#Eldritch maiar

[elentarial]

my friend @goschatewabn, here is your gift for @ainursecretsanta

I loved your prompt “trying to understand the Incarnates and differing moral/ethical codes”

Please enjoy some Eönwë/Arafinwe/Gil-Galad below the cut

They're going to touch; Eönwë can see it. Eönwë knows it.

They're going to touch, and it's going to be more than the touch of friends, and it's going to be more than the touch of brothers-in-arms. It's going to be more than any touch Eönwë has ever given to another, and it's going to tear Eönwë's heart out, and it's going to rip his honor to shreds, but he cannot look away.

He will not look away.

They are both bare from the waist up, their breeches slung low, color riding high in their damp skin. Gil-Galad knows his way around a body for death and love both, and the way he touches Arafinwë frames him like art in Eönwë's eyes. It's a caress, along tight sinew, and hard, flat muscle, and it makes Arafinwë crash like the tide - Eönwë can see the blue ocean in his eyes ebb in and out with every blink, every flicker of his tawny lashes against his pale cheeks.

Arafinwë's hands are sure and rough and astringent like herbs. Eönwë knows the smell and firmness of his skin from when Arafinwë plays the role of healer among his captains. The hands of a king are said to be the hands of a healer, but Eönwë often forgoes any offers from Arafinwë. Those hands conjure up too many filthy apparitions, and Eönwë must not be distracted from his task. The Host of the Valar cannot afford to fail. 

Now, those hands hold Gil-Galad by his elbows the same way Arafinwë holds his bridled horse by the reins to control it. Gil-Galad sprawls his fingers over Arafinwë's hip bones as Arafinwë leans closer and reels him in.

They are kissing now, and Eönwë digs his fingers into the arms of his chair; he will bleed  from the beds of his nails before he blinks before he allows himself to acknowledge before he lets his lips part on the panting gasp of air that writhes in his lungs.

Gil-Galad's mouth parts easily for Arafinwë, but he doesn't stay passive. He pulls Arafinwë closer and slides his hands up Arafinwë's sleek back until he can cradle Arafinwë's head in his hands. It makes Arafinwë tighten up and take what he's given, pulling a moan from his throat that sounds almost unwilling.

"Come," Gil-Galad murmurs against Arafinwë's damp skin, "Let him hear you. Let him see how much you want this," and Arafinwë's eyes shudder closed. "Let him know ," Gil-Galad says, and Arafinwë makes a sound so wanting, so dark, that Eönwë wishes everything and everyone far away so that he could put his own hand on his cock without fear of repercussion, of shame.

His eyes slip closed, and he cannot help but let out a breathy moan, swept away.

"Herald," Gil-Galad says, and Eönwë's eyes snap open again only to light on Gil-Galad on his knees, drawing Arafinwë's trousers down slowly, decadently, like the slide of dark blue cloth over Arafinwë's knees is somehow beautiful. The sight of Gil-Galad looking up at Arafinwë and Arafinwë looking down, and their lust akin to desperate worship passing between them, will reduce Eönwë to nothing.

His fingers ache from their grip on the chair, from not being in contact, from not touching . He feels every place that the laces of his clothes constrict his skin, reminding him that he's trapped -in his armor, in his role as herald of the Valar, in his own propriety. Gil-Galad's trousers have fallen low enough to reveal the curve of his arse, and Arafinwë is naked save for the shackles of his clothing, loose around his ankles. As Eönwë watches, Gil-Galad opens again for Arafinwë, only this time for his cock - his mouth is hungry, arrogant, and eloquent as it takes Arafinwë in.

Arafinwë's spine bows and noises like this are destroying him, and he welcomes it, just rounded beautiful syllables of nonsense. Eönwë thinks he can ride this out and look away (his wings flutter nervously) until Arafinwë's hand fists in Gil-Galad's dark hair and draws his head back so that they look at each other again. The way their eyes meet, and the thin dribble of saliva that connects them from Gil-Galad's mouth to where Arafinwë is hard - the ties that bind them are so strong.

"Eönwë," Arafinwë breathes as Gil-Galad draws him down to the floor so they can kneel together. "Eönwë, look at me." His voice is barely more than a breathless whisper.

Eönwë does as he's told and stares hard at the scene before him as Arafinwë pushes Gil-Galad back onto the skin rug. "This isn't something you have to hide from," Arafinwë rasps, and as he unfastens Gil-Galad's trousers, Gil-Galad reaches into his pocket and produces a bottle. His eyes are unfocused with every curl of Arafinwë's fingers on his body, but he doesn't need focus - Arafinwë has enough of that, sloppy and warm though it is.

Gil-Galad nude is pink-brown and lush-looking, darker than Arafinwë, flushing red on contact. Arafinwë eases one of his legs up into a tight bend, foot flat on the floor, and reaches between them with fingertips slicked with whatever Gil-Galad's bottle contained. 

"This isn't something you must hide from," Arafinwë repeats. "This is something you can have. Watch me, Eönwë," he bites his lip and presses his fingers home. Gil-Galad's body roils under his attention; his face turns to Eönwë, mouth a hungry wet space, his eyes deep, dark, and disbelieving.

"Please," Gil-Galad says, loud and crackling, and Eönwë doesn't know who he's pleading with. Arafinwë does - he kneels in the spread of Gil-Galad's thighs, pulls them together, and aligns himself carefully but quickly. " Please ."

"He's ready for me," Arafinwë says and starts to lean forwards and in. "He's done this before; he likes it -" Arafinwë's face flushes beautifully - Gil-Galad's is wrecked.

