#textual ghosts

[sakasakiii]

some rumil doodles in response to @whimsicallywiddershins who asked: Oh my god I love your art!!! I'm curious about Rumil. I've never really heard of him and I'm curious about what happened to his eyes....

thank you for the ask!!!! im real happy to hear you like my art, and even happier you took the time to ask about rumil! <333 it took me until your ask to realise that, despite him frequently appearing in group concept sketches n doodles, i've never really elaborated on him haha 😅 i tried to illustrate and summarise some of the key points in the art, but more detailed yap incoming under the cut!

so! to start off, my version of rumil is pretty much at his core the same as canon rumil wherein he's a noldorin sage/scholar responsible for inventing the Sarati and later going on to write the Annals of Valinor. his whole being captured and enslaved in angband for a while comes from the other version of him the Book of Lost Tales, where he was a slave of Melko who learned the speech of monsters and goblins --essentially i thought it'd be fun to combine the two to give him a more complicated backstory ^^

in response to your query about his eyes, i hc that during his time in angband he was one of those who were experimented on by Sauron - acting on Morgoth's orders - during the initial testings for the evolution of elves -> orcs. (maybe sauron thought that blinding the first elf-orcs would make them more unlikely to disobey orders/easier to control? hmm) his band of captives were able to break him out in time and they fled back to safety before he was too far-gone, thus allowing him to reunite with finwe, miriel and co, and then eventually follow Orome to valinor :D

him being miriel's dad was also something i felt would be fun to explore, especially because i thought his ties to Sarati and Feanor would be an interesting dynamic! it's very very much noncanon, and incredibly self-indulgent on my part (im so sorry... 😭), but i like to go on tangents abt their relationship! i think rumil wouldve made attempts to dote on feanor and encourage his linguistic pursuits, but would have been held back a lot on truly being around him by both his health and his lingering guilt about miriel. he is incredibly proud when feanor refines his abandoned Sarati concepts and turns Tengwar into a near-universal system of writing however :D

other thoughts on rumil... hmm... i think he's kind of pitiful tbh. something about him being an absent (albeit not of his own volition) father to miriel, and then in turn him feeling unfit to offer feanor as much emotional support as would be ideal, is a theme i would like to keep exploring (^3^) adding on to the fact that he outlives his wife, daughter, son-in-law, grandson, and like 6/7 of his great-grandsons while miraculously not Fading himself gives him an essence with parallels to maglor that i do appreciate...

major apologies for going off on such a rambly tangent, but i do suppose an explanation on my rumil has been overdue for a few years!! i hope i havent misled anyone since i first drew him in that family tree, but thank you so much again for taking the time to ask about him! im always grateful for the interest in my absurd headcanons, and i hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead!!! ❤️

[magicalmanhattanproject]

There is exactly One (1) canonical queen of Gondor before the Fourth Age. I have filled in the rest of them.

Falmalótë Satariel (1283-1495) was wed to Lord Castamir in 1322 at the age of 39. Her birth name Falmalótë means "wave foam flower". His equal in zeal, she supported his usurping of the throne wholly and completely. Even after Castamir himself had been slain, she held the throne room of Osgiliath against Eldacar with her personal guard. After a siege lasting several days, her guard agreed amongst themselves to surrender to Eldacar and turn her over to him. Eldacar kept her imprisoned in the Queen's apartments for the rest of his reign. She was given the mocking regnal name "Satariel" which means "surrounded by loyal companions".

Falmalótë from this list.

[riding-with-the-wild-hunt]

"But to Elros, who chose to be a king of Men, still a great span of years was allotted, many times that of the Men of Middle-earth; and all his line, the kings and lords of the royal house, had long life even according to the measure of the Númenóreans. But Elros lived five hundred years, and ruled the Númenóreans four hundred years and ten." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, "Akallabêth"

@halfelvenweek day 3 ⇢ heritage + númenoreans || THE LINE OF ELROS

[ID: four graphics in shades of brown and desaturated dark blue.

1: A large image of Cherokee Jack framed by a brown rectangle covers the left side of the graphic. He is an aniyunwiya model with light brown skin and long, straight, dark brown hair. He is shown in profile, facing left and looking slightly down. The right side of the graphic shows a diamond-shaped image of ocean surf and rocks, divided into four sections and framed in brown. Below that, white serif text reads "Elros, later called Tar-Minyatur, was the first and founding king of Númenor. Born of Elwing of the line of Lúthien and Eärendil the Blessed, he chose to be numbered among the Edain and led his people to the hallowed island of Elenna. Elros was long-lived, as were all of his House, and he ruled for many years in great splendour and wisdom. He was exceedingly devoted to his spouse Saelhenien and their children, as well as to his brother Elrond."

