#whirlposting

[whirlception]

elves have eyelids. however elves also notably sleep with their eyes open. narratively this serves to freak out humans hobbits and dwarves which i think is incredible. however on the speculative biology side i think it would be very funny if elves had a full functioning nictitating membrane (ie clear under-eyelid) like alligators and beavers and birds that activated when they slept to protect + prevent drying of their otherwise open eyes.

and if it was fully voluntary, what would it mean socially for an elf to blink their under-eyelids? like would it be catty and rude of them? or would it indicate they think the speaker is so dangerous they don’t want to let them out of their sight?

[rayven-ray]

🎶~WE'RE PROVING TO EACH OTHER THAT ROMANCE IS BOOOORING~🎶

[polarpasteque]

Whirl is so special to me.

His life actually starts pretty well, and then the system catches up to him and crushes him like everyone else. He turns rancid. He does terrible things because they make him feel powerful when he doesn't even have bodily autonomy, because it makes him feel in control. Since his life is going down, he might as well be the one crashing the plane.

He gets the consequences of his actions, time and time and time again, yet it doesn't feel like he's moving. He's stewed in violence for a long time already when Optimus Prime comes in and gives him an outlet : "forgiveness as a weapon of war". Whirl is the weapon of war - he's back to square one, just a tool for another agenda he doesn't believe in, yet another cog in the machine. He witnesses and commits atrocity after atrocity, and the judgement never really catches up to him, because the Autobots can't afford to.

Then the war ends and like everyone else, he struggles to adjust - but it runs deeper than that. He's lost, because his identity has been built on violence for much longer than the war. Then he meets people people who have never known violence, people who have done war and still renounced it, people who are not like him and are patient enough to show him that there's another way. The circumstances push him to change, but at the end of the day it's Whirl who chooses the pace, who decides how to become someone else. He doesn't destroy himself to build himself all over again, no, he finds peace in knowing that this is who he is, this is who he was, this is what happened. He accepts everything that he is, but instead of embracing it like a forfeiture, he uses it as a foundation to build a better future for himself, one where he chooses the good that happens for him.

So yeah. He's my crazy helicopter fave.

[joystickchevr0n]

Whirl's love language is being taken out back and put down like an old dog. Unfortunately for her for approximately 4 million years no one loves her, and she's too proud and guarded and stubborn and ask anyone to do it. So instead she acts as fucked up as possible in hopes that she'll get shot like a rabid stray. But that doesn't work either so she's just miserable.

[robohyena]

current mood:

[whirlception]

It’s very funny to me that Thorin (a 4ft-tall dwarf) was able to just grab Orcrist out of the troll-hoard and wield it during the Quest for Erebor— mainly because Orcrist is described as a “twin” to Gandalf’s sword Glamdring, which once belonged to King Turgon of Gondolin, who was famously the tallest of the frequently 7-ft-plus Noldor.

Scaled to an assumed height of 7’8”, even the shortest sword that Turgon reasonably could have wielded would have been nearly as tall as Thorin — which isn’t completely implausible. There are historical examples of swords that are as tall as their wielders (claymores, etc), but crucially, those swords had to be wielded in two hands. That isn’t impossible here either, but I tend to think that Thorin Oakenshield probably fought with a shield, and therefore used a much shorter one-handed sword, probably much like the “short broad sword […] and a roundshield” setup of his dwarven allies from the Iron Hills at the Battle of the Five Armies. In that case, Orcrist would have to be very short indeed for Thorin to have picked it out of the troll-hoard, probably much shorter than would be reasonable for someone of Turgon’s stature.

Out of universe, this was likely an oversight on Tolkien’s part. However, in-universe, one of the things we know about Turgon is that he was a doting grandfather to his grandson Eärendil, who very well might have thought that his grandfather’s sword was Super Cool. And that’s why I like to think that originally— before it passed through many other hands, including Thorin’s— Orcrist was a child-sized but otherwise identical replica of Glamdring, commissioned by Turgon for Eärendil’s sixth begetting day.

[whirlception]

"The Sindar" are not a singular group with a coherent leadership structure and unified political goals. Specifically, Thingol's priorities, grudges, etc cannot be assumed to be accurate for all of the Sindar, despite the overwhelming presence he has in the Silmarillion.

The Falathrim, under Cirdan, are nominally Thingol's vassals, but notably act independently to build friendships with the Noldor. Cirdan swore friendship to the Noldor at the Mereth Aderthad; gave military aid to Fingon during the 2nd attack on Hithlum; is very close to Finrod, who also built him a watchtower; and by the end of the 1st age, when he is on Balar, is notably not Elwing's vassal. From then through the end of the 2nd Age is primarily associated with Gil-Galad, a Noldorin king.

The green-elves, per Tolkien's notes and IMO a lot of in-text evidence, are not Thingol's vassals but a separate but allied kingdom and people with what appears to be complex internal politics. After the death of Denethor, they refuse to name another king and pull back from the war against Morgoth, but some green-elves live within Thingol's realm (Saeros; the guest-elves). Beren and Luthien live in Ossiriand after the Silmaril quest, and Dior (in some continuities) marries a green-elf; additionally, Beren and Dior rally an army of green-elves to defeat the dwarvish army that sacked Menegroth. However, the green-elves are not noted as participating in the defense of Doriath during the 2nd Kinslaying (the precise date of which may have taken Dior by surprise, but considering his ongoing correspondence with the Sons of Fëanor regarding the Silmaril was not exactly unforseeable). The sons of Feanor are strongly implied to also have a consistently decent relationship with the green-elves, including after the 2nd Kinslaying. Strong factionalism or politically independent clans seem likely.

The Northern Sindar are shunned by Thingol for possibly having fallen under the sway of Mordor; some go east with the Sons of Fëanor while some remain in Mithrim as vassals of Fingolfin (and, depending on the continuity, Turgon). Northern Sindar probably made up a significant portion of the Fëanorian forces in particular, which were presumably more-or-less in line with Fëanorian policy until the noted rebellions at the 3rd Kinslaying-- that is, through both deeds of surpassing valor during the Bragollach and the 2nd Kinslaying (it's possible that some portion of Celegorm's "cruel servants" were of the Northern Sindar).

[whirlception]

The idea of Elves and Men eventually revering Luthien as a trickster spirit, a patron of impossible tasks and daring escapes, really appeals to me. Luthien steals herself from her father, a Silmaril from Morgoth, and her lover from Námo, which is a nice, tidy, fairy-tale worthy major triad of undeniable thievery. A slightly more diffuse trend of general (but laudable) trickery and skullduggery is demonstrated by Luthien stealing a dog from a prince; Luthien and Huan luring out and killing Tol Sirion’s guards one by one, undetected until Drauglin found them; Luthien making disguises out of the skins of vampires and werewolves and pretending to be a servant of Morgoth to sneak into Angband; and Luthien laying spells of weariness and sleep on Sauron, elves, wolves, and Morgoth alike to win some fights, sneak around, and pry a gem from Morgoth’s crown.