Eönwë will not; he  will not try to guess how that feels. He will not put himself in that sordid dream; he will not want this. There are claw marks on the wooden arms of his chair where he has scored deep in his determination. He will wash his clothes himself rather than let Arafinwë or the others see his weakness in sweat marks and the stains on the inside of his small clothes where his cock rubs, already damp and only getting wetter in dripping pulses.

"- but when you do this to me, I'll be tighter, you'll have to go slower, Eönwë, you'll have to be soft with me. I - I haven't, before -"

"Please," Gil-Galad says again, interrupts, and it's Eönwë he's begging now, "Eönwë, it has to be both of us." Arafinwë's beyond talking now, his body making slapping noises, groans, twisted breaths, but no words. Gil-Galad levers himself up, arching like a cat and trying to drag himself closer. "Eönwë, he needs  you -"

Eönwë is the weakest of the maiar at that moment, but he could never ignore a plea. His shirt he tears, his trousers and small clothes he drops as he stands, and the rug bunches under his knees as he grabs the bottle that had fallen to the side. Arafinwë is rutting now, sunk between Gil-Galad's legs and hardly moving except for the shuddering rolling of his hips.

The bottle is full of oil. Eönwë almost fumbles it, but Gil-Galad's hand comes up to catch it. "Steady," the younger high king says in a voice that is anything but. "You will know what to do." He pushes himself up, and Arafinwë slips out, hissing as he does so. Arafinwë drops to all fours pliantly, his head hung low between his shoulders, and Gil-Galad gentles him with a hand on his jaw and one in his hair, soft kisses to his eyelids and the corners of his mouth.

Eönwë wants to watch the intimacy between the elves longer, but more than that, he burns to give Arafinwë what he desires, and Arafinwë, with his back bowed and his legs spread, is telling him what that is. So Eönwë wets his fingers and begins.

At some point, one finger sliding becomes two pushing, three begging. Arafinwë's voice has returned, and his words have been lost again in the mire. Eönwë looks up to see Gil-Galad's hands tangled in Arafinwë's golden hair, drawing Arafinwë's mouth up and down his cock slowly.

Gil-Galad's eyes are butter-soft, fire-warmed when he says, "Now, Eönwë." Eönwë kneels up and finds his way home.

Arafinwë's body is a vice, is a vise - it corrupts him, holds him firm, and sinks into the sin of it, the surety and the surrender, gives himself to it. His own actions become a hazy mirage, something he cannot track because he has this glorious heat, and it has become all he can feel.

He and Gil-Galad have Arafinwë between them, the shortest distance there has ever been between them, connecting them like a line. Arafinwë and Eönwë fit like a weld fixing a break between halves rather than connecting two wholes. 

One by one: Gil-Galad, then Arafinwë, then Eönwë, they spend themselves, and Gil-Galad's release drips from Arafinwë's mouth like honey from the comb. Arafinwë spits himself on Eönwë and comes to completion with a sobbing cry and a twisting, desperate motion like he has to push himself yet further. Gil-Galad holds him up with stiff fingers and soft kisses until Eönwë loses himself in Arafinwë's body.

And he is lost. Perhaps he will never be able to return home unchanged after all that has trespassed, but he has the two high kings to guide him. Eönwë is the weakest of maiar. But Eönwë does not have to be alone any longer.

#Ainur secret Santa #eonwe #arafinwe #gil galad #this is just smut #Eldritch maiar

[evil-crayon]

Melian and Thingol, 2 seconds into their 200 year long staring match.

#melian #thingol #maiar #sometimes you just gotta make eldritch women eldritch #also before thingol got his hair bleached #how did that happen by the way? #i read a really good fic where she needed a part of him to make herself a body #so she took his colours #which would make him an albino right? #maybe they build menegroth because he got really lightsensitive #my art #the silm #crayon art

[arofili]

@tolkienofcolourweek day two | music | the ainulindalë

Then the voices of the Ainur, like unto harps and lutes, and pipes and trumpets, and viols and organs, and like unto countless choirs singing with words, began to fashion the theme of Ilúvatar to a great music; and a sound arose of endless interchanging melodies woven in harmony that passed beyond hearing into the depths and into the heights, and the places of the dwelling of Ilúvatar were filled to overflowing, and the music and the echo of the music went out into the Void, and it was not void. Never since have the Ainur made any music like to this music, though it has been said that a greater still shall be made before Ilúvatar by the choirs of the Ainur and the Children of Ilúvatar after the end of days. Then the themes of Ilúvatar shall be played aright, and take Being in the moment of their utterance, for all shall then understand fully his intent in their part, and each shall know the comprehension of each, and Ilúvatar shall give to their thoughts the secret fire, being well pleased.

—The Silmarillion, “Ainulindalë: The Music of the Ainur”

#tocweek2022 #tolkienedit #oneringnet #silmedit #silm #silmarillion #the silmarillion #ainur #music of the ainur #ainulindale #valar #maiar #eldritch ainur #my edit #tefain nin #mepoc #id in alt text

[tar-thelien]

I want a Silmarillion game. Let me explain;

So, most important is that the Valar needs to have an important role even if they´re not really there, in the way that you can be devoted to one of them and that will give you extra actions. You can also change Vala you´re devoted to, but not from everyone, so you can´t change to Este if you come from Orome so to say, because he will get pissed you choose something "more peaceful" the only Vala you can choose to without pissing anyone of would be Nienna, but only because of respect from her siblings, so if you change to her your previous Vala might not want you back and YES you can be devoted to Melkor, and there the only one you would be able to change to would be Nienna.

