Letters from the Void

Just a simple side blog dedicated to the works of Tolkien Mainly ramblings and thoughts Because if you want a village, you need to partake as a villager

[everlastingdarkness808]

Curvo and Maedhros rivalry headcanons because I said so:

Imagine Curvo growing up, always being compared to his father by others because they are so akin and no matter how much Feanor and Nerdanel try to prevent it. He remembers the time when Maedhros was holding him in his arms and a nobel asked if Maedhros was afraid of new competition. It had been a joke, Maedhros brushed it off but the seed was already planted in Curvo.

Curvo who feels envy towards his brother the older he gets. Why can’t he be the first born? Why is he the fifth while Maedhros is showered in the glory of being the first in everything. He know the feeling is irrational, even Tyelko says that he should be happy to be the fifth or he would be stuck behind books all day just like Maedhros but still it doesn’t add up in his brain.

Curvo who is now a teenager and still loves his brother but ends up wanting to replace him. If he’s so akin to his father then why can’t he be the first in line? In truth he knows that there is a big gap between him and his brother, that he won’t surpass Maedhros in certain skills no matter how long he tries but he would never admit it out loud. He still works, still tries to prove that he’s more deserving of being his father’s heir.

Maedhros is just confused why his brother wants his glorified social prison. There is hardly anything nice about it and the expectations more often than not outweigh the rewards. Every action is observed, every slip up is scrutinized, and other nobles just wait to pick on your intestines like scavengers as soon as you show any hint of weakness or uncertainty.

For Curvo his position is the ultimate goal, for Maedhros it’s a cage he would gladly get out off. Both bristle and break under the pressure. Some just more than others.

Curvo who forgets his rivalry with his brother for a while as soon as his sweet Telperinquar is born. He has no time for it, he is not a youngster with no place anymore. Despite his rivalry he build himself a place and sometimes finds himself happy to not be the first born. He’s still a perfect son even if he’s just the fifth.

Curvo who burns the ships along with his father and doesn’t understand why Maedhros threw his torch into the sea. He’s the first born, he should be father’s first supporter. If he was the first born, he would’ve made his father proud. For a moment the rivalry awakens again, burns hot like a falling star in his chest. And still doubt lingers in his heart if it was truly right to leave Valinor, to burn the ships and leave their uncle behind. No, they can do without that traitorous, illegitimate brood, right?

Their father is dead and Curvo doesn’t know what to do. They failed. A big portion of their people is on the opposite shores, morale is low amongst their own and Maedhros is crowned the new king. And for the first time he sees that his beloved brother, who always had a solution for every problem, who always found a way around everything, who is the perfect son after all, is at a loss of what to do. Curvo doesn’t understand it, he can’t believe it. For what did he learn all the skills at court when he doesn’t know what to do!? Then the messenger of Morgoth comes and everything goes downhill.

Curvo who is grateful that he’s not the first born after Maedhros is returned to them. It could’ve been him. He knows that maybe if he would’ve been in Maedhros position he would’ve made different decisions but when he looks at the broken body in front of him he is not so sure of it. It could’ve been him who went through all the torture, him who could’ve broken under the pain, him who was so akin to his father that he would’ve been the most delicious prisoner for Him. Happiness should not stand even close to him when he looks at his brother and yet it does.

Curvo who never stops scheming with and for his brother. He’s not the first but he still has learned some things while living in Valinor. Maybe the hours of trying to rival Maedhros will pay off and he can support his brother. Nargothrond fails, Luthien and his son too along with the Union of Maedhros too but Doriath can’t fail. He is so sure of it.

[everlastingdarkness808]

Honestly it’s surprising how many people like to characterize Feanor as a bad father or outright abusive. Don’t get me wrong I do see the vision especially with his later actions towards Fingolfin. There are a lot of different dynamics between all seven sons and their father and they are pretty interesting to explore and build upon.

Bad father! Feanor who never accepts anything less than perfection from the very beginning.

Bad father! Feanor who’s children are breaking their backs trying to get their fathers attention and praise. Who try to appease him no matter what and deep down know that they might never live up to his standard or might.

Maitimo trying to live up to the picture of a perfect son, Macalaure who tries to show that his craft was useful, Tyelko rejecting to fit into a mold his father prepared for him and nonetheless breaking under the expectations, Moryo the least of all sons with no craft, Curvo breaking just and much as Nelyo living in the shadow of his father and Ambarussa the forgotten at the ruins of a marriage.

