I mean, there must've been uproar. Wild celebration from the remaining Gondolindrim and Iathrim. Anger from the small group who'd always believed the twins were alive and thought that they should've attacked the Feanorians to get E&E back sooner. Fear from those worrying that E&E had been sent back after being brainwashed and posed a threat to Gil-Galad. Hope, because two thought lost for so long had been returned. Grief, from the many who were horrified what they might have endured. Curiosity, because all anyone saw that first night was a moment of the twins, tall and proud, walking across camp before disappearing into Gil-Galad's tent. I assume Eonwe or one of the other maiar there flew up to Vingelot to tell Earendil– I can only imagine the absolute storm of feelings he would have about it.

All those emotions and expectations must've been a heavy burden to bear, after everything they'd already been through.

#silmarillion #silm headcanons #elrond #elrond peredhel #elros #earendil #elwing #gil galad #war of wrath #having E&E feelings again #they had to grow up so quickly #and deal with so much

[sallysavestheday]

appearance headcanon for Ecthelion?

or family headcanon for Earendil?

Thanks, @polutrope! Have both (from this list)!

Ecthelion is relatively short and lean and light, although very strong in a fluid, unpredictable way. He's slender, and a bit sharp-edged. Cheekbones for days, obvious collarbones, somewhat pointy at the elbows and knees. He's physically reserved, but extremely graceful: you want to watch him move, simply because he doesn't make a fuss about it. Very at ease in his body, and capable of long periods of stillness -- he's a listener, not a speaker, until he has decided exactly what to say. That stillness and reserve carries into his facial expressions: he doesn't smile much, but when he does his whole face lights up and transforms. He has very dark eyes and very long, straight, dark hair, usually worn quite simply plaited. When fancied up, he defaults to very old Telerin hairstyles he learned from his mother's side of the family (he calls them classic; Glorfindel calls them antique). He prefers a rather severe cut to his clothing, darker colors, and not much flash, but all his fabrics and what jewelry he does wear are of the very best quality. Per canon, he only wears diamonds. He "allows" Glorfindel to embroider flowers all over his shirts as long as he does it where they won't show under his robes, and he treasures the intimacy of those secret blossoms against his skin. He has an almost-dimple at the corner of his mouth that he worries ruins his serious image. It drives Glorfindel crazy. Yep, Ecthelion smokes like dry ice in water, if you like small and dark and sharp.

Earendil is the wife guy of all time, Elwing's number 1 fan. But/and because of his circumstances he also has an expansive view of family and is given to embracing all and sundry as honorary kin. He spends his time in the sky spotting strays, then when they show up in Valinor they're his: signed, sealed, and delivered. He's generally cheerful and relaxed but will absolutely go to bat for any of those broadly-defined relatives, any time. He's the dad who gets up early to take people on sunrise seal-spotting walks, with hot chocolate after. He's the husband who has mastered breakfast in bed. He parks Vingelot off the coast of Numenor to visit with Elros whenever he can, and never misses coffee with Elrond once he finally sails. When they are reimbodied he invites Maedhros and Maglor to brunch, and they have some painful words over the fruit course, but by the time the crepes are ready, they're good. Strays. Hard-luck cases. Family.

Send more, faithful readers! This one is fun.

#asks and answers #ecthelion #earendil

[hyperlexia-1]

Music Beside The Waves (entire work) by AlystraeaArt on Deviant Art (formerly Annamare)

Maglor through the ages up to modern times. Zoom it and check out the details, like Vingelot in the upper left, the satellite in the upper right. Amazing work.

#silmarillion #maglor #music beside the waves #alystraea

[shrikeseams]

It's 2:45 am and I'm trying to convince myself that I shouldn't drop $100 on iridescent black snakeskin spandex and like, an LED brooch, and go as Ancalagon vs Vingelote for halloween.

#Tolkien #I'm gonna make myself at least sew through my knits stash first #Which will be. Uh. Six dresses. One of which will include the experimental hood I'd need for the dragon dress anyway...

[eldamaranquendi]

Earendil & Elwing` story by  游离态E君_甘道夫的烟花

#tolkien #jrrt #jrr tolkien #the silmarillion #silmarillion #elwing #earendil #vingelote #elves #new ulm #valar #valinor #yavanna #orome #aule #manwe #varda

[vardasvapors]

crocordile replied to your post:                   what is your favorite constellation?                