Also if you don´t want to be devoted to a Vala anymore Nienna would be the only one who would let you got AND if you do change to any of the Valar who do not "see eye to eye" without going through Nienna they will either curse you or send Maiar after you to kill you, although with some of them, Tulkas and Nesse, if you win over their Maia they will bless you and give you gifts even you´re not their devote anymore. This also applies if you don´t follow their order (go on the side quest they give you) or plain up just go against what they stand for, or you don´t spread the word of them and try to get people to prey to them.

You will also at some chance in the game when you´re pretty high up in levels have the chance to become some sort of Eldritch creature where you can start a cult with you as it´s god.

You won't be able to kill any of the Valar or Maiar, but you can disembody some of the Maiar, although most will just come back later when they have a body again. You can definitely capture a lesser Maiar tho! And there needs to be some sort of Maia (like Huan) who wears the shape of a horse and doesn´t serve any of the Valar you can find and makes your company travel faster than even if you had a horse or warg.

Also you can be any race more or less. Even a Maiar. But then you would be either a very weak one or one who pissed off one of the Valar, limiting who you can be devoted to and was trapped in a mortal form trying to either make said Vala happy or piss them even more off while trying to get your power back.

Last note, you can choose when this takes place (probably only in the first age tho) but you can´t change the outcome of cannon, although you can absolutely have your own little kingdom and fight one anyone you want to but you won't change the outcome, only for your own story.

Might just make it into a DND campaign. IF I KNEW HOW TO!

I have so many ideas, please ask me!

EDIT I know have a blog where I´ll be exploring it! it´s @silmarillion-dnd might change the name later

#tolkien #silmarillion #jrr tolkien

[the-dreaming-plastic-dinosaur]

Bird Captain

I tried something, I wanted him to look a bit unsettling and eldritch. I mean. Maiar should be weird.

There is technically glitter somewhere but alas you can't really see it on the picture...

#silmarillion #the silmarillion #eonwe #maiar #war of wrath

[grey-gazania]

End of Year Fic Recs

Tagged by @sallysavestheday and @polutrope

I tag everyone tagged here and anyone else who hasn't done this yet!

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies).

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

This was difficult!

Multi-Chapter/Series

We Will Make This Place Our Home by @leucisticpuffin, which is my new comfort fic and has A+ kidnap fam characterization.

Gloom, Doom and Maedhros by @hhimring, which I've been dipping in and out of since approximately 2011 and which never ceases to impress me.

Elegy for Numenor by @elfscribe. Not the kind of story I generally get into, but Scribe's OCs are vividly drawn and have captured my heart.

Maglor is an Eldritch Horror by @thescrapwitch. Who doesn't love a touch of horror in their fanfiction? Part 11 (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) is a particular favorite.

The Importance of Peer Review by @sallysavestheday, a series of Finrod-centric comic stories that never fails to make me howl with laughter.

One-shots

Tender Morsels by @sallysavestheday, which depicts a delicious and unsettling yet tender moment between my OTP among OTPs, Fingon/Maedhros.

As the Hare Flees Before the Wolf by @emyn-arnens. The author's note says "Rest in pieces, Eöl," and that is a sentiment I will always endorse. This also includes some wonderfully perilous Celegorm characterization.

Ilimbë by @thelordofgifs. This is everything I ever wanted out of a Fëanor/Nerdanel courtship story, and the characterization is utter perfection.

A Damnable Spot by @imakemywings. Kidnap fam with an extra helping of creepy! I think Elwing deserves to haunt Maglor a little bit. As a treat.

And a bonus two-for-one, because they're by two different authors but they go together: Desperation and Defeat by @elentarial and Maiar Hate This Simple Trick by @zealouswerewolfcollector. I'm a big fan of both humor and Celebrimbor/Narvi, so these both absolutely delighted me.

Oldies

Home from the War by @hhimring. Himring wrote this as a gift for me back in 2020, and it remains my favorite Círdan character study of all time.

Ain Melir Den Urui by Thranduil Oropherion Redux/Randy_O (whom I don't believe is on Tumblr). This Last Alliance themed send-up of Some Like It Hot dates back to 2011, and it's one of my go-to fics for when I'm feeling blue and need a good belly laugh.

Touch of a Vanished Hand by @elfscribe, from 2010. I love Scribe's character study of a younger, more hot-headed Elrond meeting his brother's descendants in the aftermath of the sinking of Numenor.

Winter's Drums by @lucifers-cuvette, from 2014. I absolutely adore Pandë's take on Sauron and Celebrimbor's relationship, and this deeply unsettling but evocative ficlet is one I've returned to many times.

Trinity, also by @lucifers-cuvette, which is from 2007, pre-dating my entry into the Silmarillion fandom. It was the first of Pandë's stories that I read and was my introduction to her amazing Pandë-verse.

Mine

Ill News, a Second Age kidnap fam aftermath fic that I initially posted as a one-shot in 2022. But an enthusiastic commenter inspired me to expand on it, so I added a second chapter in 2023. There's at least one more chapter to come, assuming I ever overcome my current case of writer's block.

Loyalty: A Tale in Three Voices, which is the WIPmost likely to kill me one day. I have a deep and abiding affection for the House of Ulfang, and this is the result of that.

And They Looked Up and Saw a Star, my ongoing early-days kidnap fam WIP. I'm enjoying exploring the relationships between both sets of brothers.

Maps, my Thangordim rescue Fingon/Maedhros WIP with a heavy serving of Caranthir. I'll readily admit that this fic has been an exercise in pantsing all the way and that I have no idea where I'm going with it, but the journey has been fun!