2: Same format as Image 1, but the sides are switched. The large image shows indian model Shonali Singh. She has brown skin and black hair tied back in a bun, and is looking to the side. The small image shows birds flying over the ocean, and the text below it reads "Saelhenien, a descendant of Bëor, was gentle and wise, though firm of will. As queen of Númenor, she took the name Tar-Maiwendë, but though Saelhenien occupied her role with grace, she knew herself to be at heart a man. Elros her husband encouraged Saelhenien to live as his true self, but Saelhenien feared civil unrest, and remained Tar-Maiwendë for the sake of practicality. To honor this sacrifice, Elros gave his spouse a new name in secret: Meldaro, he who is beloved."

3: The whole graphic is framed in brown, and contains two smaller rectangular images each with their own frame. The image on the right side shows Reef Titcomb, a young man with brown skin and dark curly hair, facing to the side with his eyes closed and head lifted. White text below the image reads "Vardamir Nólimon was the eldest child of Elros and Saelhenien, and first heir to the throne of Númenor. He preferred scholarship to politics, however, and largely deferred to his sister Tindómiel in matters of state." The second image shows Logan Alcosiba, a native hawaiian/filipino/mixed european model with freckled brown skin and straight dark hair. She is looking at the viewer intently, turned slightly to one side. Text below the image reads "While still young Tindómiel declared her affinity as a woman, to the great joy of her parents, especially Saelhenien. She proved an adept and clever diplomat, and helped to construct the earliest Númenorean courts of law." Between the two pictures is a small drawing of a white crown.

4: Same format as Image 3, but this time the first image shows Josh Armstrong, a young man with brown skin and dark brown curly hair tied back in a bun. He is wearing a white shirt and looking at the viewer with a thoughtful expression. Text below the image reads "Manwendil inherited Elros’s curiosity and Saelhenien’s gentle spirit. He was greatly pious and while still a youth dedicated himself to the service of Manwë; it was said that he learned to speak with birds, even as the Lord of Air." The second picture shows Mase Somanlall, a guyanese/canadian model with brown skin and wavy dark hair. He is leaning back with his arms folded behind his head, looking up at the viewer. Text reads "Atanalcar was the youngest child of Elros and Saelhenien, greatly beloved by his family and his people alike He was charming and had exceeding skill in the sporting arts, though he was most known as a runner and javelin-thrower." //End ID]

[elronds-library]

loving them for their uselessness, not wanting to be saved [WIP]

by Dialux (@dialux)

Maedhros knows well the saying that ran through Tirion whenever the seven of them descended upon the palace: Two of them would be worth an army, and three a kingdom- but four would be a war brewed and bursting on the king’s doorstep. Dealing with them is enough of a task for any elf. Dealing with them while they’re ridden with guilt and grief is less like herding cats and more like trying to herd feral lions in a rainstorm, with nothing more than one’s wits, while the lions are both smarter and more bloodthirsty than you. Dealing with them while they’re actively furious at him, still mourning their father, and doing their level best to sabotage these talks is, perhaps, the kind of task that only another Feanorian would ever accept. [Newly rescued from Thangorodrim, Maedhros is trying to assign kingdoms to his brothers. But they're just as invested as him in making his life as difficult as fucking possible.]

Teen, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Words: 4,416

[squirrelwrangler]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien, TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Original Female Character(s), Ereinion Gil-galad, Fingon's Wife (Tolkien), Orodreth's Wife (Tolkien) Additional Tags: Textual Ghosts, the problem of gil-galad, the many names and lineage debates for Gil-galad, maternal lineage, allusions to various canon names, giving more unnamed characters some names, including ones not expected in a piece about Gil-galad, Family Trees Series: Part 6 of Constellation of the North Summary:

Meril, the Lady of Dor-lómin, has very few living relatives to write to. Especially when the topic is pregnancy and the all-important naming of a future prince. Fortunately her cousin had given birth to a daughter. Finduilas's mother gives advice.

Of the interconnected royalty of the Sindarin wives of Noldor princes and why Ereinion is the 'Scion of Kings'.