   Aww haha   

crocordile replied to your post:                   ideal fanart                

   Of the sky    

>:[

#i'll have you know it PREDATES my tolkien fandom tyvm #anyway my ideal fanart of the sky is obv vingelot but like #vingilot floating through water-consistency space with stars half-submerged trailing twinkling foam #and the moon flower curled over as a slender crescent with its petals dipping into the darkness #earendil and tilion just waving casually to one another #and the waves sculpted with clouds

[undercat-overdog]

Is it time for sad Earendil time again? (It’s always time for sad Earendil time, and even better, it’s sad Earendil and Frodo parallels time.) His and Elwing’s story is so filled with despair. For Elwing, it’s when she casts herself into the sea rather to prevent the Feanorians from gaining the Silmaril (out of spite, too, I think, bless her). Yet Earendil is filled with despair throughout. He actually reminds me so much of Frodo: the world was saved, but not for them. But! Frodo and Earendil both have loved ones who follow them, and however hard, however soul-crushing their quests: they are not always alone.

(All quotes are taken from the Silmarillion, the Fellowship of the Ring, and the Return of the King.)

First off, both Earendil and Frodo think they’re going to die when they set out on their quest.

With Earendil it’s explicit: he sought to sail […] and bring ere he died the message of Elves and Men to the Valar in the West [to plead for aid]. The Valar at this time had barred Aman to the people of Beleriand, and Earendil is in addition half-mortal. He (and apparently everyone else) is quite sure that to reach Valinor is to be killed, but he still goes on because Beleriand and those in it will perish without help. As for Earendil’s despair, there’s this too: Earendil saw now no hope left in the lands of Middle-earth, and he turned again in despair and came not home, but sought once more to Valinor with Elwing at his side.

With Frodo, it’s implied but I think fairly clear. This is from the scene at the end of FotR, where Frodo’s trying to persuade Sam not to follow him to Mordor: ‘It would be the death of you to come with me [to Mordor], Sam,’ said Frodo, ‘and I could not have borne that.’ Later in the same scene Frodo says, ‘I don’t suppose we shall see [the rest of the Fellowship] again.’

But! There’s another parallel here, for Earendil and Frodo both have loved ones who won’t abandon them. And there is such great love too, between Earendil and Elwing, and between Frodo and Sam.

Sam in the above scene refuses to let Frodo leave without him: ‘Safety!’ said Sam. ‘All alone and without me to help you? I couldn’t have borne it, it’d have been the death of me.’ […] ‘I know that [you are going to Mordor] well enough, Mr. Frodo. Of course you are. And I’m coming with you.’

Earendil and Elwing have a similar scene once they reach Valinor: ‘And Earendil said to [Elwing and the three other people on Vingelot]: ‘Here none but myself shall set foot, lest you fall under the wrath of the Valar. But that peril I will take on myself alone, for the sake of the Two Kindreds.’ But Elwing answered: ‘Then would our path be sundered forever; but all thy perils I will take on myself also.’ And she leaped into the white foam and ran towards him; but Earendil was sorrowful, for he feared the anger of the Lords of the West upon any of Middle-earth that should dare to pass the leaguer of Aman.

There’s also here a parallel in the physical construction of these two scenes: Elwing leaps off a boat into the surf to follow Earendil, and Sam leaps into the water after Frodo: ‘Coming, Mr. Frodo! Coming!’ called Sam, and flung himself from the bank, clutching at the departing boat. He missed it by a yard. With a cry and a splash he fall face downward into deep swift water. (Frodo then reaches out to give him a paddle to hang on to and they step ashore for their conversation.)

(Incidentally, Elwing and Sam both give items of power to Earendil and Frodo, though the Silmaril was originally borne by Elwing and Sam only carries the Ring for a very short while.)

And then there’s the end, because the world was saved – Earendil’s coming persuaded the Valar to fight Morgoth and Frodo brought the Ring to Mount Doom – but not for them and both suffer from despair after their quest is finished.

Earendil is deeply depressed, perhaps suicidal. He is thirty-nine when he says this, when they are told about the Choice of the Peredhil: Then Earendil said to Elwing: ‘Choose thou, for now I am weary of the world.’

Frodo isn’t in particularly great shape either: Farmer Cotton found Frodo lying on his bed […] ‘It is gone forever,’ he said, ‘and now all is dark and empty.’ Later: ‘I am wounded,’ [Frodo] answered, ‘wounded; it will never really heal.’

They both need to give up the world. As Frodo says, ‘I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others might keep them.’ For Frodo, it’s the Shire and Middle-earth that he forsakes, for hope perhaps of recovering a bit in Aman, but Earendil literally leaves the planet. Earendil and Elwing are forbidden to return to Middle-earth and Earendil on Vingilot is set into space: [They…] bore [Vingilot] away through Valinor to the uttermost rim of the world; and there is passed through the Door of Night and was lifted up even into the oceans of heaven […] and Earendil the Mariner sat at the helm.