But what about good father Feanor? After all we don’t get much in the text and I don’t have the Silmarillion at hand to pick out quotes but from what we have there is no evidence that he was a bad father. So might I suggest these:

Good father! Feanor who sees the potential in Maitimo and encourages him to cultivate it. Feanor who despite pushing sometimes too hard never does it out of malicious intend. Maitimo is perfect not because of being his firstborn and heir but because he is his son above all else. Feanor who forged and made so many toys for his son and played with him on the rug when he was but a single child. Feanor who always told Maitimo how proud he was of him.

Good father! Feanor who makes Kano his first harp and gently pushes the shy child to sing in a choir at a festival. Feanor who is proud of his son finding comfort in music (after all the world was sang into being too). Feanor who lifts his son to pet a horse and carves him a toy out of wood. Feanor who visits all performances of Kano. Protective Feanor who glares a tad bit too hard at admirers who become too touchy with his second son as they congratulate him.

Good father! Feanor who lets Tyelko drag him out of bed by the rise of dawn to explore a meadow because he promised. Feanor who lets him ride on the big horse in front of him although he’s far too small. Feanor who catches him jumping from a tree and turns a blind eye when he smuggles in frogs, rabbits, chickens and stray animals into his room. Feanor who goes on hunts and great journeys with his third son and understands that his calling is beyond the walls of the court.

Good father! Feanor who doesn’t rush Moryo when he doesn’t find a craft right away. Feanor who sees the little one’s affinity for logic and numbers. Feanor who goes through several tomes of books about mathematics again just to answer Moryo’s questions. Feanor who tells him that his red face is the most beautiful just like his mother’s when he was being teased. Feanor who lets him temper with the household finances as practice and who nudges the boy out of his shell, inspiring confidence in his abilities.

Good father! Feanor who sees himself in Curvo the most. Feanor who takes the small one to the forge and gives him a sieve to play by the nearby stream. Feanor who indulges in Curvo’s rock collection and always makes sure to give him one he doesn’t have. Feanor who teaches him all the lore and craft but lets him go when he wants to follow Tyelko to a hunt. Feanor who lets Curvo shine in his own light despite having the same name as him.

Good father! Feanor who always kissed his twins goodnight even when he hadn’t time during the day. Feanor who introduced them to hunting just like he did with Tyelko. Feanor who gets Pityo books about plants and never forgets to bring Telvo a new set of arrows. Feanor who gets them their own horses much sooner than expected so they may too enjoy the land. Feanor who spend so much time carving a space for those two so they wouldn’t just get passed down things from their brothers. Feanor who let Pityo hold one hand and Telvo the other as they made their way through the streets and never tired of being pulled around.

Feanor who slowly changes as time progresses. No one knows when it began but certainly after the birth of Curvo. Feanor who starts to abandon all wise council of Nerdanel. Feanor who becomes an active volcano whose temper is slowly rising. Feanor who has no peace.

Feanor who slowly spirals. Unpleasant thoughts start to pollute his thoughts. He’s always thinking, always plotting, did those thoughts appear on their own or had someone put it there. He never had any kind thoughts towards his half siblings. But was there always such a visceral hate for them?

Feanor whose time becomes occupied by his new project that would be proven to be his greatest while Melkor causes strife and dissonance between the Noldor. Feanor who becomes consumed with paranoia of being replaced. Feanor whose mood worsens by the day. Feanor who forges weapons instead of harps and trinkets for his sons. Feanor who snaps in the end and causes devastation like a forest fire.

His sons seeing that something was wrong, that something was changing within their father but had no idea how to stop it or how to name it. His sons trying to stop their father from going down the destructive path but having no way of going against his authority. They love him but his smile is often then not too sharp, praise becomes just as rare as his presence at the family table. There is no one to reach out to, no way of explaining what metamorphosis was taking place in their own four walls. Their mother was just as helpless as them. (Was the smell of a decaying marriage always in the air?)

Arguments only cause rifts and rather than having their family torn apart completely, they rather stay silent. The treatment of his uncles and cousins might be unfair but by agreeing to their father they might keep the peace at home. Maybe they could still save something, maybe the eggshells would disappear.

