ringofsecrets - Tumblr blog

ringofsecrets · 1 month

Text

So I think one thing that really drives Feanor is his grief– he looses Miriel, and he very clearly never recovers from that. There's the pain of loosing a parent and the added layer of Miriel's death being, on some level, a choice to leave Feanor. You can't tell me he didn't internalize the idea that he wasn't good enough for his mother to stay ay least a little. And I can't help but imagine that most of Valinor really wasn't helpful. There was probably a lot of vague sympathy with no real understanding of the situation, people who in theory thought Feanor had the right to grieve but reacted pretty badly to any actual displays of grief, and some people who insisted that Miriel chose to stay dead, Finwe and Indis were happily married, and therefore, Feanor shouldn't feel sad about it anymore. Even for those with more understanding of grief, it's still a really complicated situation. But you know who would understand Feanor?

Elrond. And the reason is Elros and Arwen– Elrond knows what it's like when someone you love dearly chooses to leave you, essentially forever, not because they don't care about you or because you weren't good enough, but because they have to make the best choice for themselves. And how you can respect that choice, and be glad that they did what they needed to, but still grieve them and the relationship you had with them. He understands those complicated feelings and how to process them in a healthy and non-destructive way.

And I'm losing my mind over this because Feanor is the one who starts the kinslayings and the cycle of violence between elves, and Elrond is the end result of all that violence; born to two refugees and raised largely by Feanor's sons. But despite all that, he's good and kind and able to focus on healing instead of pain. He ends the violence and makes a sanctuary where everyone is welcome. And he's able to do what Feanor never could, and not be consumed by his pain. And that means so much.

#i read this and it hit hard!#there is a reason Elrond is called “kind as summer”#he WOULD understand that pain better than anyone else #and may be the only person both willing able and allowed to try to rehabilitate Feanor

479 notes · View notes

ringofsecrets · 2 months

Text

Today it’s been 9 years since Terry Pratchett left us…

We miss you 🤍

#gnu terry pratchett #one of my favorite writers

24K notes · View notes

ringofsecrets · 2 months

Text

if it sucks hit da bricks <- litany against sunk cost

take it easy but take it <- litany against burnout/apathy cycle

fuck it we ball <- litany against perfectionism

now say something beautiful and true <- litany against irony poisoning

260K notes · View notes

ringofsecrets · 2 months

Text

So there is a lot of further lore, which I can get into if it becomes necessary. But the big stuff- The Valar are basically angelic beings appointed by God (Eru or Illuvatar) to guide and rule the world. One of them, Melkor, is evil and betrays everyone else. They go to war and imprison him. During this, they invite the Elves to come live in Valinor. Some of them agree, others refuse. The Elves that go to Valinor are split into three groups: the Vanyar (super religious, don't really come into the story much, the Teleri (big into sailing and boats, have a large number of their people that didn't end up coming to Valinor), and the Noldor (big into crafting, kinda haughty, most of the main drivers of the First Age are at least partially Noldor)

The Noldor are lead by Finwe. He was married to Miriel, who gave birth to Feanor before dying (nb- death is not necessarily permanent for elves they can come back eventually). Problem is, she wants to stay dead and Finwe wants more kids and an alive wife. They go to the Valar for a solution. They say Finwe can remarry if Miriel agrees to never return to life. Miriel agrees and Finwe marries Indis, the sister of the King of the Vanyar. They have at least 4 kids: Findis, Fingolfin, Lalwen, and Finarfin (there are possibly others according to some versions, but really only Fingolfin and Finarfin factor into this) This really pisses off Feanor, who refuses to acknowledge his half siblings as family.

Feanor marries Nerdanel, and has seven sons (Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod and Amras) Fingolfin marries Anairë and has four kids (Fingon, Turgon, Aredhel, and Argon) Finarfin married Eärwen, the daughter of the king of the Teleri. Their children were Finrod, Angrod, Aegnor and Galadriel.

Everything was tense, but manageable until the Valar decided to give Melkor another chance and released him. He started spreading dissent and rumors among the Noldor and especially the Royal family. Feanor starts to mistrust his brothers especially and assume they are trying to take precedence over him (both in the royal line and in their father's affections). To be clear, he doesn't trust Melkor farther than**I**can throw him, but the rumors are being spread through other people too.

Also importantly, Feanor is an incredibly skilled craftsman, possibly the greatest ever. He invents all sorts of things, but his greatest achievement are the Silmarils, three jewels that he captures the light of the Two Trees (these are what lights Valinor, as the sun and moon don't exist yet) in. The leaders of the Valar, Manwe and Varda, bless the Silmarils and make it so nothing evil can touch them without pain and injury.

Things probably wouldn't have changed any further, but in the course of a very public argument, Feanor draws a weapon on Fingolfin and threatens him. The Valar temporarily banish Feanor from the main city, . He moves far to the north, and Finwe chooses to go into exile with his beloved eldest.

A while later Melkor comes to the fortress that Feanor is exiled to. He tries to convince Feanor to ally with him. Feanor rejects and insults him saying "get thee gone from my gate, thou jailcrow of Mandos". Melkor leaves.

I'm going to end part one here. Will continue with part two tomorrow. Any questions so far?