And yet there’s at least a little hope, for their loved ones join them, at least for a time. Elwing flies as a bird to Earendil (she soared in joy to greet the coming of Vingilot) and Sam too reaches Valinor where Frodo and Bilbo are (the tradition is handed down from Elanor [Sam’s daughter, the last person on Middle-earth who saw him] that Samwise […] passed over the Sea, last of the Ringbearers).

And it is a paean to Earendil, and the Light he bears captured in an elvish gem, that saves Sam and Frodo, and the world is saved once again.

#meta #earendil #elwing #frodo #sam

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: Wulfhere, Monster Manual, Heroism, Howard A. Jones

Heroism (Rogue Blades Entertainment): “The heroic books, even if printed in the character of our mother tongue, will always be in a language dead to degenerate times …” Henry David Thoreau wrote those words in the mid-19th Century for his distinguished book, Walden. They rang true then and they ring true today. Of course there will be those who say we do not live in degenerate times, that we live in the greatest of all ages, that our technological and social achievements are pressing us towards some utopia, but those who are true students of history and have open eyes might argue otherwise, or at least they might hold more than a little skepticism about the potential greatness of the immediate future.

Fantasy (Tor.com): Here’s a funny thing about “action reads:” a lot of people would equate that to mean a whole lot of running and chasing and swordplay. They wouldn’t be wrong, of course, but all the physical action in the world can’t liven up a bland tale, or make boring characters interesting, and there’s actually plenty of forward momentum and tension to be had in some fantasy adventure stories without the more obvious blood-letting. And then of course there’s lyrical prose. Me, I prefer to see my action with great characters and some lovely writing, and today I’m going to share a few favorites that deliver all those things.

Writers (Slate.com): Three years ago, over breakfast, my friend Helen handed me a novel about a quest that, unknown to both of us, would set me off on a quest of my own. The book was called The Dragon Waiting, and it was written by the late science fiction and fantasy author John M. Ford. Helen placed the mass-market paperback with its garish cover in my hands, her eyes aglow with evangelical fervor, telling me I would love it. I would soon learn that, owing to Ford’s obscurity, his fans do things like this all the time. Soon, I would become one of them.

Writers (The Nerd Daily): In this sequel to For the Killing of Kings, Howard Andrew Jones returns to the ring-sworn champions of the Altenerai in Upon the Flight of the Queen to continue this thrilling, imaginative and immersive epic fantasy trilogy.

We had the pleasure of chatting to author Howard Andrew Jones about his upcoming fantasy sequel Upon the Flight of the Queen, which publishes on November 19th from St. Martin’s Press. Howard talks about what readers can expect and the challenges he faced, the inspiration behind the trilogy, what’s next for him, and more!

Genre Fiction (Dark Worlds Quarterly): There are those Fantasy writers and critics that accuse Robert E. Howard’s Conan of lacking any depth because he just hacks his way out of trouble. In fact, I think it was Robert Bloch in his intro to Wolfshead (Bantam Books, 1979) who said it, qualifying his words with the fact that he preferred Howard’s subtler characters such as Kull or Bran Mak Morn. I would hate to disagree with such a wonderful writer as Bob Bloch but I think he kinda missed the point. We want to see Conan hack his way out. Just as people pay gobs of money to be ringside at a boxing match.

Subculture (Amatopia): But if you show up humble and willing to learn, and don’t lie about knowing stuff about the subculture, you’ll find you have a whole bunch of cool new friends eager to help ease you in. At the very least, the people in the subculture will respect you, even if they may resent your intrusion. In time, you learn to be a part of the crew.

Fantasy (Matthew J. Constantine): The first novel in the Prydain Chronicles, The Book of Three introduces us to Taran the assistant pig-keeper, Hen Wen the pig, Gurgi the…um…wildman?, and the rest, as well as the Welsh inspired land of Prydain.  The book drips with a sort of gauze filtered, dreamy Fantasy in a similar vein to Tolkien’s Shire, particularly from The Hobbit. Reading the book, I kept thinking it would have fit as a comic strip in the tradition of Prince Valiant.  It also has a lot that could translate well into an animated film or potentially a live action film these days.

D&D (Skulls in the Stars): Die, Vecna, Die! (2000), by Bruce R. Cordell and Steve Miller. This module has the curious distinction of being perhaps the last “old school” adventure ever published! Die, Vecna, Die! was one of two mind-bogglingly epic adventures released with universe-spanning ramifications, allowing DMs to have a reason for transitioning from 2nd edition AD&D to Wizards of the Coast 3rd edition D&D. The other is The Apocalypse Stone (2000).