I made several updates to Woman King this year, which is my fem!Gil-galad WIP (sometimes affectionately referred to as the Girl-galad WIP, because I love stupid puns). This is by far my least popular series but it is also my favorite to write, because like all writers I have tropes that I love, and Rule 63 is one of them. Tolkien's works are an undeniable sausage fest and we need more ladies.

#dash games #fic recs

[silmarillion-dnd]

Masterlist

If there´s something you want me to make a post about more than others things, tell me and I´ll see what I can do :) And of course, feel free to reach out to be to me if you have any ideas you want me to know about or want to discuss something, I enjoy that!

Of the Valar:

All Valar

Levels & Trials of Devotion

(There are five levels of devotion you can be to a Vala, at level three you will get some sort of object, whereas at level 1 and 2 you´ll either get a spell or extra bonus.)

Gifts and Blessings

Of the Maiar:

Different Maiar

Play as a Maia

Races:

Classes & Sub-Classes:

Background:

Alliances:

Levels:

Level 1 to 18

Eldritch Level 1 to 5 - Descending to Godhood

Your own Kingdom:

---

Note this will not be built up like DND 5e but is heavily inspired by it

DISCORD SERVER: https://discord.gg/FGcCsFDb

My main blog is @tar-thelien and my art blog is @thelien-art

[anghraine]

I finally realized why I'm so unsettled by the idea that Denethor/Aragorn/Faramir's Númenórean mental abilities really come down to just being very smart and perceptive, and are not supernatural at all.

I mean, I certainly feel a general annoyance with the resistance to any mortal characters having abilities remotely comparable to those of Elves (though Tolkien explicitly said this was the case), and find it especially annoying with Men/humans.

But there's something else that bothers me about it and I couldn't quite pin it down until I was thinking about it this morning.

If we look at, say, Denethor, his extraordinary mental abilities are directly connected to him taking after his Númenórean ancestors to an extent that is rare among modern Dúnedain. Gandalf considers him of far greater lineage than Théoden, despite not knowing the details of Denethor's descent, because Denethor is so blatantly Númenórean. Tolkien describes Denethor in his letters as "almost purely Númenórean." Denethor is unlike most other men of his time because of his Númenóreanness. He is more powerful and dangerous in a way that's tied up with his lineage. He is more kingly than any Gondorian in generations according to the Appendices—not because he's literally a king or claiming to be one, but because he's so Númenórean (they're known as "the Kings of Men"). He can see into the hearts of men and bend his will to see what passes in their minds because he's so Númenórean.

The point is that the vast bulk of Denethor's (and Aragorn's, Faramir's, Imrahil's...) abilities derive from ancestry and ethnicity. It happens to run more purely in them than is usually the case, but it is the source of their abilities. And if those extraordinary Númenórean abilities, which explicitly single them out among other humans, amount to just being smarter, then the implication is that the actual Númenóreans they are throwbacks to were in fact more intelligent than other humans and this is what makes them "higher" in the Middle-earth sense.

And yes, the idea of any ethnic group being intrinsically greater/higher than others is ... bad. But the idea of an ethnic group being seen as superior because they have special magic abilities and are weird eldritch giants does not discomfit me nearly so much as the idea of an ethnic group being seen as superior because they are actually smarter than other people.

Like, "some people are just more magic" is already built into the setting with Elves and Maiar and whatnot, so that interpretation of Númenóreans changes nothing about the fabric of Middle-earth. But the baggage with racially tiered intelligence within human ethnic groups is so much worse! And I ... hate it a lot.

#'my faves are cool weird magic hybrids' okay! #'my faves are racially smarter than other people' NO NO NO NO #also there is like. zero evidence of the actual númenóreans on númenor being smarter than anyone else lbr #anghraine rants #legendarium blogging #legendarium fanwank #denethor #team dúnedain #but not like That

[gwaedhannen]

🐉 for the Silm asks!

Love your writing and ideas so much!

-@outofangband

🐉 A lot of figures in the Silm have weird Eldritch powers or possibly biology. Tell us about your headcanons for one.

That line about how Elwing doesn't go on Starship Vingilot since she can't endure the cold of the void? Outdated information. (Also it's never explained why Eärendil can bear it, though I guess the implication is the Silmaril protects him.) It maybe takes a few centuries of practice with some friendly maiar of Varda, but she's eventually able to use her Melian Inheritance (TM) to protect herself. She doesn't join him often (four years on Seaship Vingilot was more than enough), but for those with sufficient sight (and/or a really good telescope), the Evening Star can sometimes be seen to have an orbiting planet/moon.

#silmarillion #the silmarillion #tolkien #elwing #earendil #elwing/earendil #vingilot #still very normal about these two :) #ask game #outofangband #stormthinken

[that-angry-noldo]

Just wanna say I love the way you write Eonwe. I am so used to him being written like a clown; always on the receiving end of disrespect and portrayed to be dumb af that when I stumbled on your fic (the one where Finarfin was kidnapped), it was such a breath of fresh air because he is portrayed as a competent leader and a terrifying eldritch dude (that scares the elves) and with dignity. Amazing, kudos to you and your brilliant mind babe.

thank you so much anon! i'm sorry it took me so long to answer <3 i'm glad you like my portrayal of eönwë. i think the fandom at large overlooks his canon characterisation: he is the lord of the maiar, he is a warrior (the strongest of arda iirc), he is a war leader, and he is also knowledgable and respected, as his stay in Numenor indicates. let him be all these things! let him be competent! let him be smart! let him be scary! if the istari were powerful, imagine how terrifying their lord must be.

i am also glad you are enjoying ashes! ashes eönwë is my favorite eldritch guy i can't wait to write more of him

#eönwë #ashes #noldo answers #if you want to know ashes!Eönwë's song is ruthlesness from epic the musical #esp the lines #the line between naivety and hopefullness is almost invisisible: so close your hearts the world is dark and ruthlesness is mercy #and #you are far too nice; mercy has a price; guess the pack of wolves is swimming with a shark now #actually if someone has more eönwë thoughts feel free to share them with asks i want to talk about he

[lightdancer1]

My takes on Melian and Luthien:

And ultimately Arwen, though this will get a second and a longer post.