His sons going with him to Formenos because their love for him overweighted the feeling of wrongness and perhaps there was just a small hope that things would get better after those twelve years. His sons following him into war because it seemed the right thing to avenge family. They couldn’t abandon their father in such a crucial moment like that even if he led them into danger. Maybe after they got their revenge it would finally get better. Swearing the oath they hadn’t realized that they set their feet upon the same spiral as their father.

Maedhros realized that indeed it would not get better when their father told them to burn the ships. No oath of brotherhood would prevent him from leaving Nolofinwe on the opposite shores. All he could do was to keep the ire of their sire away from his brothers and get through that nightmare. The twisted man that stood before him resembled his father only in body.

Only much later at the end of the first age Maedhros would realize that he too was trapped in the same spiral as his father was. There was no way out. No way to backtrack since all the people around him were dead. No way to change anything since all the important events had passed. He was beyond the point of no return and all there was left was the way forward to the bitter end. (Perhaps destroying the last things around him will finally free him.)

By the time they set out to retrieve the Silmarils from the host of the Valar Maglor knows deep down that his brother might be gone forever. He can’t abandon him just like he couldn’t abandon their father. The Silmarils might be their only hope of salvation, the only hope for freedom of the terrible oath. Maybe it would get better after all, maybe all his brother needs are those gems to get better, to become his beloved brother Nelyo again. (It doesn’t. The Silmarils just burn away whatever has remained of them)

[thefernhands]

If you're fifteen or older an still sleep with a stuffed animal please reblog this.

My friend is embarrassed and thinks she’s the only one and I said id prove her wrong.

[silme-lorien]

i just really love the way that tolkiens works as a whole normalize some things that are considered strange or stigmatized in regular society, especially during tolkiens time (apart from the obvious fact that there are elves and dragons). women with beards, sensitive men that cry and show affection, intimidating and strong women, beautiful representations of trauma and the way people react when they’re put through something horrifying. it’s a kind of earnestness that’s been widely lost in modern literature i think

[everlastingdarkness808]

Turin, every time he comes into a hidden city: Sooo why aren’t we at war?

[everlastingdarkness808]

What’s really interesting to me is the beginning of the strife between elves and dwarves. We all know that it started way back in the First Age when the elves hunted the dwarves like animals and nearly hunted the petty dwarves into extinction. But then it begs the question how different must dwarves have been for the elves to decide that they were animals or close to animals?

I imagine that at least from a humans perspective elves, dwarves, humans and hobbits share at least some similar characteristics that makes them look humanoid, like statue and appearance, despite being different races. At the very least the fact that those dwarves must’ve been clothed and carried possessions should’ve raised some thoughts that perhaps they weren’t just hunting animals.

Did the elves had an unconscious spectrum of what is considered elves or close to elves like we humans do? Clearly we can distinguish what we consider is a human or close to a human (for example other species of the genus homo) and what is not a human (for example apes). Depending on what we see as a human or not, we treat it accordingly either like a person or animal. Would that mean that elves would’ve less likely hunted humans since they look closer to elves than dwarves?

Or are the dwarves the uncanny valley for elves? If I remember correctly there was a passage in The War of the Jewels that petty dwarves attacked the Eldar at night and that they were rarely seen. Imagine the first dwarven casualty that the elves first examined. A creature with the same limb arrangement despite being much smaller in size, (most likely) wearing garments, being able to make and use some sort of weapons and having made strange sounds that are not made by any other animal and yet are not close to the elven language to be recognized as a language immediately. Maybe it was enough to put them closer to animals and hunt them thusly (maybe even in a sort of preventative measure like we hunt some animals).

No doubt having an encounter with the petty dwarves must’ve been like for us encountering something humanoid in the woods at night and with the ever present danger of orcs it’s kinda not surprising that the elves were not taking any chances. Obviously it would’ve been even worse with seeing orc for the first time. From a far distance looking similar to elves and the closer it comes, the more the realisation hits that it’s in fact, not an elf. Because sure the body may resemble many shapes but the behavior is still that of an animal. Imagine being the first elf to see a dwarf or get a glimpse of it and trying to explain it to other elves that there is something small two legged creature in the woods that’s not an orc but not an elf either. It’s uncanny.