Fiction (DMR Books): Next week DMR Books will make our first foray into historical adventure fiction with the first book publication of Wulfhere by A.B. Higginson! Wulfhere, Higginson’s only novel, was originally serialized in Adventure magazine in 1920. In the Dark Ages of England, kingdoms were ready to be carved out by any with the ambition and might to do so. The mightiest ruler of all was Penda, Lord of Mercia, a man as strong as he was ruthless. He had no equal in martial prowess, except for his son Wulfhere…

Tolkien (Alas Not Me): Crucial to the tale of Eärendil the Mariner is his ship, Vingelot or Vingelótë, without which Eärendil would have been stuck in a port on a western bay where lonely sailors pass the time away talking about their homes. The name Vingelot gives us a tantalizing and frustrating example of how very easily stories can be lost, likely forever.

Writers (Mystery File):  Over the course of his writing career, Clark Howard may have written over 200 short stories, not all of them criminous in nature, plus a couple dozen crime novels and collections. This does not include an unspecified number of works of true crime the editor of EQMM mentions in her introduction to this tale.   Howard hardly ever used a character more than once, and “Blues in the Kabul Night” is no exception. When mercenary for hire Morgan Tenny smuggles himself into war-ravaged Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, it is for a specific reason. His twin brother is in a high security prison there and scheduled for execution soon, unless Morgan can do something about it.

RPG (Brain Leakage): As I mentioned a few weeks back, I’ve been at work on an Appendix N inspired science fantasy series, one that envisions what D&D fiction might have looked like if it followed the wilder literary roots of the game, rather than filling in the map of TSR and WotC’s pre-fab fantasy worlds.  And while I still plan on writing that, the fact is my recent thought experiments on what Fantasy Effing Vietnam would look like have gotten a bit more attention. To the point that I’ve gotten several messages in public and in private expressing interest in a published print version.

Calendars (Mens’s Pulp Mags): Now, with Eva’s permission, we’re offering a special collectible to go with the book: the Authorized 2020 Eva Lynd Calendar. It’s a limited edition calendar featuring photographs and artwork Eva modeled for, and it’s available exclusively from me on eBay. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you probably know why Eva Lynd is so familiar to fans of the men’s adventure magazines (MAMs) published in the 1950s and 1960s.

Fiction (Sacnoth’s Scriptorium): So, I’ve been trying for a long time to find an answer to the two questions:  Did the Inklings ever read Lovecraft? And Did Lovecraft ever read the Inklings? So far as the first question goes, the answer is: still not proven. We know that Warnie Lewis was a fan of ‘scientifiction and read some of the pulp magazines like AMAZING STORIES. And THE NOTION CLUB PAPERS suggests that the Inklings were fairly conversant in science fiction. Certainly there are some echoes of Lovecraftian themes in Tolkien’s account of the Things beneath Moria, Lewis’s description of the subterranean world far beneath the surface of Venus, and especially Wms’ Cthulhesque octopoid-lords of P’o-l’u.

RPG (Walker’s Retreat): With last weekend’s Big Brand marketing event masquerading as a fan convention came the announcement–with no release date–of the fourth installment of its iconic isometric dark fantasy action RPG franchise. You know which one I’m talking about, and it’s not the MMORPG. I thought I’d take the time to give you all some alternatives that you may have overlooked or forgotten about, beside Path of Exile and adaptation of other Big Brand properties.

Art (Pulp International): Above, numerous Italian posters for 1960s and 1970s westerns. Some of these movies were true spaghetti westerns (produced in Italy and shot in Europe, often Spain), while others are U.S. productions. All the imagery is beautiful. The artists responsible include Renato Casaro, Rodolfo Gasparri, Averardo Ciriello, Aller, aka Carlo Alessandrini, et al.

Review (Hillbilly Highways): I bought Congregations of the Dead over a year ago on a bit of a lark because it was cheap.  Which isn’t to sale that it didn’t sound right up my alley.  A country noir/urban fantasy/horror mashup with significant pulp influences?  (A secondary character is named Carter DeCamp in an obvious homage to Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp and Manly Wade Wellman’s characters Silver John and John Thunstone seem obvious influences as well.)  What I didn’t realize is how damn good it would be.

D&D (The Other Side): For today’s Monstrous Monday I want to do another review. For this one, it still follows my ‘Back to Basic’ theme I have been doing all year even though it is not a Basic-era D&D book.  It is though one of my Basic era books.  The book is the Monster Manual and it was just about 40 years ago that I first held this book in my hand. This is the book. This is the book that got me into D&D and RPGs.