I do think that there is a legitimate grounds in a modern audience reading Melian enchanting Elu Thingol into a trance for 200 years as something that would seem dodgy to us, though not necessarily to the same degrees in-universe.......though even then I tend to treat Melian as essentially the good mirror to Sauron and Saruman. They are all Maiar who took forms of flesh and became rulers within the world and I see Melian as essentially a close kin to Thuringwethil and a Maia whose power relies in what TV Tropes calls 'the Sacred Darkness.' Shadows are her strength and she embodies what the Dark and Night are meant to be without Morgoth's Old Night instilling fear.

In a relative 'power' ranking there's Ilmare-Eonwe-Mairon, all in equal power in different ways, Ilmare representing the light of the Maiar and of the stars and of the sacred aspects of Maiar power, Eonwe as the equivalent of the Archangel Gabriel and the messenger and empowered with the glory.....and Mairon as ultimately the great shapeshifter and the greatest mage, which is the snare Morgoth sets and why as that power grows Mairon in the Second and Third Age is relatively rather more powerful than Morgoth and ultimately the much greater danger.

Melian is the other great mage among the Ainur and it works in a very Aule-Melkor dualism. What Sauron does from pride and arrogance she does from love, and her relationship with Thingol is in no small part an aspect of where she has a very eldritch factor befitting how I portray the Ainur. Tolkien refers to them at times taking 'forms of their own thought, visible in majesty and in dread.' Melian is the singular case of an Ainu who takes shape akin to mortals and becomes very deeply interwoven with it, though as she is not Fallen she retains rather more of her power than her Fallen kin tend to and works within spheres rather than seeking dominion over them and in working within them has a tremendous amount of power that does not fade, but remains consistent.

So why does this matter? Because while the enchantment does have its aspects that make both Eldar and other Ainur uneasy, it works within the world and within the broader plan rather than against it. Elu Thingol is not an ensorceled figure, he has both free will (as is shown by his repeatedly both failing to consult his wife and ignoring her when he does) and he's open about the reality that if it was a mirror to what happened with Eol and Aredhel that he would have left as she did. It is a gesture, ultimately, of love and I tend to see Thingol as teaching Melian as much as she does him, and her students like Galadriel.

He teaches her of emotions and things that as an Ainu made manifest she does not entirely understand, and knowing what these things are and how they work in forms of flesh is a way that things become equal (and ultimately showing Thingol in both hypocrisy and growth as for all that he teaches things in the abstract applying them to himself in his own ways does not work out so well especially when it's foresight).

Luthien in turn, as the first of the Peredhil, has a specific gift with her song that it is a small portion, uncaged, of the Music of the Ainur. It is how she can sing Morgoth into a nap, and how she can cast down Sauron's fortress, and how she sings Mandos and Eru into restoring to her Beren's soul. And it is this that accounts for my particular take on Beren and Luthien and what makes Beren a soul worthy for Luthien to accept her fate. With her glimpse of the Song she has some inkling of what fate holds and as a mirror to my take on things with Arwen she balks at it for much of her life......and she lives in a gilded cage where her mother is beloved and she is seen as much as a prettier Wilbur Whateley as someone worthier of admiration.

Beautiful, yes, in an in-universe 'too beautiful and flawless' fashion. Her singing as a small portion of creation has a haunting effect that leaves strange impressions on those who see her. Melian might have her eldritch factors but everyone knows she's a Maia and while theory and practice differ in dealing with it they also know a Maia will be weird by Eldar standards.

And in this regard she is also very lonely as while others might be smitten with her she can see that they are smitten with the idea and exposure to the actual person curdles that. Enter Beren Erchamion, who sees all the weirdness and loves her unconditionally from the first, and is willing to venture into the belly of Hell for her without being deterred by all the things that chase away others.

And so when the choice comes round at last, it is not some great burden or what she expected of it, for while she and Artanis to a point can see the future they see it as through a mirror darkly, seeing events but not always their context and seldom with ideas of what it's like to actually live the visions until they're there.

#melian #luthien #arwen undomiel #sauron #maiar vs umaiar #Galadriel #beren and luthien

[far-side-skies]

So Stonebinder, an ancient demigod from the far side who is so old he's like a boogeyman type entity, now forgive me but i got infodumped last night while watching LoTR about maiars and dogs in that setting so i'll ask a bit about Stonebinder, you called him an "ancient demigod" which means i assume he's been around as long as curses have been, or something similar, but you said his purpose was to collect curses, was it a task given to him by a higher force or was he brought into existence by the existence of curses, what other kinds of demigods exist in atmos, are there higher beings than demigods in atmos, is he immortal or functionally immortal until he's killed, so on and so forth i could ask pedantic questions like this forever so i'll stop here

Aaaaaah no, keep the questions coming!! XD

So this is all stuff that I've talked about in the Discord server, but I haven't had a good way to talk about it here on Tumblr, so thank you for the opportunity to infodump like a madwoman :3

Yes, Stonebinder is an ancient demigod who has been relegated to a bogeyman figure in stories come present-day Atmos.