[fashi0nmistake]

ENVISIONING TOLKIEN ::: ANAIRË

Fingolfin's wife Anairë refused to leave Aman, largely because of her friendship with Eärwen wife of Arafinwë [Finarfin] (though she was a Noldo and not one of the Teleri). But all her children went with their father: Findekáno, Turukáno, Arakáno, and Irissë his daughter and third child; she was under the protection of Turukáno who loved her dearly, and of Elenwë his wife.

[erynalasse]

Vague thoughts, probably super jumbled because it’s 4 am and I can’t really sleep.

The good posts about sexism baked into Tolkien’s works have shaken a few old thoughts loose in my brain. I think it’s a little sad that we often assume the textual ghosts of canon wives have to exit the story. Maglor’s wife, Caranthir’s, Curufin’s, Orodreth’s—we don’t know who they are, but I rarely see fanfic where they explicitly survive their husbands in Beleriand. They die, or they vanish. For the Fëanorions, sometimes their wives are just written as staying behind in Valinor altogether.

And I think that’s a little sad because I think we’re sleeping on some excellent character potential here! Maybe I have weirdly specific tastes. But I’d like to read this story: a woman marries a prince in paradise, but heads East with a Kinslayer into the unknown. I want the tale of how they fall apart, whether it’s because the wife rejects the husband or the story rips them apart. And above all, I want the story of how the wife learns to live again in the peace after Beleriand sinks, and the story of what she makes of herself in the absence of a husband.

More specifically, I want this kind of story with Maglor’s wife! Nobody else makes it out of Beleriand with a spouse to face after. I’d also love a story where Elrond and Maglor’s wife band together to find their sad trashbag of a father/husband and forcibly rehabilitate him. Also, I’m not sure I’ve ever read a Maglor-sails-west fic where he’s actually okay on a fundamental level. He’s got a lot to recover from, but I think that having a son and a wife who demand Maglor do better would actually make a big change over the millennia. It’s certainly a massive improvement over three Ages singing laments to the sea.

[tolkienocweek]

Tolkien OC Week: a fandom event for OCs and underdeveloped characters in Tolkien's world!

This blog celebrates both characters of Tolkien's world and our own characters that need more love, by creating and reblogging all kind of fanworks, like fanfiction, fanart, fanvideos, fancrafts, headcanons, playlists, edits, moodboards etc. NSFW text entries are allowed and we’ll tag them accordingly when we reblog them, but please put them behind a “read more”.

We're tracking the tag tolkienocweek!

The event is modded by @niphredilien, @elamarth-calmagol and @stormxpadme and will take place between 26th July - 1st August 2021 for the first time.

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The event schedule for 2021:

Day 1 (26th July): Shipping - create a piece of fanwork about an OC that you ship with a canon character.

Day 2 (27th July): Family members - create a piece of fanwork about a character who fills a gap left in a family tree (e.g., Legolas' mother, Maglor's spouse, Aragorn and Arwen's younger children).

Day 3 (28th July): Background characters - create a piece of fanwork about a character who is in the background of canon scenes and is either never mentioned or barely mentioned in the story (e.g., an extra from Laketown, a Teler defending their ships during the First Kinslaying, the Haradric man that Sam sees die) and show their view of the events.

Day 4 (29th July): Self insert/reader insert - create a piece of fanwork that includes yourself being in Middle Earth, or write a reader insert story.

Day 5 (30th July): Worldbuilding - create a piece of fanwork about a character who lives in a different place or time from the main canonical events (e.g., a character from Rhûn, a character who stays in Valinor after the Darkening, a character living in Gondor when the kings were still ruling etc.) and flesh out their world.

Day 6 (31th July): Forgotten characters - take a character who is neglected (e.g. Bob and Nob in Bree, Eärwen) or abandoned by Tolkien (e.g. Trotter the hobbit) and make them your own by creating a piece of fanwork about them. Or, completely redesign a canon character to make them yours (e.g., Gil-Galad becoming Fin-Galad).

Day 7 (1st August): Freeform - create a piece of fanwork about whatever resonates with you.

******************************************* ******************************************* We are looking forward to see and share all the awesome work you come up with.

Since we want to celebrate creations about neglected characters all year long, the mods will occasionally reblog posts and fancreations about OCs and underdeveloped characters. If you would like to see your post on our blog, you're very welcome to tag tolkienocweek. Since tumblr's tagging system is often being faulty, don't hesitate to message us, too!

Let's get creative!