Warhammer (Warpscream): This book opens with a look at the bleak life of the average imperial citizen. Urinating in water recyclers on the arid world of Baal. It’s one of Guy Haley’s strengths is that he can paint such a despondent picture so rapidly to open with. The story briskly moves along as we are made aware of a dire threat to the world of the Blood Angels.

Writing (Frontier Partisans): I guess it triggered a memory of Robert E. Howard’s description of his own trip to the Carlsbad Caverns in the early 1930s. Howard is best known for his creation of the fantasy character Conan of Cimmeria — and he translated his experience in New Mexico directly into a Conan story. . . The power of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien derives in great part from his ability to evoke a landscape that is at once fantastical and real. Tolkien was profoundly affected by landscape — beloved and comfortable; awe-inspiring; terrifying and appalling.

Sensor Sweep: Wulfhere, Monster Manual, Heroism, Howard A. Jones published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[thesummerestsolstice]

Underrated Eldritch Peredhel: Earendil. Specifically, I love Earendil because he kind of starts out "normal," just being the child of an elf and a man. But then he marries the part-Maiarin Elwing, who's great-grandmother Melian affected her husband so much that he's described as being like a Maia lord afterwards. He steps foot on Aman, which in some of Tolkien's texts also physically changes him. He murders a giant dragon and doesn't die afterwards. He's nearly constantly exposed to the Silmaril. Like you know how Aman's light is supposed to be too much for mortals. And the SIlmarils have the remnants of Aman's light. And Earendil has mortal blood.

This is more headcanon but I also believe that no incarnate would naturally be able to do what Earendil does, sailing through the sky and void, possibly fighting the unknowable creatures in it. Varda had to give Earendil some power for him to be able to be Gil-Estel. I've also seen something about him being gifted wings but I forget where.

Just, imagine Earendil, the young sailor just setting out from Sirion, a man with elvish grace, or an elf with mannish features. And then imagine Gil-Estel, the warrior clad in dragon-scale armor, who's lived with the Silmaril for so long that the light shines from within him now. Who burns with Varda's hallowed radiance, so much that the creatures of the void can't even bear to look upon him. Who trails stardust and smiles with teeth that are just a bit too sharp. Who looks more in place aside Tilion and Arien than he does among elves or men.

I also firmly believe that Elrond was able to visit Earendil on the Vingelot– visiting a flying ship is much easier when you can turn into a bird, after all– and that the magic there also affected him, but that's a different post...

#silmarillion #earendil #elwing #eldritch peredhel #varda #gil estel #silm meta #so many thoughts about him #you've heard of Varda hallowing the Silmarils now get ready for Varda hallowing an entire half-elf #also yes he killed Ungiolant absolutely #elrond #elrond peredhel

[shrikeseams]

Silmarillion Tarot Thoughts

Welp, I went and got myself jazzed up about a project that I told myself I wasn't going to do. So here, have the Silmarillion tarot correspondences that I would use if I had any interest in illustrating a Silm tarot deck. I'm starting with the major arcana, then doing aces and court cards, then each minor arcana. All tarot keywords are shamelessly stolen from the Biddy Tarot website. Credit/blame to @Fickes (Who has a film-inspired LOTR tarot deck) and …I know there's at least one other artist I've seen doing Silm tarot art on tumblr, but I do not remember who and they aren't in my drafts.

0 The fool: I've seen Fingon here, but I kinda want him somewhere else.         Sooo, if you have a suggestion lemme know.

Beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, a free spirit. Recklessness, risk-taking

1 magician: Feanor. Who else?        

Manifestation, resourcefulness, power, inspired action. Manipulation, poor planning, untapped talents

2 high priestess: Melian        

Intuition, sacred knowledge, divine feminine, the subconscious mind. Secrets, disconnected from intuition, withdrawal and silence

3 empress: Luthien        

Femininity, beauty, nature, nurturing, abundance. Creative block, dependence on others.

4 emperor: Elu Thingol        

Authority, establishment, structure, a father figure. Domination, excessive control, lack of discipline, inflexibility.

5 hierophant: Mahtan? (or Melian. Theoretically this could also be Ingwe? If I'm allowing valar then Ulmo's an option.)

Spiritual wisdom, religious beliefs, conformity, tradition, institutions. Personal beliefs, freedom, challenging the status quo. (Ofteny interpreted as some kind of teacher or instructor.)