However I wouldn't say he's 'from' the Far Side. In a way, he predates it, coming from a time when Atmos was whole, and not split in two by the Barrier Cliffs. His ancient curse libraries are dotted around both sides of Atmos, lying abandoned, but not unprotected. A few curses still reside within them, active and tormenting their victims. Many have simply died out as their targets left the mortal coil.

Stonebinder is indeed ancient. Older than most of recorded history in fact, but curses have existed since before the beginning of Atmos. An ancient eldritch 'god' creature known as the Vow embodies curses, pacts and promises, and that is the creature that Stonebinder draws his power from.

you said his purpose was to collect curses, was it a task given to him by a higher force or was he brought into existence by the existence of curses

Oh boy, oh boy you have opened a can of worms here Peregrine, brace yourself XD I'm putting it and the rest of this post under the cut, otherwise this is going to get so long.

So in my lore, 'demigods', aka Champions, are not born naturally. They're born mortal, and if they happen to perform a feat of great renown (saving a whole Terra, defeating an entire army singlehandedly, discovering and learning to weild a fantastic new crystal, etc) a Giant will pick them up and offer them immortality and the ability to channel the power of the eldritch gods. Giants are very powerful beings in my lore, and capable of imbuing tools, weapons, and even living creatures with elemental power, turning them into conduits for the elements without the need of a crystal (I made Gundstaff a rather weak giant in comparison to his brethren, and not many giants exist in Atmos these days). This power does have a price though, but I'll get into that in another post one day.

Stonebinder was originally a mortal cyclops and powerful curse mason until a giant saw his talent for curses and offered to make him into a demigod Champion. He accepted, and now we have a cold, cruel immortal whose power frightens even the giants at times.

There are many other demigod Champions in my lore. Most Champions have been reduced to stories, but some still live on today. A good few of them roam around the Far Side, helping people where they can. Arygyn is one Champion who wanders 'our' side of Atmos, though he keeps it tightly under wraps these days. It draws too many questions.

Yes, Stonebinder is functionally immortal until he's killed, however it is very difficult to kill him. Mortals wouldn't be able to lay a single scratch on him no matter how hard they tried. My version of Atmos exists in a hierarchy of raw power, and mortals are at the bottom of that hierarchy. Above them are elemental creatures like phoenixes, then Champions, then the giants, and then the Eldritch. The only thing that could possibly have a chance to kill Stonebinder is another Champion or another creature higher up than him in the hierarchy, however due to his age and connection to a particularly powerful Eldritch, the Vow, he's among the strongest of Champions and even outranked some low-level giants when there were more of them around.

Okay, I think that's every question answered XD And that's not even all the lore I have. I'm hoping this all makes sense.

#ask: answered #princess-peregrine #storm hawks #storm hawks headcanons #storm hawks lore #sunny's headcanons #sunnyverse headcanons #sunnyverse lore #sunny's storm hawks headcanons #storm hawks headcanon #champions #demigods #eldritch lore #god lore

[sanisse]

I started reading the fic because I got very curious and

Eldritch Peredhel? What does it imply exactly?

oh please this is a dangerous ask. I could ramble about Eldritch Peredhel for hours.

It's a fanon thing that all of the Elrond/Luthien/Elros/etc. stans pass around and interpret differently, but basically it's the concept of...well...due to the maiar/ainur genetics, Peredhel may be a bit....eldritch, so like weird, perhaps a bit sinister-feeling, perhaps a bit creepy, and usually outside of something which our human brains can conceptualize or wrap around fully. They often set off the uncanny valley alarm. It also usually includes extra superpowers.

For me, I base my Eldritch Peredhel headcannons drawing from what we know of Melian the Maia (the most powerful Singer, able to create the Girdle of Melian/Doriath which turned the woods into a maze which confused unwanted foes and outsiders so they couldn't find their way in or out --more on that later--), Luthien (flowers popping up when she sang or danced, the ability to solo-out Morgoth himself, and Tolkien's descriptions of her in the lay of luthien), and then direct knowledge of what we know about the nature of Maiar and the Ainur.

Re: the Girdle of Melian, I think it’s very significant that the descriptions of the Girdle are extremely similar to the descriptions of the road to Rivendell. I actually don’t think Elrond is using Vilya to hide the Valley. I think that’s intuitive magic from the line of Melian that runs in his blood. Perhaps enhanced by Vilya, but the descriptions that Tolkien gives are so incredibly similar that I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that Elrond is lauded as having an immense connection to Music, and possibly the best current Voice in all of Middle Earth, considering Melian and Luthien’s abilities. 

So... for Elrond, my main headcannons are as follows, HUGE post under the cut:

Most noticeably, his eyes are flecked with actual stars. That’s how he got his name (Vault of Heaven, Star Dome, Firmament, depending on who you ask about the translation). They glow a bit, and will turn into constellations and glow a lot if he’s a bit out of control of himself (high stress, tired, high emotion, has recently used a lot of his power, or...yeah....sex :D ) 

He heals using Songs of Power -- all Elves have access to Songs of Power, but Elrond has an especially strong connection via the line of Melian. Vilya definitely enhances his abilities to an extreme degree, but he can do crazy things that a normal healer would not be able to do (like transcending into the spiritual/astral realm and dragging someone’s soul back from the dead...an immense expense of effort and could possibly KILL him, but he does it anyway). Using his power like this is extremely exhausting and physically damaging. He always has to rest afterward and he does have limits. These limits are pushed out by Vilya, but he still DOES have them. 