[everlastingdarkness808]

After being invested in the world of the lord of the rings for more than two years, I firmly believe it altered my brain chemistry in the departments of love and friendship. Like I genuinely can’t imagine having a romantic relationship with anyone in real life at this point in time. Do I understand that those are fictional characters and are representing ideals that you will not find in their flawless forms in real life? Yes. Do I still yearn? Absolutely.

The following are examples of characters that I believe had altered my brain and mind you I don’t even talk about if those characters have a fair form or not. Im talking about the real deal, about their personality and actions that make my brain and heart yearn. This is not a ranking, just a few examples.

1. Aragorn: Pretty obvious. My man is the peak of masculinity and I take no criticism. It’s not about raw power that he may have as a warrior or king but the way he uses it to protect what’s dear to him and do the objectively right thing. He’s still kind despite his power and people respect him not out of fear but for his actions and honestly the line “the hands of a king are the hands of a healer” should tell you the rest.

2. Glorfindel: Similar to Aragorn he wields a lot of power and yet uses it to protect those that are in need and dear to him. The fact that he would have protected everyone equally no matter if peasant or noble in the Fall of Gondolin makes my heart YEARN at this kind of kindness and courage.

3. Sam and Frodo: Wether you see them having a platonic or romantic relationship, I will take both. There are enough sweet moments to fuel both kinds of relationships. From going with Frodo to a life-threatening quest and supporting him along the way to sailing west to see him again is a friendship I much desire to have.

4. Beleg and Turin: Again a legendary friendship duo with my lad “if I stayed beside you, love would lead me, not wisdom” Beleg. If that line doesn’t explain why it makes me yearn then I don’t know what else will. Beleg is the ultimate "ride or die".

5. Legolas and Gimli: Again no matter if you see them as romantic or platonic, taking your friend into the undying lands despite it being only for elves is wild. They really put the ship into friendship. Despite all the feuds between their races they managed to put it all behind and become something truly beautiful. The fact that Legolas went to the glittering caves and Gimli went to Fangorn forest and overall going on a road trip togheter is peak friendship. They went to places that were significant for each other and appreciated them together and found beauty in unlikely places. Again PEAK FRIENDSHIP!!!

6. Celeborn and Galadriel: Again so underrated but they are one of my favorite couples in middle earth. I have a lot of thoughts about them but especially their portrayal in the Jackson movies has a special place in my heart. They are together, they are a unit, no one is below or above the other, they are in love. Do I even need to say more? I yearn.

7. Fingon and Maedhros: Another legendary duo but the fact that Fingon searched for Maedhros despite the fallout and “no great love” between their houses is just yes, no further questions needed. Like Fingon took the saying “to hell and back” a bit too literally.

8. Elrond: Kind as a summer, I repeat, KIND AS A SUMMER!!! Despite horrible things happening in his life, aka loosing his parents/guardians and having his home destroyed, loosing Elros to mortality, loosing Celebrian because she needed to sail west, loosing Arwen to the same fate as Elros, he still had so much kindness left in his heart. Instead of building a mighty kingdom, he builds a sanctuary and a place of healing. His story is tragic, and yet he chose kindness. His priorities were straight here.

9. Feanor and Nerdanel: Controversial, but I do believe that before the whole thing with Fingolfin, the Silmarils, and their subsequent fallout with each other, they were so in love. It’s stated that he was often her companion in her journeys is one thing but the fact the she was considered not the fairest of her people and yet the hottest elf, prince of the Noldor, who could theoretically have so many other fell in love with her is just peak romance. To be seen not for your appearance but for your soul. Like where is the checkout? Where can I order such romance??? Besides, they had seven sons and that already says something.

10. Beren and Luthien: One of the best examples of mutual love. Like Thingol just straight up send Beren to his doom and he said “alright bet”. And Luthien wasn’t passive either and went after him to help his beloved. Only togheter the achieved the quest, togheter did they die and togheter did they live again. In my opinion they are one of the best examples that love needs to go both ways to achieve happiness together.

11. Faramir: Like just look at the fact that he didn’t search for glory on the battlefield but instead loved music and lore is heartwarming. He was still a warrior and yet that didn’t mean he needed to give up his gentle nature. Just like Aragorn a perfect example that you can be both and that those things aren’t mutually exclusive.

There are a bunch of other examples and more quotes obviously but those are that came immediately to my mind. In conclusion: In a world filled with Gollums, Saurons and Morgoths, one yearns for the truly kind and valiant ones.