6 the lovers: Finwe & Miriel & Indis        

Love, harmony, relationships, values alignment, choices. Self-love, disharmony, imbalance, misalignment of values.

7 Chariot: Fingolfin on his way to fight Morgoth, OR the crossing of the Helcaraxe        

Control, willpower, success, action, determination. Self-discipline, opposition, lack of direction.

8 strength: Luthien & Huan        

Strength, courage, persuasion, influence, compassion. Inner strength, self-doubt, low energy, raw emotion.

9 the hermit: Maglor (If this weren't focused on the First Age this would be Tom Bombadil.)        

Soul-searching, introspection, being alone, inner guidance. Isolation, loneliness, withdrawal.

10 wheel of fortune: I feel like… the Ring of Doom is the best fit? I'm accepting alternatives though.         

Good luck, karma, life cycles, destiny, a turning point. Bad luck, resistance to change, breaking cycles.

11 justice: The Doom of the Noldor        

Justice, fairness, truth, cause and effect, law. Unfairness, lack of accountability, dishonesty.

12 hanged man: Hurin & Huor getting a sweet Eagle ride home from Gondolin        

Pause, surrender, letting go, new perspectives. Delays, resistance, stalling, indecision.

13 death: Beren! If you disagree… I don't care. This one pleases me too much. Transformation! Mortality! It's perfect.         

Endings, change, transformation, transition. Resistance to change, personal transformation, inner purging.

14 temperance: Elrond & Elros. IDK, the sense of balance seems to fit.   

Balance, moderation, patience, purpose. Imbalance, excess, self-healing, re-alignment.

15 the devil: Glaurung with Turin and Nienor. Second choice: Aredhel and Eol. (Either Sauron or Morgoth would work but.. IDK, but feels Too Obvious.)        

Shadow self, attachment, addiction, restriction, sexuality. Releasing limiting beliefs, exploring dark thoughts, detachment.

16 the tower: The Fall of Gondolin fits best both thematically and visually, but I would also accept The Darkening or the kinslaying at Alqualonde.      

Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation, awakening. Personal transformation, fear of change, averting disaster.

17 the star: Earendil in Vingelot, OR Elwing and Earendil's reunion.         

Hope, faith, purpose, renewal, spirituality. Lack of faith, despair, self-trust, disconnection.

18 moon: My gut says Nan Elmoth, but IDK. Tillion would be the easy way out, but that's so incredibly boring.

Illusion, fear, anxiety, subconscious, intuition. Release of fear, repressed emotion, inner confusion.

19 the sun: Finrod 'discovering' Men.  ��      

Positivity, fun, warmth, success, vitality. Inner child, feeling down, overly optimistic.

20 judgment: Turgon and Finrod dreaming of their hidden cities        

Judgement, rebirth, inner calling, absolution. Self-doubt, inner critic, ignoring the call.

21 the world: This has to be The Music or Arda, but I have no idea how you'd make that visual.

Completion, integration, accomplishment, travel. Seeking personal closure, short-cuts, delays

#tolkien #tarot #fandom tarot #silmarillion #most of these came very easily #and yet. some remain stubborn. #I have not checked the spelling of any names. it is what it is #silmarillion tarot

[undercat-overdog]

Snippet from the first one? (Elrond and Elwing, I love them)

Ack sorry, I have nothing with Elrond and Elwing /o\ (I have yet to get a handle on Elrond.)

So here's some Elwing and Elros? And thank you for the ask! <3

~

“Elros...” she paused. “May I visit you again?”

Elros blinked. “Well, yes, of course. You are here now; I rather expected you would return. Though thinking of it now, will Ulmo…”

“Oh, I think he'll allow it. Or rather, say he won't bother to notice.” She looked at him up and down, eyes aglow. Elros's memory was no longer as vivid as it had been before he had made his Choice, but he knew how Elwing remembered things, of how Elrond did, how all the elves did, and he knew that she was setting the image of him into the eternal, unchanging memory of the Eldar.

She continued. “I'd like to come to know you as you are now, an adult, a great leader of men.”

“I would like that very much,” said Elros, “and if you are able, I will insist on it! I want to be able to introduce my children to their grandmother.”

Her eyes widened. “But you're not married! I would have seen it in your eyes, but... Wait, are you?”

“No, and I have no sweetheart,” said Elros cheerfully. “I will marry, though, perhaps in a century or so. I'd like to show you Númenor too, but – well, perhaps you could fly over it?”

“Hmm.” She looked up at the sky, perhaps gauging the currents of the wind.

My mother is a bird, he though, and gave himself an inward shake. How strange the world could be!