Re: songs of power: he has the ability to physically shape reality with his voice. I usually manifest this in the best bedtime stories. Like is he singing the lay of Luthien? Congrats you’ve got flowers blooming on your bedspread. Singing the tale of Nolofinwe dueling Morgoth to the death? You’ve got a live movie of it flashing around in the fire. 

As mentioned above: he disguises the Hidden Valley using intuitive magic from his Ainur genetics. He can do this in even smaller/less noticeable ways (say, he doesn’t want to be bothered in his office today, so suddenly you can’t find it and the halls keep doubling back on themselves and you forget what you came for and eventually wander away). 

During times of extreme emotion, or extreme expense of his powers, he will look less and less Elven/Mannish, and more and more Eldritch. He masks himself on a regular basis so as not to frighten others. So how this manifests in my head...I base it by taking Tolkien’s description of Luthien literally. His eyes literally glow with gray starlight, his hair literally becomes a roiling mass of ink...almost like it’s rending a hole in the fabric of space and time, he grows and lengthens (like how Gandalf does when he confronts Bilbo), and also feels bigger. Like, spiritually bigger. Like okay he’s physically this size but he feels like he swallows sunlight and fills the whole goddamn room. If he is angry, he radiates white-hot starlight from inside of himself to the point that it’s lighting up capillaries and veins, you wouldn’t really recognize him, and he can pretty much just rip you apart on a molecular level. Think like...bloodbending, from ATLA.

Now, re: the above, but when very happy, (like, say, in the throes of an orgasm...), he will look bewitchingly gorgeous. (Re, Thingol becoming bewitched by Melian and staring into her eyes for thousands of years). He can actually kind of almost...bewitch people in the same way in this state, but he doesn’t intend to. He still glows with starlight, his eyes will fleck with constellations and nebulae, and when he orgasms (i think about this way too much) he becomes extremely eldritch, like just a riot of stardust that you can’t really comprehend. And afterwards he just is like, this arcane thing that you can’t make sense of, feels like he could enfold you and swallow you whole but like in a good way. 

Differences between emotions will effect the kind of Eldritch he feels. Like, for instance if he’s happy then you’ll go “wow what a gorgeous night sky in your eyes!”, if he’s trying to intimidate someone, his gaze will give you a sense of vertigo, like suddenly you’re hanging over the vast expanse of space and might fall in. If he is sad, upset, or fading, his eyes will just be like, vacant. The empty void of endless space -- a black hole, almost. Is he trying to figure out what you’re thinking and delve into your innermost being? You’ll start to feel like you’re being watched by a thousand, thousand different eyes from all directions. Is he trying to comfort you? He can physically find your rhythm in your soul and kind of slow it down and anchor it to himself.  

Another note: when he loses control of himself for any reason, he starts to like, be there and not there and flicker between thousands of different forms in a millisecond. It’s hard to explain... he did this a lot as a child and it really freaked Mae and Mags out lmao. The “flickering between a thousand different forms at once” I actually pull from Tolkien’s description of him in the Hobbit and in Fellowship. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mean it that way but....

"The face of Elrond was ageless, neither old nor young, though in it was written the memory of many things both glad and sorrowful. His hair was dark as the shadows of twilight, and upon it was set a circlet of silver; his eyes were grey as a clear evening, and in them was a light like the light of stars. Venerable he seemed as a king crowned with many winters, and yet hale as a tried warrior in the fulness of his strength. He was the Lord of Rivendell and mighty among both Elves and Men."

Genderqueer and bisexual (almost pan) - Tolkien is very clear that Ainur have no gender and no set sexuality, and can choose at any time. 

Shapeshifts to a small degree, often without really intending to. Canonically, Ainur can change forms at will (we see this most often with Sauron pre losing the Ring). Elrond can do this in a small way, like if a book is too high up for him he can lengthen to reach it rather than grabbing a stepladder, lol. He often does stuff like this without meaning to. And also...his physical proportions will change on a day-to-day basis in small ways, but that’s outside of his control and actually super annoying because it’s hard to find clothes that fit and he feels good in.

I feel like I probably have more of these but those are the main ones! 

#sanisse speaks #elrond #Tolkien meta #this is going to EXPOSE me if anyone happens to read my main blog's fics lmao #these are SO hyperspecific to me as a writer and no one else in the silm fandom has these exact headcannons

[runawaymun]

For the Silm ask game: 🐉 (I feel like this one has your name all over it)

🐉 A lot of figures in the Silm have weird Eldritch powers or possibly biology. Tell us about your headcanons for one.

I feel like I don't talk about Elros enough, so here are some Elros headcannons!

Elros glows just like Elrond does, but not as brightly, and while Elrond starts to become less physically solid when he is upset/dissociating, for Elros this happens at moments of high emotion in general, (kind of the way Elrond's glowing happens at moments of high emotion in general), hence the name.

Elros' foresight is super strong and very intrusive. He's also very good at interpreting his visions & has really good intuition when it comes to helping others make sense of their dreams. Elrond would always ask his advice whenever he was dealing with his own visions -- which made things really difficult once Elros was no longer around to ask :(

This gets into the weirder Eldritch Peredhil headcannons, but Elros (and Elrond, too, if he tried) -- and everybody descended from him in varying degrees -- are excellent divers, able to both go without air longer and withstand much more pressure and lack of light and oxygen than a man or elf. That comes down to the maiar ability of altering form. In the most basic and practical and perhaps weirdest sense, this comes down to collapsible lungs (the kind that deep-sea whales have -- yay shapeshifting!), the ability to get rid of cranial sinuses (less air pockets in the body to get crushed under immense pressure), and the production of piezolytes, which stabilize proteins at a molecular level against high pressure. That's from the Maiar biology -- they need 'em to help them shapeshift into those bigger sizes. Does the science science? IDK probably not but I think it's cool. He also doesn't experience claustrophobia in the deep ocean or in tight spaces the way an elf or a human might. The bit of Elros that's Melian enjoys shadowy places :) They feel cozy. :) Elros feels very at home in deep water and loves to swim.

