Thinking About A Re-embodied Maeglin Looking Up At The Night Sky And Realising That It Contains A Star

You ever get like five different ideas from angst but none of them is long enough to stand on its own and so you just make Frankenangst? Yeah

Warnings: character death, description of injuries

—-

Keep reading

‪happy christmas to my favourite story of all time‬

i wonder how much of anakin’s sense of betrayal toward obi-wan, his utter hate and resentment of him, is based on how if their roles were reversed anakin would stop at NOTHING to get obi-wan back. he will slaughter thousands to save his loved ones, he’s still trying to find a way to get padme back years later, but he stands there and tells obi-wan “anakin skywalker is dead” and obi-wan just… believes him. and walks away.

to anakin that level of non-attachment, that acceptance of reality, is unfathomable. they loved each other, they love each other, so they must continue to act out their feelings as they always have— obi-wan by trying desperately to help or reach anakin, and anakin by refusing him, by hunting him, torturing him, hating him because he loves him so.

when vader tells luke “obi-wan once thought as you do,” there is a profound grief behind those words. obi-wan thought he could reach me, but he gave up because he stopped loving me, because i made him stop. anakin could’t understand until the very end that obi-wan loved him, loved him always— but that in this life, the only way obi-wan had left to love anakin was to let him go.

Metaphysical question - what do you suppose Tolkien meant to indicate by making the 'Flame Imperishable' so important in the early Valaquenta? It's supposed to technically be the thing that really drew Melkor off-course, is the stuff of souls, yet it winds up as this very mysterious, undefined force. Do you think it's the same light that filled the trees (and thus the Silmarils)? Tolkien loves his light, but I wonder how much these forces are connected in canon.

Oh my friend, you just ask the best questions. *evil cackle*

So, as for what the Flame Imperishable does, literally, that's pretty straightforward. (It's also sometimes called the Secret Fire, in case you wanted to search for that in an electronic version.) Eru uses it to kindle life in all beings from the Ainur to the Children, and without this force, that's impossible. Melkor goes searching for it and can't find it, and Aulë makes little dwarf puppets until Eru sparks them to life personally. Ye Olde classic subcreation examples, so on and so forth. Probably sounds familiar from our first thread ever!

I think that this theme of subcreation is really what Tolkien meant to hammer home with the Flame Imperishable, especially in the Ainulindalë. It's a force to give to living beings, not for them to control—and we never see it outside of this "life force" application. So, I don't really think that the Trees or the Silmarilli literally contained the Secret Fire, though I admit that would make a neat explanation for why Melkor was so obsessed with destroying the first and keeping the second.

But neither are we supposed to put the Flame Imperishable out of our minds when we think of these things. Remember how I mentioned searching for "secret fire" in an electronic copy? Well, I did! And the only time it's mentioned outside of the capitalized, proper force of Eru is in reference to... Fëanor.

...Fëanor grew swiftly, as if a secret fire were kindled within him. He was tall, and fair of face, and masterful, his eyes piercingly bright and his hair raven-dark; in the pursuit of all his purposes eager and steadfast... He became of all the Noldor, then or after, the most subtle in mind and the most skilled of hand.

And there's just too many connections here to dismiss, because when the man named Spirit of Fire grows to become a creator like there's a secret fire, the force of creation, inside of him? And he when makes three jewels with literal bits of his spirit, like a secret fire, inside? Isn't a coincidence. And notably, Tolkien says "as if," not "with," so this is still a simile—but it's a deliberate and telling one all the same.

túrin wakes up everyday and chooses violence

Please consider: If Tolkien wasn't a coward Feanor would have been female and it would have been way cooler. a) Gives some real weight to the idea that Feanor was worried the crown would go to one of Finwe's other kids. b) More ladies in Tolkien, always a plus. c) You'd better believe Feanor's the greatest craftsperson of the Noldor- she made 7 of them! (Also the sheer drama of newly single mum Feanor and her 7 boys in Middle Earth) d) Silmarils as kids2.0 e) Blacksmith lady hot

Lady Feanor would indeed be awesome. The historical part of my brain can't help but think that critics of the time would have unfortunately interpreted ambitious kick butt single mom Feanor as a prime example of the "monstrous woman" type, ala Medea or something, who "got what was coming to her" in the end, so in a way I'm glad that the Prof. decided to write Feanor as a man so that we didn't have to deal with that nonsense.

I can't help but wonder if he'd lived at a later date if he might have considered female Feanor, I mean, this is a man who took one look at one is Shakespeare's most famous plays and said, "the answer to the prophesy is a C-section?? Booooo! Macbeth should have been killed by a woman! (And also the trees should have actually come alive)" and "its bogus that Orpheus turned around after all that and Eurydice had to die! Rip to them but if i were trapped in the underworld my wife would be different!"

And then proceeded to write his own genderbent fix it fic of both of those perennial works x)

So yeah, I think if the character had come into his head as female then Tolkien would have 100% been down with it

are you considering getting into NFTs but are on the fence due to environmental concerns or fear of being labelled a "complete douchebag"?

do you want to enjoy owning a unique piece of artwork while still enjoying the possibility of one day getting a girlfriend?

then boy, do I have the option for you!

did you know that there are THOUSANDS of artists on THIS VERY WEBSITE and many others who will make you your very own piece of artwork for the same price or less than an NFT?

these gorgeous artworks are called "commissions", and are environmentally friendly AND don't look like pure shit!

if that wasn't enough, many lovely artists on the internet will, for a price, PHYSICALLY MAKE AN ARTWORK IN REAL LIFE AND MAIL IT TO YOUR OWN HOME! That's right, a PHYSICAL OBJECT that is completely unique and made just for you!

Benefits of Commissions:

Environmentally Friendly!

Supports Real, Hardworking Artists!

Actual Real Art That Looks Good!

Not A Literal Scam!

I Will Stop Fucking Your Mom!

"OP," I hear you cry, "how do I get my grubby hands on such a deal??"

don't fret, dear reader! simply check the bio or pinned post of any artist on any site for further directions! Many will have a "commissions open" or "commissions closed" sign, and often you will find a post with prices or instructions on how to contact the artist for details!

"What if I can't afford it?" you say? Well, you can also support the artist by REBLOGGING their artwork! (NEVER repost without permission, I'll kill you)

stop buying NFTs and support real artists!

Too much praying directly to the Valar and not enough praying to their Maiar for their intercession

It sure is convenient that all these songs that ostensibly weren’t written in English all rhyme when translated into English, isn’t it, Mr. Tolkien?

Do you ever think about how staggeringly in bad taste it is that Gandalf brought a firework that turns into Smaug to Bilbo’s birthday party

Like how were you hoping that would go