“I think so,” she said. “This island of yours isn't exactly Middle-earth and the Exiles on Tol Eressea are allowed to visit.” Her mouth twisted then; her voice went bitter. “There were those displeased with your father and me. He and I have been more strictly forbidden. But the waters are Ulmo's domain.”

“Hmph,” said Elros, not wishing to argue either way; the Valar had been gracious beyond all measure to his people. “There's a spring not too far from where I live – I can have it dammed for you.”

She laughed at that, but Elros wanted something else too.

“Mother,” said he, “what of my father? Would he be able to meet me, in time meet my family?”

“He…” Elwing paused, and he saw a fierce and fey light in her eyes. “He will; I shall see to it. If I must learn to pilot Vingelot myself and fight the creatures of the Void, he will.”

#ask #tumblr fic #elros #elwing #armenelols #my fic

[undercat-overdog]

I know many your ✿ headcanons for 1 OTP, but what about ✿ for your other OTP, Earendil/Elwing?

And then maybe ♒ for Celebrimbor?

Sex headcanons: Elwing and Earendil have excellent and occasionally kinky sex. They might be the most wholesome couple in Tolkien (not related! same age!) and certainly more wholesome than the other OTP (also not related! also kinky!), but that has nothing to do with their sex life, aside from it being entirely consensual.

Both are quite into bondage, including kinbaku and suspension bondage. Elwing uses this as an opportunity to practice knots in her early days on Vingelot. Also sensory play and sensory deprivation, eternally learning each other's bodies and trying to fill their entire world with each other.

They do a lot of holding hands and staring in each other's eyes.

There is no birdsteality.

Food headcanons: Celebrimbor cares a lot about fashion and not much about food. He tries his best to avoid cooking. Does not always manage that, and tends to go for something simple when he has to, like rice. He's happiest when someone else is doing it, one reason why, despite needing a fair bit of solitude he lives with other people. He does appreciate good food and does have preferences (he's a fan of fish, from his childhood), but it’s something he could live without.

He is, however, quite the fan of ethyl alcohol and is especially fond of wine and brandy. He's lucky he's an elf and doesn't need to worry about his liver.

Thank you for the asks!

#ask #elwing/earendil #celebrimbor #headcanons #aipilosse #elwing #earendil #nsft #maybe?

[undercat-overdog]

I wanted to ask last time you posted about WIPs but forgot: Falostirons all the way down?

This is Vingelot's trip to Valinor! Lots of Elwing/Earendil content and I have grand designs for some action-adventure scenes and chats with giant turtles. Which means that, naturally, I instead wrote some birdly body horror and non-explicit sex 😔

The beginning:

Pain seized her. Bones creaked and bent and broke, skin peeled back from fingers turned claws, flesh was pierced from within by sprouting feathers, teeth pushed aside by a beak, thoughts smothered and extinguished by the tissues of an alien brain. She was a bird, and the bird was not she. It spread its wings, and it flew till it could fly no more, till its heart beat in its chest and each beat was a death. The bird went on. It could not stop, however much it longed to, for a force drove it on, helpless before fate or some god's power.

But the bird was far-sighted, for all that darkness sat in the edges of its eyes, and it saw something that it did not understand, something atop the waves of the endless sea. It flew towards it, heedless: perhaps there it could rest. The wind caught at its wings, much smaller than the wings on the raft, and buffeted the bird into a falling spiral it could not climb out of: it was headed towards the strange surface, not water but wood, it must go on, it could not stop -

When the bird hit the deck, it was no longer a bird but Elwing, the Silmaril clenched in her talon. She could not raise her head. There were fast steps running towards her, and then someone holding her. She knew, she knew him. Earendil, she thought, Earendil! She could think no other words, and if she could, her mouth would not work to speak them, but he was her husband and she knew him. He was saying something, but the blackness in her eyes swallowed her ears, and then her mind.

When she awoke, she was lying on a bed, Earendil holding her hand. She tried to squeeze it, but her hand was slow to move, so she met his eyes instead. He sobbed.

“Elwing, Elwing!” he cried. “How came you to be here?”

Thank you for the ask!

#writing #ask #echoofthemusic #elwing #earendil #elwing/earendil #my fic

[undercat-overdog]

3, 19 and 24 for the fic ask!

3. favorite line/scene you wrote this year - probably the dialogue between Gandalf and Celebrimbor in chapter 2 of Bones. Which, I wrote Gandalf (terrifying) and I think I did it ok o.o It has some of my favorite exchanges too. Maybe I should do a DVD commentary on it or something - it’s a scene I thought a lot about.