#getting into the weirder Peredhil biology tbh #but mostly it's just weird maia biology #enjoy <3 #elros

[dalliansss]

Silm ask game: 🗡️ & 🐉

Silmarillion Ask Game

🗡️ Defend your favorite war criminal (or make them worse - I’m not your mom).

Current questionable war criminal is of course my beloved Serpent King, Finrod. Gasp. How can cutiepie Finrod be a war criminal? How dare you! Well, he is tho. Even if his questionable actions are not decidedly as terrible as the rest of the family, still, he helped a genocide into completion. Remember the petty-dwarves? I find it very fascinating that someone that canon hammers to us as 'kind, noble and generous' can go straight up to a people close to extinction, and then practically steal their plot of land and kick them out. Granted Mîm betrayed him, but that part is sketchy, and JIRT gave us blank spaces instead of completely filled-up corners. I find it interesting canon totally overlooks this. This pretty elf comes to the caverns of the Narog, negotiates (or maybe deceives? HMM) the last of the petty-dwarves to cooperate. But perhaps the petty-dwarves are not so easily charmed by Finrod's beauty as everybody else was, and maybe the dwarves, through Mîm, thought they deserved better because that was their land. Ancestral lands, even. This particular part in canon has always interested me, and contributed to my overall take/portrayal of a beloved character.

🐉 A lot of figures in the Silm have weird Eldritch powers or possibly biology. Tell us about your headcanons for one.

The Valar can dwindle themselves down and craft themselves fanar that is so very well-done that even Maiar can mistake them for fellow Maiar, once they dwindle themselves down so. But many of the Valar don't put this power into practice. They think highly of themselves. Besides, why would anyone lower themselves to the status of a servant? But Melkor used this ability to his great advantage. By crafting the fana of Thû, 'Maia of Námo', he was able to recruit many, many more to his cause. Like Mairon, for example.

#ask games #silm #finrod #melkor #morgoth

[polutrope]

for the character asks, Melian!

You and @undercat-overdog both sent me this one! And it's a good one. A complicated character I've thought a lot about and still don't feel much closer to understanding.

Sexuality Headcanon: idk, pansexual I guess? she does not understand this question.

Gender Headcanon: Ainu (Generally fem-presenting. Sometimes tree-presenting, bird-presenting, etc.)

A ship: Not to be boring, but Thingol. It's a fascinating relationship to explore - just, WHY? I interpret their relationship as ultimately very tragic. I believe she had good intentions and did really love him, in her eldritch way, and it just goes so badly.

A BROTP A Gen relationship: Daeron. [put this explanation under a cut because it got a bit long - how shocking]

A NOTP A rarepairing: Eöl. I have this one cracky theory that she met Eöl before she met Thingol and it didn't work out. An unrequited situation would be interesting here also.

A random headcanon: I think she feels a lot of guilt for her unique 'intervention' in the affairs of the Children largely failing. Also I think the starry ceiling of Menelrond changes based on what's going on in her mind.

General Opinion: I find her the most sympathetic of the Ainur, whom I tend to side-eye quite intensely. [Also putting the rest of this below the cut].

A BROTP A Gen relationship: Daeron. Because:

... there were none more beautiful than Melian, nor more wise, nor more skilled in songs of enchantment. It is told that the Valar would leave their works, and the birds of Valinor their mirth, that the bells of Valmar were silent and the fountains ceased to flow, when at the mingling of the lights Melian sang in Lorien. (Of Thingol and Melian)

and although [the Sindar] were Moriquendi, under the lordship of Thingol and the teaching of Melian they became the fairest and the most wise and skilful of all the Elves of Middle-earth. (Of the Sindar)

[Daeron] it was that made music for the dance and song of Luthien, before Beren came to Doriath; and he had loved her, and set all his thought of her in his music. He became the greatest of all the minstrels of the Elves east of the Sea, named even before Maglor son of Feanor. (Of Beren and Luthien)

I know the implication of the last is that Daeron became great because of his love for Lúthien (I want to talk about this so bad right now but focus!) but I think it's no coincidence that the greatest elf minstrel ever had the goddess of song for a queen.

I have written their relationship as a complicated mentor-student type of thing with a maternal figure flavouring. My hc is that he's a bit of a prodigy from birth but Melian picks him out when she first shows up with Thingol. She takes him under her wing and turns him into a supercharged Song-wielder. More supercharged, perhaps, than a poor Child of Eru can handle. Oops?

General Opinion: I love how she interacts with the Children in a totally unique and intimate way; I love that she messes up; I love that she is the only Ainu to procreate (excluding Ungoliant maybe) and the tragedy of a being older than Arda, who will exist beyond Arda, losing her child; I love that she holds it down in Beleriand, defying Morgoth's power, through the whole First Age while all the other Ainur are, at best, sending dreams on streams and, at worst, binge-watching the Doom of the Noldor from on high.

Oh! And I love the stuff in NoMe about her being the leader of the guardians sent to Cuiviénen - the others being the Maiar who would later be the Istari (!!). I think it says a lot about how Tolkien saw her character that he gives her that role. Melian and Olórin would be another amazing relationship to explore.

#asks #character asks #melian #thingol #daeron