19. any new fics to start next year - To start the year? Continue working on my WIP. For the next fic to start, it’s an Elwing/Earendil fic (probably novella length) about the Vingelot’s journey to Aman. I do have some words for it so I’m not sure if it technically counts. But aside from that I have nothing planned, although I’m sure I’ll write some porn along the way.

24. favorite fic you read this year - one of the favorite fics (making that plural because it's true) I read this year is Through Quaking, Through Crazy by @catadromously, which is about the end of the world. Or the end of the First Age, which ends in a continent sinking so I think it counts! Gorgeous series of vignettes with different characters (including non-nobles with names), and it's a wonderful take on a period that fascinates me.

#thank you for the ask! #ask #lunularia #writing #personal #fic rec

[undercat-overdog]

Tagged by @zealouswerewolfcollector​ for this meme:

Rules: write the latest line from your WIP, but with a twist — choose a line from a pet project you WANT to be your WIP. Then tag as many people as there are words in the line.  Make a new post, don’t reblog.

Well the last line I typed in this doc, according to ctrl-z, was “She was hungry,” but here’s a longer passage:

“Beloved,” Elwing said, “what do we do?”

Earendil tipped his head back against the pillow. “I want to find our sons, but-”

Elwing wanted that too, more than anything. “But I'm not sure we could,” she finished. “We don't know if they're even...” Even alive, but she could not say it aloud. 

Earendil did not answer, but she felt the weight of his despair. Every time he sailed forth it was with the hope of gaining Valinor’s aid and the knowledge that if he set foot in the Blessed Lands he would die. 

Elwing knew despair too, had cast herself into the waters like Húrin and Nienor. Yet she remembered the force that had driven the bird to the ship, though of its own will the bird would have died, and the gods had their own schemes. She was alive and whatever the suffering of the bird, she had found her husband and Vingelot was being borne south, towards the strong easterlies and the uttermost West. Elwing could have hope enough for both of them, however bleak that hope be.

“Even if we did go back,” she said slowly, “what could we give them? A world overrun by Morgoth's foul forces? Death at the hands of orcs, or worse? We both know that the only hope for Beleriand lies in the West, the only hope for Elrond and Elros, if Círdan found them before the Kinslayers slaughtered them. And we might... we might make it there.”

“The gem,” Earendil said, and both of them glanced at the Silmaril. Earendil had set it on the desk with his charts and sextant, but it lay on the floor now; she presumed the rolling waves and the rocking of the ship had made it fall. 

“Morgoth coveted it,” he continued, “and the stories say his kin do too. There must be a reason that Ulmo and his servants have smiled upon this ship, when they drowned all those my grandfather sent. I don’t think… I don’t think we can turn back. I perceive that the winds will only bear us west. But I do not know if we will find Valinor.”

“Mmm. Perhaps the Silmaril will pay for entrance into their barred kingdom. Once there... well, if the gods don't help us, then we'll start a rebellion like your Golodhrin family did.”

Earendil did not speak but reached for her hand and held it over his heart. They lay there for a time, despairing, hoping, till he sat up and touched her face.

“Beloved...”

Elwing tilted her head towards him. “Kiss me again,” she said.

#elwing #earendil #elwing/earendil #writing #my fic

[undercat-overdog]

@skyeventide tagged me to share titles of WIPs and, if sent an ask about it, share a snippet. The titles are very much working ones, what the document is titled! They will very much be changed should these pieces ever be finished/published. (I do confess I haven't really been thinking about any other WIPs until I finish my very troublesome current one, but it was fun looking at these and thinking about them!)

1. Elros and the Albatross. Elros and Elwing catch up on Númenor. Originally started as a single dialogue, but now vaguely expanded into Elwing visiting over the years and being a grandma.

2. Fastitocalons all the way down. Starts immediately post-Elwing-jump. The crew of Vingelot sail to Valinor. This could also be titled 'trauma all the way down' but a giant turtle will make an appearance.

3. Fanyarenna (to the sky). Working summary: In Valinor, Celebrían recovers from her torment, builds a house, and learns to fly, with the help of an uncle, a cousin, and an avian in-law. Summary would need to be changed - Amarie became a much more important character than Elwing. Haven't worked on this in 3 years, but it's all about my headcanons of what goes on in Valinor and gave me a very strong conception about Celebrían and her character.

4. A couple possible treats for Innumerable Stars are in initial stages but not sharing those!

Hmm, tagging @aipilosse, @arrivisting, @kazaera. (Three is a pleasing number, ok? Tagging stresses me out, so pleasing numbers help!) 

#writing #personal